Judges 6 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  Unstuck - May 10, 2022

Life feels stuck when life makes no progress. When you battle the same discouragement you faced a decade ago or struggle with the same fears you faced a year ago. When you feel as though everyone gets to the pool before you, and nobody wants to help you. Friend, Jesus sees you. He has a new version of you waiting to happen. He says to you what he said to the man near the pool of Bethesda: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (John 5:8 NLT).

Stand up: Do something. Take action. Pick up your mat: Make a clean break with the past. And walk: Hit the trail. Assume that something good is going to happen. Set your sights on a new destination, and begin the hike. Getting unstuck means getting excited about getting out. And remember, friend, you are never alone.

Judges 6

Gideon

Yet again the People of Israel went back to doing evil in God’s sight. God put them under the domination of Midian for seven years. Midian overpowered Israel. Because of Midian, the People of Israel made for themselves hideouts in the mountains—caves and forts. When Israel planted its crops, Midian and Amalek, the easterners, would invade them, camp in their fields, and destroy their crops all the way down to Gaza. They left nothing for them to live on, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. Bringing their cattle and tents, they came in and took over, like an invasion of locusts. And their camels—past counting! They marched in and devastated the country. The People of Israel, reduced to grinding poverty by Midian, cried out to God for help.

7-10 One time when the People of Israel had cried out to God because of Midian, God sent them a prophet with this message: “God, the God of Israel, says,

I delivered you from Egypt,
    I freed you from a life of slavery;
I rescued you from Egypt’s brutality
    and then from every oppressor;
I pushed them out of your way
    and gave you their land.

“And I said to you, ‘I am God, your God. Don’t for a minute be afraid of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.’ But you didn’t listen to me.”

11-12 One day the angel of God came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, whose son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, out of sight of the Midianites. The angel of God appeared to him and said, “God is with you, O mighty warrior!”

13 Gideon replied, “With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us, ‘Didn’t God deliver us from Egypt?’ The fact is, God has nothing to do with us—he has turned us over to Midian.”

14 But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?”

15 Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”

16 God said to him, “I’ll be with you. Believe me, you’ll defeat Midian as one man.”

17-18 Gideon said, “If you’re serious about this, do me a favor: Give me a sign to back up what you’re telling me. Don’t leave until I come back and bring you my gift.”

He said, “I’ll wait till you get back.”

19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat and a huge amount of unraised bread (he used over half a bushel of flour!). He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and took them back under the shade of the oak tree for a sacred meal.

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unraised bread, place them on that rock, and pour the broth on them.” Gideon did it.

21-22 The angel of God stretched out the tip of the stick he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Fire broke out of the rock and burned up the meat and bread while the angel of God slipped away out of sight. And Gideon knew it was the angel of God!

Gideon said, “Oh no! Master, God! I have seen the angel of God face-to-face!”

23 But God reassured him, “Easy now. Don’t panic. You won’t die.”

24 Then Gideon built an altar there to God and named it “God’s Peace.” It’s still called that at Ophrah of Abiezer.

25-26 That night this happened. God said to him, “Take your father’s best seven-year-old bull, the prime one. Tear down your father’s Baal altar and chop down the Asherah fertility pole beside it. Then build an altar to God, your God, on the top of this hill. Take the prime bull and present it as a Whole-Burnt-Offering, using firewood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

27 Gideon selected ten men from his servants and did exactly what God had told him. But because of his family and the people in the neighborhood, he was afraid to do it openly, so he did it that night.

28 Early in the morning, the people in town were shocked to find Baal’s altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it chopped down, and the prime bull burning away on the altar that had been built.

29 They kept asking, “Who did this?”

Questions and more questions, and then the answer: “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

30 The men of the town demanded of Joash: “Bring out your son! He must die! Why, he tore down the Baal altar and chopped down the Asherah tree!”

31 But Joash stood up to the crowd pressing in on him, “Are you going to fight Baal’s battles for him? Are you going to save him? Anyone who takes Baal’s side will be dead by morning. If Baal is a god in fact, let him fight his own battles and defend his own altar.”

32 They nicknamed Gideon that day Jerub-Baal because after he had torn down the Baal altar, he had said, “Let Baal fight his own battles.”

* * *

33-35 All the Midianites and Amalekites (the easterners) got together, crossed the river, and made camp in the Valley of Jezreel. God’s Spirit came over Gideon. He blew his ram’s horn trumpet and the Abiezrites came out, ready to follow him. He dispatched messengers all through Manasseh, calling them to the battle; also to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. They all came.

36-37 Gideon said to God, “If this is right, if you are using me to save Israel as you’ve said, then look: I’m placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew is on the fleece only, but the floor is dry, then I know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said.”

38 That’s what happened. When he got up early the next morning, he wrung out the fleece—enough dew to fill a bowl with water!

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be impatient with me, but let me say one more thing. I want to try another time with the fleece. But this time let the fleece stay dry, while the dew drenches the ground.”

40 God made it happen that very night. Only the fleece was dry while the ground was wet with dew.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Today's Scripture
Job 19:19–27

Everyone I’ve ever been close to abhors me;

my dearest loved ones reject me.

I’m nothing but a bag of bones;

my life hangs by a thread.

21–22     “Oh, friends, dear friends, take pity on me.

God has come down hard on me!

Do you have to be hard on me, too?

Don’t you ever tire of abusing me?

23–27     “If only my words were written in a book—

better yet, chiseled in stone!

Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life—

and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth.

And I’ll see him—even though I get skinned alive!—

see God myself, with my very own eyes.

Oh, how I long for that day!

Insight

Who was Job? We can glean from his writings that he was well-traveled and could draw on extensive experience and knowledge. He was no doubt knowledgeable of the constellations (9:9; 38:31), plants (8:11–19), weather and precipitation, and various animals (chs. 39–41) mentioned in the book.

Scholars can’t pinpoint the exact time the book was written. Yet Job has a patriarchal setting, which has led some to suggest a date as early as the time of Abraham. But Job also alludes to (or quotes) Scripture (Job 7:17–18 [Psalm 8:4]; 12:21, 24 [Psalm 107:40]), which suggests that the writer had access to these writings and therefore would indicate a much later date. The book’s setting is the land of Uz, which scholars say is probably ancient Edom or Aram/Syria (Job 1:1). Uz was near a desert (v. 19) and the land was suitable for raising livestock (v. 3). By: Alyson Kieda

Engraved Grief

Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, . . . inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in ro

After receiving the devastating diagnosis of a rare and incurable brain cancer, Caroline found renewed hope and purpose through providing a unique service: volunteering photography services for critically ill children and their families. Through this service, families could capture the precious moments shared with their children, both in grief and “the moments of grace and beauty we assume don’t exist in those desperate places.” She observed that “in the hardest moments imaginable, those families . . . choose to love, despite and because of it all.”

There’s something unspeakably powerful about capturing the truth of grief—both the devastating reality of it and the ways in which we experience beauty and hope in the midst of it.

