Proverbs 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DEFY THE DEVIL - September 29, 2026

Worshippers of Baal believed they could earn the favor of their god through violence or promiscuous sex. For that reason the priests cut themselves, had prostitutes in the temple, and offered babies in the fire. What would such paganism do to a culture? We don’t have to look far to know. What two themes dominate our society? Violence and sex. On average, American youth will witness more than two hundred thousand violent acts on television before the age of eighteen. Thirty-five percent of internet downloads are for pornography.

If you want to be faithful in a faithless world, dare to defy the devil. Yes, he is powerful. But you are a child of the living God! The One who empowered Elijah will empower you.

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 20

Deep Water in the Heart

1  20 Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome—

a staggering drunk is not much fun.

2  Quick-tempered leaders are like mad dogs—

cross them and they bite your head off.

3  It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels,

but fools love to pick fights.

4  A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring

has nothing to harvest in the fall.

5  Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart;

a wise person draws from the well within.

6  Lots of people claim to be loyal and loving,

but where on earth can you find one?

7  God-loyal people, living honest lives,

make it much easier for their children.

8–9  Leaders who know their business and care

keep a sharp eye out for the shoddy and cheap,

For who among us can be trusted

to be always diligent and honest?

10  Switching price tags and padding the expense account

are two things God hates.

11  Young people eventually reveal by their actions

if their motives are on the up and up.

Drinking from the Chalice of Knowledge

12  Ears that hear and eyes that see—

we get our basic equipment from God!

13  Don’t be too fond of sleep; you’ll end up in the poorhouse.

Wake up and get up; then there’ll be food on the table.

14  The shopper says, “That’s junk—I’ll take it off your hands,”

then goes off boasting of the bargain.

15  Drinking from the beautiful chalice of knowledge

is better than adorning oneself with gold and rare gems.

16  Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;

beware of accepting what a transient has pawned.

17  Stolen bread tastes sweet,

but soon your mouth is full of gravel.

18  Form your purpose by asking for counsel,

then carry it out using all the help you can get.

19  Gossips can’t keep secrets,

so never confide in blabbermouths.

20  Anyone who curses father and mother

extinguishes light and exists benighted.

The Very Steps We Take

21  A bonanza at the beginning

is no guarantee of blessing at the end.

22  Don’t ever say, “I’ll get you for that!”

Wait for God; he’ll settle the score.

23  God hates cheating in the marketplace;

rigged scales are an outrage.

24  The very steps we take come from God;

otherwise how would we know where we’re going?

25  An impulsive vow is a trap;

later you’ll wish you could get out of it.

26  After careful scrutiny, a wise leader

makes a clean sweep of rebels and dolts.

27  God is in charge of human life,

watching and examining us inside and out.

28  Love and truth from a good leader;

sound leadership is founded on loving integrity.

29  Youth may be admired for vigor,

but gray hair gives prestige to old age.

30  A good thrashing purges evil;

punishment goes deep within us.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

by Kenneth Petersen

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ecclesiastes 5:1-5

God’s in Charge, Not You

1  5 Watch your step when you enter God’s house.

Enter to learn. That’s far better than mindlessly offering a sacrifice,

Doing more harm than good.

2  Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.

Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear.

God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.

3  Overwork makes for restless sleep.

Overtalk shows you up as a fool.

4–5  When you tell God you’ll do something, do it—now.

God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it.

Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up.

Today's Insights

Having the posture of a listening and responsive heart is an important part of prayer. We often hear from God as His Spirit nudges us to the Scriptures (John 14:26), which challenge us to listen to and obey His words and enlighten us to wisdom for the challenges of life. This may explain why obey and listen are the same word (shema) in Hebrew. To hear God and not obey Him is the greatest of follies. In 1 Samuel 15:22, Saul is chastened by Samuel’s words: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice.” These words echo Ecclesiastes 5:1: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools.” Today, the Spirit can help us take time to listen to what God is saying to us when we pray.

For further study, read Teach Us to Pray.

Listening to God

After all, God is in heaven, and you ?are here on earth. So let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2 nlt

In a TED Talk, Celeste Headlee outlines “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation.” One of those might appear to be counterintuitive: In order to have good conversation, we need to listen. Often when the other person is talking, we aren’t really listening to them but forming in our minds what we next want to say. Headlee quotes author Stephen Covey: “Most of us don’t listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply.”

Scripture has much to say about listening, especially when it comes to God. Ecclesiastes is rather blunt: “Keep your ears open and your mouth shut” (Ecclesiastes 5:1 nlt). It reminds us that God knows a whole lot more than we do—“God is in heaven” (v. 2)—so it’s wise for us to listen to Him. A verse in Proverbs seems to resonate with the quotes from Headlee and Covey: “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions” (18:2).

What does this mean for us? As we come before God in prayer, we would do well to make time to actually listen to Him, not just rattle on with our lists of concerns and worries. And as we find ourselves in conversations with others today, we might be surprised at how our relationships deepen when we’re really listening to them, not just figuring out what we want to tell them.

Reflect & Pray

When it comes to listening, how might you think ?differently about your prayer time with God? ?How can you take more time to listen to Him?

Dear God, please help me to truly listen to others. I want to make time in my prayers to really listen to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

The Consciousness of the Call

I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! — 1 Corinthians 9:16

We are prone to forgetting the mystical, supernatural quality of the touch of God. If you can tell others where and when you received the call of God and all about what it was like, I question whether you’ve ever truly received it. The call to preach doesn’t come in a way that’s easy to describe; it’s much more supernatural. The call may come with a sudden thunderclap or with a gradual dawning, but however it comes, it comes with the undercurrent of the supernatural, something that cannot be put into words. It’s always accompanied by a glow.

“I chose you and appointed you” (John 15:16). At any moment, you may break into a sudden conscious awareness of this surprising, supernatural call that has taken hold of your life. The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification; it isn’t because you are saved and sanctified that you’ve been called to preach. The call to preach is entirely different. Paul describes it as a necessity, a compulsion, placed upon him: “I am compelled to preach.”

If you’ve been obliterating the great supernatural call of God in your life, review your circumstances and see where you’ve failed to put God first. Have you placed him after your idea of Christian service or your desire to use your natural abilities? God had no competition for first place in Paul’s life. Paul realized the call of God and devoted all his strength to answering it.

When someone is called by God, it doesn’t matter how difficult their circumstances are. Every circumstantial force that has been at work will serve God’s purposes in the end. Once you agree to answer the call, God will bring not only your conscious life but also the deeper regions of your life into harmony with his purposes.

Isaiah 7-8; Ephesians 2

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him.

Approved Unto God, 10 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Fighting Fire When It's Small - #10362

Scripture:  James 1:19

He might be America’s most famous bear – Smokey! Maybe you can picture Smokey Bear right there in his blue jeans and his Park Ranger hat. They used to have commercials like that all the time. He’s probably holding a shovel or he’s looking straight at you very soberly. And he’s saying, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Actually Smokey has been a pretty effective spokesman, especially if we can think of his big line as soon as we think of him. Oh we’ll never know how many fires he’s prevented, but he’s drilled one very important idea into our heads. Take care of your fire; it could do terrible damage.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fighting Fire When It's Small.”

