Daily Devotions: Not our way, but Yahweh!

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Proverbs 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MEDITATE ON THE MASTER - January 4, 2023

Is anything too hard for God? Does he ever throw up his hands and quit? The welcome answer is No, nothing is too hard for the Lord. Don’t measure the height of the mountain. Ponder the power of the One who made it. Don’t tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is. Your problem is not that your problem is so big, but that your view of God is too small. Accept the invitation of the psalmist: “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3 NKJV).

Our tendency is to magnify our fears. We place a magnifying glass on the diagnosis, the disease, or the debt. Stop that! Meditate less on the mess and more on the Master. Less on the problems and more on his power.

Proverbs 24

Don’t envy bad people;

don’t even want to be around them.

All they think about is causing a disturbance;

all they talk about is making trouble.

3-4 It takes wisdom to build a house,

and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;

It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms

with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.

5-6 It’s better to be wise than strong;

intelligence outranks muscle any day.

Strategic planning is the key to warfare;

to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;

in a serious discussion they haven’t a clue.

8-9 The person who’s always cooking up some evil

soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.

Fools incubate sin;

cynics desecrate beauty.

Rescue the Perishing

10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis,

there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

11-12 Rescue the perishing;

don’t hesitate to step in and help.

If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”

will that get you off the hook?

Someone is watching you closely, you know—

Someone not impressed with weak excuses.

13-14 Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you—

and delicacies that melt in your mouth.

Likewise knowledge,

and wisdom for your soul—

Get that and your future’s secured,

your hope is on solid rock.

15-16 Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;

don’t try to get the best of them.

No matter how many times you trip them up,

God-loyal people don’t stay down long;

Soon they’re up on their feet,

while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

17-18 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;

don’t gloat over his collapse.

God might see, and become very provoked,

and then take pity on his plight.

19-20 Don’t bother your head with braggarts

or wish you could succeed like the wicked.

Those people have no future at all;

they’re headed down a dead-end street.

21-22 Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders;

don’t be defiant or mutinous.

Without warning your life can turn upside down,

and who knows how or when it might happen?

More Sayings of the Wise

An Honest Answer

23 It’s wrong, very wrong,

to go along with injustice.

24-25 Whoever whitewashes the wicked

gets a black mark in the history books,

But whoever exposes the wicked

will be thanked and rewarded.

26 An honest answer

is like a warm hug.

27 First plant your fields;

then build your barn.

28-29 Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs—

no slander or gossip, please.

Don’t say to anyone, “I’ll get back at you for what you did to me.

I’ll make you pay for what you did!”

30-34 One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,

and then passed the vineyard of a slob;

They were overgrown with weeds,

thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.

I took a long look and pondered what I saw;

the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:

“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,

sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?

Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,

with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 04, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 43:18–21

This is what God says,

the God who builds a road right through the ocean,

who carves a path through pounding waves,

The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—

they lie down and then can’t get up;

they’re snuffed out like so many candles:

“Forget about what’s happened;

don’t keep going over old history.

Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.

It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?

There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,

rivers in the badlands.

Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’

—the coyotes and the buzzards—

Because I provided water in the desert,

rivers through the sunbaked earth,

Drinking water for the people I chose,

the people I made especially for myself,

a people custom-made to praise me.

Insight

The prophet Isaiah draws on the language of Genesis and Exodus to show that the God who freed the Israelites from slavery can and will bring them home again from exile.

In Isaiah 43:16–17, God reminds His people that He carved a path through the sea to bring them out of Egypt. Now He declares, “See, I am doing a new thing!” (v. 19). But how will He do a new thing? He’ll use water—a barrier that God overcame when He parted the sea—as a source of blessing to make a way for them in the desert. Even the animal kingdom would experience the renewal of life that He would grant to His people (v. 20).

Both the stories of the past and God’s work in the present point to one thing: nothing—not a sea nor a wasteland, slavery nor exile—can prevent God from making good on His promises. By: Jed Ostoich

New Vision

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

Wearing my new eyeglasses as I stepped into the sanctuary, I sat down and spotted a friend sitting directly across the aisle on the other side of the church. As I waved at her, she looked so near and clear. It felt like I could reach out and touch her even though she was several yards away. Later, as we talked following the service, I realized she was in the same seat she always sat in. I simply could see her better because of an upgraded prescription in my new spectacles.

