Numbers 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LET GUILT GUIDE YOU TO GOD - October 6, 2025

Guilt tells you when you’ve done something wrong; shame tells you something is wrong with you. God wants to use your guilt to guide you, so let your guilt turn you toward God. How? Paul can help us. “Godly sadness produces a changed heart and life that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets, but sorrow under the influence of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10 CEB).

The apostle contrasts two types of remorse. One is from God that leads to deliverance. One is from the system of the world that leads to death (shame). One is healthy, the other is deadly. How can we uproot our guilt and replace it with seeds of grace? The answer: confession. “If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust him to do what is right” (1 John 1:9 NCV).

Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life

Numbers 13

Scouting Out Canaan

1–2  13 God spoke to Moses: “Send men to scout out the country of Canaan that I am giving to the People of Israel. Send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tried-and-true leader in the tribe.”

3–15  So Moses sent them off from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of God. All of them were leaders in Israel, one from each tribe. These were their names:

from Reuben: Shammua son of Zaccur

from Simeon: Shaphat son of Hori

from Judah: Caleb son of Jephunneh

from Issachar: Igal son of Joseph

from Ephraim: Hoshea son of Nun

from Ben-jamin: Palti son of Raphu

from Zebulun: Gaddiel son of Sodi

from Manasseh (a Joseph tribe): Gaddi son of Susi

from Dan: Ammiel son of Gemalli

from Asher: Sethur son of Michael

from Naphtali: Nahbi son of Vophsi

from Gad: Geuel son of Maki.

16  These are the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land. Moses gave Hoshea (Salvation) son of Nun a new name—Joshua (God-Saves).

17–20  When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country. Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there—this is the season for the first ripe grapes.”

21–25  With that they were on their way. They scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath. Their route went through the Negev Desert to the town of Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of the giant Anak, lived there. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. When they arrived at the Eshcol Valley they cut off a branch with a single cluster of grapes—it took two men to carry it—slung on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and figs. They named the place Eshcol Valley (Grape-Cluster-Valley) because of the huge cluster of grapes they had cut down there. After forty days of scouting out the land, they returned home.

26–27  They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:

27–29  “We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”

30  Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”

31–33  But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 06, 2025

by Marvin Williams

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Philippians 2:1-11

He Took on the Status of a Slave

1–4  2 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

5–8  Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

9–11  Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

Today's Insights

Paul’s teaching in Philippians 2:1-11 describes the core values that believers in Jesus are to exhibit. Christ exemplified these principles by becoming a man, living as a servant, and surrendering to death by crucifixion (vv. 7-8). Jesus’ example and teaching in John 13 amplify the need for believers to serve others. Hours before His crucifixion, John describes Christ having “a towel around his waist” (v. 4). Jesus ignored His status as their leader and washed the dusty feet of all present: “After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (v. 5). His actions were complemented with these words: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (v. 14). Christ calls us to imitate His example of love and humility and serve others.

Making Room for Others

In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4

At electric vehicle charging stations across the United States, some drivers overstay their time at “fast-chargers,” which are designed to help drivers quickly charge their cars and get back on the road. To resolve this unkind behavior, one of the largest charging networks has implemented strict time limits at some of its busiest stations. When a vehicle’s battery charge reaches eighty-five percent, the driver must make room for the next car in need of a charge.

The apostle Paul encouraged believers in Jesus to humbly “value others above [themselves]” (Philippians 2:3). He addressed an issue that was grating the Philippian church—self-centeredness. The people desired recognition and distinction, not from pure motives but from “selfish ambition” (v. 3). Paul urged the believers to have the mind of Christ and to look “to the interests of the others” (v. 4). This didn’t mean that they should forget their own needs in an unhealthy way, but that they would care for others’ needs as those who “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (v. 5). The apostle encouraged the Philippians to empty themselves of pride and to humbly make room for others. The ultimate motivation for making room? Love.

As we seek to imitate Christ’s example each day (vv. 6-11), He can help us make room for others by viewing them with His loving eyes.

Reflect & Pray

How can you place others’ needs above your own? What does it mean to see others through God’s eyes?

Dear God, please help me empty myself and make room for others.

For further study, read Loving Your Neighbor through Prayer.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 06, 2025

A New Heredity

God . . . was pleased to reveal his Son in me. — Galatians 1:15–16

If Jesus Christ is going to regenerate me, what is the problem he is up against? I’ve inherited a sinful nature, a heredity I had no say in. I am not holy, nor am I likely to become holy. If all Jesus Christ can do is tell me to be holy, I’ll end in despair. But since Jesus Christ does more than tell, since he is a regenerator who can impart to me his own heredity—the heredity of holiness—I begin to see what he’s getting at when he tells me to be holy.

Redemption means that Jesus Christ can remake anyone by putting his own holy nature into them. The standards he sets for us are based on this new heredity; his teaching is directed at what he puts into me, not at what I was before I received him. The moral obligation on my part is to agree with God’s verdict on sin in the cross of Jesus Christ.

What the New Testament teaches about spiritual rebirth is that when people are struck by a sense of their need, God will begin to put the Holy Spirit into their spirit, not stopping until they have been fully remade—that is, “until Christ is formed” inside them (Galatians 4:19). The moral miracle of redemption is that God can instill in me a holiness that enables me to live a totally new life. But it isn’t until I reach the frontier of need and understand my limitations that Jesus says, “Blessed are you” (Matthew 5:11). God cannot put the holiness that was in Jesus Christ into someone who is still convinced of their own morality. I have to be consciously in need of him to receive his heredity.

Just as the disposition of sin entered humanity through one man,

so the Holy Spirit entered humanity by one man. Redemption means

that I can be delivered from the heredity of sin and receive the spotless

heredity of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 26-27; Philippians 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 06, 2025

SAYING "YES" TO LOVE - #10106

It's hard to describe to you how our first grandchild lit up our lives. He had a smile that was really a people-stopper. Yeah, I know I sound like a grandfather. Now, it's a good thing this is radio or you'd have to look at my pictures as well! One day when he was about eight months old, I came home from the office to a pleasant surprise. My wife and I were babysitting our grandson. There he was, sitting on his Grandma's lap, leaning against her. I knelt down in front of the chair and told him what I tell him often. "I love you." He just looked at me, without changing his expression. I repeated it again - no response. Then two more times. "I love you." Suddenly he smiled, his arms started reaching, and his whole body leaned forward for me to hold him. And I did.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Saying 'Yes' to Love."