Much of the book of Job is like a photograph of grief—capturing honestly Job’s journey through devastating loss (1:18–19). After sitting with Job for several days, his friends wearied of his grief, resorting to minimizing it or explaining it away as God’s judgment. But Job would have none of it, insisting that what he was going through mattered, and wishing that the testimony of his experience would be “engraved in rock forever!” (19:24).

Through the book of Job, it was “engraved”—in a way that points us in our grief to the living God (vv. 26–27), who meets us in our pain, carrying us through death into resurrection life. By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How can facing pain honestly bring healing? When have you experienced unexpected grace and beauty within great grief?

Compassionate God, help me to witness honestly to those who are experiencing pain and offer the hope You provide.

Read Out of the Ashes: God’s Presence in Job’s Pain.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 
Take the Initiative

…add to your faith virtue… —2 Peter 1:5

Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us (Philippians 2:12). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning— to instruct yourself in the way you must go.

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly.  Disciples Indeed, 393 R

Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 10-12; John 1:29-51

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, May 10, 2022

How to Know You're Ready for Eternity - #9217

It was right after Christmas in 2004, and Damian Barrett was on a beach in Thailand. Suddenly he saw the tide go out so quickly that the bay was drained dry. And moments later, the ocean came roaring back with that monster tsunami that claimed so many lives that day across South Asia. A massive wave swept Damian into the shopping area and then into a store which then started filling with water. He was carried to the ceiling by that rising water. He was sure he was going to die there, until the water actually pushed him through a gap in the roof.

But any relief that he felt didn't last long. Now he was being sucked out to sea where he would stand no chance. And then the tide slammed him into the trunk of a large tree - a massive tree that could withstand even the force of the tsunami. As vehicles, appliances and all kinds of debris swept past him, he hung onto that tree with everything he had.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Know You're Ready for Eternity."

That man lived to tell his story because of a tree that stood between him and certain death. For 2000 years, a tree has been saving the lives of people who would otherwise have no chance. I'm one of them. That tree has stood between them and the deadly tide of eternal judgment that awaits on the other side of this life. Because as Hebrews 9:26-27, our word for today from the Word of God says: "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."

The verses immediately before and after that unsettling verdict tell us about the tree that offers hope of life. One of those verses says of Jesus, "He has appeared…to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." See, our sin is the tide that is sweeping us inexorably toward the judgment of a holy God. He made us to live for Him; we've lived for ourselves instead. Everything else He made obeys Him except us. We are the rebels of the universe, and our rebellion carries an awful death penalty that the Bible calls hell. So imagine the power of those words, "He appeared to do away with sin." How? "By the sacrifice of Himself" it says. See, that's the tree! It's that horrific cross where Jesus poured out His blood and His life to take the judgment I deserve and you deserve.

The judgment for our sin fell on Jesus at the cross. That tree is what stands between you and the penalty of your sin no matter how good you are, no matter how religious you are, because no amount of good can satisfy a holy God or pay a death penalty. All our spiritual efforts are no match for the size of the wave of God's judgment.

So our only hope is clinging to the tree where God's judgment fell on His Son. Or, more importantly, to cling to the One who died on that tree, which means abandoning all other hopes: our pride, our self-reliance. And realizing we are as desperate and as helpless as a man being swept out to sea, and then clinging to the One whose death on that tree for us is literally our only hope - your only hope.

Have you ever told Him that? Have you ever said, "Jesus, I'm lost without You. But I'm ready to turn from my sin and I'm ready to hold onto You with all the faith I've got." If you've never done that, you're still facing the judgment for your sin. But if you'll do that today, your sin will be forgiven, erased from God's Book, your hell canceled, and your heaven guaranteed. It's time to tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

Our website's there really set up to be there for you at a moment like this to help you know how to belong to Him, how to begin your relationship with Him and know you've got it settled. You want to get this done? Would you go to our website? It's ANewStory.com.

There's an old hymn that says it pretty well, "Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Your cross I cling." Wow! I pray that will be you today.

Judges 5 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Do You Want to Get Well? - May 9, 2022

On that particular day at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus was drawn to the main character of this miracle. John chapter five, verses five through seven read like this: “When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’ ‘I can’t, sir,’ the man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up…’” What an odd question to ask a sick person. Why would Jesus pose such a question? The man was thirty-eight years as an invalid. The duration of the condition prompted Jesus to ask, “Would you like to get well?”

Getting well means getting up, getting a job, getting on with life. Do you really want to be healed? That’s the question Jesus asked then. That’s the question Jesus asks all of us. Do you want to get well? Remember my friend, you are never alone.

Judges 5 

That day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

2
When they let down their hair in Israel,
    they let it blow wild in the wind.
The people volunteered with abandon,
    bless God!

3
Hear O kings! Listen O princes!
    To God, yes to God, I’ll sing,
Make music to God,
    to the God of Israel.

4-5
God, when you left Seir,
    marched across the fields of Edom,
Earth quaked, yes, the skies poured rain,
    oh, the clouds made rivers.
Mountains leapt before God, the Sinai God,
    before God, the God of Israel.

6-8
In the time of Shamgar son of Anath,
    and in the time of Jael,
Public roads were abandoned,
    travelers went by backroads.
Warriors became fat and sloppy,
    no fight left in them.
Then you, Deborah, rose up;
    you got up, a mother in Israel.
God chose new leaders,
    who then fought at the gates.
And not a shield or spear to be seen
    among the forty companies of Israel.

9
Lift your hearts high, O Israel,
    with abandon, volunteering yourselves with the people—bless God!

* * *

10-11
You who ride on prize donkeys
    comfortably mounted on blankets
And you who walk down the roads,
    ponder, attend!
Gather at the town well
    and listen to them sing,
Chanting the tale of God’s victories,
    his victories accomplished in Israel.

Then the people of God
    went down to the city gates.

12
Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
    Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
On your feet, Barak!
    Take your prisoners, son of Abinoam!

* * *

13-18
Then the remnant went down to greet the brave ones.
    The people of God joined the mighty ones.
The captains from Ephraim came to the valley,
    behind you, Benjamin, with your troops.
Captains marched down from Makir,
    from Zebulun high-ranking leaders came down.
Issachar’s princes rallied to Deborah,
    Issachar stood fast with Barak,
    backing him up on the field of battle.
But in Reuben’s divisions there was much second-guessing.
    Why all those campfire discussions?
Diverted and distracted,
    Reuben’s divisions couldn’t make up their minds.
Gilead played it safe across the Jordan,
    and Dan, why did he go off sailing?
Asher kept his distance on the seacoast,
    safe and secure in his harbors.
But Zebulun risked life and limb, defied death,
    as did Naphtali on the battle heights.

19-23
The kings came, they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach they fought, at Megiddo’s brook,
    but they took no silver, no plunder.
The stars in the sky joined the fight,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
The torrent Kishon swept them away,
    the torrent attacked them, the torrent Kishon.
    Oh, you’ll stomp on the necks of the strong!
Then the hoofs of the horses pounded,
    charging, stampeding stallions.
“Curse Meroz,” says God’s angel.
    “Curse, double curse, its people,
Because they didn’t come when God needed them,
    didn’t rally to God’s side with valiant fighters.”

