Luke 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)

Max Lucado Daily: He Knows the Answers

“You answer us in amazing ways, God our Savior.” Psalm 65:5

God never turns his back on those who ask honest questions. He never did in the Old Testament; he never did in the New Testament. So if you are asking honest questions of God, he will not turn away from you . . .

In learning to depend on God, we must accept that we may not know all the answers, but we know who knows the answers.



Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 2 Kings 22:8–23:3

8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13 “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

15 She said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse[b] and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

2 Kings 23

Josiah Renews the Covenant

1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the LORD with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD—to follow the LORD and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

Find The Book

September 1, 2011 — by Marvin Williams

I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. —2 Kings 22:8

One Sunday at the church where I pastor, I invited three children to find several scrolls with Bible verses written on them that I had hidden in our worship center. I told them that once they found them and read the words aloud, I would give them a prize. You should have seen those kids! They ran, moved chairs, and looked under plants and in purses (with permission). Their search for the scrolls was intense, but exciting. Their diligent search and subsequent discovery of the scrolls led to joy in the children, affirmation from our congregation, and a renewed sense of the importance of God’s Word.
In 2 Kings 22–23, we read how King Josiah and the people of Judah rediscovered the joy and importance of God’s Word. During the repairing of the temple, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law. It must have been lost or hidden during the reign of Manasseh. Then when the scroll was read to King Josiah, he listened and responded to it (vv.10-11). He sought further understanding of it (vv.12-20), and he led the people to renew their commitment to its importance in their lives (23:1-4).
Many today have unprecedented access to God’s Word. Let’s renew our commitment to “find” it every day and by our lives show its prominence.

O Book divine, supreme, sublime
Entire, eternal, holy, true;
Sufficient for all men and time—
We pledge our faith to thee anew. —Anon.

To know Christ, the Living Word,
is to love the Bible, the written Word.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 1st, 2011

Destined To Be Holy

. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

How a Girl Becomes a Princess - #6429

Thursday, September 1, 2011

You know, there's something about a princess.

I know our granddaughters sure think so. They've got princess everything, the dolls, the sheets, tiaras. We probably got most of them for them. Well, you get the picture. But, you know, our granddaughters aren't unusual. So many little girls, from lots of generations, have grown up with dreams of being a princess. And look! What's at the center of Disney World's Fantasyland when you go there? Well, of course, Cinderella's Castle.

Recently, much of the world was enthralled watching a "commoner" become a royal princess. You know, in that sea of people that were in London for the royal wedding, the camera spotted one lady with a sign that simply said, "It should have been me." I smiled and then I thought, "How many girls, even the ones who are all grown up, wish the princess thing was more than a fantasy?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How a Girl Becomes a Princess."

You know, sadly, so many women have been treated like anything but a princess. They've been betrayed, used, abused, excluded, diminished. In a word, undervalued. Maybe you know some of those feelings. Princess dreams go down in flames when the men around you are less than men. Or when those air-brushed images of beauty in our world make you feel anything but special. And yet, there are many women who may never wear a crown, but who have discovered how a woman becomes a true princess.

When the Royal Wedding was about take place, I was on a live radio call-in show, talking about it. One lady called in to express her fascination with the wedding of Prince William and Kate (of course now, more properly, Katherine). What was different, though, was the reason for her fascination. She said, "I love this because I know I'm a princess because of Jesus."

Whooh! There she's right! Our word for today from the word of God is 2 Corinthians 6:18. The Bible says, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Now look! If you're a daughter of the "Lord Almighty," you are a princess, because what makes a girl a princess is her relationship with the King.

And the King of all kings has made it clear how a person becomes a part of His Royal Family. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says, "To all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). I find that amazing, because God is sinless, God's holy. We're sinners. We're all guilty of dishonoring Him and disobeying Him in so many ways. We've disqualified ourselves from being His child.

But Jesus changed all that. God loved us so much that He didn't want to lose us. The Bible says, "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world...as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). And the Bible goes on to say, "and they crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). God's Son, the Lord of glory, died for me and for you. There is no greater love story on this planet.


And God says when we open up our life to Jesus as our only hope, we get born into His family. This birthday could be today for you; the day you are born into God's family. There ought to be a time you can know for sure that you have begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That you have personally appropriated what He died on the cross to give you; when He walked out of His grave to prove He can give you. And right now He is ready to walk into your life at your invitation and begin the greatest love relationship of your life and of all eternity. You just tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours. I'm done running my life. I believe You died for me. I believe You're alive and I want You to come into my life and be the center of it beginning today."

Our website is all about helping you get there. You can go there today; it's YoursForLife.net. I encourage you to go there as soon as you can today. You can become a son of the King, a daughter of the King, because of your personal relationship with the King of the universe.