Jeremiah 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We’re Made Whole

Sin sees the world with no God in it! Where we might think of sin as slip-ups or missteps, God views sin as a godless attitude that leads to godless actions.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”  Sin proclaims, “It’s your life, right?  Pump your body with drugs, your mind with greed, your nights with pleasure.”  The godless life is a a me-dominated, childish life, a life of doing what we feel like doing, whenever we feel like doing it.

God says to love.  I choose to hate. God instructs, forgive.  I opt to get even.  God calls for self-control.  I promote self-indulgence.  This is sin.

Jesus took the punishment for that sin, and made us whole. God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong on him.

Trust his work for you, then trust His work in you.

From Come Thirsty

Jeremiah 4

“If you want to come back, O Israel,
    you must really come back to me.
You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernalia
    and not wander away from me anymore.
Then you can say words like, ‘As God lives . . .’
    and have them mean something true and just and right.
And the godless nations will get caught up in the blessing
    and find something in Israel to write home about.”

3-4 Here’s another Message from God
    to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields,
    but then don’t plant weeds in the soil!
Yes, circumcise your lives for God’s sake.
    Plow your unplowed hearts,
    all you people of Judah and Jerusalem.
Prevent fire—the fire of my anger—
    for once it starts it can’t be put out.
Your wicked ways
    are fuel for the fire.

God’s Sledgehammer Anger
5-8 “Sound the alarm in Judah,
    broadcast the news in Jerusalem.
Say, ‘Blow the ram’s horn trumpet through the land!’
    Shout out—a bullhorn bellow!—
‘Close ranks!
    Run for your lives to the shelters!’
Send up a flare warning Zion:
    ‘Not a minute to lose! Don’t sit on your hands!’
Disaster’s descending from the north. I set it off!
    When it lands, it will shake the foundations.
Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover,
    ready to rip nations to shreds,
Leaving your land in wrack and ruin,
    your cities in rubble, abandoned.
Dress in funereal black.
    Weep and wail,
For God’s sledgehammer anger
    has slammed into us head-on.

9 “When this happens”
    —God’s Decree—
“King and princes will lose heart;
    priests will be baffled and prophets stand dumbfounded.”

10 Then I said, “Alas, Master God!
    You’ve fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem.
You assured them, ‘All is well, don’t worry,’
    at the very moment when the sword was at their throats.”

11-12 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem,
    will be told in plain words:
“The northern hordes are sweeping in
    from the desert steppes—
A wind that’s up to no good, a gale-force wind.
    I ordered this wind.
I’m pronouncing
    my hurricane judgment on my people.”

Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart
13-14 Look at them! Like banks of storm clouds,
    racing, tumbling, their chariots a tornado,
Their horses faster than eagles!
    Woe to us! We’re done for!
Jerusalem! Scrub the evil from your lives
    so you’ll be fit for salvation.
How much longer will you harbor
    devious and malignant designs within you?

15-17 What’s this? A messenger from Dan?
    Bad news from Ephraim’s hills!
Make the report public.
    Broadcast the news to Jerusalem:
“Invaders from far off are
    raising war cries against Judah’s towns.
They’re all over her, like a dog on a bone.
    And why? Because she rebelled against me.”
        God’s Decree.

18 “It’s the way you’ve lived
    that’s brought all this on you.
The bitter taste is from your evil life.
    That’s what’s piercing your heart.”

19-21 I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly—
    a poker burns in my gut.
My insides are tearing me up,
    never a moment’s peace.
The ram’s horn trumpet blast rings in my ears,
    the signal for all-out war.
Disaster hard on the heels of disaster,
    the whole country in ruins!
In one stroke my home is destroyed,
    the walls flattened in the blink of an eye.
How long do I have to look at the warning flares,
    listen to the siren of danger?

Experts at Evil
22 “What fools my people are!
    They have no idea who I am.
A company of half-wits,
    dopes and donkeys all!
Experts at evil
    but klutzes at good.”

23-26 I looked at the earth—
    it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness.
I looked at the skies,
    and not a star to be seen.
I looked at the mountains—
    they were trembling like aspen leaves,
And all the hills
    rocking back and forth in the wind.
I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight,
    and not a bird to be seen in the skies.
I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up.
    All the towns were ghost towns.
And all this because of God,
    because of the blazing anger of God.

27-28 Yes, this is God’s Word on the matter:

“The whole country will be laid waste—
    still it won’t be the end of the world.
The earth will mourn
    and the skies lament
Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back.
    I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.”

You’re Not Going to Seduce Anyone
29 Someone shouts, “Horsemen and archers!”
    and everybody runs for cover.
They hide in ditches,
    they climb into caves.
The cities are emptied,
    not a person left anywhere.

30-31 And you, what do you think you’re up to?
    Dressing up in party clothes,
Decking yourselves out in jewelry,
    putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara!
Your primping goes for nothing.
    You’re not going to seduce anyone. They’re out to kill you!
And what’s that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor,
    the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn.
It’s the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath,
    reaching out for help:
“Help, oh help me! I’m dying!
    The killers are on me!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, August 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

1 John 1:1–8

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

Read full chapter
Footnotes
John 1:5 Or understood

Insight
Who was John, the writer of this letter? He not only authored the three letters of John, but he also wrote the gospel of John and the book of Revelation. Like the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, John and his brother James were fishermen (Matthew 4:21) who became part of the twelve chosen followers of Jesus (Mark 3:16–19). Within that group, John was one of the three who had a close relationship with Jesus (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33). He refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23), and love becomes a central theme throughout his gospel and letters. It appears that he alone of the disciples stood by the cross (19:26), and he and Peter entered the tomb first (20:8).

Time-Traveling Letters
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 1 John 1:2

More than a million young people take part in the International Letter-Writing Competition each year. In 2018, the theme of the competition was this: “Imagine you are a letter traveling through time. What message do you want to convey to your readers?”

In the Bible, we have a collection of letters that—thanks to the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit—have made their way through time to us. As the Christian church grew, Jesus’ disciples wrote to local churches across Europe and Asia Minor to help the people understand their new life in Christ; many of those letters were collected in the Bible we read today.

What did these letter-writers want to convey to readers? John explains, in his first letter, that he’s writing about “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched.” He’s writing about his encounter with the living Christ (1 John 1:1). He writes so that his readers may “have fellowship with” one another, and with “the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (v. 3). When we have fellowship together, he writes, our joy will be complete (v. 4). The letters in the Bible draw us into a fellowship that’s beyond time—fellowship with the eternal God. By:  Amy Peterson

Reflect & Pray
If God wrote a letter to you today, what would it say? If you wrote a letter to a friend telling about how you’ve encountered the living God, what would it say?

Thank You, Father, for the fellowship I have with You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, August 09, 2020
Prayer in the Father’s Hearing
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me." —John 11:41

When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. “…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name…” (John 16:26). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.

Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 77-78; Romans 10

Jeremiah 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Taps at Your Door

Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, "Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
The world rams at your door but Jesus taps at your door. The voices scream for your allegiance but Jesus softly and tenderly requests it. Which voice do you hear? There is never a time that Jesus is not speaking. There's never a room so dark that the ever-present, ever-pursuing, relentlessly tender Father is not there, tapping gently on the doors of our hearts-waiting to be invited in.
Few hear His voice. Fewer still open the door. But never interpret your numbness as His absence. He says, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). Never.
From In the Eye of the Storm

Jeremiah 3

Your Sex-and-Religion Obsessions

 God’s Message came to me as follows:

“If a man’s wife
    walks out on him
And marries another man,
    can he take her back as if nothing had happened?
Wouldn’t that raise a huge stink
    in the land?
And isn’t that what you’ve done—
    ‘whored’ your way with god after god?
And now you want to come back as if nothing had happened.”
    God’s Decree.

2-5 “Look around at the hills.
    Where have you not had sex?
You’ve camped out like hunters stalking deer.
    You’ve solicited many lover-gods,
Like a streetwalking whore
    chasing after other gods.
And so the rain has stopped.
    No more rain from the skies!
But it doesn’t even faze you. Brazen as whores,
    you carry on as if you’ve done nothing wrong.
Then you have the nerve to call out, ‘My father!
    You took care of me when I was a child. Why not now?
Are you going to keep up your anger nonstop?’
    That’s your line. Meanwhile you keep sinning nonstop.”

Admit Your God-Defiance
6-10 God spoke to me during the reign of King Josiah: “You have noticed, haven’t you, how fickle Israel has visited every hill and grove of trees as a whore at large? I assumed that after she had gotten it out of her system, she’d come back, but she didn’t. Her flighty sister, Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that because of fickle Israel’s loose morals I threw her out, gave her her walking papers. But that didn’t faze flighty sister Judah. She went out, big as you please, and took up a whore’s life also. She took up cheap sex-and-religion as a sideline diversion, an indulgent recreation, and used anything and anyone, flouting sanity and sanctity alike, stinking up the country. And not once in all this did flighty sister Judah even give me a nod, although she made a show of it from time to time.” God’s Decree.

11-12 Then God told me, “Fickle Israel was a good sight better than flighty Judah. Go and preach this message. Face north toward Israel and say:

12-15 “‘Turn back, fickle Israel.
    I’m not just hanging back to punish you.
I’m committed in love to you.
    My anger doesn’t seethe nonstop.
Just admit your guilt.
    Admit your God-defiance.
Admit to your promiscuous life with casual partners,
    pulling strangers into the sex-and-religion groves
While turning a deaf ear to me.’”
    God’s Decree.
“Come back, wandering children!”
    God’s Decree.
“I, yes I, am your true husband.
    I’ll pick you out one by one—
This one from the city, these two from the country—
    and bring you to Zion.
I’ll give you good shepherd-rulers who rule my way,
    who rule you with intelligence and wisdom.

16 “And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come”—God’s Decree!—“when no one will say any longer, ‘Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?’ It won’t even occur to anyone to say it—‘the good old days.’ The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.

17 “Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honor God.

18 “At that time, the House of Judah will join up with the House of Israel. Holding hands, they’ll leave the north country and come to the land I willed to your ancestors.

19-20 “I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:
    ‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.
I’ll give you choice land,
    land that the godless nations would die for.’
And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’
    and would never again go off and leave me.
But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,
    you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”
        God’s Decree.

21-22 The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills,
    the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying,
Israel lamenting the wasted years,
    never once giving her God a thought.
“Come back, wandering children!
    I can heal your wanderlust!”

22-25 “We’re here! We’ve come back to you.
    You’re our own true God!
All that popular religion was a cheap lie,
    duped crowds buying up the latest in gods.
We’re back! Back to our true God,
    the salvation of Israel.
The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us
    of what our ancestors bequeathed us,
Gypped us out of our inheritance—
    God-blessed flocks and God-given children.
We made our bed and now lie in it,
    all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor.
All because we sinned against our God,
    we and our fathers and mothers.
From the time we took our first steps, said our first words,
    we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, August 08, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

2 Corinthians 5:14–21

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Read full chapter
Footnotes
2 Corinthians 5:17 Or Christ, that person is a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:21 Or be a sin offering

Insight
Various forms of the key New Testament word reconcile are found five times in 2 Corinthians 5:18–20. At the root of this term are the ideas of change or exchange. In the context of money, it signifies coins that were exchanged for others of equal value. Concerning people, the word denotes a change in the relationship from hostility to friendship. In 2 Corinthians 5:14–21, the change in relationship is between God and people on the basis of the death of Christ. Romans also includes multiple uses of the word reconciled. In just one verse the past and the ongoing benefits of reconciliation come into focus. “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (5:10).
His Death Brings Life
If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

During her ministry to men incarcerated in South Africa’s most violent prison, Joanna Flanders-Thomas witnessed the power of Christ to transform hearts. In Vanishing Grace, Philip Yancey describes her experience: “Joanna started visiting prisoners daily, bringing them a simple gospel message of forgiveness and reconciliation. She earned their trust, got them to talk about their abusive childhoods, and showed them a better way of resolving conflicts. The year before her visits began, the prison recorded 279 acts of violence against inmates and guards; the next year there were two.”

The apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). While we may not always see that newness expressed as dramatically as Flanders-Thomas did, the gospel’s power to transform is the greatest hope-providing force in the universe. New creations. What an amazing thought! The death of Jesus launches us on a journey of becoming like Him—a journey that will culminate when we see Him face-to-face (see 1 John 3:1–3). 

As believers in Jesus we celebrate our life as new creations. Yet we must never lose sight of what that cost Christ. His death brings us life. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray
How has Jesus’ transforming work been evidenced in your life? What areas of your life are still in need of that “new creation” impact?

Loving Father, thank You that, because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, I am a new creation. Forgive me for the times I return to the old things that need to pass away.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, August 08, 2020
Prayer in the Father’s Honor
…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. —Luke 1:35

If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me? What was true of the Virgin Mary in the history of the Son of God’s birth on earth is true of every saint. God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child— the right of always being face to face with my Father through prayer. Do I find myself continually saying in amazement to the commonsense part of my life, “Why did you want me to turn here or to go over there? ‘Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ ” (Luke 2:49). Whatever our circumstances may be, that holy, innocent, and eternal Child must be in contact with His Father.

Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He having His wonderful way with me? Is God’s will being fulfilled in that His Son has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19), or have I carefully pushed Him to one side? Oh, the noisy outcry of today! Why does everyone seem to be crying out so loudly? People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now— no room for quiet, holy fellowship and oneness with the Father.

Is the Son of God praying in me, bringing honor to the Father, or am I dictating my demands to Him? Is He ministering in me as He did in the time of His manhood here on earth? Is God’s Son in me going through His passion, suffering so that His own purposes might be fulfilled? The more a person knows of the inner life of God’s most mature saints, the more he sees what God’s purpose really is: to “…fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). And when we think of what it takes to “fill up,” there is always something yet to be done.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.
So Send I You

Bible in a Year: Psalms 74-76; Romans 9:16-33

Acts 26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CATALOG GOD’S GOODNESS

Short memories harden the heart so make careful note of God’s blessings! Declare with David, “I will daily add praise to praise. I’ll write the book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation the lifelong day, and never run out of good things to write or say” (Psalm 71:14-15 MSG).