I kept telling my grandson I loved him. No response. And then finally, he reached for me. That scene has been repeated over and over again - millions of times - when God comes close to someone and says, "I love you." And we just don't respond. For you, this might be the day when you finally reach for the One who has loved you so long.

Our word for today from the Word of God, from 1 John 4:19, describes in just eight words how people like you and me finally come to experience the awesome love of God. It says, "We love Him because He first loved us." Well, there's the picture: The God who made you trying to tell you how much He loves you over and over. Actually, showing you how much He loves you. Earlier in this same chapter in the Bible, God says, "This is how God showed His love among us...He sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10).

God gave us our lives. And the One who rules billions of galaxies is the One who was supposed to call the shots in our lives. But according to what God says, "Each of us (and these are the Bible's words) has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). We've made ourselves God, and we've built a wall between us and the divine love that we were made for. That's why our deep loneliness has never gone away. It's cosmic loneliness. You're lonely for God.

And God's love for you is so great that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay for your rebellion and mine. You did the sinning. Jesus did the dying, and it's that kind of love that God has been trying to give you for years. But like my little grandson, maybe you've stayed where you are while your Heavenly Father has been saying, "I love you. I love you."

It's been a long, lonely, turbulent road without that love. And now you are risking an eternity without that love by putting off or ignoring God's forgiveness for your sins. Maybe you've thought God was mad at you, that He's an angry God you could never know or be close to. But if you want to know how God feels about you, look at the cross of Jesus. That was for you!

Haven't you lived long enough without this unloseable, unconditional love that you were made for? This isn't about being religious or some spiritual experience. It's about finally responding to the love of the man who gave His life for you!

One more time, God is leaning in close, calling you by name, and He's whispering, "I love you." But this time is your time to take that love!

You want to do that? You tell Him that right now, "Jesus, you loved me enough to die for me. I will take this life of mine that I've run too long already and I put it into Your hands. I'm pinning all my hopes on You and what you did on the cross for me." Our website is there for you at a moment like this. It's ANewStory.com. Go there as soon as you can today.

It's been a one-way love long enough. Reach out your arms for Jesus. His arms have been open for a long, long time, and He will take you in His arms and He will never let you go.

Numbers 12, bible reading and devotionals.

MaxLucado.com: The Piranha Hour

We used to call 5:00 p.m. the “piranha hour.”  It was that time of day when our girl s all wanted a piece of mom at the same time.  And I, the ever-loving, ever-sensitive husband, wanted Denalyn to drop everything and talk to me about my day.  When is your piranha hour?  When do people in your world demand much and offer little?

Jesus teaches us how to live through them successfully.  When hands extended and voices demanded, Jesus responded with love.  He did so because the code within him disarmed the clock.

The code is worth noting:  “People are precious.”  He gave sight to eyes that would lust.  He healed hands that would kill.  Many of those he healed would never say “thank you” but he healed them anyway.

God’s goodness is spurred by His nature—not by our worthiness.  He knows the value of people!

“…but the crowds learned about [what Jesus was doing] and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Luke 9:11?

From In the Eye of the Storm

Numbers 12

Camp Hazeroth

1–2  12 Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses behind his back because of his Cushite wife (he had married a Cushite woman). They said, “Is it only through Moses that God speaks? Doesn’t he also speak through us?”

God overheard their talk.

3–8  Now the man Moses was a quietly humble man, more so than anyone living on Earth. God broke in suddenly on Moses and Aaron and Miriam saying, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three went out. God descended in a Pillar of Cloud and stood at the entrance to the Tent. He called Aaron and Miriam to him. When they stepped out, he said,

Listen carefully to what I’m telling you.

If there is a prophet of God among you,

I make myself known to him in visions,

I speak to him in dreams.

But I don’t do it that way with my servant Moses;

he has the run of my entire house;

I speak to him intimately, in person,

in plain talk without riddles:

He ponders the very form of God.

So why did you show no reverence or respect

in speaking against my servant, against Moses?

9  The anger of God blazed out against them. And then he left.

10  When the Cloud moved off from the Tent, oh! Miriam had turned leprous, her skin like snow. Aaron took one look at Miriam—a leper!

11–12  He said to Moses, “Please, my master, please don’t come down so hard on us for this foolish and thoughtless sin. Please don’t make her like a stillborn baby coming out of its mother’s womb with half its body decomposed.”

13  And Moses prayed to God:

Please, God, heal her,

please heal her.

14–16  God answered Moses, “If her father had spat in her face, wouldn’t she be ostracized for seven days? Quarantine her outside the camp for seven days. Then she can be readmitted to the camp.” So Miriam was in quarantine outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t march on until she was readmitted. Only then did the people march from Hazeroth and set up camp in the Wilderness of Paran.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, October 05, 2025

by Elisa Morgan

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 12:21-26

Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

25–26  The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

Today's Insights

Of the many metaphors Paul uses to describe the church’s identity and mission (for example, temple, fellow citizens, God’s family), “the body” is probably his favorite, using it often to promote the oneness, unity, and solidarity of all believers in Jesus under the headship of Christ (see Ephesians 5:23).

 

He uses the body metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12:12: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” He highlights the church’s unity in diversity and instructs believers to prioritize their mutual concern for each other’s well-being, saying that everyone “should have equal concern for each other” (v. 25). Elsewhere, he instructs believers to “be devoted to one another in love” (Romans 12:10) and to step up to serve each other in practical ways (vv. 3-13). Particularly, he tells believers to “be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (v. 15 nlt).

Sympathy Pain

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

When I injured my ring finger, I expected months of pain before regaining its full function. As I practiced the prescribed exercises, the finger next to it began to throb, so I consulted my doctor. “Sympathy pain,” he said. A branching between the nerves of the ring and pinky fingers causes dependence on one another. If one finger hurts, the other aches in sympathy.

The apostle Paul uses the human body to illustrate the uniqueness and unity of God’s people. In 1 Corinthians 12:21-26, he reinforces how valuable each individual member is to the healthy functioning of the whole. Then he turns his attention to the unity achieved when we connect with each other: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (v. 26). His description of the church’s interconnectedness is echoed in these verses, as we ought to “mourn with those who mourn,” and “carry each other’s burdens” (Romans 12:15; Galatians 6:2).

Today, as I extend my hand to greet someone or grab a spoon to prepare a meal for guests, I notice the strain in both my ring finger and my pinky. The various parts of our physical bodies work together to express pain and to strengthen each other toward health. I thank God that He reveals our need for connection to each other in His spiritual body, the church, through sympathy pain.

Reflect & Pray

How is God inviting you to suffer with another in order to strengthen you both? How have others suffered with you?