* * *

24-27
Most blessed of all women is Jael,
    wife of Heber the Kenite,
    most blessed of homemaking women.
He asked for water,
    she brought milk;
In a handsome bowl,
    she offered cream.
She grabbed a tent peg in her left hand,
    with her right hand she seized a hammer.
She hammered Sisera, she smashed his head,
    she drove a hole through his temple.
He slumped at her feet. He fell. He sprawled.
    He slumped at her feet. He fell.
    Slumped. Fallen. Dead.

* * *

28-30
Sisera’s mother waited at the window,
    a weary, anxious watch.
“What’s keeping his chariot?
    What delays his chariot’s rumble?”
The wisest of her ladies-in-waiting answers
    with calm, reassuring words,
“Don’t you think they’re busy at plunder,
    dividing up the loot?
A girl, maybe two girls,
    for each man,
And for Sisera a bright silk shirt,
    a prize, fancy silk shirt!
And a colorful scarf—make it two scarves—
    to grace the neck of the plunderer.”

* * *

31
Thus may all God’s enemies perish,
    while his lovers be like the unclouded sun.

The land was quiet for forty years.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, May 09, 2022

From the Shadows to the Substance

6–7     My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

8–10     Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

11–15     Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.

Insight

In Colossians 2:6–13, Paul highlights the idea of fullness. In verse 9, he uses the word pleroma, which refers to filling to capacity, to describe the extent to which Christ exemplifies and demonstrates deity. There’s no part of Jesus in which God doesn’t dwell; He’s fully God (see Colossians 1:15–20; Hebrews 1:3).

Conversely, in Colossians 2:10, Paul uses the verb pleroo to describe our being brought to fullness in Christ. Rather than fullness being something we have, it’s something that’s done to us and in us; we’re completed in Jesus. This word is often used to describe the fulfillment of prophecies about Christ—they were fulfilled—giving the word the sense of completion or accomplishment. By: J.R. Hudberg

The Sunflower Battle

In Christ you have been brought to fullness.
Colossians 2:10

The deer in our neighborhood and I have two different opinions about sunflowers. When I plant sunflowers each spring, I’m looking forward to the beauty of their blooms. My deer friends, however, don’t care about the finished product. They simply want to chew the stems and leaves until there’s nothing left. It’s an annual summertime battle as I try to see the sunflowers to maturity before my four-hoofed neighbors devour them. Sometimes I win; sometimes they win.

When we think about our lives as believers in Jesus, it’s easy to see a similar battle being waged between us and our enemy—Satan. Our goal is continual growth leading to spiritual maturity that helps our lives stand out for God’s honor. The devil wants to devour our faith and keep us from growing. But Jesus has dominion over “every power” and can bring us “to fullness” (Colossians 2:10), which means He makes us “complete.” Christ’s victory on the cross allows us to stand out in the world like those beautiful sunflowers.

When Jesus nailed the “record of the charges against us” (the penalty for our sins) to the cross (v. 14 nlt), He destroyed the powers that controlled us. We became “rooted and built up” (v. 7) and made “alive with Christ” (v. 13). In Him we have the power (v. 10) to resist the enemy’s spiritual attacks and to flourish in Jesus—displaying a life of true beauty. By:  Dave Branon

 nibble away at your growing spiritual maturity? Why is it vital for you to call out to God when you experience spiritual attacks?

Loving God, make my life beautiful for You. Help me to resist the enemy through Your power because I can’t do it on my own. Thank You for Jesus’ death and resurrection—my source of hope, power, and courage.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 09, 2022

Reaching Beyond Our Grasp

Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint… —Proverbs 29:18

There is a difference between holding on to a principle and having a vision. A principle does not come from moral inspiration, but a vision does. People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything. A person’s own idea of God and His attributes may actually be used to justify and rationalize his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah tried to excuse his disobedience by saying to God, “…I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2). I too may have the right idea of God and His attributes, but that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive.

Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?

“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]….” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?

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

Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 7-9; John 1:1-28

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, May 09, 2022

How You Can Make It The Rest Of The Way - #9216

There's something about the Olympics that's just larger than life, and there are those images of past Olympic performances we'll never forget. One of those happened in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Derek Redmond was representing Great Britain in the 400-meter event. Unfortunately, he went down on the backstretch with a torn right hamstring. And the medical attendants started to approach him, but he managed to fight his way to his feet. Maybe you remember seeing this. He set out hopping around the track, desperately trying to finish the race. When he reached the stretch, a large man in a T-shirt came out of the stands, and literally threw aside a security guard, and ran to the injured runner, and hugged him. It was Jim Redmond, Derek's father. Derek was weeping in excruciating pain, and his Dad said, "'Derek, you don't have to do this." To which Derek said, "Yes, I do." And Jim Redmond said, "OK then, we're going to finish this together!" And they did. They had to fight off security men. The son's head was sometimes buried on his father's shoulder. But they stayed in Derek's lane all the way to the end - as the crowd stood and cheered and even wept.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "How You Can Make It The Rest Of The Way."

The other day I got one of those phone calls that make you feel like you've been kicked in the stomach. A good friend called to tell us that his teenage son had died from injuries that he had received in a traffic accident. He asked me to speak at the funeral where, by the grace of God, some of his son's friends actually gave their hearts to Christ.

Five minutes before my friend called, I'd been reading in Isaiah 46. In light of the devastating blow that had just hit that family, I had to share Isaiah 46:3-4 with my friend. They are our word for today from the Word of God. "...I have upheld [you] since you were conceived, and have carried you since your birth...I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Through all the pain of the funeral and its aftermath, I watched this Heavenly Father come down to the field where my friends were in so much pain, and keep His promise to sustain them.

It may be that right now you're struggling to finish. You were running OK, but now you're hurting, you're limping, you're wounded, maybe disillusioned. You're burning out, you're wearing out, and you feel like dropping out. You look down the track at the ground you've still got to cover, and you wonder if you can possibly make it feeling like this. It hurts so bad, you're so depleted, and it's tempting to give up your calling, or your marriage, your commitment, your loved one, your dream.

But someone very strong has left the stands to join you on the field. He's your Heavenly Father who loves you passionately and unconditionally. And His arm is around you. God the Father is hugging His wounded child. After all, He did say, He is a "very present help in time of trouble" (Psalm 46:1). He knows you can't finish the race alone. Listen to Him as He says, "My child, we're going to finish this together."

But you literally may not have the strength or the spirit to even walk another step. That's why His promise is so precious, "I have made you and I will carry you." When a child can walk no further, what does he say, "Daddy, carry me." That's what God's waiting for you to say. That worn out child can go farther and faster in his father's arms than he could ever go on his own feet. So can you - in your Heavenly Father's arms.

You can finish the race you started, not with your resources, but because your Almighty Father is saying, "We're going to finish this together!"

Judges 4, Bible reading and Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Worry-Slapper

Become a “worry-slapper!”  Treat frets like mosquitoes!

Do you procrastinate when a bloodsucking bug lights on your skin?  Do you say, “I’ll take care of that in a moment.”  Of course you don’t!  You give the critter the slap it deserves.