Catalog God’s goodnesses. Meditate on them. He has led you and earned your trust. Remember what he’s done for you. And acknowledge what you have done against God. The scripture says, “If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts” (1 John 1:10).  Sin-hoarding stiffens us. Confession softens us. Is your heart hard? Take it to the Father. You’re only a prayer away from tenderness. You live in a hard world but you don’t have to live with a hard heart!

Acts 26

“I Couldn’t Just Walk Away”

 Agrippa spoke directly to Paul: “Go ahead—tell us about yourself.”

Paul took the stand and told his story. “I can’t think of anyone, King Agrippa, before whom I’d rather be answering all these Jewish accusations than you, knowing how well you are acquainted with Jewish ways and all our family quarrels.

4-8 “From the time of my youth, my life has been lived among my own people in Jerusalem. Practically every Jew in town who watched me grow up—and if they were willing to stick their necks out they’d tell you in person—knows that I lived as a strict Pharisee, the most demanding branch of our religion. It’s because I believed it and took it seriously, committed myself heart and soul to what God promised my ancestors—the identical hope, mind you, that the twelve tribes have lived for night and day all these centuries—it’s because I have held on to this tested and tried hope that I’m being called on the carpet by the Jews. They should be the ones standing trial here, not me! For the life of me, I can’t see why it’s a criminal offense to believe that God raises the dead.

9-11 “I admit that I didn’t always hold to this position. For a time I thought it was my duty to oppose this Jesus of Nazareth with all my might. Backed with the full authority of the high priests, I threw these believers—I had no idea they were God’s people!—into the Jerusalem jail right and left, and whenever it came to a vote, I voted for their execution. I stormed through their meeting places, bullying them into cursing Jesus, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem.

12-14 “One day on my way to Damascus, armed as always with papers from the high priests authorizing my action, right in the middle of the day a blaze of light, light outshining the sun, poured out of the sky on me and my companions. Oh, King, it was so bright! We fell flat on our faces. Then I heard a voice in Hebrew: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me? Why do you insist on going against the grain?’

15-16 “I said, ‘Who are you, Master?’

“The voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down like an animal. But now, up on your feet—I have a job for you. I’ve handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what’s happened today, and to what I am going to show you.

17-18 “‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’

19-20 “What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn’t just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. I started preaching this life-change—this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life—right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world.

21-23 “It’s because of this ‘whole world’ dimension that the Jews grabbed me in the Temple that day and tried to kill me. They want to keep God for themselves. But God has stood by me, just as he promised, and I’m standing here saying what I’ve been saying to anyone, whether king or child, who will listen. And everything I’m saying is completely in line with what the prophets and Moses said would happen: One, the Messiah must die; two, raised from the dead, he would be the first rays of God’s daylight shining on people far and near, people both godless and God-fearing.”

24 That was too much for Festus. He interrupted with a shout: “Paul, you’re crazy! You’ve read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!”

25-27 But Paul stood his ground. “With all respect, Festus, Your Honor, I’m not crazy. I’m both accurate and sane in what I’m saying. The king knows what I’m talking about. I’m sure that nothing of what I’ve said sounds crazy to him. He’s known all about it for a long time. You must realize that this wasn’t done behind the scenes. You believe the prophets, don’t you, King Agrippa? Don’t answer that—I know you believe.”

28 But Agrippa did answer: “Keep this up much longer and you’ll make a Christian out of me!”

29 Paul, still in chains, said, “That’s what I’m praying for, whether now or later, and not only you but everyone listening today, to become like me—except, of course, for this prison jewelry!”

30-31 The king and the governor, along with Bernice and their advisors, got up and went into the next room to talk over what they had heard. They quickly agreed on Paul’s innocence, saying, “There’s nothing in this man deserving prison, let alone death.”

32 Agrippa told Festus, “He could be set free right now if he hadn’t requested the hearing before Caesar.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, August 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
John 11:21–36

 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

Insight
When Martha said her brother Lazarus “will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24), she was echoing the Jewish hope of the afterlife. The resurrection of the dead was an ancient Jewish belief (Job 19:26–27). They believed there would be a future day when the “multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2; see also Isaiah 26:19; John 5:28–29). However, when Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23), He wasn’t merely referring to the future resurrection hope but promising a more immediate resurrection of Lazarus (vv. 40–44).

Letting Go
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Psalm 116:15

“Your father is actively dying,” said the hospice nurse. “Actively dying” refers to the final phase of the dying process and was a new term to me, one that felt strangely like traveling down a lonely one-way street. On my dad’s last day, not knowing if he could still hear us, my sister and I sat by his bed. We kissed the top of his beautiful bald head. We whispered God’s promises to him. We sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and quoted the 23rd Psalm. We told him we loved him and thanked him for being our dad. We knew his heart longed to be with Jesus, and we told him he could go. Speaking those words was the first painful step in letting go. A few minutes later, our dad was joyously welcomed into his eternal home.

The final release of a loved one is painful. Even Jesus’ tears flowed when His good friend Lazarus died (John 11:35). But because of God’s promises, we have hope beyond physical death. Psalm 116:15 says that God’s “faithful servants”—those who belong to Him—are “precious” to Him. Though they die, they’ll be alive again.

Jesus promises, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). What comfort it brings to know we’ll be in God’s presence forever. By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray
What did Jesus accomplish by His death on the cross? How does His sacrifice affect every person who has ever lived?

Precious Father, thank You for the promise of eternal life in Your presence.

For help in dealing with loss, read Life After Loss at discoveryseries.org/cb131.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 07, 2020
Prayer in the Father’s House

…they found Him in the temple….And He said to them, "…Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?" —Luke 2:46, 49

Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?

The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “…I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.

Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.

The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 72-73; Romans 9:1-15

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 07, 2020
Why Going to Heaven Is So Easy - And So Hard - #8760

Children can be so refreshing. They tell it like it is, and they often see it like it is better than we grownups do. Our little granddaughter was asking questions about Jesus for several months. One thing her parents had repeatedly explained to her was how Jesus cleans our hearts from the sins that we've done. Because she was young, Mom and Dad didn't push her; they just responded to her natural questions. Well, eventually, she told her daddy that she was, in her words, "afraid of sin." That's not a bad thing to be afraid of. The next day she said, "Daddy, I want to ask Jesus in my heart." And in her simple, childlike way, that's exactly what she did. Not long afterwards, she joyfully told my wife, "Grandma, I have Jesus in my heart." Grandma told her that was a happy thing. Then Grandma began to talk about how Mommy has Jesus in her heart, and Daddy has Jesus in his heart, her Grandma and Granddad, and her aunt and uncle. Suddenly she began to shake her head. She said, "No, no, no! Only children have Jesus!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Going to Heaven Is So Easy - And So Hard."

I'm grateful that Jesus made it clear that He's for everyone, old and young and everyone in between. But there's something Jesus did say about belonging to Him that actually validates some of the spirit of our little granddaughter's insight. His words, recorded in Matthew 18:2-3, our word for today from the Word of God, give to us so-smart grownups something to think about.