Dear God, please help me be open to Your invitation to suffer with my brothers and sisters that we might all be strengthened.

Discover how to best help people through their pain.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, October 05, 2025

The Disposition of Sin

Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. — Romans 5:12

The Bible doesn’t say that God punished humanity for one man’s sin, but that the disposition of sin entered into humanity by one man. Then another man, Jesus Christ, took the sin of humankind upon himself and put it away (Hebrews 9:26)—an infinitely profounder revelation.

The disposition of sin isn’t immorality and wrongdoing; it’s the disposition of self-realization, the natural-born inclination that says, “I am my own god.” This disposition may show itself in immoral acts or in acts that appear moral, but underneath them all is a single claim—the claim to my right to myself. Our Lord faced people with all the forces of evil inside them, and he faced people who were clean-living and moral and upright. But he never paid attention to moral achievements or to moral failings. He looked for something we do not see: the disposition beneath the act.

The disposition of sin is a thing I am born with and cannot touch. Only God can touch sin, and he touches it through redemption. In the cross of Jesus Christ, God redeemed the whole of humanity from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. Being born with this heredity doesn’t condemn me. But if, when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this disposition, I refuse to let him do so, from that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. “This is the verdict”—the moment of judgment—“Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light” (John 3:19).

Isaiah 23-25; Philippians 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L

Mark 14:1-26 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Definitive Answer

At some point, we all stand at an intersection and ask this question:  Is God good when the outcome is not?

The definitive answer to the goodness of God comes in the person of Jesus Christ.  He's the only picture of God ever taken. He pressed his fingers into the sore of the leper. He inclined his ear to the cry of the hungry. He didn't retreat at the sight of pain.  Just the opposite. Cruel accusations of jealous men?  Jesus knows their sting.

Is it possible that the wonder of heaven will make the most difficult life a good bargain?  This was Paul's opinion.  He said, "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Your pain won't last forever, my friend, but you will. Whatever we go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us! You'll get through this! God is good even when the outcome is different.  Hang onto this promise!

From You'll Get Through This

Mark 14:1-26

Anointing His Head

1–2  14 In only two days the eight-day Festival of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way they could seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want the crowds up in arms,” they said.

3–5  Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.

6–9  But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.”

10–11  Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the cabal of high priests, determined to betray him. They couldn’t believe their ears, and promised to pay him well. He started looking for just the right moment to hand him over.

Traitor to the Son of Man

12  On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the day they prepare the Passover sacrifice, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations so you can eat the Passover meal?”

13–15  He directed two of his disciples, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. Ask the owner of whichever house he enters, ‘The Teacher wants to know, Where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare for us there.”

16  The disciples left, came to the city, found everything just as he had told them, and prepared the Passover meal.

17–18  After sunset he came with the Twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.”

19  Stunned, they started asking, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”

20–21  He said, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl. In one sense, it turns out that the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense, the man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”

“This Is My Body”

22  In the course of their meal, having taken and blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said,

Take, this is my body.

23–24  Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said,

This is my blood,

God’s new covenant,

Poured out for many people.

25  “I’ll not be drinking wine again until the new day when I drink it in the kingdom of God.”

26  They sang a hymn and then went directly to Mount Olives.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, October 04, 2025

by Matt Lucas

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Matthew 2:13-15

After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”

14–15  Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”

Today's Insights

Matthew’s gospel account emphasizes the parallels between the coming of Jesus and God’s deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt. In Exodus, a tyrannical pharaoh paranoid about perceived threats to his reign ordered that male Jewish babies be killed (1:16, 22). In an unlikely series of events, Moses’ life was spared (2:1-10). In Matthew, King Herod, fearing prophecies of a new king (2:2-3), sought to find the prophesied child through the magi (vv. 7-8). When this plot failed (v. 12), Herod made another attempt to kill the prophesied king by ordering the slaughter of all boys under two years of age in Bethlehem (vv. 16-18). Through fleeing to Egypt, Jesus and His family found safety (vv. 13-15). These parallels between the events of Exodus and Christ’s birth reveal Him to be the new Moses, who understands what it’s like to need to flee to safety. He understands the human experience, and we can trust Him during our times of difficulty.

A Migrating Savior

“Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.” Matthew 2:13

In 1947, with the dissolution of the British Indian Empire, more than 15 million people migrated for religious reasons. The upheaval was worsened by monsoon flooding and the spread of disease. More than a million refugees died.

Throughout history, people have migrated—seeking freedom, safety, or a better life. The urge to move is ingrained in the human experience. The most famous example in Scripture is the exodus story of the Hebrews to the promised land. Migration wasn’t foreign to Jesus either. As a young baby, His parents fled to Egypt to protect His life from the murderous Herod. It’s ironic that, just as the Israelites fled to the promised land (Exodus 3:17) to get away from a king who killed young boys (1:16), Joseph is told to take Jesus “and his mother and escape to Egypt” to flee a tyrant who did the same (Matthew 2:13; see vv. 16-18).

Matthew tells us this journey was to fulfill the prophecy in Hosea 11:1 that “out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15). But it’s also a reminder that Christ understands the human experience (Hebrews 4:15). We have a Savior who knows us and has experienced the same kinds of trials and tribulations we have. We can seek Him in our difficult moments. He listens and intercedes on our behalf (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Reflect & Pray

How has migration impacted you personally? How might the story of Jesus be an encouragement to those who’ve had to flee for freedom or safety?

Dear Father, please protect those who are forced to migrate for safety.

For further study, read The God Who Is with Us—The Difference the Incarnation Makes.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, October 04, 2025

Put to the Test

. . . called to be his holy people. — 1 Corinthians 1:2

Thank God for the sight of all you haven’t yet become. God has called you to be one of his holy people, you’ve had the vision of what he wants, but you aren’t there yet by any means.

God calls his children to the mountaintop and gives them a vision. Then he sends them down into the valley of everyday life, the valley where the vision will be put to the test. It’s in the valley that most of us turn back, because it’s there that we must prove whether or not we’ll be the chosen ones. We aren’t quite prepared for the blows that must come if we’re going to be turned into the shape of the vision. Are we willing to be hammered into shape by God’s hand? The hammering always comes in commonplace ways, through the circumstances and people we encounter in our daily lives.

There are times when we know God’s purpose for us, times when he’s given us a vision and we see it clearly. Whether this vision will be turned into actual character depends on us, not on God. If we prefer to bask in the memory of the vision, we’ll be of no use in the ordinary stuff of human life. We have to learn to live in reliance on what we saw in the vision—not in ecstasies and conscious contemplation of God, but living our ordinary lives in light of the vision. We must do this until the vision becomes a reality. Every bit of the training God is putting us through is leading us to this goal. Learn to thank God for making his demands known.