God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, knew that the Israelites stuck in Babylonian captivity would need a new prescription—a new view. He told them. “I am doing a new thing! . . . I am making a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19). And His message of hope included the reminders that He had “created” them, “redeemed” them, and would be with them. “You are mine,” He encouraged them (v. 1).

In whatever you’re facing today, the Holy Spirit can provide better vision for you to put the old behind you and look for the new. By God’s love (v. 4), it’s popping up all around you. Can you see what He’s doing in the midst of your pain and bondage? Let’s put on our new spiritual glasses to see the new that God is doing even in our wilderness moments. By: Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

What new things do you see cropping up even in your wilderness? How can adjusting your vision help you focus on the new rather than the past?

God of new beginnings, thank You for all Your promises. Help me to see the new that You bring about even in my wilderness moments.

For further study, read When God Says No—Broken Dreams to New Beginnings.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 04, 2023

Why Can I Not Follow You Now?

Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37

There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.

At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.

Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

Bible in a Year: Genesis 10-12; Matthew 4

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 04, 2023

TURNING MONEY INTO TREASURE - #9388

Our sons really enjoyed being uncles for the first time some years ago. Their sister was kind enough to give them two boys to call them uncle. The youngest grandson at the time was four years old and he really enjoyed how his uncles played with him. They kept finding quarters in his nose or his ear. (You know the old magic trick.) Now, before I receive emails about this, rest assured that he had been carefully taught not to put anything in his nose or ear. The grandson that is, not my sons. But he loved it when his uncles pretended they found money there.

I remember the time that one of the uncles told the four-year-old that he was having a particularly hard time getting that shiny thing out of his nephew's nose. So he turned him upside down and gently shook him. Four quarters fell on the carpet! Bingo! But much to uncle's surprise, the little guy picked up the dollar in change and put it back in his uncle's hand. Our son objected. He said, "No, no, no this money is yours now." To which our grandson answered, "No, I want you to have it." See, his uncle was in a ministry with Native American young people. Our grandson said, "Use it to tell more kids about Jesus." Now, that was the best trick of the day.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Turning Money Into Treasure."

Without being told, our little guy understood that some of what he has isn't for him - it's for helping other people hear about Jesus. The secret here is that he was only giving back to the person who gave it to him in the first place. Right? Just like us when we give to the work of God on earth. We're just giving it back to the one who gave it to us in the first place.

First Corinthians 4:2 is our word for today from the Word of God, and it clearly spells out this "circle of giving." It says, "Now it is required that those who have been given a great trust" (or it says in the King James "who are stewards") "must prove faithful." See, what you have is a trust from God which He expects you to use faithfully, especially when it comes to it being available for the work that His Son gave His life for.

Imagine trusting $10,000 of your money to the local bank. A few months later, you go to the bank and ask for your money for a need you have. The banker says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I spent your money." Well, he's betrayed your trust. But no more than we do when we hold onto money that God's expecting back for the work He wants to do.

Sadly, the greatest factor limiting the work of Christ in the world today is probably the lack of funds. Is God withholding money from His work? Probably not. He's entrusted it into the hands of His people. And research shows consistently that the more believers make the smaller percentage of their income they give to the Lord.

Malachi actually calls that "robbing God" (Malachi 3:9). In the prophet Haggai's day, the rebuilding of God's temple was at a standstill. Here's how God described what was happening: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? My house (God says) remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house" (Haggai 1:4, 9). That could have been written today.

There is a world of people God so loves, whose only hope is to know about Jesus; who deserve at least a chance to know Him. One hundred and fifty thousand of our fellow humans every day go into eternity ready or not. You know, there are servants of Christ poised around the world and across the country to lay down the rest of their lives to tell those people about Jesus. All they need is the money to send them and it isn't there.

Satan hasn't been able to stop the workers from stepping up, so he tries to stop the bullets from getting to the army. But you and I have the power to stop him, to participate in the life-saving work Christ spent His life on if we'll open our hand and give back what God gave us and just say to Him, "Use this, Father, to tell more people about Jesus."

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Proverbs 23 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PONDER THE POWER - January 3, 2023

Despair can be a dangerous season. But it can also be a developing time, a time in which we learn to trust God, to lean into his Word and rely on his ways. The choice is ours.