The Bible says, "He called a little child and made him stand among them. And He said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" Wow! Now when Jesus makes something a requirement for going to heaven when we die, you need to pay attention. We need to try to understand what He's saying.

Instead of children having to be grownup to begin a relationship with Jesus, we grownups have to become like little children. What does that mean? A little child instinctively knows he needs someone bigger. A child looks for the hand of someone bigger, the help of someone bigger, the direction of someone bigger. And a child operates on the basis of simply trusting that someone bigger who loves them. They'll trustingly go wherever that person takes them, trustingly believe whatever that person tells them. And it is that kind of total trust and total dependency on Jesus Christ that gets you into "the kingdom of heaven."

John 3:16, one of the foundation verses of the Bible, says "whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." And that means abandoning any other hope of having your sins forgiven because only Jesus died to pay for them. But that's a problem for us grownup people. Our pride keeps us from admitting that all our goodness is useless as currency to get us into heaven. If your goodness was enough, Jesus would have never gone through the agony of that cross. And over the years we learn "un-trust," because of how humans are. So we'll agree with Jesus, but we won't throw ourselves on Jesus as our only hope. The reason it's so easy to go to heaven is also the reason it's so hard...you just put all your trust in Jesus.

Often, in His love, God will send or allow a situation that's totally beyond our control. He'll allow us to hit a wall so we will realize what children realize so instinctively. We desperately need someone bigger. We need heaven's Prince who died in our place. The question is not, "Do you agree with Jesus?" or "Do you like Jesus?" Have you ever grabbed Jesus with both your hands as your only hope of getting right with God? That's the question. If not, in Jesus' words, "you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Today, you can change that, and in so doing change where you will spend eternity. It's a matter of reaching up for Jesus' hands with the simple trust of a little child reaching for the hand of his Daddy. I'd love to help you take that step if that's what you want to do. And there's a simple explanation of how to begin with Jesus at our website. It's ANewStory.com. Please get there today.

Isn't it time to look at Jesus and say, "I can't, You can, and I'm Yours?" When you do, you are finally safe all the way from here to heaven.

Jeremiah 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS LIFE HIMSELF

Life at times appears to fall to pieces. It seems irreparable. But it’s going to be okay! How can you know? Because as John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world!” Those are God’s arms you feel. Trust him. Believe him. Allow the only decision maker in the universe to comfort you. Since he has no needs, you cannot tire him. Since he is without age, you cannot lose him. Since he has no sin, you cannot corrupt him.

Paul said in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us.” If God can make a billion galaxies, can’t he make good out of our bad and sense out of our faltering lives? Of course he can. He is not just alive, but He is life himself. John 5:26 confirms for us,  “The Father has life in himself.” He is God! And God loves you.

Jeremiah 2

Israel Was God’s Holy Choice

God’s Message came to me. It went like this:

“Get out in the streets and call to Jerusalem,
    ‘God’s Message!
I remember your youthful loyalty,
    our love as newlyweds.
You stayed with me through the wilderness years,
    stuck with me through all the hard places.
Israel was God’s holy choice,
    the pick of the crop.
Anyone who laid a hand on her
    would soon wish he hadn’t!’”
        God’s Decree.

4-6 Hear God’s Message, House of Jacob!
    Yes, you—House of Israel!
God’s Message: “What did your ancestors find fault with in me
    that they drifted so far from me,
Took up with Sir Windbag
    and turned into windbags themselves?

It never occurred to them to say, ‘Where’s God,
    the God who got us out of Egypt,
Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble
    wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys,
A land that no one who enters comes out of,
    a cruel, inhospitable land?’

7-8 “I brought you to a garden land
    where you could eat lush fruit.
But you barged in and polluted my land,
    trashed and defiled my dear land.
The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’s God?’
    The religion experts knew nothing of me.
The rulers defied me.
    The prophets preached god Baal
And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

9-11 “Because of all this, I’m bringing charges against you”
        —God’s Decree—
    “charging you and your children and your grandchildren.
Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this?
    Sail to the western islands and look.
Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look.
    Look closely. Has this ever happened before,
That a nation has traded in its gods
    for gods that aren’t even close to gods?
But my people have traded my Glory
    for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

12-13 “Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see!
    Throw up your hands in disbelief—this can’t be!”
        God’s Decree.
“My people have committed a compound sin:
    they’ve walked out on me, the fountain
Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns—
    cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves.

14-17 “Isn’t Israel a valued servant,
    born into a family with place and position?
So how did she end up a piece of meat
    fought over by snarling and roaring lions?
There’s nothing left of her but a few old bones,
    her towns trashed and deserted.
Egyptians from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes
    have broken your skulls.
And why do you think all this has happened?
    Isn’t it because you walked out on your God
    just as he was beginning to lead you in the right way?

18-19 “And now, what do you think you’ll get by going off to Egypt?
    Maybe a cool drink of Nile River water?
Or what do you think you’ll get by going off to Assyria?
    Maybe a long drink of Euphrates River water?
Your evil ways will get you a sound thrashing, that’s what you’ll get.
    You’ll pay dearly for your disloyal ways.
Take a long, hard look at what you’ve done and its bitter results.
    Was it worth it to have walked out on your God?”
        God’s Decree, Master God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Addicted to Alien Gods
20-22 “A long time ago you broke out of the harness.
    You shook off all restraints.
You said, ‘I will not serve!’
    and off you went,
Visiting every sex-and-religion shrine on the way,
    like a common whore.
You were a select vine when I planted you
    from completely reliable stock.
And look how you’ve turned out—
    a tangle of rancid growth, a poor excuse for a vine.
Scrub, using the strongest soaps.
    Scour your skin raw.
The sin-grease won’t come out. I can’t stand to even look at you!”
    God’s Decree, the Master’s Decree.

23-24 “How dare you tell me, ‘I’m not stained by sin.
    I’ve never chased after the Baal sex gods’!
Well, look at the tracks you’ve left behind in the valley.
    How do you account for what is written in the desert dust—
Tracks of a camel in heat, running this way and that,
    tracks of a wild donkey in rut,
Sniffing the wind for the slightest scent of sex.
    Who could possibly corral her!
On the hunt for sex, sex, and more sex—
    insatiable, indiscriminate, promiscuous.

25 “Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry?
    Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?
But you say, ‘I can’t help it.
    I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’

26-28 “Just as a thief is chagrined, but only when caught,
    so the people of Israel are chagrined,
Caught along with their kings and princes,
    their priests and prophets.
They walk up to a tree and say, ‘My father!’
    They pick up a stone and say, ‘My mother! You bore me!’
All I ever see of them is their backsides.
    They never look me in the face.
But when things go badly, they don’t hesitate to come running,
    calling out, ‘Get a move on! Save us!’
Why not go to your handcrafted gods you’re so fond of?
    Rouse them. Let them save you from your bad times.
You’ve got more gods, Judah,
    than you know what to do with.

