June 22

 A Heartfelt Plea - June 22, 2026  by Max Lucado-

When my eldest daughter was 13, she flubbed her piano piece at a recital. The silence in the auditorium was broken only by the pounding of her parents’ hearts. She hurried off the stage, threw her arms around me and buried her face in my shirt. “Oh, Daddy.” That was enough for me. At that moment I’d have given her the moon, and all she said was, “Oh, Daddy.”

Prayer starts here. Prayer begins with an honest, heartfelt, “Oh Daddy!” Jesus invites us to approach God the way a child approaches his or her daddy.

Here’s my challenge for you: every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.

 Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Psalm 4

The Message

4 When I call, give me answers. God, take my side!

Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;

Now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me!

2 You rabble—how long do I put up with your scorn?

How long will you lust after lies?

How long will you live crazed by illusion?

3 Look at this: look

Who got picked by God!

He listens the split second I call to him.

4-5 Complain if you must, but don’t lash out.

Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.

Build your case before God and wait for his verdict.

6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.

“More, more.”

I have God’s more-than-enough,

More joy in one ordinary day

7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees.

At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,

For you, God, have put my life back together.

Our daily bread byKaren Pimpo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Leviticus 19:1-10

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

4Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

5And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. 6It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. 8Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

9And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Today's Insights

God promised to abundantly provide food for His people (Leviticus 25:18-19), and so, in remembrance of their enslavement in Egypt, He commanded them to feed the poor and needy (19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-22). The story of Ruth took place in the backdrop of this law of gleaning (Ruth 2). God also wants us to be open-handed with his material blessings (see Deuteronomy 15:7-11). The apostle Paul says that God gives us material blessings for our enjoyment and commands believers in Jesus “to use their money to do good. . . . Be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others” (1 Timothy 6:18 nlt).Today, because God has richly given to us, we can look for opportunities to be generous to others.

Each of us has been given a gift we can use to bless others. Learn more by watching this video.

Ready to Be Generous

My great-uncle’s memorial service featured a meal of roast beef, corn, and beans to honor the hospitality that he and his wife had lived out for many years. Each Sunday morning, they would put a large roast and veggies in the Crock-Pot before going to church. After the service, they would look for someone to invite for lunch. Sometimes it was a good friend, sometimes a stranger. Either way, they made sure there was plenty of food at home and those afternoons were especially set aside for hospitality.

Their Sunday habit required an intentional readiness for generosity. The Israelites followed a similar pattern. Through Moses, God commanded them to leave a portion of their food “for the poor and the foreigner” (Leviticus 19:10). During harvest time, they were instructed not to reap to the edges of their field, leave what had fallen, and not re-harvest their vineyards (vv. 9-10). With these redeeming methods, those who didn’t own land could still work to gather food. For the people of God, this wasn’t a one-time, spontaneous act—although that can be a beautiful blessing too. It was how they lived year after year.

There are opportunities all around us to show Jesus’ hospitable love. Some we can’t prepare for; some we can. As God helps us, let’s consider how we can treat others kindly today (v. 33).

Reflect & Pray

Where is God calling you to be generous? What does it look like to be ready to show love and kindness?

Dear Jesus, You modeled perfect love and self-sacrifice. Please help me to be ready to show Your love to others.

The Undeviating Test

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. — Matthew 7:2

What Jesus says here about judging isn’t a haphazard guess; it’s an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you make of another person will be made of you. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus says that the basis of life is retribution: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding defects in others, remember that this is how you will be dealt with. This is the law from God’s throne downward: “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd” (Psalm 18:26). Life serves you back in the coin you pay.

Romans 2 applies this law of judgment in an even more definite way. It says that the person who criticizes another is guilty of the exact thing they’re criticizing. God doesn’t look at the act alone; he looks at the possibility of the act. The problem with many of us is that we don’t believe the statements of the Bible in the first place. Do you, for instance, believe you are actually guilty of all the things you criticize in others? The reason we see hypocrisy and fraud and unreality in others is because we have these things in our own hearts. The defining quality of the truly righteous person is humility. The righteous person knows, “All those evil things and many more would rule me if it weren’t for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”

Jesus says, “Do not judge” (Matthew 7:1). If you judge, you will be judged to the same degree. Which of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged my fellow human beings”? We have judged our fellow human beings as sinners. If God were to judge us like that, we would be in hell. God judges us through the marvelous atonement of Jesus Christ.

Esther 6-8; Acts 6

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. 

The Place of Help, 1032 L

Why God Will Never Be a Grandfather - #10291

June 22, 2026

By Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  John 1:12

It was one of those unforgettable, milestone moments for our family. Our firstborn child was holding her firstborn child. Wow! What a moment! And we got to join them in the delivery room just moments after the little guy's arrival. And I knew this presented a shocking development. My wife was a grandmother! Could you believe it? Me, living with a grandmother! Yes, I was living in denial. And then after becoming a grandmother more than once, well finally, I had to accept that disturbing reality and glorious reality. I am a grandfather!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Why God Will Never Be a Grandfather.”

All through the Bible, God introduces Himself to us as our Father in heaven, but never as our grandfather. God never has been and never will be anyone’s grandfather. See, He only has children. He doesn't have any grandchildren.

That might be some very important information for you to consider - eternally important - because you might be one of the many people who could be counting on the faith of their family to qualify them for heaven. If you've got a Christian mom or dad, that might help you know about Jesus. It won't do a thing for you when it comes to knowing Jesus personally though. You can't "osmote" a relationship with Jesus from your Christian parents or your Christian husband or your wife, or from the Christians you've been with your whole life. Unless there's been a personal transaction between you and Jesus to have your sins forgiven, you've never been born into God's family, and you'll never see heaven. God has no grandchildren.

Jesus described the essential qualification for going to heaven when He said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). A couple of chapters earlier, the Bible describes just how that birthing into God’s family takes place. It’s in John 1:12, our word for today from the Word of God. Speaking of Jesus, it says, “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

What does it mean to “receive” Christ? Well, it’s consciously opening the door of your heart and welcoming Jesus in. So, has there ever been a time when you did that for yourself? This verse talks about “believing in His name.” What’s that about? When you check out “believe” in the original language of the New Testament, it’s clear that it’s a lot more than just agreeing with all the facts about Jesus dying for your sin. It’s about total trust in Jesus like He's your only hope. “His name” literally means, “Jehovah rescues.” That’s what He died for—to pay for your sin so you don’t have to. To rescue you.

Just picture that you're desperately drowning and Jesus has come like the rescuer. You’ve got to grab onto Him like He's your only hope. Has there ever been a time when you did that with Jesus? You say, "I'm not sure." Well, if you don’t know you have, I'd say you probably haven’t. When you’ve grown up in a Christian home, spent a lot of time in a Christian environment, it’s easy to feel like, "Man, I must have picked up Jesus somewhere." Well, no, not unless there’s been a time when you consciously put all your trust in Him for yourself and you told Him that. That’s when your sins get erased from God’s records. That’s when you get born into God’s family.

It may be God has you listening today so He could whisper to your heart, “Take care of this now. Look, you’ve known a lot about Me all these years, but you’ve never known Me. Don’t wait another day to begin your personal relationship with Me.” You know, you could do that by telling Jesus, “Beginning this day, I'm Yours.”

This what could be your Jesus day, this would be a great day for you to go visit our website. It's ANewStory.com.

From now on, this date can be your new birthday—your second birthday. The day you got God as your Father. You got Jesus as your Savior—your personal Savior!