Psalm 53 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: YOUR “ONLY GOD” MOMENTS - October 31, 2022

There is something unique about your story. Would you be willing to share it? Become well versed in your “only God” moments – those precious events in your life that only God could have orchestrated.

There was an occasion when Jesus healed a deranged man. The fellow had made his home in a cemetery and cut himself with rocks. When Jesus delivered him from the affliction, the man wanted to go with Jesus. Christ, however, said, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you…” (Mark 5:19 NKJV).

In other words, speak up. Do you feel ill equipped to do so? That’s okay. You have God’s Spirit to help you. And God’s plan is reduced to one strategy: ordinary folks telling the extraordinary story of Jesus with the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 53

 Bilious and bloated, they gas,

    “God is gone.”

It’s poison gas—

    they foul themselves, they poison

Rivers and skies;

    thistles are their cash crop.

God sticks his head out of heaven.

    He looks around.

He’s looking for someone not stupid—

    one man, even, God-expectant,

    just one God-ready woman.

3 He comes up empty. A string

    of zeros. Useless, unshepherded

Sheep, taking turns pretending

    to be Shepherd.

The ninety and nine

    follow the one.

4 Don’t they know anything,

    all these predators?

Don’t they know

    they can’t get away with this,

Treating people like a fast-food meal

    over which they’re too busy to pray?

5 Night is coming for them, and nightmare—

    a nightmare they’ll never wake up from.

God will make hash of these squatters,

    send them packing for good.

6 Is there anyone around to save Israel?

    God turns life around.

Turned-around Jacob skips rope,

    turned-around Israel sings laughter.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 31, 2022

Today's Scripture

Matthew 5:13–16

Salt and Light

13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Insight

The New Testament uses various metaphors to describe the responsibilities of believers in Jesus. For example, Paul says that as good soldiers of Christ, we’re to endure suffering and to “please [our] commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:3–5). As athletes, we undergo strict training to compete according to the rules (1 Corinthians 9:25). In Matthew 5:13–16, Jesus used two everyday items—salt and a lamp—to illustrate the impact we can have on the society we live in. Salt is a preservative, a flavor enhancer, and a thirst stimulant. We’re to bring the salt of preservation and joy to a bland, tasteless, and otherwise decaying world. A lamp gives light that enables people to see and to give direction. The lamp must necessarily be placed in a conspicuous position for the light to be effective. We’re to be the light of salvation to a world darkened by sin.

By: K. T. Sim

Opportunities to Shine

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

In March 2020, while walking his dog in New York City’s Central Park, Whitney, a retired financial expert, saw trucks, stacks of tarps, and white tents, each bearing a cross and the name of a charity he’d never heard of before. When he discovered the group was building a field hospital for his fellow New Yorkers with COVID-19, he asked if he could help. For weeks, despite differing faiths and politics, he and his family pitched in wherever they could. Whitney stated, “Every single person I’ve met has been a genuinely nice person.” And he applauded the fact that no one was paying them to “help my city in our hour of deep, deep need.”

In response to the tremendous needs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, unlikely partners in service were brought together, and believers in Jesus were given new opportunities to share Christ’s light with others. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His followers to “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds” (Matthew 5:16). We shine Christ’s light by letting the Spirit guide us in loving, kind, and good words and actions (see Galatians 5:22–23). When we allow the light we’ve received from Jesus to shine clearly in our daily lives, we also “glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

This day and every day may we shine for Christ, as He helps us be salt and light in a world that desperately needs Him.

By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

Where do you see an opportunity to share hope and light with others today? When has someone been light to you in a difficult time?

Jesus, help me to shine Your light in all I say and do.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 31, 2022

The Trial of Faith

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…nothing will be impossible for you. —Matthew 17:20

We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith— faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. The beginning of your life of faith was very narrow and intense, centered around a small amount of experience that had as much emotion as faith in it, and it was full of light and sweetness. Then God withdrew His conscious blessings to teach you to “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7). And you are worth much more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight with your thrilling testimony.

Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. Faith being worked out into reality must experience times of unbroken isolation. Never confuse the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him— a faith that says, “I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do.” The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is— “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.  My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 22-23; Titus 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 31, 2022

COMING BACK FROM CRASHING - #9341

You've probably seen pictures of an eagle, probably soaring majestically. You've actually seen some eagles? Okay. I'll bet they were soaring. It's always special when you see one. But apparently, from something I read recently, there are times that they can't even fly. and very few people have ever seen them in their bad times. According to this account, eagles do get sick, and sometimes when they're sick they're almost immobilized. They're weak, depleted, and frankly they're not much to see. When an eagle crashes like that he goes off to a place where he can be alone, often on top of a high cliff. And he lies out in the sun, face up, spread-eagled, totally collapsed. God has actually outfitted the eagle with eyes that can look at the sun without any damage, and that's what the powerless eagle does. He focuses his eyes on the sun and he lies there until his strength comes back. Yeah, the eagle crashes, but he knows how to come back to soar again!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Coming Back From Crashing."

It's not just eagles that crash...so do we. We all go through those times when we've got nothing left to give. You may be in one of those seasons right now. You're weak, you're depleted, you're exhausted, you're physically, emotionally, spiritually drained. I know the feeling. You don't have the personal resources to meet your challenges - the demands that you've got in front of you. It's in those moments that you become a candidate for resources far beyond your own. Let's call it "eagle power."

It's described in our word for today from the Word of God in the familiar words of Isaiah 40, beginning with verse 28. "The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom." Now, if the word "weak" or "weary" would describe you right now, then this next promise has your name on it. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Now, if we can grasp how it is that an eagle in crash mode renews his strength, we'll understand how we can renew ours - and then "soar on wings like eagles." Just picture that usually strong eagle, sprawled out powerlessly, eyes focused on the sun, his body and spirit soaking up its strength. He totally gives up in order to gain strength. The law of God's renewing work is pretty simple - you have to surrender to get strong.

God has not allowed you to reach the end of you so you'll give up, but so you'll give up control! It's time to finally take your fingers off that steering wheel that you've held onto so tightly and relinquish all control to Almighty God. "I give up, Lord. I can't fix it. I can't figure it out. I can't contribute anything to a solution. I'm wiped out and I'm totally releasing all of me and all of my issues to You." At that moment, God miraculously begins to replace your weakness with His unlimited strength and your confusion with His infinite wisdom. Your exhaustion for his boundless energy and your despair for his indomitable hope.

That surrender can't just be a one-time thing. Paul said we're "renewed day by day." You need to come to Him each new day, confessing your powerlessness, surrendering control, and downloading His strength and power. When you keep your eyes on the son of God...when you totally surrender to Him, you'll become a candidate for His strength and His power. And you know what? You are ready again to "soar on eagles' wings!"