Have you ever noticed the words we use to describe anger? “I’m really hot about this!” “Boy, he’s really steamed!” “She just blew her top!” “I was really burned up!” There’s this strong smell of smoke here isn’t there? And fire - the Bible has a lot to say about the fire of anger and how to control it. Our word for today from the Word of God, James 1:19 for example: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

Well, that’s interesting that it doesn’t bring about anything good, right? A rough translation or paraphrase might be, “You don’t do anything right when you’re angry.” In fact, isn’t it when you’re angry that you tend to make your biggest mistakes? Oftentimes you’ll also leave the deepest scars. You create some of the biggest regrets, and it’s when we’re angry that we most often hurt the people we love the most.

That’s why the Bible says in Colossians 3:8, “You must rid yourselves of all such things as anger and rage.” This isn’t just passively saying, “Well, I can’t help it. I lose my temper.” It’s saying, “Attack this thing! Get rid of it. Take it out like the garbage.” James 1 gives us some hints as to how. We could call these fire fighters for that anger fire inside of you.

First of all, it recommends a big ear. That’s the first fire fighter. It says, “Be quick to listen, and then you’ll be slow to become angry.” If you discipline yourself to listen before you speak, to ask two or three questions before you react you’ll be a lot more likely to tame your anger. Bite your tongue until you’ve heard the whole thing. A lot of “blow ups” come from misunderstanding; that’s where we get most of our exercise - jumping to conclusions. Have a big ear. If you’re quick to listen you’ll be slower to become angry.

I think the second fire fighter is the "cool down time out." That’s what I call it. It says, “Be slow to speak.” Take a step away before you respond; leave the room if you have to. Step away from the person. Step away from the situation. Take the cool down time out, and come back in and act instead of reacting.

And thirdly, here’s another fire fighter. I call it the “sundown clock.” The Bible talks about it in Ephesians 4:26. “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.” See, anger never stays the same size. It always grows bigger. It will never be smaller than it is right now. So, get rid of it before you go to bed tonight. Deal with it. Get it out. Don’t stuff it inside. When you don’t act that way, well, Ephesians 4:27 kicks in, “Do not give the Devil a foothold.” Unresolved anger, when you go to bed at night, leaves Satan a wide open spot in your heart.

You and I have caused enough emotional forest fires in our lives haven’t we? And too many people have gotten burned. It’s time we draw actively on the love and the power of Jesus Christ to declare war on that fire inside; to keep that fire small, to extinguish it quickly before we allow it to do any more damage.

Proverbs 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: STEADFAST FAITH CONFRONTS SIN - September 28, 2026

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die'” (2 Kings 1:4 NASB).

Elijah dispatched this verdict to the king. Ahaziah reacted in fear-filled vengeance. He sent fifty soldiers to do battle with the prophet. “But Elijah responded to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty’” (2 Kings 1:10 NASB). White-hot heat fell and cremated the soldiers.

Once again, Elijah does not shy away from taking a stand against sin. Take note of this lesson: steadfast faith confronts blatant sin.

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 19

If You Quit Listening

1  19 Better to be poor and honest

than a rich person no one can trust.

2  Ignorant zeal is worthless;

haste makes waste.

3  People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,

so why does God always get blamed?

4  Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies,

but poor people are avoided like a plague.

5  Perjury won’t go unpunished.

Would you let a liar go free?

6  Lots of people flock around a generous person;

everyone’s a friend to the philanthropist.

7  When you’re down on your luck, even your family avoids you—

yes, even your best friends wish you’d get lost.

If they see you coming, they look the other way—

out of sight, out of mind.

8  Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor;

keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.

9  The person who tells lies gets caught;

the person who spreads rumors is ruined.

10  Blockheads shouldn’t live on easy street

any more than workers should give orders to their boss.

11  Smart people know how to hold their tongue;

their grandeur is to forgive and forget.

12  Mean-tempered leaders are like mad dogs;

the good-natured are like fresh morning dew.

13  A parent is worn to a frazzle by a stupid child;

a nagging spouse is a leaky faucet.

14  House and land are handed down from parents,

but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.

15  Life collapses on loafers;

lazybones go hungry.

16  Keep the rules and keep your life;

careless living kills.

17  Mercy to the needy is a loan to God,

and God pays back those loans in full.

18  Discipline your children while you still have the chance;

indulging them destroys them.

19  Let angry people endure the backlash of their own anger;

if you try to make it better, you’ll only make it worse.

20  Take good counsel and accept correction—

that’s the way to live wisely and well.

21  We humans keep brainstorming options and plans,

but God’s purpose prevails.

22  It’s only human to want to make a buck,

but it’s better to be poor than a liar.

23  Fear-of-God is life itself,

a full life, and serene—no nasty surprises.

24  Some people dig a fork into the pie

but are too lazy to raise it to their mouth.

25  Punish the insolent—make an example of them.

Who knows? Somebody might learn a good lesson.

26  Kids who lash out against their parents

are an embarrassment and disgrace.

27  If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own,

you’ll soon be out of your depth.

28  An unprincipled witness desecrates justice;

the mouths of the wicked spew malice.

29  The irreverent have to learn reverence the hard way;

only a slap in the face brings fools to attention.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, September 28, 2026

By Karen Huang

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Judges 10:17–11:8, 29

Jephthah

17–18  The Ammonites prepared for war, setting camp in Gilead. The People of Israel set their rival camp in Mizpah. The leaders in Gilead said, “Who will stand up for us against the Ammonites? We’ll make him head over everyone in Gilead!”

1–3  11 Jephthah the Gileadite was one tough warrior. He was the son of a whore, but Gilead was his father. Meanwhile Gilead’s legal wife had given him other sons, and when they grew up, his wife’s sons threw Jephthah out. They told him: “You’re not getting any of our family inheritance—you’re the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. Some riffraff joined him and went around with him.

4–6  Some time passed. And then the Ammonites started fighting Israel. With the Ammonites at war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah: “Come. Be our general and we’ll fight the Ammonites.”

7  But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead: “But you hate me. You kicked me out of my family home. So why are you coming to me now? Because you are in trouble. Right?”

8  The elders of Gilead replied, “That’s it exactly. We’ve come to you to get you to go with us and fight the Ammonites. You’ll be the head of all of us, all the Gileadites.”

29–31  God’s Spirit came upon Jephthah. He went across Gilead and Manasseh, went through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there approached the Ammonites.

Today's Insights

Jephthah the warrior was rejected by others, but God used him for His purpose (Judges 11:2-3, 29). Jesus also understood rejection. He was rejected by the people of His hometown of Nazareth, who doubted His authority (Mark 6:1-6). He was rejected by the Pharisees and other Jewish religious leaders who plotted to kill Him (3:6). Many of His followers deserted Him (John 6:60-66). For a time, His siblings failed to believe He was the Messiah (7:5). His disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed Him (18:2-3). At His trial, the people shouted for His crucifixion (Mark 15:13). When we face rejection, we can bring our pain to Him knowing He understands. He sees us, loves us, and accepts us.

For further study, read: The Peace that Jesus Brings

Accepted by God

The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. Judges 11:29

He was the doctor who never turned away a patient—even if some couldn’t pay him and even though he himself had experienced rejection from society. In spite of Harold’s outstanding record in his medical studies, no hospital in London hired him because of the color of his skin. So in 1913 he opened his own practice in his home, often treating the poor for free. Dr. Harold Moody spent his life helping those discriminated against, earning him the title “Britain’s Martin Luther King.”