Trying Out Another Sin-Project
29-30 “What do you have against me,
    running off to assert your ‘independence’?”
        God’s Decree.
“I’ve wasted my time trying to train your children.
    They’ve paid no attention to me, ignored my discipline.
And you’ve gotten rid of your God-messengers,
    treating them like dirt and sweeping them away.

31-32 “What a generation you turned out to be!
    Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I warn you?
Have I let you down, Israel?
    Am I nothing but a dead-end street?
Why do my people say, ‘Good riddance!
    From now on we’re on our own’?
Young women don’t forget their jewelry, do they?
    Brides don’t show up without their veils, do they?
But my people forget me.
    Day after day after day they never give me a thought.

33-35 “What an impressive start you made
    to get the most out of life.
You founded schools of sin,
    taught graduate courses in evil!
And now you’re sending out graduates, resplendent in cap and gown—
    except the gowns are stained with the blood of your victims!
All that blood convicts you.
    You cut and hurt a lot of people to get where you are.
And yet you have the gall to say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.
    God doesn’t mind. He hasn’t punished me, has he?’
Don’t look now, but judgment’s on the way,
    aimed at you who say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

36-37 “You think it’s just a small thing, don’t you,
    to try out another sin-project when the first one fails?
But Egypt will leave you in the lurch
    the same way that Assyria did.
You’re going to walk away from there
    wringing your hands.
I, God, have blacklisted those you trusted.
    You’ll get not a lick of help from them.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, August 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Samuel 8:1–9

Israel Asks for a King

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead[b] us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

Read full chapter
Footnotes
1 Samuel 8:1 Traditionally judges
1 Samuel 8:5 Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20

Insight
A subtheme of this small section of Scripture—the evil practice of taking bribes and perverting justice as Samuel’s sons were doing (1 Samuel 8:3)—was a big concern of God’s prophets. The prophet Isaiah told the people of Judah, “Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts” (Isaiah 1:23). Ezekiel noted, “In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor” (Ezekiel 22:12). Amos derided those “who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts” (Amos 5:12). Micah said, “The ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire” (Micah 7:3). We honor God when we work for justice for the poor and vulnerable.

In the Father’s Ways
They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8:3

In the 1960s, the bustling community of North Lawndale, on Chicago’s West Side, was a pilot community for interracial living. A handful of middle-class African Americans bought homes there on “contract”—that combined the responsibilities of home ownership with the disadvantages of renting. In a contract sale, the buyer accrued no equity, and if he missed a single payment, he would immediately lose his down payment, all his monthly payments, and the property itself. Unscrupulous sellers sold at inflated prices, then the families were evicted when they missed a payment. Another family would buy on contract, and the cycle fueled by greed just kept going.

Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel, and they were driven by greed. His sons “did not follow his ways” (1 Samuel 8:3). In contrast to Samuel’s integrity, his sons “turned aside after dishonest gain” and used their position to their own advantage. This unjust behavior displeased the elders of Israel and God, putting in motion a cycle of kings that fills the pages of the Old Testament (vv. 4–5).

To refuse to walk in God’s ways allows room for the perversion of those values, and as a result injustice flourishes. To walk in His ways means honesty and justice are clearly seen not only in our words but in our deeds as well. Those good deeds are never an end in themselves but always that others may see and honor our Father in heaven. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray
What current example of injustice are you aware of? What is one way you can work toward justice in that example?

God, injustice surrounds us on every side, often overwhelming our hearts. Help me to stand with those who suffer and commit my life to walking in Your ways.

To learn more about the life and time of Samuel, visit bit.ly/2pJSpwu.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 06, 2020
The Cross in Prayer
In that day you will ask in My name… —John 16:26

We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.

“…I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you…” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.

When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 70-71; Romans 8:22-39

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 06, 2020
Seductive Sewage - #8759

I was on an Indian reservation in the Southwest and I was staying with friends there. When I woke up in the morning, I looked out and saw some beautiful scenery. It was sort of beckoning me to go for a walk and see it. I hadn't gone far when I saw this beautiful pond up ahead on the right. Now this is almost desert, so a body of water, hey, that's something special! The early morning sun was just gleaming on the water, and it looked so inviting. I was headed down to play around that pond, and then I noticed a sign identifying what tribal department was in charge of this. Want to guess? All I remember is one word "sewage." I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

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

That pond looked so inviting. It turned out to be sewage. Just like some of the material you can find on the Internet these days, in magazines, in movies and videos. The sewage is called pornography.

Just like that pond I saw, it can feel like there's a magnet pulling you toward sexually oriented materials. It can look exciting; it could look inviting. But we're talking sewage here that will foul your mind, your soul, and your relationships. It's more than a pond - it's quicksand. It's easy to get into. It is hard to get out of.

Satan is smart enough to know that you're not going to go for something ugly or boring. The Bible describes your enemy's traps this way in James 1:14-15. "Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived" - by the way, notice it starts just as a "want to") - "that desire gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." When you feed a wrong desire, it grows into active sin, and sin always kills something that matters to you. First, sin fascinates you; then it assassinates you.

Our word for today from the Word of God is for someone listening today; someone who is curious about, or flirting with, or even trapped in the sewage of pornography. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit." Now, what promises are they talking about here that should motivate us to take a spiritual shower and wash off the contaminants?

In the verses right before, God says you are "the temple of the living God." "Touch no unclean thing...I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." If you belong to Jesus, then the Most Holy God lives in you, and you are a son or daughter of the Most High. So how can you pollute God's temple? How can you pollute God's blood-bought child with what you've been looking at?

Porno-sewage stirs up desires that torment you, it makes you disrespect yourself from shame, it distorts your marriage relationship with twisted images of sex, it sows dissatisfaction with your mate, and will probably ultimately break our heart. It sets you up for an awful fall, and it robs you of God's blessing and God's power in your life.

When I realized that inviting pond was sewage, I knew what to do: get out as fast as I could. That's what you need to do. Repent. Pour out your heart and soul to Jesus at the foot of his cross, find someone who will hold you accountable on a day-to-day basis.

Turn off or cut off whatever access you have for that junk, like burning a bridge. And fill up your heart with God's Word and God's praises. Run from that stuff! It is sewage that will sink you!

Jeremiah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: UNSTOPPABLE LOVE

The Bible says,  “The heavens declare the glory of God!”  Our universe is God’s preeminent missionary.  Doesn’t a painting suggest a painter?  Don’t stars suggest a star maker?   Doesn’t creation imply a creator?

Now look within you.  Look at your sense of right and wrong.  Who told you a moral compass exists?  What is this magnetic pole that pulls the needles on the compass of your conscience if not God?  God did this!  The wonders above and within you testify to his existence.  But God not only made the world, He loves the world.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world!”  Try that on for size!  The one who formed you pulls for you.  Untrumpable power stoked by unstoppable love!

Jeremiah 1

Demolish, and Then Start Over

The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God’s Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amos reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:

5 “Before I shaped you in the womb,
    I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
    I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
    that’s what I had in mind for you.”

6 But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
    I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

7-8 God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
    I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
    Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
    God’s Decree.

9-10 God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
    “Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do
    among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
    take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
    building and planting.”