Be equally decisive with anxiety.  The moment a concern surfaces, deal with it.  Don’t dwell on it.  Head it off before it gets the best of you.

Don’t waste an hour wondering what your boss thinks; ask her.  Before you diagnose that blemish as cancer, have it examined.  Instead of assuming you’ll never get out of debt, consult an expert.  Be a doer—not a stewer!

In Matthew 6:32-33,. Jesus said, “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  See the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need!”

On that you can depend and never worry!

Judges 4

Deborah

The People of Israel kept right on doing evil in God’s sight. With Ehud dead, God sold them off to Jabin king of Canaan who ruled from Hazor. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim, was the commander of his army. The People of Israel cried out to God because he had cruelly oppressed them with his nine hundred iron chariots for twenty years.

4-5 Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge over Israel at that time. She held court under Deborah’s Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hills of Ephraim. The People of Israel went to her in matters of justice.

6-7 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “It has become clear that God, the God of Israel, commands you: Go to Mount Tabor and prepare for battle. Take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulun. I’ll take care of getting Sisera, the leader of Jabin’s army, to the Kishon River with all his chariots and troops. And I’ll make sure you win the battle.”

8 Barak said, “If you go with me, I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

9-10 She said, “Of course I’ll go with you. But understand that with an attitude like that, there’ll be no glory in it for you. God will use a woman’s hand to take care of Sisera.”

Deborah got ready and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together at Kedesh. Ten companies of men followed him. And Deborah was with him.

11-13 It happened that Heber the Kenite had parted company with the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ in-law. He was now living at Zaanannim Oak near Kedesh. They told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Sisera immediately called up all his chariots to the Kishon River—nine hundred iron chariots!—along with all his troops who were with him at Harosheth Haggoyim.

14 Deborah said to Barak, “Charge! This very day God has given you victory over Sisera. Isn’t God marching before you?”

Barak charged down the slopes of Mount Tabor, his ten companies following him.

15-16 God routed Sisera—all those chariots, all those troops!—before Barak. Sisera jumped out of his chariot and ran. Barak chased the chariots and troops all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s entire fighting force was killed—not one man left.

17-18 Meanwhile Sisera, running for his life, headed for the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite. Jabin king of Hazor and Heber the Kenite were on good terms with one another. Jael stepped out to meet Sisera and said, “Come in, sir. Stay here with me. Don’t be afraid.”

So he went with her into her tent. She covered him with a blanket.

19 He said to her, “Please, a little water. I’m thirsty.”

She opened a bottle of milk, gave him a drink, and then covered him up again.

20 He then said, “Stand at the tent flap. If anyone comes by and asks you, ‘Is there anyone here?’ tell him, ‘No, not a soul.’”

21 Then while he was fast asleep from exhaustion, Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg and hammer, tiptoed toward him, and drove the tent peg through his temple and all the way into the ground. He convulsed and died.

22 Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out to greet him. She said, “Come, I’ll show you the man you’re looking for.” He went with her and there he was—Sisera, stretched out, dead, with a tent peg through his temple.

23-24 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the People of Israel. The People of Israel pressed harder and harder on Jabin king of Canaan until there was nothing left of him.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, May 08, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 111:1–10

A lifetime of study—endless enjoyment!

Splendor and beauty mark his craft;

His generosity never gives out.

His miracles are his memorial—

This God of Grace, this God of Love.

He gave food to those who fear him,

He remembered to keep his ancient promise.

He proved to his people that he could do what he said:

Hand them the nations on a platter—a gift!

He manufactures truth and justice;

All his products are guaranteed to last—

Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof.

All that he makes and does is honest and true:

He paid the ransom for his people,

He ordered his Covenant kept forever.

He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect.

The good life begins in the fear of God—

Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.

His Hallelujah lasts forever!

Insight

Psalms 111 and 112 are written in a similar poetic form. As alphabetical acrostics, each subsequent line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The care with which the structure is developed seems to have been designed not only for its poetic beauty but to make it easier to memorize and to be remembered for its “A to Z” completeness of thought.

In Psalm 111, the reader is called to remember the description of God’s nature and works. In Psalm 112, the focus is on the hearts and actions of those who believe in such a God. Psalm 111 focuses on what God has done for His people in power and compassion. Psalm 112 offers a poetic description of how the people of such a God live, so that in ways from “A to Z” they reflect the power, goodness, and mercy of Him. By: Mart DeHaan

How Great Is Our God!

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Psalm 111:2

Fingerprints have long been used to identify people, but they can be faked by creating copies. Similarly, the pattern of the iris in the human eye is a reliable source for ID—until someone alters the pattern with a contact lens to skew the results. The use of biometrics to identify individuals can be defeated. So, what qualifies as a unique identifying characteristic? It turns out that everyone’s blood-vessel patterns are unique and virtually impossible to counterfeit. Your own personal “vein map” is a one-of-a-kind identifier, setting you apart from everyone else on the planet.

Pondering such complexities of human beings should prompt a sense of worship and wonder for the Creator who made us. David reminded us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), and that is certainly worth celebrating. In fact, Psalm 111:2 reminds us, “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”

Even more worthy of our attention is the divine Maker Himself. While celebrating God’s great deeds, we also must celebrate Him! His deeds are great, but He’s even greater, prompting the psalmist to pray, “For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God” (86:10).

Today, as we consider the greatness of what God does, may we also marvel at the greatness of who He is. By:  Bill Crowder

bout creation without truly considering You—the One who made all of creation. Help me to marvel at You.

Read Get Outside: Knowing God through His Creation.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, May 08, 2022
The Faith to Persevere

Because you have kept My command to persevere… —Revelation 3:10

Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.

God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You…” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.

isdom From Oswald Chambers

To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R

Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 4-6; Luke 24:36-53

Luke 12:32-59, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Let God Be Enough

There’s never enough, it seems.

Not enough time, luck, credit, wisdom, intelligence.  So we worry.  But worry doesn’t work!

Jesus said, “Look at the birds.  They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  You can dedicated a decade of anxious thoughts to the brevity of life and not extend it by one minute.  Worry accomplishes nothing.”

Jesus doesn’t condemn legitimate concern for responsibilities.  It’s the continuous mind-set of worry that dismisses God’s presence.  It subtracts God from the future, faces uncertainties with no faith, and tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation.

Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours!”

Let God be enough!


Luke 12:32-59

“What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33-34 “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
When the Master Shows Up

35-38 “Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!

39-40 “You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don’t you be lazy and careless. Just when you don’t expect him, the Son of Man will show up.”

41 Peter said, “Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?”

42-46 The Master said, “Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he’s doing his job. But if he says to himself, ‘The master is certainly taking his time,’ begins beating up on the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes.

47-48 “The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!
To Start a Fire

49-53 “I’ve come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be—

Three against two,
    and two against three;
Father against son,
    and son against father;
Mother against daughter,
    and daughter against mother;
Mother-in-law against bride,
    and bride against mother-in-law.”

54-56 Then he turned to the crowd: “When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, ‘Storm’s coming’—and you’re right. And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, ‘This’ll be a hot one’—and you’re right. Frauds! You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don’t tell me you can’t tell a change in the season, the God-season we’re in right now.

