Job 23 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: WASH FEET - June 23, 2021

Jesus has seen every backstreet, backseat, backhanded moment of our lives. And he has resolved My grace is enough. I can cleanse these people. I will wash away their betrayals. For that reason we must make the Upper Room of Mercy our home address.

Jesus said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14–15).

You are the creation of a good God, you are made in his image. You are destined to reign in an eternal kingdom. Secure in who you are, you can do what Jesus did.  Throw aside the robe of rights and expectation and make the most courageous of moves: wash feet. This is how happiness happens.

Job 23

Job’s Defense
I’m Completely in the Dark

Job replied:

“I’m not letting up—I’m standing my ground.
    My complaint is legitimate.
God has no right to treat me like this—
    it isn’t fair!
If I knew where on earth to find him,
    I’d go straight to him.
I’d lay my case before him face-to-face,
    give him all my arguments firsthand.
I’d find out exactly what he’s thinking,
    discover what’s going on in his head.
Do you think he’d dismiss me or bully me?
    No, he’d take me seriously.
He’d see a straight-living man standing before him;
    my Judge would acquit me for good of all charges.

8-9 “I travel East looking for him—I find no one;
    then West, but not a trace;
I go North, but he’s hidden his tracks;
    then South, but not even a glimpse.

10-12 “But he knows where I am and what I’ve done.
    He can cross-examine me all he wants, and I’ll pass the test with honors.
I’ve followed him closely, my feet in his footprints,
    not once swerving from his way.
I’ve obeyed every word he’s spoken,
    and not just obeyed his advice—I’ve treasured it.

13-17 “But he is singular and sovereign. Who can argue with him?
    He does what he wants, when he wants to.
He’ll complete in detail what he’s decided about me,
    and whatever else he determines to do.
Is it any wonder that I dread meeting him?
    Whenever I think about it, I get scared all over again.
God makes my heart sink!
    God Almighty gives me the shudders!
I’m completely in the dark,
    I can’t see my hand in front of my face.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Read: Isaiah 65:17–25

New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
    nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
    and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
    will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
    so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
    they and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call I will answer;
    while they are still speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
    and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

Footnotes
Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches

INSIGHT
Along with the portrayal of the new heavens and earth found in Isaiah 65, we catch another glimpse in 11:6–9 of this glorious place where animals and mankind live together in peace. Revelation 21–22 echoes many of these wonders and tells us more: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:4). “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face . . . . And they will reign for ever and ever” (22:3–5).

By Arthur Jackson
Imagine This!

I will create new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17

During the course of a popular home renovation television program, viewers often hear the host say, “Imagine this!” Then she unveils what could be when old things are restored and drab walls and floors are painted or stained. In one episode, after the renovation the homeowner was so overjoyed that, along with other expressions of elation, the words “That’s beautiful!” gushed from her lips three times.

One of the stunning “Imagine this!” passages in the Bible is Isaiah 65:17–25. What a dazzling re-creation scene! The future renovation of heaven and earth is in view (v. 17), and it’s not merely cosmetic. It’s deep and real, life-altering and life-preserving. “They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (v. 21). Violence will be a thing of the past: “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain” (v. 25).

While the reversals envisioned in Isaiah 65 will be realized in the future, the God who will orchestrate universal restoration is in the business of life-change now. The apostle Paul assures us, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In need of restoration? Has your life been broken by doubt, disobedience, and pain? Life-change through Jesus is real and beautiful and available to those who ask and believe.

What changes can you imagine the God of restoration making in your life? What’s keeping you from believing in Jesus for life-change today?

God of restoration and renovation, You know what changes are needed in my life for me to look more like You. Please work in my heart and life today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
“Acquainted With Grief”

He is…a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. —Isaiah 53:3

We are not “acquainted with grief” in the same way our Lord was acquainted with it. We endure it and live through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of our lives we do not bring ourselves to the point of dealing with the reality of sin. We look at life through the eyes of reason and say that if a person will control his instincts, and educate himself, he can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we continue on through life, we find the presence of something which we have not yet taken into account, namely, sin— and it upsets all of our thinking and our plans. Sin has made the foundation of our thinking unpredictable, uncontrollable, and irrational.

We have to recognize that sin is a fact of life, not just a shortcoming. Sin is blatant mutiny against God, and either sin or God must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue— if sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is nothing more fundamental than that. The culmination of sin was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will also be true in your history and in mine— that is, sin will kill the life of God in us. We must mentally bring ourselves to terms with this fact of sin. It is the only explanation why Jesus Christ came to earth, and it is the explanation of the grief and sorrow of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand.  Not Knowing Whither, 888 L

Bible in a Year: Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Night Lights That Know When to Shine - #8988

I guess we got in the habit when our kids were little. Like night lights. Yeah, we put one in their room. Actually I heard it keeps the monsters in the closet. I hope that's true. Well, we always had one in the bathroom so you wouldn't fall in if you had to go there in the middle of the night. Actually, we always had a night light in the bathroom years later. The new and improved kind. It only went on when the lights went out. But, of course, that's when you need it, right, when it's dark.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Night Lights That Know When to Shine."

It's nice to have a light that turns on when it gets dark - especially if that light is a person. Because when you're going through a dark time, you really need someone who brings some light into your life; sort of a human night light. Which I hope you are; which someone you know probably needs right now.

It's the kind of friend described in our word for today from the Word of God in Proverbs 17:17. God says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." In other words, a real friend, a real brother is one who's walking in when everybody else is walking out! And that takes the kind of love Jesus has, the kind of love Jesus can give you to give someone else. It's called unconditional love - the kind that has absolutely nothing to do with how the other person is acting, how the other person is treating you, or what the other person can do for you.

But I'm guessing there's someone you know who really needs you to be their night light right now. But you might be holding back. Maybe they've experienced a big hurt, and frankly, you don't know what to say. So, you're avoiding them. They just need your presence, not your words; they need your hug, not your talk; they need your help with some of the everyday stuff that's become too much for them in their dark time.

Or maybe the person who needs you isn't acting very loveable right now. They're angry, they're negative, they're lashing out, they're withdrawn, they're sending off "leave me alone" signals that don't exactly make people feel like trying to reach out to them. But often when people are the least loveable, they need our love the most.

It may, in fact, be a child of yours, another family member, who is acting pretty ugly right now. You can almost bet that it's because they've been wounded somehow, and they're bleeding all over the people close to them. Someone has to disregard all those negative vibes and reach out to them with some love, some tenderness. I'm suspecting that God's "someone" who is supposed to love them might be you.

It's possible there's a fellow believer who has made some serious mistakes, and they've been pretty much written off by other Christians. Maybe God's calling on you to extend the hand of Jesus to them in spite of what they've done. Not to condone it, not to bless what God can't bless, but to let them know there's someone they're safe with.

There are lots of reasons not to be that friend who, according to the Bible, "loves at all times," not to be that brother or sister who is "born for adversity." But here's the real bottom line. It's the nature of Jesus to pursue the most unlovable, the most hurting, and often even the most undeserving. And it's supposed to be the nature of those of us who carry His name.

It's time for that phone call, that text, that email, that letter. It's time for that listening ear. It's time to extend a helping hand. It's time for that visit. It's time for someone to bring the healing love of Jesus into their darkness. Because when it's dark, when the lights have gone out, you need a night light. It's time for you to shine.