The little “I am” always sulks when God says, “Do.” Let your little “I am” be shriveled up in the face of the great “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). God must dominate our lives. Isn’t it startling to realize that he knows where we live? That he knows the burrows we crawl into? He’ll hunt us up like a lightning flash. No human being knows human beings as God does.

Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye.

Disciples Indeed, 385 L

Numbers 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CHOOSE GRATITUDE - October 3, 2025

Make a list of your blessings. We cannot be anxious and thankful at the same time. God’s pathway to peace is paved with thoughts of appreciation. Practice Picky Thinking when you’re tempted to grumble. Choose gratitude.

Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes he calms the child. No storm ever hit harder than the one that raged through Gethsemane’s garden. And no prayer was ever prayed with more passion than the one Jesus prayed. The cross was part of God’s plan to redeem his children. God did not calm the storm. But our Father calmed his Son, and Jesus marched to Calvary in peace.

You can find this peace. Trust God. Tell God. Thank God. I pray God calms your storm. If he does not, may he calm you. And may you find the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7 ESV).

Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life

Numbers 11

Camp Taberah

1–3  11 The people fell to grumbling over their hard life. God heard. When he heard his anger flared; then fire blazed up and burned the outer boundaries of the camp. The people cried out for help to Moses; Moses prayed to God and the fire died down. They named the place Taberah (Blaze) because fire from God had blazed up against them.

Camp Kibroth Hattaavah

4–6  The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.”

7–9  Manna was a seedlike substance with a shiny appearance like resin. The people went around collecting it and ground it between stones or pounded it fine in a mortar. Then they boiled it in a pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a delicacy cooked in olive oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna was right there with it.

10  Moses heard the whining, all those families whining in front of their tents. God’s anger blazed up. Moses saw that things were in a bad way.

11–15  Moses said to God, “Why are you treating me this way? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Did I conceive them? Was I their mother? So why dump the responsibility of this people on me? Why tell me to carry them around like a nursing mother, carry them all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people who are whining to me, ‘Give us meat; we want meat.’ I can’t do this by myself—it’s too much, all these people. If this is how you intend to treat me, do me a favor and kill me. I’ve seen enough; I’ve had enough. Let me out of here.”

16–17  God said to Moses, “Gather together seventy men from among the leaders of Israel, men whom you know to be respected and responsible. Take them to the Tent of Meeting. I’ll meet you there. I’ll come down and speak with you. I’ll take some of the Spirit that is on you and place it on them; they’ll then be able to take some of the load of this people—you won’t have to carry the whole thing alone.

18–20  “Tell the people, Consecrate yourselves. Get ready for tomorrow when you’re going to eat meat. You’ve been whining to God, ‘We want meat; give us meat. We had a better life in Egypt.’ God has heard your whining and he’s going to give you meat. You’re going to eat meat. And it’s not just for a day that you’ll eat meat, and not two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a whole month. You’re going to eat meat until it’s coming out your nostrils. You’re going to be so sick of meat that you’ll throw up at the mere mention of it. And here’s why: Because you have rejected God who is right here among you, whining to his face, ‘Oh, why did we ever have to leave Egypt?’ ”

21–22  Moses said, “I’m standing here surrounded by 600,000 men on foot and you say, ‘I’ll give them meat, meat every day for a month.’ So where’s it coming from? Even if all the flocks and herds were butchered, would that be enough? Even if all the fish in the sea were caught, would that be enough?”

23  God answered Moses, “So, do you think I can’t take care of you? You’ll see soon enough whether what I say happens for you or not.”

24–25  So Moses went out and told the people what God had said. He called together seventy of the leaders and had them stand around the Tent. God came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy leaders. When the Spirit rested on them they prophesied. But they didn’t continue; it was a one-time event.

26  Meanwhile two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp. They were listed as leaders but they didn’t leave camp to go to the Tent. Still, the Spirit also rested on them and they prophesied in the camp.

27  A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

28  Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ right-hand man since his youth, said, “Moses, master! Stop them!”

29  But Moses said, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all God’s people were prophets. Would that God would put his Spirit on all of them.”

30–34  Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp. A wind set in motion by God swept quails in from the sea. They piled up to a depth of about three feet in the camp and as far out as a day’s walk in every direction. All that day and night and into the next day the people were out gathering the quail—huge amounts of quail; even the slowest person among them gathered at least sixty bushels. They spread them out all over the camp for drying. But while they were still chewing the quail and had hardly swallowed the first bites, God’s anger blazed out against the people. He hit them with a terrible plague. They ended up calling the place Kibroth Hattaavah (Graves-of-the-Craving). There they buried the people who craved meat.

35  From Kibroth Hattaavah they marched on to Hazeroth. They remained at Hazeroth.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, October 03, 2025

by Xochitl Dixon

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Corinthians 5:9-10, 14-20

 But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we’ll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what’s coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad.

Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.

A New Life

14–15  Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

16–20  Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

Today's Insights

Paul says that the goal for believers in Jesus should be “to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9). As we share the gospel with others, how we live and love identifies true believers. The pattern Christ established with the twelve disciples is also valid for today. Before witnessing for Him through their words and actions, they looked, listened, and learned from Him. Of two of the twelve it was said, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Those who represent Christ best are those who’ve been drawn to Him, forgiven by Him, and empowered by the Spirit to bear witness to His love and grace.

Representing Jesus

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:20

On the first day of a camp where Alan teaches teens entrepreneurial skills, a student said, “You’re a Christian, aren’t you? I can tell.” Before Alan said he was a Christian or wore his favorite socks and ties decorated with Christian symbols, the teen said he saw Jesus through Alan’s words, actions, and attitude. They discussed how they could better represent Jesus wherever they go.

Saying we’re Christian and wearing clothes with Christian messages are good things. However, the Bible teaches that the way we live and love as we share the gospel is the true identifier of those who follow Jesus. The apostle Paul and the other believers in Corinth were compelled, or driven, to please God by living with an eternal perspective while sharing Him with others (2 Corinthians 5:9-14).

When we’re committed to living for Christ instead of for ourselves, the Holy Spirit changes our perspective, character, priorities, and ways of interacting with others (vv. 15-17). Our new life in Jesus is intended to represent Him while we point others to Him, “as though God were making his appeal through us” (v. 20).

Empowered by the Spirit, we’re given the joy and responsibility of representing Christ wherever we go.