John 12:27-50 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Simple, Powerful Prayers

James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

And here's this simple "pocket prayer" for you today:

Dear Father.  Teach me to accept what you've given. I may not always understand circumstances, but show me how they are blessings and give me gratitude for all your gifts.

Rain your blessings on my friends and family today. Give them hope whatever they face. Thank you that Your blessings never end. In Jesus' name, amen.

Here's an invitation for you today-one to encourage your daily conversations with God. Go to BeforeAmen.com and take the brief Prayer Strengths Assessment. It'll give you a building block for your growth in prayer!

Before Amen

John 12:27-50

 “Right now I am shaken. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’”

A voice came out of the sky: “I have glorified it, and I’ll glorify it again.”

29 The listening crowd said, “Thunder!”

Others said, “An angel spoke to him!”

30-33 Jesus said, “The voice didn’t come for me but for you. At this moment the world is in crisis. Now Satan, the ruler of this world, will be thrown out. And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me.” He put it this way to show how he was going to be put to death.

34 Voices from the crowd answered, “We heard from God’s Law that the Messiah lasts forever. How can it be necessary, as you put it, that the Son of Man ‘be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35-36 Jesus said, “For a brief time still, the light is among you. Walk by the light you have so darkness doesn’t destroy you. If you walk in darkness, you don’t know where you’re going. As you have the light, believe in the light. Then the light will be within you, and shining through your lives. You’ll be children of light.”

Their Eyes Are Blinded

36-40 Jesus said all this, and then went into hiding. All these God-signs he had given them and they still didn’t get it, still wouldn’t trust him. This proved that the prophet Isaiah was right:

God, who believed what we preached?

Who recognized God’s arm, outstretched and ready to act?

First they wouldn’t believe, then they couldn’t—again, just as Isaiah said:

Their eyes are blinded,

    their hearts are hardened,

So that they wouldn’t see with their eyes

    and perceive with their hearts,

And turn to me, God,

    so I could heal them.

41 Isaiah said these things after he got a glimpse of God’s overflowing glory that would pour through the Messiah.

42-43 On the other hand, a considerable number from the ranks of the leaders did believe. But because of the Pharisees, they didn’t come out in the open with it. They were afraid of getting kicked out of the meeting place. When push came to shove they cared more for human approval than for God’s glory.

44-46 Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, “Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won’t have to stay any longer in the dark.

47-50 “If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn’t take it seriously, I don’t reject him. I didn’t come to reject the world; I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I’m saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word. I’m not making any of this up on my own. The Father who sent me gave me orders, told me what to say and how to say it. And I know exactly what his command produces: real and eternal life. That’s all I have to say. What the Father told me, I tell you.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Today's Scripture

Lamentations 3:22–26

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,

    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.

They’re created new every morning.

    How great your faithfulness!

I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).

    He’s all I’ve got left.

25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,

    to the woman who diligently seeks.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope,

    quietly hope for help from God.

It’s a good thing when you’re young

    to stick it out through the hard times.

Insight

The book of Lamentations (unique in biblical literature) is a collection of funeral songs or dirges (laments). The first four of the five chapters are arranged acrostically using the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3, which includes sixty-six verses, is arranged acrostically in sequences of three verses each beginning with the same alphabet letter. The book’s tone is heavy. God’s judgment had come on Jerusalem (1:1) and the nation (v. 3). Though the literary tour of the city is heart-wrenching, verses 22–25 of chapter 3 are heart-warming and hope-inspiring. Similar encouragement is expressed in verses 31–32: “For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.” By: Arthur Jackson

Hope in God

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:24

As the holiday season approached, package shipments were delayed due to an unprecedented influx of online orders. I can remember a time when my family preferred to simply go to the store and purchase items because we knew we had very little control over the speed of mail delivery. However, when my mother signed up for an account that included expedited shipping, this expectation changed. Now with a two-day guaranteed delivery, we’re accustomed to receiving things quickly, and we become frustrated by delays.  

We live in a world accustomed to instant gratification, and waiting can be difficult. But in the spiritual realm, patience is still rewarded. When the book of Lamentations was written, the Israelites were mourning the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army, and they faced a series of challenges. However, in the midst of chaos, the writer boldly affirmed that because he was confident that God would meet his needs, he would wait on Him (Lamentations 3:24). God knows we’re inclined to become anxious when answers to our prayers are delayed. Scripture encourages us by reminding us to wait on God. We don’t have to be consumed or worried because “his compassions never fail” (v. 22). Instead, with God’s help we can “be still . . . and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). May we wait on God, trusting in His love and faithfulness even as we wrestle with longings and unanswered prayers.

By:  Kimya Loder

Reflect & Pray

How have you been waiting for God? How might you trust His timing?

Heavenly Father, sometimes it can be difficult to wait on You. Please give me the strength to continue hoping in You.  

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Faith

Without faith it is impossible to please Him… —Hebrews 11:6

Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common sense falls short. Yet faith must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life. “We know that all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28) so that no matter what happens, the transforming power of God’s providence transforms perfect faith into reality. Faith always works in a personal way, because the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.

For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first. The life of faith says, “Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I’m going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word” (for example, see Matthew 6:33). Turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight, not just sometimes. God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can’t have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him.  Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 20-21; 2 Timothy 4

Psalm 41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: Pray About Everything

The moment you sense a problem, however large or small, take it to Christ.

“Max, if I take my problems to Jesus every time I have one, I’m going to be talking to Jesus all day long.”

Now you’re getting the point! An un-prayed for problem is an embedded thorn. It festers and infects the finger, then the hand, then the entire arm. Best to go straight to the person who has the tweezers. We can only wonder how many disasters would be averted if we would go first to Jesus?

Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.”

Sign on at BeforeAmen.com and every day for 4 weeks, pray 4 minutes—simple, powerful prayers.  It’ll change your prayer life forever!

Before Amen

Psalm 41 

1-3 Dignify those who are down on their luck;

    you’ll feel good—that’s what God does.

God looks after us all,

    makes us robust with life—

Lucky to be in the land,

    we’re free from enemy worries.

Whenever we’re sick and in bed,

    God becomes our nurse,

    nurses us back to health.

4-7 I said, “God, be gracious!

    Put me together again—

    my sins have torn me to pieces.”

My enemies are wishing the worst for me;

    they make bets on what day I will die.

If someone comes to see me,

    he mouths empty platitudes,

All the while gathering gossip about me

    to entertain the street-corner crowd.

These “friends” who hate me

    whisper slanders all over town.

They form committees

    to plan misery for me.

8-9 The rumor goes out, “He’s got some dirty,

    deadly disease. The doctors

    have given up on him.”

Even my best friend, the one I always told everything

    —he ate meals at my house all the time!—

    has bitten my hand.

10 God, give grace, get me up on my feet.

    I’ll show them a thing or two.