57-59 “You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you’d probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the kind of decision I’m asking you to make.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, May 07, 2022

Today's Scripture
1 Thessalonians 2:1–9

So, friends, it’s obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time. We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn’t slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God’s Message to you, defiant of the opposition.

No Hidden Agendas

3–5     God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we’ve been put through that battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

6–8     Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

9–12     You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn’t have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God’s Message to you.

Insight

First Thessalonians was most likely the earliest of Paul’s letters, written about ad 50 to the church formed in Thessalonica during Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 17). In response to a mob protesting Paul and Silas’ claim that Jesus—not Caesar—is the true king (v. 7), Paul and Silas were forced to leave the city to protect the church from being persecuted. Leaving the young faith community was so painful that Paul describes his separation as being “orphaned . . . for a short time” (1 Thessalonians 2:17). Later, Timothy was sent to minister to the community of new believers there (3:1–5). After hearing Timothy’s good report of their faith growing and thriving (v. 6), Paul reconnected with and encouraged the Thessalonian believers through this letter. By: Monica La Rose

Love Like Mom

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you.
1 Thessalonians 2:7–8

Juanita told her nephew about growing up during the Great Depression. Her poor family only had apples to eat, plus whatever wild game her dad might provide. Whenever he bagged a squirrel for dinner, her mom would say, “Give me that squirrel head. That’s all I want to eat. It’s the best piece of meat.” Years later Juanita realized there wasn’t any meat on a squirrel’s head. Her mom didn’t eat it. She only pretended it was a delicacy “so us kids could get more to eat and we wouldn’t worry about her.”

As we celebrate Mother’s Day tomorrow, may we also recount stories of our mothers’ devotion. We thank God for them and strive to love more like them.

Paul served the Thessalonian church “as a nursing mother cares for her children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). He loved fiercely, fighting through “strong opposition” to tell them about Jesus and to share his own life with them (vv. 2, 8). He “worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while [he] preached the gospel of God to [them]” (v. 9). Just like Mom.

Few can resist a mother’s love, and Paul modestly said his efforts were “not without results” (v. 1). We can’t control how others respond, but we can choose to show up, day after day, to serve them in a sacrificial way. Mom would be proud, and so will our heavenly Father. By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

Who has loved you sacrificially? Who are you loving as your heavenly Father loves you?

Father, no one could love me more than You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 07, 2022
Building For Eternity

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it… —Luke 14:28

Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).

The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.

All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage

Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 1-3; Luke 24:1-35

Judges 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Came to Help - May 6, 2022

The man near the pool of Bethesda didn’t use the word stuck, but he sure could have. For thirty-eight years near the edge of a pool, it was just him, his mat, and his paralyzed body. And since no one would help him, help never came. Crowds of people—despondent, dejected, one after the other—awaited their chance to be placed in the pool where healing waters bubbled up. Can you envision them? And, more importantly, can you envision Jesus walking among them?

All the gospels’ stories of help and healing invite us to embrace the wonderful promise: “Wherever [Jesus] went he healed people of every sort of illness. And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help” (Matthew 9:35–36 TLB). My friend, remember Jesus sees you, and you are never alone.

Judges 3  These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars. He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war. He left the five Philistine tyrants, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Hamath’s Pass. They were there to test Israel and see whether they would obey God’s commands that were given to their parents through Moses.

5-6 But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They married their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage. And they worshiped their gods.
Othniel

7-8 The People of Israel did evil in God’s sight. They forgot their God and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses. God’s hot anger blazed against Israel. He sold them off to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The People of Israel were in servitude to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.

9-10 The People of Israel cried out to God and God raised up a savior who rescued them: Caleb’s nephew Othniel, son of his younger brother Kenaz. The Spirit of God came on him and he rallied Israel. He went out to war and God gave him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. Othniel made short work of him.

11 The land was quiet for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud

12-14 But the People of Israel went back to doing evil in God’s sight. So God made Eglon king of Moab a power against Israel because they did evil in God’s sight. He recruited the Ammonites and Amalekites and went out and struck Israel. They took the City of Palms. The People of Israel were in servitude to Eglon fourteen years.

15-19 The People of Israel cried out to God and God raised up for them a savior, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite. He was left-handed. The People of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab. Ehud made himself a short two-edged sword and strapped it on his right thigh under his clothes. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Eglon was grossly fat. After Ehud finished presenting the tribute, he went a little way with the men who had carried it. But when he got as far as the stone images near Gilgal, he went back and said, “I have a private message for you, O King.”

The king told his servants, “Leave.” They all left.

20-24 Ehud approached him—the king was now quite alone in his cool rooftop room—and said, “I have a word of God for you.” Eglon stood up from his throne. Ehud reached with his left hand and took his sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s big belly. Not only the blade but the hilt went in. The fat closed in over it so he couldn’t pull it out. Ehud slipped out by way of the porch and shut and locked the doors of the rooftop room behind him. Then he was gone.

When the servants came, they saw with surprise that the doors to the rooftop room were locked. They said, “He’s probably relieving himself in the restroom.”

25 They waited. And then they worried—no one was coming out of those locked doors. Finally, they got a key and unlocked them. There was their master, fallen on the floor, dead!

26-27 While they were standing around wondering what to do, Ehud was long gone. He got past the stone images and escaped to Seirah. When he got there, he sounded the trumpet on Mount Ephraim. The People of Israel came down from the hills and joined him. He took his place at their head.

28 He said, “Follow me, for God has given your enemies—yes, Moab!—to you.” They went down after him and secured the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites. They let no one cross over.

29-30 At that time, they struck down about ten companies of Moabites, all of them well-fed and robust. Not one escaped. That day Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel.

The land was quiet for eighty years.
Shamgar

31 Shamgar son of Anath came after Ehud. Using a cattle prod, he killed six hundred Philistines single-handed. He too saved Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, May 06, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 139:1–5

 God, investigate my life;

get all the facts firsthand.

I’m an open book to you;

even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.

You know when I leave and when I get back;

I’m never out of your sight.

You know everything I’m going to say

before I start the first sentence.

I look behind me and you’re there,

then up ahead and you’re there, too—

your reassuring presence, coming and going.

Insight

While Psalm 139 is well known for its description of the greatness of God, there’s a subtle irony in its final verses: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23–24). In a song that in part celebrates the all-knowing nature of God (His omniscience), the irony is that David asked God to search his heart after acknowledging in verse 1 that He’d already searched and known him. And in verse 3 he said, “You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” Perhaps the key point isn’t God’s ability to know, but the psalmist’s willingness to be exposed before Him and His full knowledge. By: Bill Crowder

He Knows

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
Psalm 139:1

Lea was about to start a job as a nurse in Taiwan. She’d be able to better provide for her family, more than she could in Manila, where job opportunities were limited. On the night before her departure, she gave instructions to her sister, who’d be taking care of her five-year-old daughter. “She’ll take her vitamins if you also give her a spoonful of peanut butter,” Lea explained, “And, remember, she’s shy. She’ll play with her cousins eventually. And she’s afraid of the dark . . .”

