Luke 22:47-71 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Is Not Finished with You - July 20, 2022

“I am not a great man! How can I go to the king and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11 NCV).

Moses asked that question at age eighty, and I am so glad he did. Why eighty-year-old Moses? The Moses we saw in Egypt was brash and confident, but the Moses we find four decades later is reluctant and weather beaten. Benched at forty, suited up at eighty. What does he know now that he didn’t know then?

Well the ways of the desert, for one. Family dynamics for another. But more than the ways of the desert and the people, Moses needed to learn something about himself. Apparently, he las learned it. God says Moses is ready. And guess what? The voice from the bush is the voice that whispers to you. And it reminds you that God is not finished with you yet.

Luke 22:47-71

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a crowd showed up, Judas, the one from the Twelve, in the lead. He came right up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said, “Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

49-50 When those with him saw what was happening, they said, “Master, shall we fight?” One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.

51 Jesus said, “Let them be. Even in this.” Then, touching the servant’s ear, he healed him.

52-53 Jesus spoke to those who had come—high priests, Temple police, religion leaders: “What is this, jumping me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I’ve been with you in the Temple and you’ve not so much as lifted a hand against me. But do it your way—it’s a dark night, a dark hour.”
A Rooster Crowed

54-56 Arresting Jesus, they marched him off and took him into the house of the Chief Priest. Peter followed, but at a safe distance. In the middle of the courtyard some people had started a fire and were sitting around it, trying to keep warm. One of the serving maids sitting at the fire noticed him, then took a second look and said, “This man was with him!”

57 He denied it, “Woman, I don’t even know him.”

58 A short time later, someone else noticed him and said, “You’re one of them.”

But Peter denied it: “Man, I am not.”

59 About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: “He’s got to have been with him! He’s got ‘Galilean’ written all over him.”

60-62 Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. Just then, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.
Slapping Him Around

63-65 The men in charge of Jesus began poking fun at him, slapping him around. They put a blindfold on him and taunted, “Who hit you that time?” They were having a grand time with him.

66-67 When it was morning, the religious leaders of the people and the high priests and scholars all got together and brought him before their High Council. They said, “Are you the Messiah?”

67-69 He answered, “If I said yes, you wouldn’t believe me. If I asked what you meant by your question, you wouldn’t answer me. So here’s what I have to say: From here on the Son of Man takes his place at God’s right hand, the place of power.”

70 They all said, “So you admit your claim to be the Son of God?”

“You’re the ones who keep saying it,” he said.

71 But they had made up their minds, “Why do we need any more evidence? We’ve all heard him as good as say it himself.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Today's Scripture
2 Kings 22:8–12

The high priest Hilkiah reported to Shaphan the royal secretary, “I’ve just found the Book of God’s Revelation, instructing us in God’s ways. I found it in The Temple!” He gave it to Shaphan and Shaphan read it.

9     Then Shaphan the royal secretary came back to the king and gave him an account of what had gone on: “Your servants have bagged up the money that has been collected for The Temple; they have given it to the foremen to pay The Temple workers.”

10     Then Shaphan the royal secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” Shaphan proceeded to read it to the king.

11–13     When the king heard what was written in the book, God’s Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay. And then he called for Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the royal secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal aide. He ordered them all:

Insight

The reforms of Josiah, Judah’s sixteenth and last good king, are described in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. He became king at eight years of age and ruled for thirty-one years (641–609 bc). Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and father, Amon, were grossly idolatrous and evil in the fifty-seven years they reigned (2 Kings 21). At age sixteen, Josiah began to seek after God. At twenty, he began destroying all the places of idolatry. At twenty-six, he ordered the repair of the temple (2 Chronicles 34:3–8). The last time the temple was repaired was ninety-four years earlier during the reign of Hezekiah (29:3). In the process, the Book of the Law was found. Josiah’s devotion to God was exceptional: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength” (2 Kings 23:25). By: K. T. Sim

What a Find!