11-12 Meanwhile, I’m sure you’re on my side—

    no victory shouts yet from the enemy camp!

You know me inside and out, you hold me together,

    you never fail to stand me tall in your presence

    so I can look you in the eye.

13 Blessed is God, Israel’s God,

    always, always, always.

    Yes. Yes. Yes.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Today's Scripture

Jeremiah 20:7–13

You pushed me into this, God, and I let you do it.

    You were too much for me.

And now I’m a public joke.

    They all poke fun at me.

Every time I open my mouth

    I’m shouting, “Murder!” or “Rape!”

And all I get for my God-warnings

    are insults and contempt.

But if I say, “Forget it!

    No more God-Messages from me!”

The words are fire in my belly,

    a burning in my bones.

I’m worn out trying to hold it in.

    I can’t do it any longer!

Then I hear whispering behind my back:

    “There goes old ‘Danger-Everywhere.’ Shut him up! Report him!”

Old friends watch, hoping I’ll fall flat on my face:

    “One misstep and we’ll have him. We’ll get rid of him for good!”

11 But God, a most fierce warrior, is at my side.

    Those who are after me will be sent sprawling—

Slapstick buffoons falling all over themselves,

    a spectacle of humiliation no one will ever forget.

12 Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, no one fools you.

    You see through everyone, everything.

I want to see you pay them back for what they’ve done.

    I rest my case with you.

13 Sing to God! All praise to God!

    He saves the weak from the grip of the wicked.

Insight

In Jeremiah 20, we see the raw humanity of this great prophet. God had called Jeremiah by saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). Now the prophet cursed the day he was born (20:14), and wishes he’d never come out of the womb (v. 18). He felt betrayed by God, who’d promised, “I am with you and will rescue you” (1:8). God had also told him, “I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (v. 10). But in this dark moment, Jeremiah didn’t sense that power, nor could he see His rescue. Despite his personal anguish, he remained faithful and carried out the difficult mission God had given him. By: Tim Gustafson

When Weakness Is Strength

Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?

Jeremiah 20:18

Drew had been imprisoned for two years because he served Jesus. He’d read stories of missionaries who felt constant joy throughout their incarceration, but he confessed this was not his experience. He told his wife that God had picked the wrong man to suffer for Him. She replied, “No. I think maybe He picked the right man. This was not an accident.”

Drew could likely relate to the prophet Jeremiah, who had faithfully served God by warning Judah that God would punish them for their sins. But God’s judgment hadn’t fallen yet, and Judah’s leaders beat Jeremiah and put him in stocks. Jeremiah blamed God: “You deceived me, Lord” (Jeremiah 20:7). The prophet believed God had failed to deliver. His word had only “brought [him] insult and reproach all day long” (v. 8). “Cursed be the day I was born!” Jeremiah said. “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (vv. 14, 18).

Eventually Drew was released, but through his ordeal he began to understand that perhaps God chose him—much like He chose Jeremiah—because he was weak. If he and Jeremiah had been naturally strong, they might have received some of the praise for their success. But if they were naturally weak, all the glory for their perseverance would go to God (1 Corinthians 1:26–31). His frailty made him the perfect person for Jesus to use. By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

Where do you feel particularly weak? How might you turn your weakness into a significant spiritual advantage?

Jesus, Your power is made visible in my weakness. I confess my failings so I can boast in You!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Substitution

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. —2 Corinthians 5:21

The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made…to be sin….” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9, where Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” was spoken to His disciples.

That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15)— not, “He died my death”— and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold— “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see Galatians 4:19).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus.  Facing Reality, 34 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 18-19; 2 Timothy 3

Psalm 40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: UNCOMMON FORCES - October 28, 2022

“‘Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say…For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you'” (Matthew 10:19-20 ESV). Best I can tell, this promise of Jesus has not been rescinded.

On the day Brenda Jones went to see the plastic surgeon, she was in a battle with breast cancer. She asked if she could share a story, and Dr. Pete politely said yes. He listened to the story about the God who became a baby, then a man, and then a sacrifice for humanity. “He died for you, Doctor Pete,” she told him. The fifteen-minute conversation changed Dr. Pete forever.

The promise of Pentecost: the Spirit turns common folk into uncommon forces and turns those who are lost into those who are saved. Might the Spirit do the same with us?  With you?

Psalm 40

 I waited and waited and waited for God.

    At last he looked; finally he listened.

He lifted me out of the ditch,

    pulled me from deep mud.

He stood me up on a solid rock

    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.

He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,

    a praise-song to our God.

More and more people are seeing this:

    they enter the mystery,

    abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,

    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”

    ignore what the world worships;

The world’s a huge stockpile

    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.

Nothing and no one

    compares to you!

I start talking about you, telling what I know,

    and quickly run out of words.

Neither numbers nor words

    account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—

    that’s not what you’re after.

Being religious, acting pious—

    that’s not what you’re asking for.

You’ve opened my ears

    so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.

    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,

And I’m coming to the party

    you’re throwing for me.”

That’s when God’s Word entered my life,

    became part of my very being.

9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,

    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.

I didn’t keep the news of your ways

    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.

I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.

    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth

For myself alone. I told it all,

    let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,

    don’t hold back your passion.

Your love and truth

    are all that keeps me together.

When troubles ganged up on me,

    a mob of sins past counting,

I was so swamped by guilt

    I couldn’t see my way clear.

More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,

    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;

    hurry and get me some help,

So those who are trying to kidnap my soul

    will be embarrassed and lose face,

So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable

    will be heckled and disgraced,

So those who pray for my ruin

    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—

    oh, let them sing and be happy.

Let those who know what you’re all about

    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.

And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:

    make something of me.

You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—

    but God, don’t put it off.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, October 28, 2022

Today's Scripture

Titus 2:1–10

A God-Filled Life

Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives.

7-8 But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, trustworthy in your teaching, your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around.

9-10 Guide slaves into being loyal workers, a bonus to their masters—no back talk, no petty thievery. Then their good character will shine through their actions, adding luster to the teaching of our Savior God.

Insight

Titus, one of Paul’s gentile converts (Galatians 2:3; Titus 1:4), was Paul’s faithful “partner and co-worker” (2 Corinthians 8:23). Paul sent Titus as his personal representative to deal with the troublesome Corinthian church, which testifies to his character and maturity as well as to his leadership and pastoral abilities (7:6–7, 13–14; 8:6, 16–17; 12:18).

Wherever Paul established a church, he appointed elders to take care of it (Acts 14:23). Scholars aren’t sure who started the church in Crete, but when Paul found that no elders had been appointed to shepherd the young converts, he sent Titus to organize and supervise the church (Titus 1:5). Paul wrote this letter to guide Titus through the supervisory process, instructing him to teach the believers how to live lives that honor God. He emphasized godly leadership (ch. 1), gracious behavior and good deeds within the church family (ch. 2), and instructions for living within society at large (ch. 3).