Stand Up and Say Your Piece
11-12 God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
    I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”
And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.
    I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

13-15 God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”
    I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”
Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north
    on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”
    God’s Decree.

15-16 “They’ll come and set up headquarters
    facing Jerusalem’s gates,
Facing all the city walls,
    facing all the villages of Judah.
I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
    for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
    worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

17 “But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
    Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don’t pull your punches
    or I’ll pull you out of the lineup.

18-19 “Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
    I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
    solid as a concrete block wall.
You’re a one-man defense system
    against this culture,
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
    against the priests and local leaders.
They’ll fight you, but they won’t
    even scratch you.
I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”
    God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, August 05, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Romans 8:15–17

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.
Romans 8:15 Aramaic for father

Insight
The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit—also known as “the “Spirit of God” or “the Spirit of Christ”—is the scriptural evidence that we’re saved. Paul makes clear that if anyone doesn’t have the Holy Spirit “they do not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). The Spirit gives us new birth and new life (John 3:5–6; 6:63; Titus 3:5) and is the seal and deposit guaranteeing our salvation (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13–14). Assuring us that we’re God’s children, He enables us to affectionately call out to God, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:14–15; Galatians 4:5–7). When we’re “led by the Spirit” and “live by the Spirit,” He’ll make us more like Christ (Galatians 5:16–25). Equipping us with spiritual gifts, He empowers us for ministry (Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–7). The indwelling Spirit helps us to pray, interceding for and with us (Romans 8:26).

Loved, Beautiful, Gifted
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16

Malcolm appeared confident as a teenager. But this confidence was a mask. In truth, a turbulent home left him fearful, desperate for approval, and feeling falsely responsible for his family’s problems. “For as far back as I remember,” he says, “every morning I would go into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and say out loud to myself, ‘You are stupid, you are ugly, and it’s your fault.’”

Malcolm’s self-loathing continued until he was twenty-one, when he had a divine revelation of his identity in Jesus. “I realized that God loved me unconditionally and nothing would ever change that,” he recalls. “I could never embarrass God, and He would never reject me.” In time, Malcolm looked in the mirror and spoke to himself differently. “You are loved, you are beautiful, you are gifted,” he said, “and it’s not your fault.”

Malcolm’s experience illustrates what God’s Spirit does for the believer in Jesus—He frees us from fear by revealing how profoundly loved we are (Romans 8:15, 38–39), and confirms that we are children of God with all the benefits that status brings (8:16–17; 12:6–8). As a result, we can begin seeing ourselves correctly by having our thinking renewed (12:2–3).

Years later, Malcolm still whispers those words each day, reinforcing who God says he is. In the Father’s eyes he’s loved, beautiful, and gifted. And so are we. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray
What words come to mind when you see yourself in the mirror? How different are they from Scripture’s depiction of what God sees in you?

Father, thank You for loving me, gifting me, and making me Your child. May Your Spirit work in me today to truly, deeply believe it.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 05, 2020
The Bewildering Call of God

"…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished."…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34

God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.

This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.

If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 68-69; Romans 8:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 05, 2020
A Rescue Mission - #8758

You know, for many years there's been a crusade going on in America. It was driven by mothers. There's actually a television movie some years ago that portrayed how one woman started an organization called MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) because her own daughter was killed. Now, drunken driving was just a theoretical issue to her until, well when her own daughter was killed. That began the crusade that has actually begun to really make a change sometimes in people's driving habits and across the country. I guess in every area of our life a lot of us, well, we don't join a battle until someone we love is wounded in it. And you might be in that position. There's a spiritual battle that has all of a sudden become very real to you because someone you love is a casualty.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Genesis 14. I'll begin reading at verse 11. It comes from the life of Abraham, and it concerns an incident with his nephew, Lot. Now, he actually raised Lot pretty much as his own son. Here's what it says: "The four kings of Sodom seized all the goods and all their food, and then they went away. They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan."

Okay, you see what's happening here? Abram's living in a nice comfortable spot. In fact I have visited Israel and I've seen those trees in Mamre, and what a nice shaded spot in the middle of the sunshine and surrounded by the hills there. It's a great spot. Abram's got a wonderful position, but now he's heard that someone he loves is in trouble, so he calls out all the 318 men at his disposal and mobilizes them for rescue.

Now, the fact is, and the principle of this passage of scripture is that when someone you love is in trouble, you drop everything. Just like that mother who started Mothers Against Drunk Driving. When it hit her home, she dropped everything and she got in the fight. I wonder if in a sense, just like Abram here, you have a loved one who's been carried off. Not by a king somewhere, but perhaps by sin, maybe they've been tempted, they've been lured away, maybe they're on a prodigal path. Maybe they're wandering in some form or another. Can I urge you today; do what Abram did when someone he loved was carried off. Use all the resources at your disposal to fight for them.

That, of course, means most of all, prayer. "Lord, bless the missionaries." No, not that kind of prayer. I mean intensive, combat prayer where you gather perhaps some loved ones together and you pray by name regularly, and passionately, and fervently on behalf of that person and for their spiritual rescue. And then give them some extra time. Maybe they're withdrawing from you, but still do all you can.

Set aside whatever you have to in your schedule to be with them. Change your datebook for them. If it takes money, if it takes going for counseling to work on your end of it, whether they'll go or not, you go and find out what you can change to help them.

Maybe it's an apology that's needed. Maybe you need to admit you've been wrong. Whatever you can do, make sure that he or she knows they are loved. Write a letter, if nothing else, to tell them how much you love them, and always have and always will. Maybe you share even a prayer for them, the things you're sorry for, and how you wish things could be in the future so the rest of your years might be the best of your years.

God often uses the wandering of loved ones to actually make us re-examine our lives. And the good news, if you're willing to mobilize all your resources, listen to what happened here. It says, "Abram recovered all the goods and brought back his relative." Fight for that loved one of yours with everything you've got, and then trust God to bring them home.

Acts 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD GAVE HIMSELF

This is John 3:16:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life!”  I read these words and realize they are to Scripture what the Mississippi River is to America— an entryway into the heartland.  Any serious consideration of Christ must include them!

God so loved the world.  We’d expect an anger-fueled God.  One who punishes the world, forsakes the world, but loves the world?  This world?  And He loves so much he gave his…declarations?  Rules?  Dicta?  Edicts?  No, the mind-bending claim of John 3:16 is this:  God gave his Son…his only Son!  Scripture equates Jesus with God.  God then, gave himself so that whoever believes in him shall not perish!

Acts 25

Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take up his duties as governor, he went up to Jerusalem. The high priests and top leaders renewed their vendetta against Paul. They asked Festus if he wouldn’t please do them a favor by sending Paul to Jerusalem to respond to their charges. A lie, of course—they had revived their old plot to set an ambush and kill him along the way.

4-5 Festus answered that Caesarea was the proper jurisdiction for Paul, and that he himself was going back there in a few days. “You’re perfectly welcome,” he said, “to go back with me then and accuse him of whatever you think he’s done wrong.”

6-7 About eight or ten days later, Festus returned to Caesarea. The next morning he took his place in the courtroom and had Paul brought in. The minute he walked in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem were all over him, hurling the most extreme accusations, none of which they could prove.