Dr. Moody shows that our life need not be determined by the rejection of others. Scripture also shows us this truth in the story of Jephthah. Although a mighty warrior, Jephthah was rejected by his half brothers and driven away from their town. They told him, “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family . . . because you are the son of another woman” (Judges 11:2). “So Jephthah fled from his brothers” and settled in another area (v. 3).

Although his family rejected him, God didn’t. When an enemy made war on Israel, it was Jephthah that the people turned to for help (vv. 4-6). They said, “Be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites” (v. 6). God used and helped Jephthah to subdue their enemy (vv. 29, 32-33) and to later lead Israel (Judges 12:7).

When we’re rejected by others, let’s keep trusting and obeying God. It’s how He sees us and what He wants us to do that matters.

Reflect & Pray

How does rejection affect you? How does God’s acceptance of you encourage you?

Thank You, Father, for Your love and acceptance.?For further study, read The Peace that Jesus Brings at odbm.org.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, September 28, 2026

The “Go” of Unconditional Identification

“One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” — Mark 10:21

The rich young ruler in this verse was driven by a passion to be perfect. When he saw the personal holiness of Jesus Christ, the ruler wanted to be like him. But personal holiness is never what our Lord puts first when he calls a disciple. What he puts first is the absolute annihilation of my right to myself in favor of my identification with him. Jesus Christ wants me to be in a relationship with him in which there is no other relationship. That is why he says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother . . . such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Discipleship has nothing to do with perfection, nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. It has everything to do with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. This is what our Lord was expressing when he told the ruler to go and sell everything. Very few of us understand this absolute “go” of abandonment.

“Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21). To receive the look of Jesus is to have a heart broken forever from allegiance to anyone or anything else. Has Jesus ever looked at you? His look transforms and transfixes. Where I am soft with God is where the Lord has looked at me. If instead I am hard and vindictive, insistent on my own way, certain that the other person is in the wrong, it’s a sign that whole regions of my nature have never been transformed by his gaze.

“One thing you lack . . .” The only good thing, from Jesus Christ’s point of view, is union with himself, and nothing in between.

“Sell everything you have.” I must reduce myself until I’m a mere conscious being. I must renounce possessions of all kinds. I do this not to save my soul (only one thing saves me: absolute reliance on Jesus Christ), but to follow my Lord.

“Come, follow me.”

Isaiah 5-6; Ephesians 1

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God. 

Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, September 28, 2026

The Only Way to Be Free - #10361

Scripture:  Isaiah 61:1

I've had lots of friends in law enforcement, and I've even had the opportunity to ride in the front seat with a police officer. But the experience I had recently had a totally different feel to it. I was speaking in a large youth festival, and I had to get across this festival's grounds quickly to my next speaking venue. Two police officers working security said, "Hey, hop in our squad car, we'll take you over there." Well, I jumped into the back seat of the police car and I quickly realized I had never experienced a little of what it feels like to be on the custody end of things like that. There was this wall between me and the officers in the front seat. When we arrived at our destination and I tried to open my door…in vain…there was no way. My officer friend had a good laugh. He said, "Ron, there's no way you can get yourself out of there. See, somebody has to let you out." Okay, I've decided I am not excited about being in the prisoner seat any more.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Only Way to Be Free."

"There's no way you can get yourself out of there." Well, that's a feeling a lot of us have experienced, without ever being physically locked up. It's like there are these hurtful emotional cycles and spiritual cycles that we just can't seem to get ourselves out of.

Maybe you know what it is to be trapped in a cycle of destructive behavior, or damaged relationships, or maybe a cycle of guilt and shame over repeated mistakes, or a cycle of slavery to a behavior you just can't seem to change, or a cycle of unfulfillment; where one experience after another just fails to give you the peace and the meaning you've always hoped for. There are no bars, no prison walls, but we know the feeling of being locked up in a way of living that we can't get out of. Just like a prisoner in a cell, or me in the prisoner seat of a police car, somebody has to let you out. And for 2,000 years, "the" Somebody has been doing that for millions of us spiritual prisoners.

In fact, in Isaiah 61:1, our word for today from the Word of God, He announced His reason for coming to earth this way: "The Lord has...sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners." Jesus understands the powerful force that ultimately keeps us locked up in our destructive cycles. He said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). Sin is simply our hijacking of our life from the God who was supposed to run it. And because we're away from our Creator, we're trapped in this self-run orbit where life just doesn't work right.

It took the coming and the dying of the Son of God to break the enslaving power of sin. By taking the death penalty for what we've done, Jesus has the power, not only to save us from our own hurtful ways, but to save us from the eternal penitentiary the Bible calls hell. He's come from the outside to let you out, to set you free. But He waits for your invitation to do that; your invitation for Him to come into your life, to forgive every sin of your life, and to change you from the inside out.

That glorious freedom that so many have experienced, you can experience beginning this very day. It actually begins when you tell Jesus, "I am turning from my sin that has enslaved me, Lord; from the sin that nailed You to a cross. You had to do that to pay for my sin, and I know you walked out of your grave. You are alive! I want you to walk into my life today. I want to give myself to You because you died for my sin. I’m Yours beginning today."

Do you want a new story to begin in your life? I want to encourage you to go to our website - ANewStory.com. You're going to find some information there from God's very own words that will help you start on that road.

This could be your day to finally be able to say, "Free at last, free at last - thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!"

Acts 2:22-47, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Your Mess Can Be Your Message

I like the conversation Bob Benson recounts in his book, See You at the House, about his friend who'd had a heart attack. For a while it seemed his friend wouldn't make it. But he recovered.

Months later Bob asked him, "How did you like your heart attack?"

"It scared me to death, almost."

"Would you do it again?"

"No!"

"Would you recommend it?"  Bob asked.

"Definitely not."

Then Bob asked him, "Does your life mean more to you now than it did before?"

"Well, yes."

"You and your wife always had a beautiful marriage, but are you closer now than ever?" "Yes."

"Do you have a new compassion for people-a deeper understanding and sympathy?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you know the Lord in a richer fellowship than you'd ever realized?"

"Yes."

Then Bob said, "So, how'd you like your heart attack?"

Deuteronomy 11:2 reminds us to remember what you've learned about the Lord through your experience with Him.  Do that, my friend, and your mess will become your message!

From You'll Get Through This

Acts 2:22-47

“Fellow Israelites, listen carefully to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man thoroughly accredited by God to you—the miracles and wonders and signs that God did through him are common knowledge—this Jesus, following the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God, was betrayed by men who took the law into their own hands, and was handed over to you. And you pinned him to a cross and killed him. But God untied the death ropes and raised him up. Death was no match for him. David said it all:

I saw God before me for all time.

Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.

I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;

I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.

I know you’ll never dump me in Hades;

I’ll never even smell the stench of death.

You’ve got my feet on the life-path,

with your face shining sun-joy all around.

29–36  “Dear friends, let me be completely frank with you. Our ancestor David is dead and buried—his tomb is in plain sight today. But being also a prophet and knowing that God had solemnly sworn that a descendant of his would rule his kingdom, seeing far ahead, he talked of the resurrection of the Messiah—‘no trip to Hades, no stench of death.’ This Jesus, God raised up. And every one of us here is a witness to it. Then, raised to the heights at the right hand of God and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out the Spirit he had just received. That is what you see and hear. For David himself did not ascend to heaven, but he did say,

God said to my Master, “Sit at my right hand

Until I make your enemies a stool for resting your feet.”