Learn more about living in union with Christ. By: K. T. Sim

For the Sake of the Gospel

In every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

Titus 2:10

The year was 1916 and Nelson had just graduated from medical school in his native Virginia. Later that year, he and his bride of six months arrived in China. At the age of twenty-two, he became a surgeon at Love and Mercy Hospital, the only hospital in an area of at least two million Chinese residents. Nelson, together with his family, lived in the area for twenty-four more years, running the hospital, performing surgeries, and sharing the gospel with thousands of people. From once being called “foreign devil” by those who distrusted foreigners, Nelson Bell later became known as “The Bell Who Is Lover of the Chinese People.” His daughter Ruth was to later marry the evangelist Billy Graham.

Although Nelson was a brilliant surgeon and Bible teacher, it wasn’t his skills that drew many to Jesus; it was his character and the way he lived out the gospel. In Paul’s letter to Titus, the young gentile leader who was taking care of the church in Crete, the apostle said that living like Christ is crucial because it can make the gospel “attractive” (Titus 2:10). Yet we don’t do this on our own strength. God’s grace helps us live “self-controlled, upright and godly lives” (v. 12), reflecting the truths of our faith (v. 1).

Many people around us still don’t know the good news of Christ, but they know us. May He help us reflect and reveal His message in attractive ways.

By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

What can you learn from people whose life seems to draw others to the gospel? What things can you do (or stop doing) to make the gospel attractive to others?

Loving God, help me to be a good representative of the gospel. Help me to draw others to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, October 28, 2022

Justification by Faith

If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. —Romans 5:10

I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.

The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion.  The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 15-17; 2 Timothy 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, October 28, 2022

SOMEBODY BIGGER - #9340

When I was growing up, we had a bully in our neighborhood. Maybe every neighborhood has a bully. I don't know. Ours was named Boomer! Nobody knew what his real name was, and if we did we probably would know why he was called Boomer. It kind of sounds like a neighborhood bully doesn't it? He intimidated us little kids, I mean. I think it was his hobby, and honestly we were pretty scared of him. He'd come and take our baseball paraphernalia and call us names and threaten to beat us up.

One day, like a lot of other days, he started after me and started to threaten and make noises like he wanted to hurt me. And all of a sudden there was a voice behind him saying, "Boomer, go home" and he did. It wasn't me. No, my Dad had arrived on the scene. And you know what? He was bigger than Boomer, even though Boomer was bigger than I was. Now, Boomer was the same bully, and I was the same shrimp, but the difference was somebody bigger was with me.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Somebody Bigger."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 1:23. And if this sounds like a part of the Christmas Story, it is. But the Christmas Story isn't just for Christmas. This is all about when God came to earth, which is the beginning of the greatest news of all time. The angel is talking to Joseph and says, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means 'God with us'."

Whoa! Hold that thought for just a minute. There was a survey a few years ago that mapped the position of hundreds of millions of galaxies. The survey revealed the large scale structure of this universe and it uncovered this giant string of galaxies that they now call the The Sloan Great Wall. They say it's 1.4 billion light years across, which makes it the largest structure in the universe. I can't even begin to comprehend it! Why don't we just laugh? There's no point in trying to understand this. I mean, it's huge!

The astronomers said it has raised such profound questions about the origin and the structure of the universe that we actually need a major national observatory just to study it. They say and I quote, "The size of the structure indicates that in present theories of the universe, something is really wrong. That makes a big difference." The astronomer said. "No known force could produce a structure this big in the time since the universe was formed." And I just want to say, "Oh yeah?"

Well, it is that God who is with us because Jesus came. The Creator of something that's 1.4 billion light years across (and that's just a few of the galaxies) - where is He now? Well, He came into this world and looked helpless as a little baby. He wasn't even able to grab His mama's finger, but those are the hands that created the world. He created the tree He died on. And now, that God is with you right where you are. He's there with all the power that made galaxies that big, and that power is available for your life.

There's no excuse for an ordinary life if God is with you. There's no excuse for having small goals, for being embarrassed about your relationship with Him. That God is with you now. There's no excuse for being afraid of anything that God is calling you to do, because that God will be with you.

Maybe you've felt like a victim most of your life, but that's changed now because God is with you. You're alone, you're worried about the future, or you're facing Mission Impossible. God with us! The excitement of life is in looking for that God where He is in your everyday life today. And, by the way, if you've never begun a personal relationship made possible with Him by the death of His Son, Jesus, on the cross for you, why would you wait another day to get started? Would you come to our website and let me show you how to begin that relationship? Just go to ANewStory.com.

The angel said on that Christmas announcement, "This is good news to all people - God is with us." It doesn't matter how big the bully is. He's nothing! Because somebody bigger is with you, so let Him intimidate your bully."

Psalm 40 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: THE DAY OF PENTECOST - October 27, 2022

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1 NIV).

Pentecost was one of the three feast days on which all the Jewish men were required to appear in Jerusalem at least once in their lifetime. The divine timing was precise. Now, with the apostles gathered in one place, awaiting the power of the Spirit. Now, with representatives of least fifteen nations gathered in one city…it was time.

The Spirit came suddenly and from heaven. Because of the Holy Spirit, each prayerful follower could speak with such power that people from all over the world heard the story of Jesus in “their own language” (Acts 2:6 NIV). Compelling communication was the first fruit of the Holy Spirit. He empowered and empowers Christ followers to declare the wonders of God in the heart languages of the world.

Psalm 40

I waited and waited and waited for God.

    At last he looked; finally he listened.

He lifted me out of the ditch,

    pulled me from deep mud.

He stood me up on a solid rock

    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.

He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,

    a praise-song to our God.

More and more people are seeing this:

    they enter the mystery,

    abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,

    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”

    ignore what the world worships;

The world’s a huge stockpile

    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.

Nothing and no one

    compares to you!

I start talking about you, telling what I know,

    and quickly run out of words.

Neither numbers nor words

    account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—

    that’s not what you’re after.

Being religious, acting pious—

    that’s not what you’re asking for.

You’ve opened my ears

    so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.

    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,

And I’m coming to the party

    you’re throwing for me.”

That’s when God’s Word entered my life,

    became part of my very being.

9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,

    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.

I didn’t keep the news of your ways

    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.

I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.

    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth

For myself alone. I told it all,

    let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,

    don’t hold back your passion.

Your love and truth

    are all that keeps me together.

When troubles ganged up on me,

    a mob of sins past counting,

I was so swamped by guilt

    I couldn’t see my way clear.

More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,

    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;

    hurry and get me some help,

So those who are trying to kidnap my soul

    will be embarrassed and lose face,

So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable

    will be heckled and disgraced,

So those who pray for my ruin

    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—

    oh, let them sing and be happy.