8 Then Paul took the stand and said simply, “I’ve done nothing wrong against the Jewish religion, or the Temple, or Caesar. Period.”

9 Festus, though, wanted to get on the good side of the Jews and so said, “How would you like to go up to Jerusalem, and let me conduct your trial there?”

10-11 Paul answered, “I’m standing at this moment before Caesar’s bar of justice, where I have a perfect right to stand. And I’m going to keep standing here. I’ve done nothing wrong to the Jews, and you know it as well as I do. If I’ve committed a crime and deserve death, name the day. I can face it. But if there’s nothing to their accusations—and you know there isn’t—nobody can force me to go along with their nonsense. We’ve fooled around here long enough. I appeal to Caesar.”

12 Festus huddled with his advisors briefly and then gave his verdict: “You’ve appealed to Caesar; you’ll go to Caesar!”

13-17 A few days later King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, visited Caesarea to welcome Festus to his new post. After several days, Festus brought up Paul’s case to the king. “I have a man on my hands here, a prisoner left by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem, the high priests and Jewish leaders brought a bunch of accusations against him and wanted me to sentence him to death. I told them that wasn’t the way we Romans did things. Just because a man is accused, we don’t throw him out to the dogs. We make sure the accused has a chance to face his accusers and defend himself of the charges. So when they came down here I got right on the case. I took my place in the courtroom and put the man on the stand.

18-21 “The accusers came at him from all sides, but their accusations turned out to be nothing more than arguments about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who the prisoner claimed was alive. Since I’m a newcomer here and don’t understand everything involved in cases like this, I asked if he’d be willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there. Paul refused and demanded a hearing before His Majesty in our highest court. So I ordered him returned to custody until I could send him to Caesar in Rome.”

22 Agrippa said, “I’d like to see this man and hear his story.”

“Good,” said Festus. “We’ll bring him in first thing in the morning and you’ll hear it for yourself.”

23 The next day everybody who was anybody in Caesarea found his way to the Great Hall, along with the top military brass. Agrippa and Bernice made a flourishing grand entrance and took their places. Festus then ordered Paul brought in.

24-26 Festus said, “King Agrippa and distinguished guests, take a good look at this man. A bunch of Jews petitioned me first in Jerusalem, and later here, to do away with him. They have been most vehement in demanding his execution. I looked into it and decided that he had committed no crime. He requested a trial before Caesar and I agreed to send him to Rome. But what am I going to write to my master, Caesar? All the charges made by the Jews were fabrications, and I’ve uncovered nothing else.

26-27 “That’s why I’ve brought him before this company, and especially you, King Agrippa: so we can come up with something in the nature of a charge that will hold water. For it seems to me silly to send a prisoner all that way for a trial and not be able to document what he did wrong.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, August 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Samuel 24:1–10 (NIV)

David Spares Saul’s Life

After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said[b] to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’

Read full chapter
Footnotes
1 Samuel 24:1 In Hebrew texts 24:1-22 is numbered 24:2-23.
1 Samuel 24:4 Or “Today the Lord is saying

Insight
Twice David spared King Saul’s life—first as recorded in 1 Samuel 24:1–10 and again as described in 1 Samuel 26. The setting in 1 Samuel 24 is a large cave in the wilderness of En Gedi. This cave is one among many in the region, some large enough to hold thousands. Saul and his soldiers were pursuing David with the intent of killing him when Saul stopped to relieve himself in the very cave where David and his six hundred men were hiding. In chapter 26, Saul continues to pursue David. Once again, David is close enough to kill Saul but shows him the mercy that Saul lacks.

God’s Mercy at Work
May the Lord judge between you and me. 1 Samuel 24:12

My anger percolated when a woman mistreated me, blamed me, and gossiped about me. I wanted everyone to know what she’d done—wanted her to suffer as I’d suffered because of her behavior. I steamed with resentment until a headache pierced my temples. But as I began praying for my pain to go away, the Holy Spirit convicted me. How could I plot revenge while begging God for relief? If I believed He would care for me, why wouldn’t I trust Him to handle this situation? Knowing that people who are hurting often hurt other people, I asked God to help me forgive the woman and work toward reconciliation.

The psalmist David understood the difficulty of trusting God while enduring unfair treatment. Though David did his best to be a loving servant, King Saul succumbed to jealousy and wanted to murder him (1 Samuel 24:1–2). David suffered while God worked things out and prepared him to take the throne, but still he chose to honor God instead of seeking revenge (vv. 3–7). He did his part to reconcile with Saul and left the results in God’s hands (vv. 8–22).

When it seems others are getting away with wrongdoing, we struggle with the injustice. But with God’s mercy at work in our hearts and the hearts of others, we can forgive as He’s forgiven us and receive the blessings He’s prepared for us. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray
How can trusting that God is perfect, loving, good, and in control help you when sin seems to be prevailing? Who do you need to forgive and place in God’s mighty and merciful hands?

Merciful God, please help me trust You to determine how justice prevails.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 04, 2020
The Brave Friendship of God

He took the twelve aside… —Luke 18:31

Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.

We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 66-67; Romans 7

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 04, 2020
I Think I Can't - #8757

One of the first books I remember hearing my parents read to me, and actually one of the first books my kids remember us reading to them, is that famous little classic, "The Little Engine That Could." You probably remember the story of that load of toys that no train was able to pull up the mountain to get those poor little children their toys on the other side. Well, no train that is, until this unlikely little engine volunteered to give it a try. And against all odds, he made it, puffing out those four inspiring words - listen, if you remember them, say them with me now: "I think I can! I think I can!" (Yeah, you got it!) And he inspired us to believe that we could do anything if we had that same confidence. Unfortunately, I have a scandalous secret to tell you. The little engine lied to us!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "I Think I Can't."

In a strange way, "I think I can't" turns out to be much more powerful than "I think I can." I know, the book had a good point. But what I'm saying is this: You start to understand that as you bring your life under the leadership of the Lord, Jesus Christ, you begin to understand the powerful things that can happen when you're finally ready to say to God, "I think I can't, and only You can!"

Listen to one of the most highly trained, highly skilled, highly motivated men in all of the Bible, the great Apostle Paul. He's speaking in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, and he starts with God's answer to his prayer for deliverance from his "thorn in the flesh" - some frustrating, incurable condition he could not get rid of. He says, "But the Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'" Then he reports this startling discovery he made when he faced something he couldn't fix and he couldn't control, "When I am weak, then I am strong."

Paul said that when he reached the point of "I can't." God's power flooded in, in a way that made him stronger than he had ever been when he was strong. In Paul's strength that is. Some of us are inveterate "little engines that could." We always have a plan, we can always make a way, and we can always solve it. (Sounds like somebody I know who has a radio program.)

And while we'll ask God to help us, we still hang onto control. Until it reaches the point of being seemingly hopeless, the point where we're ready to totally take our hands off of it, wave the white flag and say, "God, it's all Yours. I release it completely. Only You can do this!" And God says, "I've been waiting so long for you to say that. Now fasten your seat belt."