“All Israel, then, know this: There’s no longer room for doubt—God made him Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom you killed on a cross.”

37  Cut to the quick, those who were there listening asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers! Brothers! So now what do we do?”

38–39  Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”

40  He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”

41–42  That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

43–45  Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

46–47  They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, September 27, 2026

by Mike Wittmer

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Matthew 18:10-14

“Watch that you don’t treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realize, don’t you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven?

Work It Out Between You

12–14  “Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn’t he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn’t want to lose even one of these simple believers.

Today's Insights

Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 are a direct reflection of God’s concern for those in need of Him. The example of a shepherd searching for his lost sheep (vv. 12-14) shows the seeking nature of God. The essence of verse 14—“your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish”—is seen in 2 Peter 3:9, where Simon Peter says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” This was Christ’s own mission in coming to this world—to seek with the heart of the Father. He said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). As we pray for those who need Jesus, we’re joining God in His great work of rescue.

For further study, read: The Power of Prayer in Sharing the Gospel

Pray for Them

Will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills ?and go to look for the one that wandered off? Matthew 18:12

The movie Sully depicts the heroic landing of a stalled passenger plane on New York’s Hudson River. As Captain “Sully” strode off the rescue ferry, he told an official, “I need to know who’s hurt and how badly and I need a count. One hundred fifty-five. That’s my number. That’s passengers and crew.” The man said, “Okay. How about you?” Sully replied, “I’ll answer that question when we’ve counted to one hundred fifty-five.”

Jesus is interested in a count too. He’s the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to search for the one lost sheep. When He finds it, He “is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off” (Matthew 18:13). This doesn’t mean the one lost sheep counts more than the others. But there is the joy of relief when it’s found. As Sully’s passengers rejoiced to escape almost certain death, so heaven celebrates when someone receives salvation.

Do you know any lost sheep? Anyone who seems particularly unreachable? Pray for them. Seek to share the love of Jesus with them. Don’t give up until they’re in the fold.

Sully badgered anyone who would listen, “I need a count. We’ve got to have a count.” At long last, an official entered the hospital room where Sully was being examined. He smiled. “Got a count. One hundred fifty-five.”

Reflect & Pray

Who are three people who need Jesus you could pray for on a regular basis? How might you share the love of Jesus with them?

Dear Jesus, please help me to see Your “sheep” like You see them.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, September 27, 2026

The “Go” of Renunciation

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” — Luke 9:57

When the man in this verse proclaimed his intention to follow Jesus, our Lord’s response was one of severe discouragement: “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head’” (Luke 9:58). We might find it baffling that Jesus would pass up the opportunity to win a follower; we might think it cruel that he would freeze the man’s desires and send him away discouraged. But Jesus knew what lies in the human heart.

Never apologize for your Lord, not even when his words hurt and offend until there’s nothing left to hurt and offend. Jesus Christ has no tenderness toward anything that is ultimately going to ruin someone in his service. His responses aren’t capricious, or thoughtless; they are based on his knowledge of what lies inside men and women. If the Spirit of God brings a word of the Lord to your mind and it hurts you, you can be sure there’s something inside you he wants to hurt to death.

“The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus’s words put a stop to the idea that I can serve him because it is pleasing to me. If I serve him, I can’t count on having the usual comforts. I must accept that there will be nothing but my Lord and myself and a forlorn hope. “Your lodestar,” Jesus is saying, “must be your relationship to me—and I have nowhere to lay my head.”

“Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family’” (v. 61). The person who says to the Lord, “Yes, but . . .” is the one who is fiercely ready but never goes. The exacting call of Jesus has no margin for goodbyes. When the call of God comes to you, go at once and never stop going.

Isaiah 3-4; Galatians 6

 

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

Proverbs 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Discharged From Prison

Have you ever heard of a discharged prisoner who wanted to stay? Nor have I. When the doors open, prisoners leave! The thought of a person preferring jail over freedom doesn't compute. Once the penalty is paid, why live under bondage? You are discharged from the penitentiary of sin. Why, in heaven's name, would you ever want to set foot in prison again?

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 6:6-7, "Our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin."

He is not saying it is impossible for believers to sin; he's just saying it's stupid for believers to sin. What does the prison have that you desire? Do you miss the guilt? Are you homesick for dishonesty? Was life better when you were dejected and rejected? It makes no sense to go back to prison!

From In the Grip of Grace

Proverbs 18

Words Kill, Words Give Life

1  18 Loners who care only for themselves

spit on the common good.

2  Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse;

all they do is run off at the mouth.

3  When wickedness arrives, shame’s not far behind;

contempt for life is contemptible.

4  Many words rush along like rivers in flood,

but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

5  It’s not right to go easy on the guilty,

or come down hard on the innocent.

6  The words of a fool start fights;

do him a favor and gag him.

7  Fools are undone by their big mouths;

their souls are crushed by their words.

8  Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;

do you really want junk like that in your belly?

9  Slack habits and sloppy work

are as bad as vandalism.

10  God’s name is a place of protection—

good people can run there and be safe.

11  The rich think their wealth protects them;

they imagine themselves safe behind it.

12  Pride first, then the crash,

but humility is precursor to honor.

13  Answering before listening

is both stupid and rude.

14  A healthy spirit conquers adversity,

but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

15  Wise men and women are always learning,

always listening for fresh insights.

16  A gift gets attention;

it buys the attention of eminent people.

17  The first speech in a court case is always convincing—

until the cross-examination starts!

18  You may have to draw straws

when faced with a tough decision.

19  Do a favor and win a friend forever;

nothing can untie that bond.

20  Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach;

good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

21  Words kill, words give life;

they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

22  Find a good spouse, you find a good life—

and even more: the favor of God!

23  The poor speak in soft supplications;

the rich bark out answers.

24  Friends come and friends go,

but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, September 26, 2026

by Tom Felten

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Exodus 4:1-5, 10-11

Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’ ”

2  So God said, “What’s that in your hand?”

“A staff.”

3  “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!

4–5  God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

10  Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”

11–12  God said, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God?

Today's Insights

Exodus 4 records how God repurposed Moses’ staff (vv. 1-5) to accomplish His purpose. The gospel of John describes how a boy’s meager meal was repurposed. A great crowd of people had followed Jesus and were hungry. Christ asked His disciples, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (6:5). A boy had a boy-sized lunch, barely enough to satisfy a boy-sized appetite. But when the seemingly insignificant was surrendered to God (v. 9), hungry people were fed (vv. 10-13), and God received the glory (v. 14). Today, we can ask God to use us to accomplish His purposes.

For further study, read: The Confidence to Grow

Gifts Repurposed by God

Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. Exodus 4:2 nlt

Captain Tim Mullane diligently worked at sinking the SS United States—a massive ocean liner. In fact, he was paid to send it down to the depths. Mullane repurposes ships from sailing the seven seas to serving as instant artificial reefs on the ocean floor. Sunken vessels provide attractive destinations for scuba divers and help protect coastlines as they curb the erosion of beaches. While no longer riding ocean waves, the ships continue to provide value lying far beneath them.