Let those who know what you’re all about

    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.

And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:

    make something of me.

You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—

    but God, don’t put it off.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Today's Scripture

1 Timothy 5:1–2

The Family of Faith

Don’t be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.

Insight

Along with 2 Timothy and Titus, 1 Timothy is one of three “pastoral epistles” written by Paul. As such, they were written directly to two pastors, Timothy and Titus, who were charged with caring for local churches. Paul was especially concerned with strengthening the faith of new believers while also countering false teaching. As Paul’s former traveling companion, Timothy had been mentored by him. Now Timothy had significant responsibilities as pastor in Ephesus, a city of about four hundred thousand people. Through Paul’s third missionary journey, God had established the church there (see Acts 19). Ephesus was also home to one of the seven wonders of the world—the temple to the goddess Artemis. Christianity posed a threat to this cult, and Demetrius the silversmith incited a riot against “the Way” (Acts 19:23–41). This “wonder” of the world would fade away as the Way (Christianity) flourished.

By: Tim Gustafson

Sister to Brother

Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 1 Timothy 5:1–2

When a leader asked if I’d speak with her privately, I found Karen in the retreat center counseling room red-eyed and wet-cheeked. Forty-two years old, Karen longed to be married, and a man was currently showing interest in her. But this man was her boss—and he already had a wife.

With a brother who cruelly teased her and a father devoid of affection, Karen discovered early that she was susceptible to men’s advances. A renewal of faith had given her new boundaries to live by, but her longing remained, and this glimpse of a love she couldn’t have was a torment.

After talking, Karen and I bowed our heads. And in a raw and powerful prayer, Karen confessed her temptation, declared her boss off-limits, handed her longing to God, and left the room feeling lighter.

That day, I realized the brilliance of Paul’s advice to treat each other as brothers and sisters in the faith (1 Timothy 5:1–2). How we see people determines how we interact with them, and in a world quick to objectify and sexualize, viewing the opposite sex as family helps us treat them with care and propriety. Healthy brothers and sisters don’t abuse or seduce each other.

Having only known men who demeaned, used, or ignored her, Karen needed one she could talk with sister-to-brother. The beauty of the gospel is it provides just that—giving us new siblings to help us face life’s problems.

By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

How can seeing others as your brothers and sisters help you treat them with “absolute purity” (1 Timothy 5:2)? How do you think Paul’s advice helps both sexes to flourish?

Dear Father, help me to treat others with respect and purity.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, October 27, 2022

The Method of Missions

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… —Matthew 28:19

Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go…make disciples of all the nations….” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.

The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me….Go therefore…” (Matthew 28:18-19).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible does not thrill; the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically.  Disciples Indeed, 387 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 12-14; 2 Timothy 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, October 27, 2022

TORN BETWEEN TWO MASTERS - #9339

Because I've had the wonderful opportunity to have a lot of Native American friends, and brothers and sisters, and be on many reservations with our On Eagles' Wings team, I've gotten to hear some of the very colorful ways that Native Americans express themselves. One of them I heard when we were with tribes in the Northeast. And it's really stuck with me, because it sounds like something Jesus said. They were talking about the choice historically that their people had to make between the world of the white people and the world of the Native people. And the elders would say, "No man can stand in two canoes." That's a pretty funny picture if you think about it. The guy trying to stand in two canoes as they drift apart. You know what? You had to choose your canoe.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Torn Between Two Masters."

Jesus had a lot in common with the Native people of North America, because He was a tribal man; He grew up in a village; His country had been taken over by others; He loved nature; He told stories; He was poor; He died a violent death. Now, while He didn't talk about those two canoes, He said something about following Him that sounded very much like it. It's recorded in Matthew 6:24, which is our word for today from the Word of God.

Jesus simply said, "No man can serve two masters." Or have his feet in two different canoes. You can't claim Jesus as your Lord, the decider of what you do, and have someone or something else that is your deciding factor. Like a man trying to straddle two canoes, you'll be pulled apart.

In spite of the impossibility of living for two masters, so many who say they belong to Jesus are trying to do it - maybe you. You say Jesus is your Lord, but you've got a boyfriend or girlfriend you really revolve your life around. When it comes to a choice between what Jesus wants and what you need to do for money, money wins. Or a choice between what certain friends want and what Jesus wants. The friends win.

You say Jesus is "number one," but what you watch, the websites you go to, what you see on TV? Is it something He died to deliver you from? No matter how much your music is about things that Jesus hates, you just keep hanging onto it. God's book commands you to not be "unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14), but you're in a partnership or a romance that continually forces you to choose between their values and Jesus' values. And all too often, they win. What you do with your body, what you do when you're lonely, what you do when you're tempted, what you do when your temper or your hormones are in control, "Goodbye, Jesus."

But nobody loves you like He does. Nobody else was butchered on a cross to take your hell. He died so you don't have to serve that other master. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness." When you live the opposite of what He wants, you basically say, "I don't care why You died, Jesus. I want this." You might as well just say, "I want this more than You."

Aren't you tired of being torn apart inside, trying to choose between your two masters; trying to live with your feet in two canoes? They continue to drift in opposite directions, and so do you. God has some straight talk to you, right from His Word in Joshua 24:15, "Choose...this day whom you will serve." And choose is what you're going to have to do. Choose the One who loves you most. Choose the One you'll be with forever. Choose Jesus.

Psalm 39 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: RETRAINING MULES - October 26, 2022

Let’s pray prayers like this one: God, please release living water upon and through your children. Let us be sources of life and love everywhere we go.

One of the most famous revivals happened early in the twentieth century in Wales. One hundred thousand people came to Christ in less than a year. Almost-empty bars were closed for lack of business. Magistrates saw their courts emptied of criminals. Miners even had to retrain the mules that worked in the coal mines – many of the animals had been trained to respond to vulgar commands. But when the men got cleaned up, their language did as well, and the mules had to learn a new vocabulary.

May the need arise to retrain some mules today. Let the thirsty souls come to Christ, and let the rivers of living water flow again.

Psalm 39

 I’m determined to watch steps and tongue

    so they won’t land me in trouble.

I decided to hold my tongue

    as long as Wicked is in the room.

“Mum’s the word,” I said, and kept quiet.

    But the longer I kept silence

The worse it got—

    my insides got hotter and hotter.

My thoughts boiled over;

    I spilled my guts.

4-6 “Tell me, what’s going on, God?

    How long do I have to live?

    Give me the bad news!

You’ve kept me on pretty short rations;

    my life is a string too short to be saved.

Oh! we’re all puffs of air.

    Oh! we’re all shadows in a campfire.

Oh! we’re just spit in the wind.

    We make our pile, and then we leave it.

7-11 “What am I doing in the meantime, Lord?

    Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping

You’ll save me from a rebel life,

    save me from the contempt of idiots.