And to help us choose the wise path, God gave the story of Esther. For fear of the death of his people, Mordecai cries out to Esther to intervene. He said, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Relief will come! This is God’s message for you. Feeling undone by the struggle? Then let God unleash the power within you to face it. Shift your focus away from the challenges, and ponder the power of your almighty God.

Proverbs 23

Restrain Yourself

23 1-3 When you go out to dinner with an influential person,

mind your manners:

Don’t gobble your food,

don’t talk with your mouth full.

And don’t stuff yourself;

bridle your appetite.

4-5 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;

restrain yourself!

Riches disappear in the blink of an eye;

wealth sprouts wings

and flies off into the wild blue yonder.

6-8 Don’t accept a meal from a tightwad;

don’t expect anything special.

He’ll be as stingy with you as he is with himself;

he’ll say, “Eat! Drink!” but won’t mean a word of it.

His miserly serving will turn your stomach

when you realize the meal’s a sham.

9 Don’t bother talking sense to fools;

they’ll only poke fun at your words.

10-11 Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines

or cheat orphans out of their property,

For they have a powerful Advocate

who will go to bat for them.

12 Give yourselves to disciplined instruction;

open your ears to tested knowledge.

13-14 Don’t be afraid to correct your young ones;

a spanking won’t kill them.

A good spanking, in fact, might save them

from something worse than death.

15-16 Dear child, if you become wise,

I’ll be one happy parent.

My heart will dance and sing

to the tuneful truth you’ll speak.

17-18 Don’t for a minute envy careless rebels;

soak yourself in the Fear-of-God—

That’s where your future lies.

Then you won’t be left with an armload of nothing.

19-21 Oh listen, dear child—become wise;

point your life in the right direction.

Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk;

don’t eat too much food and get fat.

Drunks and gluttons will end up on skid row,

in a stupor and dressed in rags.

Buy Wisdom, Education, Insight

22-25 Listen with respect to the father who raised you,

and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her.

Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money;

buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight.

Parents rejoice when their children turn out well;

wise children become proud parents.

So make your father happy!

Make your mother proud!

26 Dear child, I want your full attention;

please do what I show you.

27-28 A prostitute is a bottomless pit;

a loose woman can get you in deep trouble fast.

She’ll take you for all you’ve got;

she’s worse than a pack of thieves.

29-35 Who are the people who are always crying the blues?

Who do you know who reeks of self-pity?

Who keeps getting beaten up for no reason at all?

Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot?

It’s those who spend the night with a bottle,

for whom drinking is serious business.

Don’t judge wine by its label,

or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor.

Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with—

the splitting headache, the queasy stomach.

Do you really prefer seeing double,

with your speech all slurred,

Reeling and seasick,

drunk as a sailor?

“They hit me,” you’ll say, “but it didn’t hurt;

they beat on me, but I didn’t feel a thing.

When I’m sober enough to manage it,

bring me another drink!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, January 03, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 38:11–22

Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight,

my groans an old story to you.

My heart’s about to break;

I’m a burned-out case.

Cataracts blind me to God and good;

old friends avoid me like the plague.

My cousins never visit,

my neighbors stab me in the back.

My competitors blacken my name,

devoutly they pray for my ruin.

But I’m deaf and mute to it all,

ears shut, mouth shut.

I don’t hear a word they say,

don’t speak a word in response.

What I do, God, is wait for you,

wait for my Lord, my God—you will answer!

I wait and pray so they won’t laugh me off,

won’t smugly strut off when I stumble.

17-20 I’m on the edge of losing it—

the pain in my gut keeps burning.

I’m ready to tell my story of failure,

I’m no longer smug in my sin.

My enemies are alive and in action,

a lynch mob after my neck.

I give out good and get back evil

from God-haters who can’t stand a God-lover.

21-22 Don’t dump me, God;

my God, don’t stand me up.

Hurry and help me;

I want some wide-open space in my life!

Insight

In Old Testament poetry, we see two kinds of laments: a corporate or national lament and an individual lament. In a national lament, the singer mourns over the condition of the whole nation. This is seen clearly in much of the book of Jeremiah and most of the book of Lamentations. An individual lament is a personal lament of the singer’s own situation. Psalm 38 falls into the category of an individual lament, as do many of David’s lament psalms, which bear witness to the great difficulties he dealt with much of his life. This psalm doesn’t provide us with the specific context that prompted him to write it, but we do know it includes a prayer for healing from suffering due to his sin (vv. 3–5, 17–18). It could refer to suffering while being pursued by Saul or when his son Absalom sought to drive him from the kingdom.