While looking out the plane window the next day, Lea prayed: Lord, no one knows my daughter like I do. I can’t be with her, but You can.

We know the people we love, and we notice all the details about them because they’re precious to us. When we can’t be with them due to various circumstances, we’re often anxious that since no one knows them as well as we do they’ll be more vulnerable to harm.

In Psalm 139, David reminds us that God knows us more than anyone does. In the same way, He knows our loved ones intimately (vv. 1–4). He’s their Creator (vv. 13–15), so He understands their needs. He knows what will happen each day of their lives (v. 16), and He’s with them and will never leave them (vv. 5, 7–10).

When you’re anxious for others, entrust them to God for He knows them best and loves them the most.

Reflect & Pray

Who can you entrust to God’s care? How can you show your trust in Him in this area?

Father in heaven, though I can’t always be with those I love, I entrust them to Your loving care, remembering that You know them the best and love them the most.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 06, 2022

Liberty and the Standards of Jesus

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free… —Galatians 5:1

A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand— “Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals (see John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.

Always measure your life solely by the standards of Jesus. Submit yourself to His yoke, and His alone; and always be careful never to place a yoke on others that is not of Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.

Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go…and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.”

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 21-22; Luke 23:26-56

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 06, 2022

Your Mother's Greatest Wish - #9215

The florists have been looking forward to their recliners. They finally get to recover from their busiest day of the year. You know what that is, Mother's Day. Hallmark counting on all their Mother's Day card money. Phone companies getting pretty happy. It's the busiest calling day of the year. Okay, Mother's Day, well, it only lasts a day and then it's over until next year. Oh, but not their marks on your life.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Mother's Greatest Wish."

I wrote some short stories when I was a kid, and there was only one person who would listen to me read them - my Mom. And as lame as those stories may have been, she watered this wannabe writer with her encouragement. And she was my #1 fan at every activity. She even laughed at my jokes, even if she didn't always get them.

I was thinking today about how our mother's voice and our mother's influence is with us for our life. It reminded me of the story of a man named John Newton. It's not a really well-known name, but what he wrote is known around the world. It's the song they play at virtually at every police and fire funeral. At times, it was the song heard almost every day at Ground Zero after September 11, 2001. If people only know one hymn, it's the one John Newton wrote - Amazing Grace.

Now, no one would ever - ever - have picked John Newton as the writer of an immortal hymn. When his mother died when he was a boy, his seafaring dad took him to sea. That's where John learned the partying and the harsh ways of a sailor. As for God, well you could forget about that. Newton's cargo was human beings. Ripped from their families and chained in the belly of some death-trap slave ship.

Until the day a violent storm threatened to sink his ship. In that moment when he knew where his only hope was, John Newton yelled into the storm, "My mother's God - God of mercy - save me!" And his mother's God did. More importantly, his mother's God became John Newton's God that day. His life was saved that day. But so was his soul. Because of that "amazing grace" that enabled him to say, "I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see."

Over the years many a son or daughter has been the subject of many a mother's prayers. But it could be they've never chosen her God to be their God until the storm. It's when we are suddenly at the mercy of something we can't control, or we can't fix, that we finally say, "I'm not enough." And a mother's prayers are finally answered. She may not have lived to see it, but her prayers have followed us wherever we've gone.

John Newton picked a pretty good word to describe a life that we're running instead of the God who gave it to us - lost. I'd still be lost, wondering why I'm here, wondering where I'm going, and what would fill the hole in my heart. If it weren't for the Man who said why He came here in our word for today from the Word of God recorded in the Bible in Luke 19:10, "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." That's what Jesus was doing when He was nailed to a cross. He said those three words that change a person's life; that change a person's eternity, "Father, forgive them."

I wonder if you have ever embraced what He did on that cross for you and made the Savior your Savior; knowing that it was your sin He was intending to forgive. But He waits to come in to become your rescuer from your sin. He's come to seek you today through our being together so He could save you for now and forever.

You want to know how to begin a relationship with Him? Would you go to our website and just spend a few minutes with me there? It's ANewStory.com. You pin all your hopes on Him today and tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." And it will happen for you.

If you've been so blessed to have a mother who's prayed for you, that's a powerful reason to say "Thank you" and to ask her God to save you, as He has so many.

Believe me, there is no need to wait 'til the ship's coming apart.

Judges 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Take Jesus at His Word - May 5, 2022

This life contains many walks from Cana to Capernaum, journeys between prayer offered and prayer answered. Jesus promised the boy’s father a sure blessing at the end of the journey; he promises the same to us. We will meet this father when we get to heaven, and when we do, I’m going to ask him about that walk. I want to hear how he felt. I want to know what he thought. But most of all, I want to thank him for inspiring this verse: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed” (John 4:50 NIV).

Do likewise. Set your compass on the pole star of God’s promise. Place one weary foot in front of the other. Jesus has spoken! Let his word do what it was intended to do, and that is lead you home. Remember my friend, you are never alone.

Judges 2

God’s angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I’ll never break my covenant with you—never! And you’re never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven’t obeyed me! What’s this that you’re doing?

3 “So now I’m telling you that I won’t drive them out before you. They’ll trip you up and their gods will become a trap.”

4-5 When God’s angel had spoken these words to all the People of Israel, they cried out—oh! how they wept! They named the place Bokim (Weepers). And there they sacrificed to God.

* * *

6-9 After Joshua had dismissed them, the People of Israel went off to claim their allotted territories and take possession of the land. The people worshiped God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the time of the leaders who survived him, leaders who had been in on all of God’s great work that he had done for Israel. Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of God, died. He was 110 years old. They buried him in his allotted inheritance at Timnath Heres in the hills of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

10 Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

* * *

11-15 The People of Israel did evil in God’s sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte! God’s anger was hot against Israel: He handed them off to plunderers who stripped them; he sold them cheap to enemies on all sides. They were helpless before their enemies. Every time they walked out the door God was with them—but for evil, just as God had said, just as he had sworn he would do. They were in a bad way.

16-17 But then God raised up judges who saved them from their plunderers. But they wouldn’t listen to their judges; they prostituted themselves to other gods—worshiped them! They lost no time leaving the road walked by their parents, the road of obedience to God’s commands. They refused to have anything to do with it.

18-19 When God was setting up judges for them, he would be right there with the judge: He would save them from their enemies’ oppression as long as the judge was alive, for God was moved to compassion when he heard their groaning because of those who afflicted and beat them. But when the judge died, the people went right back to their old ways—but even worse than their parents!—running after other gods, serving and worshiping them. Stubborn as mules, they didn’t drop a single evil practice.

20-22 And God’s anger blazed against Israel. He said, “Because these people have thrown out my covenant that I commanded their parents and haven’t listened to me, I’m not driving out one more person from the nations that Joshua left behind when he died. I’ll use them to test Israel and see whether they stay on God’s road and walk down it as their parents did.”