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

While scuba diving in 2021, Jennifer’s eyes fixed on a small, green bottle at the bottom of a river. She scooped up what she describes as “a once-in-a-lifetime find.” The bottle contained a message written by a young man on his eighteenth birthday in 1926! The words requested that whoever discovered the message return it to him. Jennifer used Facebook to locate a delighted family member of the man. Although he’d died in 1995, his once-hidden note brought joy to Jennifer and the man’s family.

In 2 Kings 22:8, we read that Hilkiah made an extraordinary find when he “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” The high priest found what was likely the book of Deuteronomy. “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,” he was both deeply moved and greatly distressed (v. 11). Like the temple in Judah itself, God and the reading of and obedience to the Scriptures He’d inspired had been neglected by the people. In repentance, the king had the temple swept clean of idols and anything that would displease God as he instituted reforms for his nation (23:1–24).

Today, our Bibles contain sixty-six books that reveal God’s wisdom and instruction—including Deuteronomy. As we read and listen to them, may the Holy Spirit transform our minds and reform our ways. Dive into the life-changing story of Scripture today and find wisdom to explore for a lifetime!

Reflect & Pray

What has God recently revealed to you as you’ve studied the Scriptures? Why is it vital for you to regularly spend time in them?

Father, please help me see the things I need to change in my life.

Learn effective Bible study methods.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Dependent on God’s Presence

Those who wait on the Lord…shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31

There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “…John…looking at Jesus as He walked…said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me…” (Genesis 17:1).

When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.

Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though…” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 26-28; Acts 22

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Getting Off Your Roller Coaster - #9268

So, when we're discussing roller coasters, and some of us were talking about which ones are the best-which means, the wildest ride, of course. Others of us were talking about avoiding roller coasters. One friend said that she just pleads what she calls "an inner ear condition." Now for me, most roller coasters are a non-issue because I stand next to that sign, you know, that shows how tall you have to be to ride it. So far I've never been tall enough. (No, that's not true. I wish I had that excuse.) Actually, some that I have ridden had these moments when I was pretty sure I had made a very big mistake getting on it in the first place. There are some really high ups and some really scary downs.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Getting Off Your Roller Coaster."

No matter how scary a roller coaster may be, no matter how radical its dips and twists and turns, there's good news-it's always attached to the track! Of course, you don't even have to enter an amusement park to know what it's like to ride a roller coaster. You know why? Most of us can testify that life is a roller coaster, right? Ups and downs and twists and turns surprise us, they rattle us, they frighten us, and even make us want to bail out.

Right now, you might be feeling the discouraging or the confusing effects of the roller coaster ride you've been on. It's a good time to remember that no matter how rough the ride, you're still attached to the track if you belong to Jesus Christ. I can give you that guarantee because God gives us that guarantee in our word for today from the Word of God. Philippians 1:6 makes this rock-solid promise: "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

What God started in you the day you began your personal relationship with Jesus, God's going to finish. No matter how wildly you're being tossed about right now. No matter how far you seem to be falling. No matter how fast everything is racing by. God began a good work in you, and His construction plan for you is right on schedule, no matter what your feelings or your circumstances; whatever they're saying to you. See, He put you on a track to His great plans for you, and you're still attached to that track because it's up to Him to keep you on track.

But when you're experiencing a lot of ups and downs, there are lies that it's easy to start believing. Like "What's the use? After what I just did, after what just happened, what's the use of even trying spiritually?" Well, the "use" is that God's going to finish what He started in you. He promised! Then there's this "It's over" lie - "I blew it and that's it." Wrong. God's going to finish what He started. Sometimes, when the ride is rough, we start to believe the "God doesn't love me anymore" lie; a lie that is demolished with one look at Jesus dying for you on the cross. If He did not turn His back on you then, He isn't about to do it now.

And, of course, the ups and downs can make us believe the lie "I'll never be able to do this." Since when has this been about you being able? You came to Jesus realizing there was nothing you could do to have a relationship with Him. This is about what He can do through you, in you. Or as God says in Philippians 2:13, "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

So it's been a rough ride. Are you going to believe your feelings, which will probably change in 20 minutes, or are you going to base everything on the facts of God's Word, which have not changed for twenty centuries? The Savior who began His work in you is going to carry it on to completion until Jesus comes. Yes, the roller coaster is going to toss you around, but so what? You are still attached to the track!