Learn more about reading the Psalms. By: Bill Crowder

Rescue Mission

Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. Psalm 38:15

Volunteers at a farm animal rescue organization in Australia found a wandering sheep weighed down by more than seventy-five pounds of filthy, matted wool. Rescuers suspected the sheep had been forgotten and lost in the bush for at least five years. Volunteers soothed him through the uncomfortable process of shearing away his heavy fleece. Once freed from his burden, Baarack ate. His legs grew stronger. He became more confident and content as he spent time with his rescuers and the other animals at the sanctuary.

The psalmist David understood the pain of being weighed down with heavy burdens, feeling forgotten and lost, and desperate for a rescue mission. In Psalm 38, David cried out to God. He had experienced isolation, betrayal, and helplessness (vv. 11–14). Still, he prayed with confidence: “Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God” (v. 15). David didn’t deny his predicament or minimize his inner turmoil and physical ailments (vv. 16–20). Instead, he trusted that God would be near and answer him at the right time and in the right way (vv. 21–22).

When we feel weighed down by physical, mental, or emotional burdens, God remains committed to the rescue mission He planned from the day He created us. We can count on His presence when we cry out to Him: “Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior” (v. 22). By: Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How has God revealed His faithfulness when you’ve felt weighed down? How has God used others to comfort and support you?

Gracious God, help me to encourage others who feel weighed down, lost, or forgotten.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 03, 2023

Clouds and Darkness

Clouds and darkness surround Him… —Psalm 97:2

A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him….” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ. Only after the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable “darkness” of realizing who He is.

Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Once, the Bible was just so many words to us — “clouds and darkness”— then, suddenly, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us when our circumstances make the words new. That is the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 7–9; Matthew 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, January 03, 2023

THE PROBLEM WITH LOOKING AT YOURSELF - #9387

It was one of those early spring days when we look out the window and see all kinds of beautiful birds. I saw this one that was actually pretty funny to watch. I'm not sure it was really funny for him. I think it was a bluebird and he was hovering near a rear window on our car, just fluttering back and forth, running into the glass over and over again. Now, he was obviously confused and disoriented. He was going nowhere, just fluttering, chattering, and crashing into the window. My wife said, "You know, I'll bet he sees himself in the glass, and that's what's got him acting crazy."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Problem with Looking at Yourself."

Poor bird. When he just kept looking at himself, he got all confused and disoriented, and he kept running into things. Just like us when we get all focused on ourselves. And maybe that's where you are right now. The stress, the hurt, the load, it's gotten you all focusing on yourself, maybe without even realizing it. And you may actually be fluttering around emotionally, feeling disoriented and discouraged, even crashing sometimes.

God's given us a picture of what this looks like in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Kings 19, beginning with verse 3. The great prophet Elijah has just come off the most powerful spiritual victory of his life - his showdown with 450 prophets of the idol Baal, where God proved who is Lord by consuming the sacrifice on the altar with fire from heaven. But now the wicked queen, Jezebel, has ordered a "hit" on the prophet - and, man, has he changed.

The Bible says, "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba...he went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die." What? How does such a strong spiritual leader get so low so fast? Here's a clue in what he says to God: "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have...put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." Did you notice? Suddenly, it's all about me.

This is in really sharp contrast to Elijah's focus when he prayed on the day of his showdown with the false prophets. There he said, "O Lord...let it be known today that You are God...that I am Your servant...so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God." See, when it's all about God, I'm on top of things. When it's all about me, things are on top of me.

Fear, discouragement, being all stressed - those aren't signs of being focused on your Lord. That's a bird who's looking at himself or herself and then fluttering all over the place, crashing into things. Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep in "perfect peace" the one who is "stayed on" Him.

Colossians 3:15 tells us to "let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts." Self-pity, self-centeredness, self-promoting, self-reliance, the harder it gets, the more that self stuff starts to take over, and the more out of control we become.