I’ll say no more, I’ll shut my mouth,

    since you, Lord, are behind all this.

    But I can’t take it much longer.

When you put us through the fire

    to purge us from our sin,

    our dearest idols go up in smoke.

Are we also nothing but smoke?

12-13 “Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my

    cry—open your ears.

Don’t be callous;

    just look at these tears of mine.

I’m a stranger here. I don’t know my way—

    a migrant like my whole family.

Give me a break, cut me some slack

    before it’s too late and I’m out of here.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 55:9–11

“I don’t think the way you think.

    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”

        God’s Decree.

“For as the sky soars high above earth,

    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

    not come back empty-handed.

They’ll do the work I sent them to do,

    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

Insight

To urge God’s people to return to Him (Isaiah 55:6–7), the prophet Isaiah emphasized that God’s ways aren’t like ours (v. 8). He’s far more merciful and forgiving; “he will freely pardon” (v. 7). And Isaiah vividly described the foundational reason for returning to God: He’s completely trustworthy and can be depended upon to do good for His people.

Isaiah used the imagery of precipitation (vv. 10–11) to illustrate this idea. In the ancient Near East, where rainfall meant the difference between famine and harvest, life and death, this comparison would’ve been especially powerful. Rainfall, Isaiah says, makes the earth “bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater” (v. 10). Like rain, God’s words and actions on behalf of His people always bring good—deep joy and a flourishing life (vv. 11–13). By: Monica La Rose

Walk On

My word . . . will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

Walk On is the fascinating memoir of Ben Malcolmson, a student with virtually no football experience who became a “walk on”—a non-recruited player—for the 2007 University of Southern California Rose Bowl champion team. A college journalist, Malcolmson decided to write a first-person account of the grueling tryout process. To his disbelief, he won a coveted spot on the team.

After joining the team, Malcolmson’s faith compelled him to find God’s purpose for him in this unexpected opportunity. But his teammates’ indifference to discussions of faith left him discouraged. As he prayed for direction, Malcolmson read the powerful reminder in Isaiah where God says: “My word . . . will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Inspired by Isaiah’s words, Malcolmson anonymously gave every player on the team a Bible. Again, he was met with rejection. But years later, Malcolmson learned one player had read the Bible he’d been given—and shortly before his tragic death had demonstrated a relationship with and hunger for God, who he discovered in the pages of that Bible.

It’s likely that many of us have shared Jesus with a friend or family member, only to be met with indifference or outright rejection. But even when we don’t see results right away, God’s truth is powerful and will accomplish His purposes in His timing.

By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

How have you seen the power of Scripture at work? How has that brought blessing?

Heavenly Father, thank You that Your Word will achieve Your purposes.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

What is a Missionary?

Jesus said to them again, "…As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." —John 20:21

A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19).

When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, “What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!” But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.  Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 9-11; 1 Timothy 6

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

WHY YOU'RE GOD'S BEST REP - #9338

I couldn't help but overhear the conversation across the aisle on an airplane flight. The man was dropping profanity about every third word; he even mentioned God quite a few times. He stopped only to work on his meal. Apparently, he needed some cream for his coffee, so he demanded the flight attendant get some, in his usual colorful language.

While he was waiting, he finally let his fellow passenger do a little talking. He said, "Well, what do you do for a living?" And his neighbor said, "Oh, I'm a minister," at which point the flight attendant returned with the cream. My profane neighbor across the aisle looked up at the attendant with the most angelic expression and he said, "Oh, God bless you." Suddenly, the real guy disappeared, and the religious guy showed up.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why You're God's Best Rep."

It's a funny thing about people. They suddenly get sort of weird when they're with a preacher. It's pretty hard to have a real conversation once a person realizes you're one of those guys who makes a living being religious. If you're not a preacher, that's where you come in.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 4:39. It's about how most of an entire Samaritan village came to faith in Jesus. He had met this one Samaritan woman outside the village of Sychar, and He shared eternal life with her. And then we read, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony."

Now it's interesting that Jesus didn't reach this village by just going in and starting to preach there. Instead, He shared with one person who knew the folks in Sychar, who was one of the folks in the village. Her life was touched. She went back and told about Jesus in "Samaritanese" and that generated a lot of interest. It sparked a village revival. Which just serves to remind us that the most powerful witness for Christ is not a crusade, or a radio or TV program, or a concert. It's the testimony of one changed life.

Think about it. We see lots of commercials with professional pitch men selling a product, but we're pretty much salesman immune. But when someone you know tells you, "I love that car," or "this shampoo cured their dandruff," or "that pill relieved my pain." That gets through! The same is true in reaching people for Jesus.

Many lost people are honestly immune to what they perceive as professional spiritual salesmen. Meanwhile, many believers, everyday believers, are thinking, "If only I can get this lost person I know to my church to hear my pastor, or watch this Christian show, or come to this outreach event, or hear this Christian celebrity."

But there's something much more powerful than that. That's seeing your changed life and hearing you attribute that difference to Christ. You're from their village! You walk in their world. They know you. You're closer to them than the preacher's ever going to be.

You might say, "Yeah, but someone trained, more gifted can explain it better." Well, sure, the doctor or the pharmacist can explain better how a medicine works than my friend can. But you know what? I'll ask for that medicine maybe just because a friend told me it helped them. That was the power of the blind man's testimony in Jesus' day, "Once I was blind, but now I can see." (Why don't you fill in the blank here?) "I used to be ______, but now I'm _______ because of Jesus." It might be the kind of husband you are or the kind of wife you are, the kind of father or mother, the kind of friend, the kind of single person you are, how you are in your lonely times, or your stressful times, when there's bad news from the doctor, at the funeral home.

Don't depend on that person you care about being reached by some professional. It's up to you. You live where they live. You feel what they feel. Jesus is sending you to them, not because you can present it best, but because you're part of their life! You are in a better position to share Christ with them than the best "professional salesman" there is, because you are Jesus' satisfied customer!

John 12:1-26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: LIVE WATER - October 25, 2022

I did not grow up on a ranch, but I was raised in the land of ranches. I learned that there are two ways to increase the value of ranchland: strike oil or discover water. If a ranch has a river or creek running through it or drillable water within it, it will be advertised as a ranch with “live water.” The presence of water changes dry ranchland into useful property.

The presence of Spirit-filled Christ followers does the same to society. The Holy Spirit flows out of us into the dry places of the world. This is how revival happens. There are 2.3 billion Christians in the world. Suppose each one, each day responded to the prompting of the Spirit to bless someone else. Might revival happen in our day?

John 12:1-26

Anointing His Feet

Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.

4-6 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.

7-8 Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.”

9-11 Word got out among the Jews that he was back in town. The people came to take a look, not only at Jesus but also at Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead. So the high priests plotted to kill Lazarus because so many of the Jews were going over and believing in Jesus on account of him.