Reflect & Pray

How have others pointed you to Jesus by the way they lived? How has God’s transforming work in your life helped you become a better ambassador for Christ?

Life-transforming Jesus, please change me by Your Spirit so that I can better represent You wherever You send me.

For further study, read Paul's Pain and His Passion.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, October 03, 2025

The Sphere of Service

He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” — Mark 9:29

After the disciples had tried and failed to cast out an impure spirit, they went to Jesus in confusion, asking, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (Mark 9:28). Jesus replied that it was only through prayer—only through concentration and more concentration on him, only through a personal relationship with him—that such a spirit could be driven out. The disciples had tried to do God’s work by drawing on their own ideas rather than by concentrating on God’s power.

If you approach things as the disciples did, you will remain as powerless as they were. You may be eager to work for God, but if you work for him without knowing him, you’ll end up working against him. Sometimes you are faced with a difficult situation and you pray about it, yet nothing happens—not on the outside. But if you are concentrating on Jesus, if you have a personal relationship with him, you know that emancipation will be given. The focus of your service must be to make sure that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. If there is, you can only overcome it by facing it and going straight through it into his presence, not by ignoring it in irritation. Face the issue with the Lord, and eventually that very thing, along with everything that’s happened in connection with it, will glorify him.

The one purpose for which we are in this world is concentration on God. Get the noisy cries of religion out of your ears, the cries that say, “Do this and don’t do that.” Never! Jesus says, “Be this and that, and I will do through you.”

Isaiah 17-19; Ephesians 5:17-33

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… 

The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, October 03, 2025

THE ONE MORE THING SYNDROME - #10105

This has got to be one of the great engineering feats in the world - packing the trunk of our car for a family trip. Oh, those were the days. Maybe you can relate to that. We had a family of five - quite a challenge to get all of that luggage in one trunk. So, I would stuff every corner, trying the suitcases every which way, and then I'd see if there was something the kids could sit on during the trip. And if all else failed, I called my wife and she could figure it out. Finally, you get it all in, but just barely of course.

And then the big moment comes. There's a drum roll as I try to close the trunk, and after a couple of tries, it closes - barely! Then along comes one of the kids with one more bag I didn't know about. So, the frustrating search begins - looking for a place to put just one more thing. We would try to cram one more thing in this space that was already jammed. Wait a minute! That sounds a lot like our lives doesn't it?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The One More Thing Syndrome."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God catches Jesus in the middle of this in Luke 4, and beginning at verse 40. It says, "When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness." Okay, His day is almost over, but it looks like it's just about to begin again. "And laying His hands on each one, He healed them." Now, listen to this, "At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for Him, and when they came to where He was, they tried to keep Him from leaving them. But He said, 'I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.' And He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea."

Now, here's a side of Jesus we don't often think about. Jesus knew how to say "no." Did you notice that? There were more needs; they begged Him to stay. But He said, "No, I can't." He had set His priorities, and the people were crying, "Just one more!" And He said, "No." Maybe some of us should learn to do that. We live in a constant state of being behind, I think, because of the 'one more thing' syndrome.

You know, it's time to leave and we say, "Oh, just one more call; just one more email. I'll just get one more task done." And we end up frazzled, over extended, late and not at our best. Oh, you can add peace and sanity to your life if you discipline yourself to say no to that one more thing before you go. Look at the bigger picture. There are so many needs crying for your time, for your attention, and you can only do as much as you can do well. Maybe you're doing that right now.

And then like the child running out to the over-packed trunk, "One more thing!" Why do we say yes? Usually because we underestimate the job; we don't really count the cost of what it's going to take, or we overestimate ourselves and think it's got to be us that does it. Or we forget about Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Realize you can't meet every need - not even Jesus did.

Five liberating words from the mouth of John the Baptist in John 1: "I am not the Messiah." See, God might want to develop somebody else to do it, and you'll get in the way if you do it. Maybe the people who asked you are ahead of God's schedule. Maybe you need to unpack something else before you put this in. You don't do anyone a favor by taking on more than you can really do well. You're saying to people, "Depend on me" but you know you won't be able to be dependable - not in all of that.

Now, we're telling teenagers today when it comes to drugs, "Just say no." Well, that's not just good for drugs. It's good for us responsibility addicts too. I'm one. I know. The next time you're tempted to over-commit yourself, think of that trunk that's jam packed with all that it should hold.

Have the wisdom and courage to resist that temptation to add just one more thing.

Numbers 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CHRIST RUNS THE SHOW - October 2, 2025

“God raised Christ from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything” (Ephesians 1:20-22 MSG).

Christ runs the show. He has authority over the world, and he has authority over your world. Your date of birth, your date of death. Your mood swings, sleep patterns, eating habits, your salary. He’s never surprised, he’s never caught off guard. He’s never ever uttered the phrase, “ Now how did that happen?”

Uproot your fear of pandemonium and replant the assuring promise: “God makes everything work out according to his plan” (Ephesians 1:11 NLT).

Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life

Numbers 10

The Two Bugles

1–3  10 God spoke to Moses: “Make two bugles of hammered silver. Use them to call the congregation together and give marching orders to the camps. When you blow them, the whole community will meet you at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

4–7  “When a bugle gives a single, short blast, that’s the signal for the leaders, the heads of the clans, to assemble. When it gives a long blast, that’s the signal to march. At the first blast the tribes who were camped on the east set out. At the second blast the camps on the south set out. The long blasts are the signals to march. The bugle call that gathers the assembly is different from the signal to march.

8–10  “The sons of Aaron, the priests, are in charge of blowing the bugles; it’s their assigned duty down through the generations. When you go to war against an aggressor, blow a long blast on the bugle so that God will notice you and deliver you from your enemies. Also at times of celebration, at the appointed feasts and New Moon festivals, blow the bugles over your Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings: they will keep your attention on God. I am God, your God.”

The March from Sinai to Paran

11–13  In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the Cloud went up from over The Dwelling of The Testimony. At that the People of Israel set out on their travels from the Wilderness of Sinai until the Cloud finally settled in the Wilderness of Paran. They began their march at the command of God through Moses.

14–17  The flag of the camp of Judah led the way, rank after rank under the command of Nahshon son of Amminadab. Nethanel son of Zuar commanded the forces of the tribe of Issachar, and Eliab son of Helon commanded the forces of the tribe of Zebulun. As soon as The Dwelling was taken down, the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, carrying The Dwelling.