Moses’ shepherd’s staff was repurposed for something that would prove to be invaluable for the Israelites. God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replied, “A shepherd’s staff” (Exodus 4:2 nlt). Moses cared for sheep for forty years (Acts 7:29-30), but his staff would now be used to shepherd his people out of Egypt. The staff was a symbol of God’s working through Moses, and as he “[performed] the signs with it” (Exodus 4:17), God’s power was revealed. As Moses stretched out his “staff toward the sky” God rained hail on Egypt (9:23) and later allowed the Israelites to pass through “the sea on dry ground” (14:16).

God repurposed Moses’ staff and role to accomplish His purposes. He’ll often use our gifts and talents in fresh ways too. How might He be using your “staff” in a new way during this season of life?

Reflect & Pray

Why can it be hard to let go of roles and responsibilities? ?How might God be using your gifts and talents in new ways?

Loving God, please help me see how You’re using my gifts and talents in fresh ways.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, September 26, 2026

The Unblamable Attitude

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift . . . and be reconciled to them. — Matthew 5:23–24

Jesus tells us that we should leave our gift at the altar if we remember, when we get there, that our brother or sister has something against us. He doesn’t say that every time we come to the altar we should begin, with a morbid sensitivity, to dredge up thoughts of possible problems with our brother or sister. “If you . . . remember” means “If the Spirit of God brings something to your conscious mind.” The Holy Spirit makes us sensitive to things we never thought of before. Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when he is educating you down to the scruple.

“First go and be reconciled to them” (Matthew 5:24). Our Lord’s command is simple: go back the way you came; go the way the Spirit of God indicates to you when you are at the altar; go to the person who has something against you, keeping an attitude of mind and a temper of soul that make reconciliation as natural as breathing. Jesus doesn’t mention the other person. He says, “You go.” There’s no question of your rights. The hallmark of the disciple is the ability to waive personal rights and obey the Lord Jesus.

“Then come and offer your gift” (v. 24). The process is clearly marked. First, you arrive at the altar in a heroic spirit of self-sacrifice. Then comes a sudden inspection by the Holy Spirit, followed by the sense of conviction that stops you in your tracks. You go back, tracing the way of obedience to the word of God and constructing an unblamable attitude of mind and temper toward the one you’ve wronged. Finally, you return to the altar, ready to make a glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.

Isaiah 1-2; Galatians 5

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L

Proverbs 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHERE TO TAKE YOUR HURT - September 25, 2026

Ahab and Jezebel were dead. Their Son Ahaziah, a chip off the old demonic block, had assumed the throne. He took a fall. Maybe he was paralyzed and in pain. Whatever his malady, he sought relief.

Where do you go when you hurt? Some people turn to alcohol. Others to opioids. Still others to a frenzied schedule. How many turn to Jehovah? Ahaziah could have. But, no, pain drove him to consult a false god, Baal.

The most insidious work of the devil is counterfeit religion. Why? The devilish cunning of counterfeit religion is that it mixes in just enough truth to make the lie all the stronger. Satan sold a bag of lies to Ahaziah. Don’t let him do the same with you.

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 17

A Whack on the Head of a Fool

1  17 A meal of bread and water in contented peace

is better than a banquet spiced with quarrels.

2  A wise servant takes charge of an unruly child

and is honored as one of the family.

3  As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan,

so our lives are assayed by God.

4  Evil people relish malicious conversation;

the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.

5  Whoever mocks poor people insults their Creator;

gloating over misfortune is a punishable crime.

6  Old people are distinguished by grandchildren;

children take pride in their parents.

7  We don’t expect eloquence from fools,

nor do we expect lies from our leaders.

8  Receiving a gift is like getting a rare gemstone;

any way you look at it, you see beauty refracted.

9  Overlook an offense and bond a friendship;

fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

10  A quiet rebuke to a person of good sense

does more than a whack on the head of a fool.

11  Criminals out looking for nothing but trouble

won’t have to wait long—they’ll meet it coming and going!

12  Better to meet a grizzly robbed of her cubs

than a fool hell-bent on folly.

13  Those who return evil for good

will meet their own evil returning.

14  The start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam,

so stop it before it bursts.

15  Whitewashing bad people and throwing mud on good people

are equally abhorrent to God.

16  What’s this? Fools out shopping for wisdom!

They wouldn’t recognize it if they saw it!

One Who Knows Much Says Little

17  Friends love through all kinds of weather,

and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.

18  It’s stupid to try to get something for nothing,

or run up huge bills you can never pay.

19  The person who courts sin marries trouble;

build a wall, invite a burglar.

20  A bad motive can’t achieve a good end;

double-talk brings you double trouble.

21  Having a fool for a child is misery;

it’s no fun being the parent of a dolt.

22  A cheerful disposition is good for your health;

gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

23  The wicked take bribes under the table;

they show nothing but contempt for justice.

24  The perceptive find wisdom in their own front yard;

fools look for it everywhere but right here.

25  A surly, stupid child is sheer pain to a father,

a bitter pill for a mother to swallow.

26  It’s wrong to penalize good behavior,

or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others.

27  The one who knows much says little;

an understanding person remains calm.

28  Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise;

as long as they keep their mouths shut, they’re smart.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, September 25, 2026

by Tim Gustafson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Chronicles 35:20-27

Some time later, after Josiah’s reformation of The Temple, Neco king of Egypt marched out toward Carchemish on the Euphrates River on his way to war. Josiah went out to fight him.

21  Neco sent messengers to Josiah saying, “What do we have against each other, O King of Judah? I haven’t come to fight against you but against the country with whom I’m at war. God commanded me to hurry, so don’t get in my way; you’ll only interfere with God, who is on my side in this, and he’ll destroy you.”

22–23  But Josiah was spoiling for a fight and wouldn’t listen to a thing Neco said (in actuality it was God who said it). Though King Josiah disguised himself when they met on the plain of Megiddo, archers shot him anyway.

The king said to his servants, “Get me out of here—I’m badly wounded.”

24–25  So his servants took him out of his chariot and laid him down in an ambulance chariot and drove him back to Jerusalem. He died there and was buried in the family cemetery. Everybody in Judah and Jerusalem attended the funeral. Jeremiah composed an anthem of lament for Josiah. The anthem is still sung by the choirs of Israel to this day. The anthem is written in the Laments.

26–1  The rest of the history of Josiah, his exemplary and devout life, conformed to The Revelation of God. The whole story, from start to finish, is written in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Today's Insights

In addition to authoring Jeremiah, the longest book in the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah also wrote the book of Lamentations, a record of his mourning over the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. In 2 Chronicles 35:20-27, we’re told that Jeremiah was also a songwriter, and the songs mentioned were tributes to Josiah, the king of Judah (v. 25). We don’t need to be songwriters, however, to honor the memories of those who’ve gone before us. We can encourage others as we share our memories of them. And we also receive comfort ourselves when we privately reflect on their acts of devotion to Jesus.

For further study, read: The Oldest Theology

Acts of Devotion

The other events of Josiah’s reign ?and his acts of devotion . . . are written ?in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 2 Chronicles 35:26-27

Like all early departures from this life, Joe’s death shocked those who knew him. Just before he died, he’d begun making poor decisions. Now this husband, father, coach, and youth leader would no longer be there for those who’d relied on him.

It’s easy to focus on Joe’s recent bad choices. Yet when his daughter spoke at his funeral, she rightly highlighted how her dad, though flawed like all of us, had served Jesus with his life.