See How Your King Comes

12-15 The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!

Yes! The King of Israel!

Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:

No fear, Daughter Zion:

    See how your king comes,

    riding a donkey’s colt.

16 The disciples didn’t notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

17-19 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: “It’s out of control. The world’s in a stampede after him.”

A Grain of Wheat Must Die

20-21 There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: “Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?”

22-23 Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip together told Jesus. Jesus answered, “Time’s up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

26 “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Today's Scripture

Matthew 2:1–2, 7–12

Scholars from the East

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”

Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”

9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!

11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.

12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.

Insight

In the New Testament, dreams are found only in Matthew. The first five revolve around the divine care and protection of baby Jesus (chs. 1–2). The other was given to Pilate’s wife (27:19).

During the time of the biblical patriarchs, however, God often spoke through dreams. In the first recorded dream, God appeared to King Abimelek. After Abraham lied to the king, Abimelek took Sarah into his harem (Genesis 20:1–7), but God intervened and prevented the king from touching her and endangering His covenant with Abraham. God used dreams in the Old Testament to protect His servants (above), to reveal Himself in a special way (28:12), to provide guidance (31:10–13), to forewarn about future events (37:5–20), and to predict the history of nations (chs. 40–41). Others who had dreams (or visions) included Daniel (see Daniel 2, 7–12) and Solomon (1 Kings 3).

By: Alyson Kieda

Trusting God’s Foresight

They returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:12

While driving us to an unfamiliar location, my husband noticed that the GPS directions suddenly seemed wrong. After entering a reliable four-lane highway, we were advised to exit and travel along a one-lane “frontage” road running parallel to us. “I’ll just trust it,” Dan said, despite seeing no delays. After about ten miles, however, the traffic on the highway next to us slowed to a near standstill. The trouble? Major construction. And the frontage road? With little traffic, it provided a clear path to our destination. “I couldn’t see ahead,” Dan said, “but the GPS could.” Or, as we agreed, “just like God can.”

Knowing what was ahead, God in a dream gave a similar change in directions to the wise men who’d come from the east to worship Jesus, “born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). King Herod, disturbed by the news of a “rival” king, lied to the magi, sending them to Bethlehem, saying: “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (v. 8). Warned in a dream “not to go back to Herod,” however, “they returned to their country by another route” (v. 12).

God will guide our steps too. As we travel life’s highways, we can trust that He sees ahead and remain confident that “he will make [our] paths straight” as we submit to His directions (Proverbs 3:6).

By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

When has God presented you with a change in your life’s direction? As you trusted Him, what was the outcome?

I can’t see the road ahead, God, as You can. Please give me discernment to know when a change in direction is coming from You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Submitting to God’s Purpose

I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. —1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— “…Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

“I chose you…” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.

Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside…to the right or the left…” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly.  Disciples Indeed, 393 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 6-8; 1 Timothy 5

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

LOOKING FOR THE NEED BEHIND YOUR CHILD'S DEED - #9337

Non-verbal communication. You don't always need words to communicate what you need to get across. Well, our 18-month-old granddaughter didn't. It might have been one of those times when Mommy was preoccupied with one of the thousand things that, you know, you have to stay on top of. The little one didn't try to make any big noise about what she needed. She just toddled from the living room where Mommy was, into the bedroom, picked up a diaper, toddled back into the living room, and laid herself down right in front of Mommy, diaper in hand, with her legs in the air, ready for a change. Get the idea, Mommy?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking for the Need Behind Your Child's Deed."

Our granddaughter had a need. She didn't know how to put it into words. So she acted it out. In a way, that doesn't change as our children grow. They often don't know how to put the need inside them into words. They may not even know what the need is, so they act it out - in their behavior. And that behavior often isn't very cute. It may drive us nuts, it may worry us to death or baffle us. There is no more important lesson for a parent to remember than this: behind your child's deed is a need. And you won't affect the deeds until you do something about the needs that drive those deeds. A wise dad was confiding his concern to me the other day about his son's use of alcohol - that's the deed. Then he said, "You know, there's some need there." He's right.

Using parenting as an example of how he treated the believers at Thessalonica, Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12. It's our word for today from the Word of God: "We dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God." Right there you've got three powerful tools in your parenting tool kit, each designed to meet the needs that are driving their deeds.

Sometimes, there's discouragement deep down inside, making them act the way that they're acting. So you respond to that need with some positive encouraging. Other times, there's pain inside from something you may not know about or realize that it has hurt them. It's time to then apply some gentle comfort. Other times there's a lack of clear direction, confusion about what's the right thing to do. That may act itself out in some crazy behavior, but the need behind it is to be urged in the right direction.

So, behind your son or daughter's actions may very well be a need that really needs some attention. They may feel like they're not worth much - so they make choices that fit that self-evaluation. But the bad choices are because of bad feelings about their worth. Or maybe your child's unduly curious about sex. Could it be because you've never given them clear and loving sexual answers? Sometimes, the need is just to feel loved. You may be showing your love by things you do for them, but their language of love may be more about your availability, or your public treatment of them, or your exclusive time you give them, or just your hugs. If that need isn't met at home, listen, they're going to go somewhere else to have it met and that can mean a disaster.

If you're going to get behind your children's deeds to their needs, you're going to have to make James 1:19 your modus operandi - "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." If you listen a lot, if you listen patiently, un-condemningly, you'll begin to hear the needs behind their deeds. Just as your Lord did. It says, "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them." (Matthew 9:36) Compassion - that literally means the capacity to feel with the other person. That's what your son needs. That's what your daughter needs.

Yeah, the deeds need to be addressed. But it's the needs that are driving them. God has promised His wisdom upon request (James 1:5), and nobody needs that wisdom more than moms and dads. So, several times a day as you look at your children, ask your Heavenly Father, "Help me see what You see when you look at them." Then you'll know how to give them what they need most.

Psalm 38 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37 NASB).

Jesus spoke these words on an October day in a crowded Jerusalem. People had packed the streets for the Feast of Tabernacles, an annual reenactment of the rock-giving-water miracle of Moses. “If anyone is thirsty.” Skin color does not matter. Income level is of no importance. There is only one qualification. “If anyone is thirsty.” All that is needed is an admission of thirst.

Who fails to meet this criterion? We are thirsty—thirsty to be happy, thirsty to have meaning, thirsty for answers and strength. Thirsty. Jesus was speaking in the midst of an extremely religious moment. Even so he invited, “Come to me!” Spiritual thirst is quenched only by Christ himself.

Psalm 38

Take a deep breath, God; calm down—

    don’t be so hasty with your punishing rod.

Your sharp-pointed arrows of rebuke draw blood;

    my backside stings from your discipline.

3-4 I’ve lost twenty pounds in two months

    because of your accusation.

My bones are brittle as dry sticks

    because of my sin.