23 That’s why God let those nations remain. He didn’t drive them out or let Joshua get rid of them.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, May 05, 2022

Today's Scripture
Matthew 6:5–13

Pray with Simplicity

5     “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6     “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7–13     “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what’s best—

as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You’re in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Insight

A shorter version of what we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) appears in Luke 11:2–4. The Matthew account doesn’t include the disciples’ request: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Yet it’s clear in Matthew that Jesus is doing just that: teaching His disciples (then and now) how to pray. Matthew 6 is in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5–7), the discourse Jesus gave as He sat down on a mountainside and taught His disciples and the vast crowd following Him (4:25) what it meant to be His disciple. Along with Jesus’ instructions on prayer are the Beatitudes (5:3–12) and teachings on anger, lust, divorce, oaths, loving one’s enemies, giving, fasting, judging others, and not being anxious. When He was finished speaking, “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority” (7:28–29). By: Alyson Kieda

Our Father

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father . . .”
Matthew 6:9

Most mornings I recite the Lord’s Prayer. I’m not worth much for the new day until I’ve grounded myself in those words. Recently I’d said only the first two words—“Our Father”—when my phone rang. It startled me as it was 5:43 a.m. Guess who? The phone display read “Dad.” Before I had a chance to answer, the call quickly ended. I guessed my dad had called by mistake. Sure enough, he had. Random coincidence? Maybe, but I believe we live in a world awash in the mercy of God. That particular day I needed that reassurance of our Father’s presence.

Think about that for a minute. Of all the ways Jesus could have taught His disciples to begin their prayers, He chose those two words—“Our Father” (Matthew 6:9) as the starting point. Random? No, Jesus was never less than intentional with His words. We all have different relationships with our earthly fathers—some good, some far less than that. However, praying in the way we should is not addressing “my” father or “your” father, but “our” Father, the One who sees us and hears us, and who knows what we need before we even ask Him (v. 8).

What an amazing reassurance, especially on those days when we might feel forgotten, alone, abandoned, or simply just not worth much. Remember, regardless of where we are and what time of day or night it might be, our Father in heaven is always near. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

How can you make the Lord’s Prayer a part of your prayer life? What feelings do those two words—“Our Father”—stir in you?

Father, thank You for Your promise to hear me when I pray, regardless of where I may be.

Learn more about prayer.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 05, 2022
Judgment and the Love of God

The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God… —1 Peter 4:17

The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.

In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.

If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.

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, 1032 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 19-20; Luke 23:1-25

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, May 05, 2022

Why You're Restless - #9214

My poor children! As they were growing up, they had to listen to me speak so many times. One of those times was at a major youth convention in Laramie, Wyoming. My 12-year-old son and I were sitting together on the airplane flight back from the convention. Suddenly he said, "You know, I really liked the meetings, Dad, and I liked your speaking." Then he went on to explain, "There was something different this time, Dad. I listened this time." Great, I think. Well, I asked him what he'd learned, and what he told me was not anything, of course, that I had said at the convention. It was original from him! He said, "Well, Dad, I learned that Christianity is a lot like suntan lotion." Sure! Of course! I said, "How?" He said, "Well, if you just put one big blob of lotion on your arm or your face, it won't help much. It doesn't do much good unless you rub it in!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why You're Restless."

A 12-year-old boy pretty well nailed it. If you look at many of us who name the name of Christ these days, you'll see people who pretty much believe all the right things and do all the right things. You see, but when it comes to our everyday lives we actually are pretty powerless and inconsistent. And many of us have this gnawing restlessness inside that says, "This can't be all there is to this Jesus-thing." Well, it isn't!

To use my son's analogy from years ago, we have the right "lotion." In fact, we have a big blob of Bible knowledge on the outside. But, remember, "It doesn't do you much good unless you rub it in," which leads us to this sobering word for today from the Word of God in James 1:22. It describes Christians who are "deceiving themselves" it says. Self-deceived believers - kidding themselves. Well, how does that happen?

"Do not merely listen to the word," the Bible says, "and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The passage then goes on to compare a person who reads the Bible and remains unchanged as being like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and walks away without working on his appearance. God says here, "It's not what you know spiritually that matters, it's what you do as a result of what you know." Unfortunately, too many of us are satisfied with just believing it. We think we're in good shape with God because we agree with all the right things, but it's passive agreement. If you tell me that staying out in the sun unprotected can give me skin cancer, well just agreeing with you won't do me much good. I'd still get skin cancer if I don't do something; if I don't change as a result of the truth that I agree with.

Now, you can tell if you're just putting on the Jesus-life instead of rubbing it in. You can tell by how much you worry about your problems instead of trusting God with them, by how little you love people who don't love you or who are different from "your kind," by all that junk you allow in your heart, by how lame your prayers are, by how selfish you are, how proud you are, how seldom you ever tell anyone about Jesus.

When you rub in what the Bible says about these issues, you start changing the way you are! When you just put a blob of Bible on your skin, you think you're OK but you keep on living the same old way - the un-Jesus way. When you open your mind to the words of God, open up your life, too! All this Bible you're learning and believing is supposed to be growing a Jesus-heart in you and a life that looks more and more like His. Every day, open yourself up to God's Holy Spirit to take the words He inspired and to rub them into your life.

Judges 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He Is Not Finished - May 4, 2022

Do your days feel like a hike on an Appalachian Trail in winter? A struggle to place one foot in front of the other? If so, I urge you friend, hang on! Hang on. Don’t give up. Help is here. It may not come in the manner you requested or as quickly as you desire, but it will come. Assume that something good is going to happen. The door of tomorrow is unlocked from the inside. Just turn the knob and step out.

The Divine Artist isn’t finished. The earth is his studio. Every person on earth is one of his projects. Every event on earth is a part of his great mural. He is not finished. The scripture says in Philippians 1, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.” Remember, friends, you are never alone.

Judges 1

A time came after the death of Joshua when the People of Israel asked God, “Who will take the lead in going up against the Canaanites to fight them?”

2 And God said, “Judah will go. I’ve given the land to him.”

3 The men of Judah said to those of their brother Simeon, “Go up with us to our territory and we’ll fight the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you to your territory.” And Simeon went with them.

4 So Judah went up. God gave them the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They defeated them at Bezek—ten military units!

5-7 They caught up with My-Master-Bezek there and fought him. They smashed the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My-Master-Bezek ran, but they gave chase and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. My-Master-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to crawl under my table, scavenging. Now God has done to me what I did to them.”

They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.

* * *

8-10 The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city by sword and then sending it up in flames. After that they had gone down to fight the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the foothills. Judah had gone on to the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba) and brought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to their knees.

11-12 From there they had marched against the population of Debir (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher). Caleb had said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I’ll give my daughter Acsah to him as his wife.”

13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it, so Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as his wife.

14-15
When she arrived she got him
    to ask for farmland from her father.
As she dismounted from her donkey
    Caleb asked her, “What would you like?”
She said, “Give me a marriage gift.
    You’ve given me desert land;
Now give me pools of water!”
    And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.

* * *

16 The people of Hobab the Kenite, Moses’ relative, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah at the descent of Arad. They settled down there with the Amalekites.

17 The people of Judah went with their kin the Simeonites and struck the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They carried out the holy curse and named the city Curse-town.

