Isaiah 46 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Many of us have trouble relating to the prayer, “God, give us this day our daily bread.” Because our pantries are so packed and our bellies so full, we seldom ask for food. More likely, we need to ask for self-control and say, “God, help me not to eat so much.”

You won’t find books on surviving starvation, but you will find shelves loaded with books on losing weight. That doesn’t negate the importance of the prayer, however. Just the opposite. We pray only to find our prayer already answered!  At some point it occurs to you that someone is providing for your needs.

You take a giant step in maturity when you agree with King David’s words in 2nd Chronicles 29:14, “Everything we have has come from You, and we only give You what is Yours already.” Long before you knew you needed someone to provide for your needs, God already had!

from The Great House of God


Isaiah 46

Gods of Babylon

46 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
    their idols are borne by beasts of burden.[d]
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
    a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
    unable to rescue the burden,
    they themselves go off into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
    and have carried since you were born.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;
    it cannot save them from their troubles.
8 “Remember this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned, that I will do.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
    you who are now far from my righteousness.
13 I am bringing my righteousness near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,
    my splendor to Israel.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:12-14

Paul’s Change of Plans

12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity[a] and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Keep It Simple

April 10, 2013 — by David C. Egner

We are not writing any other things to you than what you [can] read or understand. —2 Corinthians 1:13

James Madison, fourth president of the United States, was instrumental in the drafting of the US constitution. He warned against creating laws “so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.” Based on some of the complicated government forms I’ve read, that’s advice that still needs to be heeded a little more often!

Sometimes when sharing the gospel, we make it more complicated than it needs to be. We can be glad that the Bible presents the good news of salvation in clear, easily understood language. Jesus said to Nicodemus, an educated Pharisee, that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He later said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (14:6). The apostle Paul said it in straightforward language to the jailor in Philippi who asked how to be saved: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

God’s precious love story is simple. He sent His Son to rescue us from sin and death. Wonderful news that even children can understand.

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard. —Crosby
Through faith in Christ, we receive God’s pardon and escape sin’s penalty.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 10, 2013

Complete and Effective Decision About Sin

. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin —Romans 6:6

Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin—that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you-not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified—just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, “Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me.” Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.

This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life— to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin— that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . .” (Galatians 2:20).


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The Girl Who Wasn't There - #6848

Wednesday, April 10, 2013


I thought "catfishing" sounded like a Friday night feast in Mississippi. Until the absolutely weird news story came out about Notre Dame's All-American football star, reportedly falling in love with a girl who wasn't there. To be sure, Manti Te'o's moving story of the death of the woman he loved on the eve of a critical late-season game raised tons of questions. He claimed that she turned out to be only an Internet invention. And that's why "catfishing" was suddenly in the news.

I found out that "catfishing" is defined as "building a fake online person and trapping others." And apparently it's happening more and more. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Convincingly portraying a "person" that isn't really there at all. That's actually not all that new. Humans have been doing that for a long time.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Girl Who Wasn't There."

We date and sell ourselves as someone we're not - which is why so many people are shocked to discover they unknowingly married a stranger. We write, shall we say, "creative" resumes to get a job. We put on a great "church me," concealing the truth that we're really "Sunday saint, Monday ain't." Happy-go-lucky on the outside, bleeding on the inside. All friendly to their face; all backstabbing when they're not around. Claiming to love the person you married while your eyes and your passion are on roam. Or acting like you've got it all together when inside you're falling apart.

Most of us are pretty good at giving folks the person they want us to be. Teenagers fool their parents, employees fool their boss, students con their teacher, husbands deceive their wife and wives their husband, guys and gals scam each other with lies to land a catch. Yeah, there are a lot of people out there who don't really exist. Like the sets for Hollywood movies; you know, impressive on the outside, but really only a front. There's nothing on the inside.

And then there are the people with integrity. They're rare. Therefore, they're really valuable. In math class, we learned that an "integer" is one whole number. Well integrity means you are one whole person. There's only one you. You're the same person at home, at work, at the gym, at the store, in the classroom, in public, and when you're all alone. Real all the way through. A light in a sea of fake.

Unfortunately, we get so used to being great pretenders that we're prone to a truly deadly mistake; thinking we'll make it with God if we look good on the outside. But none of our spiritual masks fool God for a second. "Do not be deceived (the Bible says), God cannot be mocked. A man sows what he reaps" (Galatians 6:7).

Our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 4:13 tell us that the Judge we will all stand before says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).

In preparation for that day, God tells church folks in the Bible, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5). That's because it's possible to have tons of Christianity and not have Christ, which sets the stage for this chilling Judgment Day verdict from Jesus in Matthew 7:23, "I never knew you."

Jesus on the outside won't cut it with God; only Jesus on the inside, in your heart, for real. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, and you want to be sure, I hope you will join me at our website, YoursForLife.net. Let me walk you through very simply how to make sure you belong to Him. I think you can find the road that will finally get you all the way "Home."