I’m swamped by my bad behavior,

    collapsed under an avalanche of guilt.

5-8 The cuts in my flesh stink and grow maggots

    because I’ve lived so badly.

And now I’m flat on my face

    feeling sorry for myself morning to night.

All my insides are on fire,

    my body is a wreck.

I’m on my last legs; I’ve had it—

    my life is a vomit of groans.

9-16 Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight,

    my groans an old story to you.

My heart’s about to break;

    I’m a burned-out case.

Cataracts blind me to God and good;

    old friends avoid me like the plague.

My cousins never visit,

    my neighbors stab me in the back.

My competitors blacken my name,

    devoutly they pray for my ruin.

But I’m deaf and mute to it all,

    ears shut, mouth shut.

I don’t hear a word they say,

    don’t speak a word in response.

What I do, God, is wait for you,

    wait for my Lord, my God—you will answer!

I wait and pray so they won’t laugh me off,

    won’t smugly strut off when I stumble.

17-20 I’m on the edge of losing it—

    the pain in my gut keeps burning.

I’m ready to tell my story of failure,

    I’m no longer smug in my sin.

My enemies are alive and in action,

    a lynch mob after my neck.

I give out good and get back evil

    from God-haters who can’t stand a God-lover.

21-22 Don’t dump me, God;

    my God, don’t stand me up.

Hurry and help me;

    I want some wide-open space in my life!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 24, 2022

Today's Scripture

1 Samuel 17:32 , 40–50

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

Insight

Goliath considered it an insult to have David fight him because David was “little more than a boy” (1 Samuel 17:42). The Hebrew word translated “boy” means “a boy, from the age of infancy to adolescence.” It also has the connotation of status, one who was a lowly servant. Goliath was a highly respected warrior. King Saul highlighted this disparity when he told David, “You’re only a boy, and [Goliath has] been a man of war since his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33 nlt). Scholars estimate David would have been about fourteen or fifteen years old. By: K. T. Sim

Fleeing from Turkeys

David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

1 Samuel 17:48

Two wild turkeys stood in the country lane ahead. How close could I get? I wondered. I slowed my jog to a walk, then stopped. It worked. The turkeys walked toward me . . . and kept coming. In seconds, their heads were bobbing at my waist, then behind me. How sharp were those beaks? I ran away. They waddled after me before giving up the chase. 

How quickly the tables had turned! The hunted had become the hunter when the turkeys seized the initiative. Foolishly, I had wondered if they were too dumb to be scared. I wasn’t about to be carelessly wounded by a bird, so I fled. From turkeys.

David didn’t seem dangerous, so Goliath taunted him to come near. “ ‘Come here,’ he said, ‘and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!’ ” (1 Samuel 17:44). David flipped the script when he seized the initiative. He ran toward Goliath, not because he was foolish but because he had confidence in God. He shouted, “This very day . . . the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (v. 46). Goliath was puzzled by this aggressive boy. What’s going on? he must have thought. Then it hit him. Right between the eyes.

It’s natural for small animals to run from people and shepherds to avoid giants. It’s natural for us to hide from our problems. Why settle for natural? Is there a God in Israel? Then, in His power, run toward the fight. By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What problem or person are you avoiding? How might you express confidence in God?

Father, whenever I’m afraid, remind me that Your Spirit is in me. Help me run in Your strength.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 24, 2022

The Proper Perspective

Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ… —2 Corinthians 2:14

The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.

The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him…” (Romans 8:37).

“We are to God the fragrance of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 3-5; 1 Timothy 4

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 24, 2022

Thinking About When You're Gone - #9336

THINKING ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE GONE - #9336

Some years ago I saw that movie "Twister." It was hair-raising! Even for a guy with not much hair to raise. But I kept telling myself, "It's just a story. It's just special effects."

Well, some time ago, what happened to the Weather Channel's Mike Bettes while chasing the storm in El Reno, Oklahoma, it was not some computer-generated fantasy. No! The tornado they were chasing took an unexpected turn. It picked up their vehicle and threw it like 200 yards.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Thinking About When You're Gone."

The vehicle was flattened. Thankfully, Mike and his crew weren't; some scratches, a couple of broken bones - but amazingly alive. And now they were thinking about some things that are pretty easy to forget, which doesn't surprise me. I know the times that I've been hit hard and thrown around. They've been my wake-up calls: The medical crisis, the betrayal, the accident, the funeral. And in those terrifying moments inside a tornado - airborne - Mike Bettes said, "My life flashed before me; the faces of people."

When we're thinking clearly - like when we could lose it all - we know what our life really is. It's the people. Unfortunately, they often get crowded out while we're consumed with our projects, our possessions, our pleasure, chasing our goal; forgetting the people.

I was especially touched by one thing that storm-tossed storm chaser said about his near-death experience. He said, "I just saw my wife's face." Isn't that the face that we should always see in all our big choices? The people we love? Unobscured by all the other people that we need to help or want or want to impress. Like your husband or your wife, that's the only one you promised to love, charish, protect, listen to "till death do us part." So, he or she shouldn't have to wait in line while you take time for everybody else.

After his unnerving brush with death, Mike Bettes said he's rethinking his tornado strategy. He said they got too close to the danger. That's been tragically underscored by later news that three of those who died that day were storm chasers. When a storm is shaking our world, it's time to rethink if we're pushing the limits and wandering into some danger zone. Like that "innocent" flirtation at work that can blow up a family.

The growing debt that's got us precariously balanced on the edge of a financial cliff. Or that web of deceit that one day is going to entrap the deceiver.

"Tornado" moments are times to reassess, to ask questions you'd never otherwise ask about the relationships you're neglecting, about the risks you're taking, the priorities you're living by, the future you're facing. One storm-chasing survivor said, "It makes you think about your mortality." That's a good thing to think about. The things that will matter after you're gone should matter while you're here. So you live for things that will outlast you.

Our word for today from the Word of God is in James 4:14. It says, "your life...is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." Which tells me I should be looking past my short little journey here to what's beyond my last heartbeat - eternity, which we need to be ready for; which we're not. God's told us what's on the other side. The Bible says, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). For everything we've ever done that was wrong in God's eyes. Which leaves me no hope of heaven, except one. If I know that somehow I won't face God's judgment. And, thank God, I know my sin has been erased by a sinless God because His Son, Jesus, took my judgment when He died on the cross. In the Bible's words, "We have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ" (Romans 5:9 - NLT).

My life here is a mist, but not my life after that. The Bible says, "There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1 - NLT). You know what? I do. There is no greater peace than knowing you are ready for eternity whenever it comes.

Don't you want to be sure about heaven? Don't you want to be ready for eternity and know you are? I invite you to join me, then, at ANewStory.com (our website). Find out how to be sure you belong to Jesus, and how to be sure of your eternal destination.