18-19 But Judah didn’t manage to capture Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron with their territories. God was certainly with Judah in that they took over the hill country. But they couldn’t oust the people on the plain because they had iron chariots.

20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had directed. Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak.

21 But the people of Benjamin couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Benjaminites and Jebusites live side by side in Jerusalem to this day.

* * *

22-26 The house of Joseph went up to attack Bethel. God was with them. Joseph sent out spies to look the place over. Bethel used to be known as Luz. The spies saw a man leaving the city and said to him, “Show us a way into the city and we’ll treat you well.” The man showed them a way in. They killed everyone in the city but the man and his family. The man went to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz; that’s its name to this day.

27-28 But Manasseh never managed to drive out Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo with their territories. The Canaanites dug in their heels and wouldn’t budge. When Israel became stronger they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they never got rid of them.

29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. The Canaanites stuck it out and lived there with them.

30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites in Kitron or Nahalol. They kept living there, but they were put to forced labor.

31-32 Nor did Asher drive out the people of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. Asher went ahead and settled down with the Canaanites since they could not get rid of them.

33 Naphtali fared no better. They couldn’t drive out the people of Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath so they just moved in and lived with them. They did, though, put them to forced labor.

34-35 The Amorites pushed the people of Dan up into the hills and wouldn’t let them down on the plains. The Amorites stubbornly continued to live in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph got the upper hand, they were put to forced labor.

36 The Amorite border extended from Scorpions’ Pass and Sela upward.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, May 04, 2022

Today's Scripture
2 Corinthians 9:12–13

Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone.

Insight

In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthian believers to serve wasn’t merely an empty platitude; Paul knew the cost of serving. As proof, the apostle outlined the things he’d done and what he’d endured in Jesus’ name and for the welfare of the people of God (11:16–33). In addition, in Paul’s three missionary journeys he traveled more than ten thousand miles (most of that, no doubt, on foot), planting at least fourteen churches, including the church at Corinth to whom he wrote. Like Jesus, Paul not only talked about service and sacrifice, he practiced it as well—although his sacrifices were of a drastically different nature than those of Christ. By: Bill Crowder

A Heart for Service

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God.
2 Corinthians 9:13

A ministry in Carlsbad, New Mexico, supports their community by offering more than 24,000 pounds of free food each month to local residents. The leader of the ministry shared, “People can come here, and we will accept them and meet them right where they are. Our goal is . . . to meet their practical needs to get to their spiritual needs.” As believers in Christ, God desires for us to use what we’ve been given to bless others, drawing our communities closer to Him. How can we develop a heart for service that brings glory to God?

We develop a heart for service by asking God to show us how to use the gifts He’s given us to benefit others (1 Peter 4:10). In this way, we offer “many expressions of thanks to God” for the abundance He’s blessed us with (2 Corinthians 9:12).

Serving others was an important part of Jesus’ ministry. When He healed the sick and fed the hungry, many were introduced to God’s goodness and love. By caring for our communities, we’re following His model of discipleship. God’s wisdom reminds us that when we demonstrate God’s love through our actions, “others will praise God” (v. 13). Service isn’t about self-gratification but about showing others the extent of God’s love and the miraculous ways He works through those who are called by His name.

Reflect & Pray

What’s motivated your service to the community? How might you be more intentional about using your gifts to bring glory to God?

Heavenly Father, I desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Please give me a heart for service. May it be an act of praise and gratitude to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
Vicarious Intercession

…having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… —Hebrews 10:19

Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.”

Spiritual stubbornness is the most effective hindrance to intercession, because it is based on a sympathetic “understanding” of things we see in ourselves and others that we think needs no atonement. We have the idea that there are certain good and virtuous things in each of us that do not need to be based on the atonement by the Cross of Christ. Just the sluggishness and lack of interest produced by this kind of thinking makes us unable to intercede. We do not identify ourselves with God’s interests and concerns for others, and we get irritated with Him. Yet we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes only the glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all of our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.

Am I stubborn or substituted? Am I spoiled or complete in my relationship to God? Am I irritable or spiritual? Am I determined to have my own way or determined to be identified with Him?

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither

Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 16-18; Luke 22:47-71

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
The Reach of Your Life - More Than You Think - #9213

When Ebola first popped up in the United States I was watching that news story about the Dallas nurse who was the first person to ever contract Ebola in America. I was hit by a lesson that I found pretty personal to me.

The authorities were talking about the "contact tracing" they were doing. They were trying to identify people she'd been with. They also did that with Thomas Duncan, the first person to die of Ebola here in the U.S. In Africa, and in America, contact tracing was a top priority in containing the spread of this medical serial killer.

The medical detectives want to know who the infected person has been close to. The list can be pretty long. And that's actually what got me thinking.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Reach of Your Life - More Than You Think."

I began thinking about my contact list. I bet I'd be surprised if someone actually made a list of all the people I'm in touch with during a given week. At the office. At the store. The restaurant. Neighbors. Family. Friends. Online friends. Social media. I think we'd all be amazed if we saw an actual list of the people we influence in some way every week.

It's a wake-up call for me as a follower of Jesus Christ. Because God says, in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:20, "We are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. I implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." So, the face, the voice, the hands of Jesus to all the folks on my "contact list." Wow! For better or worse.

The Bible has a lot to say about the influence of us Jesus-followers. Jesus said we're "the light of the world." People are supposed to "see your good deeds and (as a result) praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14, 16).

We're also the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13), making people thirsty for our Jesus because of what they see in us. Oh, and we are to be, according to Philippians 2, "pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." And it says right before that, we're to "do everything without complaining and arguing" (Philippians 2:14-15), because those two practices will very quickly blot out the light.

And Peter said it is the "hope you have" (1 Peter 3:15) that will make people spiritually curious. That's hope, as being the living proof that things can change that we thought could never change. Because of Jesus. And things like that have changed in you I know because of Him.

And then there's the characteristic that Jesus said would be the ultimate mark of someone who belongs to Him. "All men will know you are My disciples...if you love one another" (John 13:35).

So...what if someone did spiritual "contact tracing" on the people I've been around in the past week? The people you've been around? What did we "infect" them with? Did they feel hope when we were with them? Did they feel cared about - or was I pretty much about me? Was I giving off light? Was I giving off joy - or grumpiness, edginess, complaining, stress?

Ultimately, though, for those I influence to be cured of their terminal spiritual disease called sin, they're going to need more than me being a nice guy. They could watch me for the next fifty years, and they're not going to guess that Jesus died on the cross to pay for their sins. No, I've got to tell them that. A life that radiates Jesus can attract someone to Him. It can be the living proof that Jesus changes a life.

But it can't explain "the Gospel" that according to the Bible is "the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16). That takes words. It takes the God-given courage to tell my story, and then His story. Of a love so great He died for me. And a power so great He walked out of His grave and crushed death.

I've been strangely challenged by that sobering reality the Ebola crisis highlighted - the reach of just one life. Well that life can infect an entire circle of people with death, or with life. The people in my path, they're not some random accident. God put them there so they could see His Son, so they could know His Son.

So ask yourself this question, "Are they closer to Jesus because they've been close to me?"