18–21  The flag of the camp of Reuben was next with Elizur son of Shedeur in command. Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai commanded the forces of the tribe of Simeon; Eliasaph son of Deuel commanded the forces of the tribe of Gad. Then the Kohathites left, carrying the holy things. By the time they arrived The Dwelling would be set up.

22–24  The flag of the tribe of Ephraim moved out next, commanded by Elishama son of Ammihud. Gamaliel son of Pedahzur commanded the forces of the tribe of Manasseh; Abidan son of Gideoni commanded the forces of the tribe of Ben-jamin.

25–27  Finally, under the flag of the tribe of Dan, the rear guard of all the camps marched out with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command. Pagiel son of Ocran commanded the forces of the tribe of Asher; Ahira son of Enan commanded the forces of the tribe of Naphtali.

28  These were the marching units of the People of Israel. They were on their way.

29  Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We’re marching to the place about which God promised, ‘I’ll give it to you.’ Come with us; we’ll treat you well. God has promised good things for Israel.”

30  But Hobab said, “I’m not coming; I’m going back home to my own country, to my own family.”

31–32  Moses countered, “Don’t leave us. You know all the best places to camp in the wilderness. We need your eyes. If you come with us, we’ll make sure that you share in all the good things God will do for us.”

33–36  And so off they marched. From the Mountain of God they marched three days with the Chest of the Covenant of God in the lead to scout out a campsite. The Cloud of God was above them by day when they marched from the camp. With the Chest leading the way, Moses would say,

Get up, God!

Put down your enemies!

Chase those who hate you to the hills!

And when the Chest was set down, he would say,

Rest with us, God,

Stay with the many,

Many thousands of Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, October 02, 2025

by Karen Pimpo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Proverbs 9:1-6, 13-18

Lady Wisdom Gives a Dinner Party

1–6  9 Lady Wisdom has built and furnished her home;

it’s supported by seven hewn timbers.

The banquet meal is ready to be served: lamb roasted,

wine poured out, table set with silver and flowers.

Having dismissed her serving maids,

Lady Wisdom goes to town, stands in a prominent place,

and invites everyone within sound of her voice:

“Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on?

Come with me, oh come, have dinner with me!

I’ve prepared a wonderful spread—fresh-baked bread,

roast lamb, carefully selected wines.

Leave your impoverished confusion and live!

Walk up the street to a life with meaning.”

Madame Whore Calls Out, Too

13–18  Then there’s this other woman, Madame Whore—

brazen, empty-headed, frivolous.

She sits on the front porch

of her house on Main Street,

And as people walk by minding

their own business, calls out,

“Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on?

Steal off with me, I’ll show you a good time!

No one will ever know—I’ll give you the time of your life.”

But they don’t know about all the skeletons in her closet,

that all her guests end up in hell.

Today's Insights

“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses,” Moses told Israel shortly before his death. Then he exhorted them: “Choose life . . . . love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). Proverbs reinforces this prudent counsel to forsake deadly ways and choose life. Chapter 9 is the last of three chapters that contrast folly and wisdom by personifying these concepts as female characters. In chapter 7, a father urges his son, “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister’ ” (v. 4) but warns against the adulterous woman: “Do not let your heart turn to her ways” (v. 25). Chapters 7, 8, and 9 all conclude with warnings about the deadly end awaiting those who neglect wisdom (7:26-27; 8:35-36; 9:18). Instead, “Leave your simple ways and you will live” (9:6). By cultivating a teachable heart, fools grow wiser and draw closer to God.

Remaining Teachable in God

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still. Proverbs 9:9

After Kat learned she was pregnant, she dropped out of high school to care for her daughter. Fifteen years later, Kat was a working mother of three who dreamed of becoming a licensed beautician. With humility and tenacity, she became a student again in a free GED support program. It was humbling to go back to school after so long. “This program changed my life!” Kat said. “My teacher was amazing and offered so much encouragement.”

Remaining teachable may be one of the most difficult things we can do. The Bible speaks of having a teachable heart that’s open to God’s wisdom. The poetry of Proverbs paints a picture of two women calling out to passersby—Wisdom and Folly (Proverbs 9:1-6; 13-18). Those who listen to Wisdom receive correction with grace. They “add to their learning” and become even wiser (v. 9). They habitually “walk in the way of insight” (v. 6) and seat themselves at Wisdom’s table for instruction. Their obedience leads to a full life (v. 11). In contrast, those who listen to Folly hate being corrected or criticized. They insult anyone who tries to instruct them (vv. 7-8). Humility comes from fearing God—acknowledging that He’s “the Holy One” and we are not (v. 10). It’s not easy to stay teachable, but it also brings freedom to admit we don’t know it all and we still need help. Wisdom calls to us. How will we respond?

Reflect & Pray

What’s your default reaction to criticism? How could a humble response lead to growth and victory?

Receiving instruction doesn’t always come naturally to me, wise Father, but I trust Your ways.

For further study, read An Invitation to Wisdom.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, October 02, 2025

The Sphere of Humiliation

“If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” — Mark 9:22

After every period of exaltation, we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are, where it is neither beautiful nor poetic nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the drudgery of the valley—but it’s in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. When we are on the mountaintop, we see the glory of God, but we cannot live for it. Only in the depths of the valley, in the realm of humiliation, do we discover our true worth to God; only there is our faithfulness revealed.

Most of us can do all sorts of difficult things when we are filled with a sense of heroism. But this is only because of the natural selfishness of our hearts, our desire to be useful and adored. God wants us to relinquish the heroic frame of mind. He wants us to live in the valley according to our personal relationship to him.

“Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain. . . . And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses” (Mark 9:2, 4). After witnessing the vision of Elijah and Moses, Peter wanted to stay up on the mountain. But Jesus took him and the other disciples back down into the valley, the place where the meaning of the vision would be explained.

“‘If you can’? . . .” Look back at your own experience, and you will find that until you learned who Jesus was, you were skeptical of his power. When you were on the mountaintop, you could believe anything. But what about when you were up against facts in the valley? You may be able to give testimony about your miraculous spiritual experiences, but what about the thing that is humiliating you just now? The last time you were on the mountain with God, you saw that all power in heaven and earth belonged to Jesus. Will you see it now in the valley?

Isaiah 14-16; Ephesians 5:1-16

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it.

Not Knowing Whither, 900 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, October 02, 2025

THE WARNING YOU MUST NOT MISS - #10104

Every winter we hear the stories, we see the pictures of avalanches. We have done a lot of work in Alaska, and I took special note of an avalanche that happened at Alaska's Turnagain Pass. The mountain slopes had danger written all over them that day - eight feet of new snow had fallen on this older, packed-down snow, a warm sun had been beating down all day, and there were avalanche warnings. But that didn't stop some snowmobilers from powering up this 2,000-foot-high mountain to see who could go the highest. There was an even more sobering warning of the danger they were in. Twenty minutes before the major avalanche there was a smaller one in a nearby gully. But some of the snowmobilers just kept going.