We find something similar in the story of Judah’s King Josiah. When Egypt’s King Necho mounted a military offensive against Babylon, Josiah foolishly “marched out to meet him in battle” (2 Chronicles 35:20). Necho had no intention of attacking Judah (v. 21), and Josiah’s intervention ignored “God’s command” (v. 22). It cost him his life (vv. 23-24).

Though Josiah finished unwisely, the prophet Jeremiah “composed laments for Josiah” (v. 25). The story concludes, “The other events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion . . . are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah” (vv. 26-27). Acts of devotion. A timely epitaph for an untimely death.

It’s good to ponder the apostle Paul’s words: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). As we consider how our heavenly Father sees us in Christ, it’s easy to recall the acts of devotion done by His children who’ve left us.

Reflect & Pray

Who have you lost to death? What acts of devotion might you recall in memory of them?

Thank You, heavenly Father, that You see Your children in Christ.?For further study, read The Oldest Theology: Jesus’s Victory over Adam’s Curse at odbm.org.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, September 25, 2026

The “Go” of Relationship

If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. — Matthew 5:41

The demands our Lord makes in the Sermon on the Mount are impossible for us to meet—unless he has done a supernatural work inside us. Not only does Jesus Christ demand that his disciples go the second mile, he also demands that there be no trace of resentment inside them when they come up against tyranny and injustice because of their commitment to him: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:11–12). There’s no enthusiasm, no natural human quality, that can withstand the strain that Jesus Christ places upon his workers. The only thing strong enough is a personal relationship with him. This relationship must be put to the test until the disciple has just one purpose remaining: “I am here for God to send me wherever he will.” Everything else in a disciple’s life may get muddied, but this relationship to Jesus Christ must remain perfectly clear.

If I am going to be a disciple of Jesus, I must be made one supernaturally. As long as I’m dead set on being a disciple, I can be sure I am not one. Discipleship isn’t a matter of my determination, but of God’s: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). This is the way the call to discipleship begins. I can ignore God’s call, but I can neither generate it nor decide how to answer it. When our Lord makes disciples, he doesn’t ask them to do things they’re naturally cut out for. He asks them to do things they’ve been supernaturally cut out for by his grace.

The Sermon on the Mount isn’t some unattainable ideal. It’s a statement of what will actually happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my disposition and put into me a disposition like his own. Jesus Christ is the only one who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.

Song of Solomon 6-8; Galatians 4 

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold. 

Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, September 25, 2026

Holy Huddles At Home - #10360

Scripture:  Nehemiah 4:19-20

Did you ever do the bumper cars at the carnival? Our family loves bumper cars! When you first get in the bumper car, you start at approximately the same place. But when you step on the pedal, you take off in about ten different directions and occasionally bump into each other. That was a description of our family when we were all still living under one roof. A description of yours maybe, too? You know, a bumper car family! See, you start out at the same place in the morning, you step on the gas pedal, and off we would go in five different directions, and every once in a while we would just happen to bump into each other.

In our world today it is so easy to let families just fly apart. And as the kids get older and mom and dad get busier and busier and we need to work more to keep up our standard of living, a lot of times there’s less and less time spent together. And then add in the internet and social media! Without even knowing it, sometimes your family – my family – becomes a group of strangers. And then later on we look back with regret and we say, “If only I could have those years back. Why didn’t we spend more time together?” See, every family needs to be together, but it actually takes someone to blow the trumpet to make it happen.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Holy Huddles At Home.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in the book of Nehemiah 4. I’m going to be reading verses 19 and 20. If you remember a little of your Bible history, you may know that Nehemiah was God’s man to lead the people in rebuilding the dilapidated and destroyed walls and gates of Jerusalem. It was a major task. It had pretty much been a mess for about 100 years. It took a lot of major organization, and he was able to mobilize all those people, each with a different assignment. And in 52 days, this small group of people literally rebuilt the walls and gates of the city of Jerusalem.

Listen to part of the plan here as he gives instructions to his work crew. “Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall.’” Sounds a lot like the bumper cars syndrome; they all started out in the morning and they all went their separate directions. He says, “Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us.”

He said, “In my family of workers we’re going to need to get together. And so I’ll sound the trumpet, and when I do, come together.” Did you know that whenever there is a family that is spread out in their lifestyles like yours and ours, there’s got to be one person in the family who plays Nehemiah; someone who insists that the family comes together. Families are pulled apart unless somebody is willing to work at them being together, communicating, hugging each other, touching each other, praying together, keeping in touch with each other’s lives. It’s like a football team that has to regularly have a huddle. You can’t have a family without regular huddles.

So the person who sounds the trumpet is the person in the family who sets a time and a place and makes it happen to make sure that family comes together. If it doesn’t, people leave home with dangerous, unmet needs. They don’t have the closeness, the intimacy, the encouragement they need, and they’ll go looking for it in places they never should.

Now, biblically, this should be dad. In a single-parent family it may have to be mom. But certainly everyone in the family should come when the trumpet is blown. Dinner together, pre-committed days together, family devotions, vacation, prayer time. Don’t let your family be every man/every woman for himself or herself. Bring them together! Remember, every family needs that trumpet.

Proverbs 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DO NOT BE TROUBLED - September 24, 2026

Psalm 23:4 (NKJV) reads, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” God promises to come at an unexpected hour and take us from the gray world we know to the golden world we don’t. But since we don’t, we aren’t sure we want to go.

Discover Faith Communities

On the night before his own death, Jesus told his friends, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled…I will come back and take you to be with me…” (John 14:1, 3 NCV). The apostle Paul announced that “Death has been swallowed up in victory…”  (1 Corinthians 15:54 NIV).

The message is consistent. We do not know the hour, nor do we know the circumstances. But an exit is scheduled for each one of us. Yet we need not fear the moment. Why? Because our Father is a good Father.

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 16

Everything with a Place and a Purpose

1  16 Mortals make elaborate plans,

but God has the last word.

2  Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;

God probes for what is good.

3  Put God in charge of your work,

then what you’ve planned will take place.

4  God made everything with a place and purpose;

even the wicked are included—but for judgment.

5  God can’t stomach arrogance or pretense;

believe me, he’ll put those upstarts in their place.

6  Guilt is banished through love and truth;

Fear-of-God deflects evil.

7  When God approves of your life,

even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.

8  Far better to be right and poor

than to be wrong and rich.

9  We plan the way we want to live,

but only God makes us able to live it.

It Pays to Take Life Seriously

10  A good leader motivates,

doesn’t mislead, doesn’t exploit.

11  God cares about honesty in the workplace;

your business is his business.

12  Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds;

sound leadership has a moral foundation.

13  Good leaders cultivate honest speech;

they love advisors who tell them the truth.

14  An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in lives;

you’re smart to stay clear of someone like that.

15  Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives;

they’re like spring rain and sunshine.

16  Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money;

choose insight over income every time.

17  The road of right living bypasses evil;

watch your step and save your life.

18  First pride, then the crash—

the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

19  It’s better to live humbly among the poor

than to live it up among the rich and famous.

20  It pays to take life seriously;

things work out when you trust in God.

21  A wise person gets known for insight;

gracious words add to one’s reputation.

22  True intelligence is a spring of fresh water,

while fools sweat it out the hard way.

23  They make a lot of sense, these wise folks;

whenever they speak, their reputation increases.

24  Gracious speech is like clover honey—

good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.

25  There’s a way that looks harmless enough;

look again—it leads straight to hell.

26  Appetite is an incentive to work;

hunger makes you work all the harder.

