Judges 17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Always Sees You - May 26, 2022

“As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth” (John 9:1). No one else saw him. The disciples saw only a theological case study. “‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” (vs. 2). They didn’t see a human being. They saw a topic of discussion.

Jesus, by contrast, saw a man who was blind from birth, a man who’d never seen a sunrise, who couldn’t distinguish purple from pink. He dwelled in a dark world. Others had reason to hope; he had reason to despair.

But then Jesus saw him. And he sees you. The first lesson of this event is a welcome one. You and I aren’t invisible. We aren’t overlooked. Jesus spots us on the side of the road, and he makes the first move. Remember my friend, you are never alone.

Judges 17

Micah’s Idols

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels[e] of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”

Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son!”

3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.”

4 So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels[f] of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah’s house.

5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way[g] he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”

“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”

10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels[h] of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, May 26, 2022

To Laodicea

14     Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says:

15–17     “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

18     “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.

19     “The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!

20–21     “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!

22     “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

Insight

Laodicea, a rich commercial city famed for its high-quality black wool and medicinal eye ointment, was dependent for its water supply on the hot springs from Hierapolis six miles north. By the time the piped water reached Laodicea, it had become lukewarm. The stern rebuke to the Laodiceans describing them as “lukewarm” and “blind and naked” (Revelation 3:16–17) as well as Jesus’ call to repentance in verse 18 are couched in terms of these economic activities. Earlier, the apostle Paul had expressed concern for the Laodicean believers. His letter to the Colossians was also meant to be shared with them and likewise a letter sent to Laodicea was to be shared with the Colossians (Colossian 4:16). Some scholars believe this letter is the one sent to the Ephesians. By: K. T. Sim

Turn Up the Heat

Be earnest and repent.
Revelation 3:19

Temperatures where we live in Colorado can change quickly—sometimes within a few minutes. So my husband, Dan, was curious about the temperature differences in and around our home. As a fan of gadgets, he was excited to unpack his latest “toy”—a thermometer showing temperature readings from four “zones” around our house. Joking that it was a “silly” gadget, I was surprised to find myself frequently checking the temperatures too. The differences inside and out fascinated me.

Jesus used temperature to describe the “lukewarm” church in Laodicea, one of the richest of the seven cities cited in the book of Revelation. A bustling banking, clothing, and medical hub, the city was hampered by a poor water supply, so it needed an aqueduct to carry water from a hot spring. By the time the water arrived in Laodicea, however, it was neither hot nor cold.

The church was tepid too. Jesus said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15–16). As Christ explained, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (v. 19).

Our Savior’s plea remains urgent for us too. Are you spiritually neither hot nor cold? Accept His correction and ask Him to help you live an earnest, fired-up faith. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What’s the temperature of your faith? If your commitment to God is lukewarm, how will you pray to seek more loving heat and zeal?

If my commitment to You cools down, Father, send the loving heat of Your Holy Spirit to awaken and warm up my faith.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught

Pray without ceasing… —1 Thessalonians 5:17

Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing…”— maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, “…everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But…, but….” God answers prayer in the best way— not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer?

The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us.

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: 1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Satisfying Your Thirsty Soul - #9229

It's a miracle my wife made it through college. No, not because of her grades. You say, "Yeah, well probably because she was dating you." No, that's not the reason either - because of finances. Halfway through, her parent's financial help suddenly stopped. It wasn't because they didn't want to help her through college. Suddenly they just didn't have it. Her folks were running a small dairy farm at the time, a little family farm, and they needed a well desperately. So they sank most of their money into digging a well. A drought came and the well came up dry. Wells have a way of doing that.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Satisfying Your Thirsty Soul."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 4. A great story; one I love, and I'm going to begin reading in verse 13. You'll recognize this as an account of Jesus' trip through Samaria where He met a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water from the well. She had a pretty sordid background; she'd been pretty busy with the men in town, and she has a reputation that goes with it.

Now Jesus says to her after offering her living water, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. (I can almost picture Him pointing to the well.) But whoever drinks the water that I give will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

"The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to come here and draw water.' He told her, 'Go call your husband and come back.' 'Well, I have no husband' she replied. Jesus said to her, 'You're right when you say you have no husband. The fact is you've had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.'"

This lady went to a well that day to meet her need. She'd been doing that for a long time emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. You see, emotionally, I think her well was men. She kept trying to quench her incurable heart thirst with male attention. "Maybe this relationship... maybe this will finally do it." But she always needed one more, and the one more never did it.

Jesus proposed something better. Jesus said, "I want to give you an internal life source that will allow you to finally relax, and end your search, and have peace." See, we all have wells we depend on for our emotional life. Maybe your well is people's applause. Maybe it's another career conquest, buying things that make you feel secure, or maybe it's really depending on one of your children, your position, your power, your money.

But there's a problem with wells. First of all, they dry up during droughts and they leave you adrift. Secondly, you always need another shot, you're always restless, you're never filled, you're always driving for more, always thirsty again.

The Bible uses this wonderful word to describe the result of beginning a personal relationship with Jesus. In Colossians 2:10, it says that with Jesus you're "complete in Him." Complete. Not always having to look for something to fill me up, make me feel loved, make me feel important, satisfied. The reason only Jesus can do that is, according to the Bible, we are "created by Him and for Him" but we haven't lived for Him. We've lived pretty much for ourselves. So we're chronically restless because there's this missing person in our life. The person we were made by and made for. It wasn't His choice that we be away from Him. But it was His choice to do whatever it took to bring us back. It took Him taking my hell for my sin so I could be with Him for time and eternity.

And today, He's knocking on the door of your heart, giving you this chance to finally be complete in Him. Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."And let me invite you to check out our website. I've tried to lay out there as simply as I could in non-religious language how you can be sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com. We'd be honored if you'd pay us a visit.

Jesus wants to make you secure by putting your life source inside you. The key to peace, the end of roller coaster living, is to depend on the spring of water welling up inside of you. And that's the identity Christ can give you.

So, be sure you know who you are without your wells. They go dry. They're never enough. That's the trouble with wells.