When the big avalanche hit, a mile-wide wall of snow roared down that mountain. An onlooker's videotape shows massive slabs of snow breaking loose and sliding down the mountain in a roiling, powdery cloud with at least four snowmobilers - mere specks - being swallowed up. At least four people died that day. And none of them had to.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Warning You Must Not Miss."

You say to yourself, "If only they had listened to the warnings." I wonder if that's what God says every time someone goes into eternity unprepared. The Bible makes it clear He wants us to go to heaven when we die, to be with Him forever, to experience His awesome love forever. But the Bible also makes it clear that many won't make it to heaven, not because they weren't good enough, but in God's own words, "because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:18). Because they've heard God's warnings about sin and its death penalty in hell, but like those stubborn snowmobilers in Alaska, they've ignored the warnings.

Our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 2:3 really bottom lines what's at stake here. God says, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation." Salvation. That's rescue. That's what I got the day that someone came to rescue me from drowning in Lake Michigan. I was ten years old. That's the reason I'm around today. Someone came and rescued me. So salvation is what a person receives when a firefighter brings them out of a burning building. It's salvation. Rescue from dying.

God says that's what Jesus dying on the cross is all about. He was paying the price for all the sinning you and I have ever done so He can come and rescue us forever. But like me in that lake or the person in the burning building, if we resist the rescuer, we'll die.

God warns us here about ignoring His salvation, and I think that's how most people end up in hell instead of heaven. Not because they out-and-out reject Jesus; they just ignore Jesus and all of God's warnings about our need of Him. Maybe that's where you are. You're just too busy to think about eternity right now or you're having too much fun. You think you're religious and you'll make it on your own goodness, or you think you know Jesus because you know a lot about Jesus. But for one reason or another you are ignoring the Savior. You are ignoring God's warnings.

And this is one more warning from God. Right here today. It may be that for someone here today; this might be the last warning. But God is saying, "Don't keep going this way! You are headed for an eternity without hope, without love, without Me." This is just too important to ignore any longer. You are risking the eternal judgment of Almighty God - judgment which God's Son already took on the cross for you.

Please listen to Jesus' knocking on the door of your heart. Listen to the warning of God. Tell Jesus "I'm trusting You today to do what only You can do - to rescue me from my sin and its eternal death penalty."

Actually, our website is there because we wanted to put things that would help you begin that relationship with Him and know you belong to Him. I want to encourage you to go there. It's ANewStory.com. Please check it out!

The avalanche of God will sweep away all those who ignore His warning, who ignore His Son. Please, don't gamble your eternity one more day.

Numbers 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WE MUST PRAY - October 1, 2025

Satan hates to see you pray. He does not scatter when you listen to a sermon. Demons do not backpedal when you perform acts of benevolence.  The principalities of hell are not flustered when you open a Christian book.  But the walls of hell shake when, with an honest heart and faithful confession, you bow your head and pray. Satan knows the power of prayer.

Do you long for peace? Then pray. “Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long” (Ephesians 6:18 MSG). You cannot control events that are uncontrollable, so don’t try. You cannot change the future as long as the future is in the future, so don’t try. There is so much we cannot do. But there is one thing we must do. We must pray.

Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life

Numbers 9

Passover

1–3  9 God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the first month of the second year after leaving Egypt: “Have the People of Israel celebrate Passover at the set time. Celebrate it on schedule, on the evening of the fourteenth day of this month, following all the rules and procedures.”

4–5  Moses told the People of Israel to celebrate the Passover and they did—in the Wilderness of Sinai at evening of the fourteenth day of the first month. The People of Israel did it all just as God had commanded Moses.

6–7  But some of them couldn’t celebrate the Passover on the assigned day because they were ritually unclean on account of a corpse. So they presented themselves before Moses and Aaron on Passover and told Moses, “We have become ritually unclean because of a corpse, but why should we be barred from bringing God’s offering along with other Israelites on the day set for Passover?”

8  Moses said, “Give me some time; I’ll find out what God says in your circumstances.”

9–12  God spoke to Moses: “Tell the People of Israel, If one or another of you is ritually unclean because of a corpse, or you happen to be off on a long trip, you may still celebrate God’s Passover. But celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at evening. Eat the lamb together with unraised bread and bitter herbs. Don’t leave any of it until morning. Don’t break any of its bones. Follow all the procedures.

13  “But a man who is ritually clean and is not off on a trip and still fails to celebrate the Passover must be cut off from his people because he did not present God’s offering at the set time. That man will pay for his sin.

14  “Any foreigner living among you who wants to celebrate God’s Passover is welcome to do it, but he must follow all the rules and procedures. The same procedures go for both foreigner and native-born.”

The Cloud

15–16  The day The Dwelling was set up, the Cloud covered The Dwelling of the Tent of Testimony. From sunset until daybreak it was over The Dwelling. It looked like fire. It was like that all the time, the Cloud over The Dwelling and at night looking like fire.

17–23  When the Cloud lifted above the Tent, the People of Israel marched out; and when the Cloud descended the people camped. The People of Israel marched at God’s command and they camped at his command. As long as the Cloud was over The Dwelling, they camped. Even when the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for many days, they honored God’s command and wouldn’t march. They stayed in camp, obedient to God’s command, as long as the Cloud was over The Dwelling, but the moment God issued orders they marched. If the Cloud stayed only from sunset to daybreak and then lifted at daybreak, they marched. Night or day, it made no difference—when the Cloud lifted, they marched. It made no difference whether the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for two days or a month or a year, as long as the Cloud was there, they were there. And when the Cloud went up, they got up and marched. They camped at God’s command and they marched at God’s command. They lived obediently by God’s orders as delivered by Moses.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, October 01, 2025

by Winn Collier

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light.

For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—

light! sunbursts of light!

You repopulated the nation,

you expanded its joy.

Oh, they’re so glad in your presence!

Festival joy!

The joy of a great celebration,

sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.

The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—

all their whips and cudgels and curses—

Is gone, done away with, a deliverance

as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian.

The boots of all those invading troops,

along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,

Will be piled in a heap and burned,

a fire that will burn for days!

For a child has been born—for us!

the gift of a son—for us!

He’ll take over

the running of the world.