27  Mean people spread mean gossip;

their words smart and burn.

28  Troublemakers start fights;

gossips break up friendships.

29  Calloused climbers betray their very own friends;

they’d stab their own grandmothers in the back.

30  A shifty eye betrays an evil intention;

a clenched jaw signals trouble ahead.

31  Gray hair is a mark of distinction,

the award for a God-loyal life.

32  Moderation is better than muscle,

self-control better than political power.

33  Make your motions and cast your votes,

but God has the final say.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, September 24, 2026

by Katara Patton

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Job 2:7-13

 Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.

9  His wife said, “Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!”

10  He told her, “You’re talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?”

Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.

Job’s Three Friends

11–13  Three of Job’s friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn’t believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.

Today's Insights

For seven days, Job’s friends were a silent presence with their suffering friend (Job 2:13). Silence tends to make us uncomfortable, so we may try to fill that void with words. But in times of great suffering (like Job’s), words alone are often inadequate to express the comfort or help that the hurting person truly needs. Job’s friends caused more hurt when they began to offer answers that didn’t ease his hurt, pain, or loss. We can ask God to give us wisdom to know when to speak and when to offer the comfort of a silent presence with those who are hurting.

For further study, listen to the Discover the Word Podcast: Rediscovering Friendship

Words from Friends

[None of Job’s friends] said a word to him, ?because they saw how great his suffering was. Job 2:13

As I sat in a Bible class at the age of twenty-six, I was baffled. ? Some of my classmates’ comments were discouraging. They ? seemed to have so many problems. I responded by asking, “If we’re Christians, why are we so down? Don’t we know how this thing really ends?” I was referring to the promise of eternal life in Christ but also to the many promises in the Bible of God’s care for His people. The instructor simply smiled and moved on. But my comment has stuck with me for years.

Eventually life hit me. Job loss, bereavement, illness, and more led me to feel discouraged. Yes, God’s promises are comforting and true, but they don’t promise an easy life. Jesus said we “will have trouble” (John 16:33).

Quite naturally, we feel the impact of such troubles, just as a man named Job did. He was tested, and it hit him hard: He lost his children, his property, and his health (Job 1:13-20; 2:7). His friends came to visit him to console him (2:11-13). In the beginning they simply supported their friend quietly, noting “how great his suffering was” (v. 13). But then they began asking unhelpful questions, not too dissimilar to the one I posed in Bible class.

As we encounter others going through trouble, the Holy Spirit can help us respond with love and compassion. And as we experience sorrow, we can remember the comfort of God’s promises.

Reflect & Pray

How has a friend helped you during a rough time? ?How can you help others by using sensitivity and discernment?

Loving God, please teach me to use wisdom when sympathizing with others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, September 24, 2026

The “Go” of Preparation

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. — Matthew 5:23–24

It’s easy to imagine that someday we’ll get to a place where we are complete and ready. But preparation isn’t accomplished suddenly; it’s a process that must be steadily maintained. Our lives must be preparation and preparation. To be in a settled state of experience is a dangerous thing.

A sense of heroic sacrifice appeals readily to young Christians; humanly speaking, what attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense that he was a heroic figure. But the words our Lord speaks in Matthew 5:23–24 soon put our enthusiasm to the test. Don’t come to the altar in a moment of enthusiasm, Jesus says. “First go” and reconcile yourself to your brother or sister; first prepare yourself to make your offering. The “go” of preparation involves submitting yourself in advance to the scrutiny of Jesus’s words. Simply having a sense of heroic sacrifice isn’t enough.

Do you have anything to hide from God? Let him search you with his light. If you are harboring within you the disposition that can never work in his service, his Spirit will detect it and reveal it. When he reveals sin, don’t admit it; confess it. Never ignore the Spirit’s conviction. If it’s important enough for the Spirit of God to have brought it to your mind, it’s something God wishes you to confess. Perhaps you were looking for something big to give up, but God has pointed out something tiny. No matter what it is, God is telling you about it because beneath it lies the great stronghold of obstinacy: “I won’t give up my right to myself.” This is the very thing God intends you to give up if you are going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to obey your Lord, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?

Song of Solomon 4-5; Galatians 3

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance.

Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Will the Real You Please Stand Up? - #10359

Scripture:  2 Corinthians 5:17

Long ago it was a TV show, and it was resurrected then again and became a TV show again. The idea maybe still had some life in it! It was called "To Tell the Truth." Maybe you saw it. Three contestants would all tell the panel their name and they all claim to be the same person. The host would read a little background on the person, and then it was up to the panel to try to figure out which one was the real one. The climactic moment came when the host said, "Will the real Joe Slobotnik please stand up?" They all shift in their chairs. Finally, one would stand up. The real one!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Will the Real You Please Stand Up?”

For many people, the struggle to identify which person is really them is a deeply personal one; one that rages inside of us. It's very important that you decide which of three identities is really you. In fact, the identity you choose will determine much of how you make your life choices and whether you feel significant or insignificant.

Identity number one - the victim. If you've been hurt, betrayed, abused, abandoned, or neglected, it's possible to live your whole life thinking of yourself as a victim. Which means you'll spend much of your life feeling worthless, depressed, distrusting, maybe negative, or self-pitying. And your relationships, your decisions, your goals will all be shaped by choosing "victim" as your identity.

Identity number two - the sinner. While the victim focuses on their pain, the sinner focuses on their failures. You’re frequently reliving the things you've done that were wrong, maybe very wrong in some cases. If you decide that the "you" that is going to stand up is you, the sinner, you're also going to feel worthless much of the time, and ashamed and never good enough. You'll accept and you'll expect a little life because you think that's all you deserve. And your shame will cause you to feel, "What's the use?" and that will set you up for more and more mistakes.

But there is a third identity you can choose. It's spelled out in the Bible in 2 Corinthians 5:17, our word for today from the Word of God. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" There’s an amazing transformation that takes place when a person gives themselves to Jesus Christ. From that moment on they have the right—they have the spiritual power—to live as a new person!

So if you belong to Jesus Christ, the real you is identity number three: new person in Jesus Christ! You don't have to be identified by your past pain. You don't have to be defined by your past sin. You are now defined by your relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You’re a child of God. You’re a servant of Christ. You’re a make-a-difference person because you are forgiven, you are clean, and you are free from the shackles and the shame of the past. You're about your future now, not your past! Don't forget who you really are! It's time for the real you to stand up!

And if you've never given yourself to the man who died so you could be forgiven and new; if you're ready to begin a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, you need to tell Him that right now. “Jesus, I’ve been running my life long enough. You drive from here on. I know that me driving my life is sin, and I know You had to die to pay for that sin. I’m turning from my sin to You.”

I hope you make today the day that you begin this great life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and become a new creation in Christ; start with a clean slate. If you want to do that, I want to encourage you to go to our website right away today. Because there’s a lot of information that will help you be sure you’ve begun this relationship. Your new story can begin today and that’s our website - ANewStory.com.

From today on, your life can be defined by your relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ the healer, the forgiver of the past, and best of all, the author of a new beginning!

Acts 2:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S MESSAGE TO AHAB - September 23, 2026

Consider Elijah’s pronouncement of judgment on Ahab: “[God] says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants…because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin’” (1 Kings 21:21-22 NIV).

This solemn prophecy shook Ahab. “He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted” (1 Kings 21:27). God responded to this gesture of humility by postponing the penalty of killing all Ahab’s sons.