Of course, you don't have to wait until you're at the end. You could realize that reality that you can't long before you're forced to conclude that. When you don't know what to do, you claim God's promise that "if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously" (James 1:5). Sometimes, I sit at my desk and I literally say out loud, "God, I lack wisdom here. I have no idea what to do." And soon I've got insight I never had before. Remember that Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit (that means totally dependent, the ones who admit they're ‘broke'), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

When you're out of strength, Isaiah 40:29 says, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." But you have to admit that's you. You've got to amidt you're the weary, you're the weak. I learned it when I was a little kid, that song "Jesus Loves Me." And I learned the words to that when I was about six years old, but it took me decades to finally live them. These words, "they are weak, but He is strong." When you're at the end of you, you're at the beginning of the awesome power of God.

When you know Christ, you are never more powerful than when you're powerless.

Habakkuk 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE HOPE DIAMOND OF THE BIBLE

Jesus said,  “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Born again?  You must be kidding.  Put life in reverse?  We can’t be born again!  Oh but wouldn’t we like to?  A try-again.  A reload.  How can this be?

Jesus answers in John 3:16, the hope diamond of the Bible. “For God so loved the word that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  A twenty-six word parade of hope!  If you know nothing in the Bible—start here.  If you know everything about the Bible—return here!  He loves.  He gave.  We believe.  We live!

For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only son… John 3:16.

Habakkuk 3

God Racing on the Crest of the Waves

 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra:

God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you,
    and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
    Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
    remember mercy.

3-7 God’s on his way again,
    retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
    the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
    his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
    forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
    what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
    pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
    He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
    ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
    than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
    Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
    hoping he wouldn’t notice them.

8-16 God, is it River you’re mad at?
    Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
    horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
    and let loose a volley of arrows.
    You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
    They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
    Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
    Your flashing arrows stopped them,
    your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
    Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
    to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
    out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
    from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
    and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
    and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
    racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
    I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
    I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
    to descend on our attackers.

17-19 Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
    and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
    and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
    and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
    I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
    I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, August 03, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Romans 6:1–11

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:6 Or be rendered powerless

Insight
Paul’s question in Romans 6:1—“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase”—flows from his observation in the previous chapter that when sin increases, grace increases “all the more” (5:20). So Paul asks if grace is a license to sin. Not if we value being in the gracious care of Christ rather than in the custody and condemnation of the law (v. 21). Not when we see that what we lost in Adam now overflows in the life, love, peace, and hope that comes in the awareness of what it means to be united in and with Jesus (chs. 5–6).

The Battle’s Over. Really.

We were . . . buried with him. Romans 6:4

For twenty-nine years after World War II ended, Hiroo Onoda hid in the jungle, refusing to believe his country had surrendered. Japanese military leaders had dispatched Onoda to a remote island in the Philippines (Lubang) with orders to spy on the Allied forces. Long after a peace treaty had been signed and hostilities ceased, Onoda remained in the wilderness. In 1974, Onoda’s commanding officer traveled to the island to find him and convince him the war was over.

For three decades, Onoda lived a meager, isolated existence, because he refused to surrender—refused to believe the conflict was done. We can make a similar mistake. Paul proclaims the stunning truth that “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3). On the cross, in a powerful, mysterious way, Jesus put to death Satan’s lies, death’s terror, and sin’s tenacious grip. Though we’re “dead to sin” and “alive to God” (v. 11), we often live as though evil still holds the power. We yield to temptation, succumbing to sin’s seduction. We listen to lies, failing to trust Jesus. But we don’t have to yield. We don’t have to live in a false narrative. By God’s grace we can embrace the true story of Christ’s victory.

While we’ll still wrestle with sin, liberation comes as we recognize that Jesus has already won the battle. May we live out that truth in His power. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray
How are you tempted to believe that death and sin still hold power over your life? Where can you see Christ’s victory already present in the world?

Jesus, I know You’ve won the battle over evil and darkness. Would You help me to live this out?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 03, 2020
The Compelling Purpose of God

He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31

Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…” (Luke 9:51).

The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).

We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside…” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 03, 2020
The Only Way to Heal Your Heart - #8756

It was the kind of news that no expectant parents want to get from their obstetrician. The doctor told them that a recent sonogram revealed that their baby had a 1-in-10,000 heart condition. Their unborn son had a potentially devastating hole in his heart. They had to deliver the baby early, so He was pretty small, but they went ahead and they performed open-heart surgery on his heart that was only the size of a nickel. He made it, and I was privileged to be there in infant intensive care the first time that his father got to hold him - tubes and all. There, in the middle of his tiny chest, there was this 2 & 1/2-inch wound, covered by a bandage. On the one hand, it was a pretty hard thing for a daddy to see his little son, actually his only son, with that big wound. But that wound was the only way his heart could be healed.

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

As I watched that father holding his wounded son, I couldn't help but think, God has a wounded son - His only Son. And without His wounds, there's no way my heart could have ever been healed or that your heart can be healed.

That man hanging on that rugged cross - spikes in His hands and feet, a crown of thorns jammed on His head, a deep spear wound in His side - that man is Jesus, God's one and only Son. In fact, as I watched a dad holding his only son, his wounded son, some of the most precious words in the Bible popped into my mind. I found myself actually saying it out loud: "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That really comes to life when you put your name in it. I'll do it with my name. "God so loved Ron that He gave His one and only Son so that if Ron (now put your name in there) would believe in Him, then (there you go) will not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus' death was no accident. He wasn't a victim. God sent Him here to die in our place. He describes it vividly in Isaiah 53:4-5. It's our word for today from the Word of God. "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities (that covers every law of God you've ever broken, I've ever broken, every wrong thing we've ever done); the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed."

Healed from what? From the deadly sin-cancer inside each of us; the spiritual cancer that's always terminal unless it's cured. And there's only one way that could happen - the wounding and the dying of God's only Son. Because only He was qualified to take your place and mine, absorbing all the punishment that we deserve for our sin. Without His wounds, there's no way you or I could ever have our hearts healed of what will otherwise cost us eternal life.

The greatest tragedy I can imagine is that you would miss what Jesus spent so much to give you, by depending on your religion or your goodness to get your sins forgiven. If there was any other way for you to have your sin forgiven, believe me, Jesus would not have paid the price He paid. You could miss it all by ignoring Him or just continually putting Him off, or by knowing a lot about Him but not knowing Him.

Today, Jesus is extending His nail-scarred hand to you. He didn't stay dead. He rose from the dead to be a living Savior for you. But you have to grab His hand, as your only hope of being rescued from the penalty of your sin. You can do that by telling Him you're ready to turn from the sin that separates you from Him and then you're ready to pin all your hopes on Him and what He did for you on the cross.

Today could be your day to experience this love, this forgiveness for yourself. If you want that, I'd love to be able to encourage you in that direction. That is what our website's for. I've provided a brief explanation there how you can begin your personal relationship with Jesus. You go there today - I would just urge you to do that. It's ANewStory.com. That's the website. Your new story could begin there today!

Because of all that God's Son has done for you, God will never forget what you do with His Son.