His names will be: Amazing Counselor,

Strong God,

Eternal Father,

Prince of Wholeness.

His ruling authority will grow,

and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

He’ll rule from the historic David throne

over that promised kingdom.

He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing

and keep it going

With fair dealing and right living,

beginning now and lasting always.

The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies

will do all this.

Today's Insights

Oppressed by an Aram-Israel alliance, King Ahaz of Judah turned to Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7-9; Isaiah 7:1-6). God told Ahaz He’d use Assyria to defeat Israel and Aram (Isaiah 7:7-9; 8:4-7), and because of Ahaz’s unfaithfulness, Judah too would be punished (7:13-25; 8:8). The punishment would be so severe the Israelites would “be thrust into utter darkness” (8:22). But God promised deliverance and restoration, starting with Zebulun and Naphtali (9:1), lands in Israel’s far north that had been ravaged by the Assyrians. Isaiah prophesied that with the birth of the Messiah, “the people walking in darkness [would see] a great light” (v. 2).

Seven hundred years later, Jesus fulfilled this prophecy as He began His ministry in that region (Matthew 4:12-17). Christ, that “great light,” calls us to follow Him: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Out from the Dark

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Isaiah 9:2

The tugboat sank twenty miles off the coast of Nigeria, turning upside down as it fell to the sea floor. Eleven crew members drowned, but the ship’s cook, Harrison Odjegba Okene, found an air pocket and waited. He only had one bottle of Coke for provisions, and both of his flashlights died within the first twenty-four hours. For three terrifying days, Okene was trapped alone in darkness at the bottom of the ocean. He’d begun to give up hope when divers on a mission to recover dead bodies found him hunkered and shivering deep in the hull.

The image of Okene alone in the dark for sixty hours is unnerving. He told reporters he still suffers nightmares from the horrifying ordeal. But can you imagine what he felt when he saw the diver’s powerful lamp piercing the darkness? What joy and elation, what hope. The prophet Isaiah foretold how, when the Messiah came, all “the people walking in darkness” would see “a great light” (9:2). Left to our own devices, we live “in the land of deep darkness,” but in Jesus, “a light has dawned” (v. 2).

Christ is “the light of the world,” and in Him we need never again fear the darkness for we “have the light of life” (John 8:12). We may feel trapped or hopeless, alone or in despair, but God illuminates good news. Jesus carries us out of the dark and into His marvelous light.

Reflect & Pray

What darkness are you facing? How do you need Jesus to be your light and bring you out of it?

Dear God, I need Your light in my life. Please bring me out of my dark place.

For further study, read Deceived by Disappointment.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, October 01, 2025

The Sphere of Exaltation

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain. — Mark 9:2

We’ve all had times on the mountain, when we’ve seen from God’s viewpoint and have wanted to stay on high. But God will never allow this. The test of our spiritual life lies in our ability to keep the vision God gives on the mountain in our sights as we descend. If we only have the power to rise, something is wrong.

It’s a great thing to be up on the mountain with our Lord, but he only takes us up with him for one reason—so that we may go down again into the valley and lift up those around us. We aren’t built for the mountains and the dawns and the breathtaking views; they are for moments of inspiration, nothing else. We’re built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff of daily life. That is where we have to prove our mettle.

Spiritual selfishness always wants to get back to the mountaintop. When we are spiritually selfish, we are always claiming that of course we’d live like angels—if we could stay on high. We have to learn that moments of exaltation are exceptional. They have meaning in our life with God, but we have to make sure that spiritual selfishness doesn’t cause us to want them all the time.

We tend to think that everything that happens is meant to teach us something. A mountaintop experience isn’t meant to teach us anything; it’s meant to make us something new. God wants our experiences to develop our character.

When it comes to spiritual matters, there’s a great trap in asking, “What’s the point of this?” It isn’t for us to know the point. The moments on the mountaintop are rare, and they are meant for something in God’s own purpose.

Isaiah 11-13; Ephesians 4

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment.

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, October 01, 2025

THE MISSION RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU - #10103

When my wife and I were raising our three children, communication during the early morning shift at our house was, shall we say, non-verbal. There I was, getting ready for my day. The kids were getting ready for school, and my wife was doing her role of maid, chef, valet, chauffeur.

One morning I was shaving and thinking through an endless list of things I had to do on that particular Friday - all of it the Lord's work of course. I was mulling over a sermon I had coming up, and I was thinking about some radio programs, and about an appointment I had that day, and a couple of events I was planning. My son pops in.

Now, somehow I must have succeeded in letting him know - non-verbally - just how much I had on my mind, because he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. I guess he got the message. Then as I was praying about all of the Lord's work I had to do that day, suddenly I remembered an important decision my son had to make that day; one that he probably needed to talk about. And the Lord woke me up in those early morning hours with what He told me, then, so I'm going to tell you.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mission Right In Front Of You."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 4, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 30. It takes place after the woman of Samaria, who met Jesus at the well, has gone back and said, "I met a man who told me all I ever did." And now the town is starting to come to Him. The disciples, who have missed all this, have just returned. It says, "The Samaritans came out of the town and made their way toward Jesus. Jesus says to the disciples, 'Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, 'Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.'" I think He was pointing at all those Samaritans streaming out of the village. "The harvest is here. Even now the reaper draws his wages," He said, "even now he harvests the crop for eternal life."

For the disciples, this town in Samaria was a pit stop. They're looking ahead to some great future ministry...four months till harvest. But they were missing the ministry right under their noses.

Sounds sort of like this man I heard about at the beginning of the program who was shaving, thinking about the ministry he had ahead, and missing a son who needed some ministry right there. You see, you don't have to leave your home to do the Lord's work. In fact, the Lord's work begins right in front of you, right at home. Interestingly enough, in the list of qualifications for leaders in 1 Timothy 3, it says, "Make sure you have somebody whose ministry at home is quality; who has his home under control."

So often we fill up our lives with ministry responsibilities, only to reach other people's kids while missing our own; to bring blessing to God's house while neglecting our first responsibility; the congregation at our house. Many husbands, and wives, and children, and parents, have been victims of a misguided view of God's work that you have to leave home before you start doing ministry.

That doesn't mean you withdraw from every responsibility, but it does mean you take care of the Lord's work at home first. Maybe your unbelieving family member would be better reached by you staying home and spending time with them than by you going to another prayer meeting to pray for them. Your mate, your child - they may need your ear, your encouragement, your counsel as much as anyone you're going to see at that meeting.

Look around your house for the needs that are right there before you. Before you go charging off somewhere else to find the Lord's work. Listen, it's right there in front of you.