Years later the seventy remaining descendants of Ahab died by the sword of King Jehu. God sends them message after message, prophet after prophet, yet they slay the innocent and take what is not theirs to take. They forget what sustains them, and in the end they perish at their own folly.

Unbreakable Courage

Acts 2:1-21

A Sound Like a Strong Wind

1–4  2 When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

5–11  There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;

Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene;

Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;

Even Cretans and Arabs!

“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”

12  Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”

13  Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”

Peter Speaks Up

14–21  That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: “Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. They haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:

“In the Last Days,” God says,

“I will pour out my Spirit

on every kind of people:

Your sons will prophesy,

also your daughters;

Your young men will see visions,

your old men dream dreams.

When the time comes,

I’ll pour out my Spirit

On those who serve me, men and women both,

and they’ll prophesy.

I’ll set wonders in the sky above

and signs on the earth below,

Blood and fire and billowing smoke,

the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,

Before the Day of the Lord arrives,

the Day tremendous and marvelous;

And whoever calls out for help

to me, God, will be saved.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

by Sheridan Voysey

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Master’s Coming

13–14  And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.

15–18  And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master’s word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.

Today's Insights

Grieving the loss of a loved one is a natural and necessary process that takes time. With death can come gut-wrenching pain and heartache. But in 1 Thessalonians 4, we’re instructed not to grieve like “the rest of mankind”—nonbelievers—“who have no hope” (v. 13). Our grief is made more bearable because the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, is with us (John 14:15-17); and we have the assurance of one day being reunited with our believing loved ones and of enjoying our Savior together, forever. Believers in Jesus know this life isn’t all there is. We have the promise of eternal life (3:16). Our loved ones are safe in Christ’s arms, and we can entrust them into His care. One day we’ll be reunited and “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

For further study, read: Hope

Comfort Amidst Tears

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind. 1 Thessalonians 4:13

The call from my mother came around 9 p.m. “It’s about your dad,” she said. “He’s gone.” While I’d been expecting this call for days and was relieved my father was no longer in pain, the news still hit hard. I sobbed deeply as grief took its course over the following days and weeks.

While losing my father was hard on us all, it was particularly hard for some of my unbelieving family members. To their understanding, Dad was gone forever. It was then that I realized how believing in Jesus helps us to grieve.

Paul explained it this way: Since Jesus rose again from death, those who believe in Him will one day rise again too (1 Thessalonians 4:14). This will happen on the day He gathers us up to spend eternity together with Him (vv. 16-17). Paul tells us this “so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (v. 13). Knowing I will see my father again brings comfort amidst the tears.

Scripture never promotes griefless loss. Even Jesus wept for a dead friend he knew would return to life (John 11:34-44). And sometimes we don’t know what a loved one believed before they died. Still, our grief has a safety net. Because of Him, we will see our believing loved ones again, and we can entrust all into His care.

Reflect & Pray

When have you realized the power of hope in Christ? ?How do you think that hope differs from the world’s idea?

Dear Jesus, thank You that my loved ones who believed in You are held safe in Your arms even in death, and one day You’ll bring us together again.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

The Disciple’s Goal

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem.” — Luke 18:31

In our natural life, our ambitions change as we grow and mature. In our Christian life, the goal is given to us at the beginning: we start with Christ and we end with him; the beginning and the end are the same. Disciples live this out in their willingness to follow Jesus wherever he leads. We think the aim of the Christian life is to be useful or to win converts. The disciple is useful and does win converts, but this isn’t the aim. The aim is to do the will of God by following Jesus when he says, “We are going up to Jerusalem.”

In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where he reached the climax of his Father’s will upon the cross. Unless we go with Jesus to Jerusalem, we will have no companionship with him. Nothing ever discouraged our Lord on his way to Jerusalem. He didn’t hurry through the villages where he was persecuted or linger in the villages where he was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned him away from his purpose: to go up to Jerusalem.

“The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40 kjv). If Jesus Christ is our master, then the same things that happened to him as he went to his Jerusalem will happen to us as we go to ours. Works of God will be manifested through us; people will be blessed. One or two of these people will show gratitude; the rest will show ingratitude. No matter what, we must let nothing deflect us from going up to our Jerusalem.

“They crucified him there” (23:33). The cross is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that happening is the gateway to our salvation. Those who follow Jesus Christ do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace, they end in glory. In the meantime, our watchword is “I, too, go up to Jerusalem.”

Song of Solomon 1-3; Galatians 2 

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them.

The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Everyday Stuff, Never Everyday Again - #10358

Scripture:  2 Kings 5:2-3

My wife and her family were out for a swim in a nearby river. They had invited their pastor to go with them. He was pretty much a pool swimmer, a lake swimmer. He was unfamiliar with the river currents that can make swimming a little more challenging than usual. Pastor wasn’t aware of the whirlpool in that water near the bluffs that overlooked the river. He got too close, and suddenly he got sucked into that swirling water. Their pastor was in serious trouble. And since everyone was swimming, they didn’t immediately see the danger he was in. He’d already gone down twice when he finally managed to get off one yell for help. My father-in-law responded immediately and he went in for the rescue, and he saved his pastor’s life that day.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Everyday Stuff, Never Everyday Again.”

My father-in-law was not a professional lifeguard. Had he waited for one that day when his pastor’s life was at stake, his pastor would have died. But this was a man who knew that he was the one that was there, and the responsibility for the rescue rests with the one who is where the dying person is. Right? Especially when it comes to the people near us who are going down spiritually; dying spiritually because they don’t know the Savior who’s the only one who can rescue them from the death penalty for their sins.

Once you realize the ultimate reason why you are where you are, your everyday activities will never be everyday again. Consider the example of the young woman in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Kings 5:2-3. It’s the story of a young Jewish girl who has been taken captive by the Syrians and forced to become a servant girl in the home of a Syrian military leader. She’s clearly a victim of unfair circumstances that are beyond her control. She’s in a situation that had to be lonely, she’s ripped from her home, she’s forced to live in another country, and we can be pretty sure she’s in a place she doesn’t want to be. But none of that makes her forget why she is where she is. In the course of her everyday chores, she has the opportunity to save a life…and she does.

Her master, General Naaman, has developed leprosy. He will die from it unless he can find a cure which, humanly, does not exist. But the Bible tells us, “She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’” She realizes she is in a unique position to save this man’s life because she knows the dying person and she knows the only one who can save him. Now, if you belong to Jesus Christ, that is exactly the position God has put you in with the people you go to school with, the people you work with, the people you live near, the people you recreate with, the people in your family.

When you go where you go each day to do what you do each day, you go on an eternal rescue mission! Jesus put you there so you can take some of those people to heaven with you. Every day, you’re there to show by your life the difference that Jesus makes and to capture every God-given opportunity to tell them how they can belong to Him. And suddenly this everyday stuff you do, it becomes eternally significant.

That Syrian commander did not die by the way, because someone who worked for him cared enough to tell him how he could live. Imagine if that girl had been too shy or too scared to speak up about the answer she knew. Her silence would have been his death sentence. And so it is for the people near you who don’t know Jesus. Your silence could ultimately mean their death sentence, because you know the Jesus who is their only hope. They don’t know Him, but they do know you. And, humanly speaking, you are their best chance—maybe their only chance—of ever belonging to Jesus…and of ever being in heaven with you someday.