If you've been looking at yourself too much, don't you think it's time to fly to a higher place where you can get your perspective back; to refocus your eyes away from your great load and back to your great Lord. You turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Monday, January 2, 2023

Proverbs 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD HAS A GOOD PLAN - January 2, 2023

Satan’s scheme to kill the Son of God was defeated on the cross he designed for Christ. Had Satan known that the death of the Messiah would mean death for him and life for us, he never would have crucified the King. He never saw it coming.

And so that we would never forget, Jesus gave us our own celebration. “He took the bread, he gave thanks and broke it,…saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you;’…He also took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you'”(Luke 22:19-20).

A broken body? Spilled blood? Can good come from this? Communion says yes. You have a good God, who has a good plan, and that plan is revealed in his good book. Today’s confusion and crisis will be tomorrow’s conquest.

Proverbs 22

The Cure Comes Through Discipline

A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich;

a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank.

2 The rich and the poor shake hands as equals—

God made them both!

3 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;

a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.

4 The payoff for meekness and Fear-of-God

is plenty and honor and a satisfying life.

5 The perverse travel a dangerous road, potholed and mud-slick;

if you know what’s good for you, stay clear of it.

6 Point your kids in the right direction—

when they’re old they won’t be lost.

7 The poor are always ruled over by the rich,

so don’t borrow and put yourself under their power.

8 Whoever sows sin reaps weeds,

and bullying anger sputters into nothing.

9 Generous hands are blessed hands

because they give bread to the poor.

10 Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down;

you need a break from bickering and griping!

11 God loves the pure-hearted and well-spoken;

good leaders also delight in their friendship.

12 God guards knowledge with a passion,

but he’ll have nothing to do with deception.

13 The loafer says, “There’s a lion on the loose!

If I go out I’ll be eaten alive!”

14 The mouth of a prostitute is a bottomless pit;

you’ll fall in that pit if you’re on the outs with God.

15 Young people are prone to foolishness and fads;

the cure comes through tough-minded discipline.

16 Exploit the poor or glad-hand the rich—whichever,

you’ll end up the poorer for it.

The Thirty Precepts of the Sages

Don’t Move Back the Boundary Lines

17-21 Listen carefully to my wisdom;

take to heart what I can teach you.

You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within;

you’ll give it bold expression in your speech.

To make sure your foundation is trust in God,

I’m laying it all out right now just for you.

I’m giving you thirty sterling principles—

tested guidelines to live by.

Believe me—these are truths that work,

and will keep you accountable

to those who sent you.

22-23 Don’t walk on the poor just because they’re poor,

and don’t use your position to crush the weak,

Because God will come to their defense;

the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them.

24-25 Don’t hang out with angry people;

don’t keep company with hotheads.

Bad temper is contagious—

don’t get infected.

26-27 Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,

pawning your house against a lucky chance.

The time will come when you have to pay up;

you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.

28 Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines

staked out long ago by your ancestors.

29 Observe people who are good at their work—

skilled workers are always in demand and admired;

they don’t take a backseat to anyone.

Restrain Yourself

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, January 02, 2023

Today's Scripture

Micah 5:2–4

But you, Bethlehem, David’s country,

the runt of the litter—

From you will come the leader

who will shepherd-rule Israel.

He’ll be no upstart, no pretender.

His family tree is ancient and distinguished.

Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes

until the birth pangs are over and the child is born,

And the scattered brothers come back

home to the family of Israel.

He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God’s strength,

centered in the majesty of God-Revealed.

And the people will have a good and safe home,

for the whole world will hold him in respect—

Peacemaker of the world!

Insight

Micah (which means “who is like the Lord?”) is among the twelve Old Testament books classified as Minor Prophets. The prophet Micah (eighth-century bc) was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. The book has three major sections (chs. 1–2; 3–5; 6–7) that all begin with the Hebrew word shama‘—“to hear” (1:2) or “listen” (3:1; 6:1). God called His people, particularly the leaders (chs. 2–3), to give heed to His words. Micah’s writing includes one of most beloved passages in the Bible: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8). The prophet’s words are found in the New Testament in two places: Micah 5:2 is seen in Matthew 2:6 (the prophecy of the Messiah’s birthplace), and Jesus quotes Micah 7:6 in Matthew 10:35–36. By: Arthur Jackson

A Small Start

Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small . . . , out of you will come . . . [a] ruler over Israel. Micah 5:2

The Brooklyn Bridge was considered “the eighth wonder of the world” upon its completion in 1883. But a single, slender wire strung from one bridge tower to the other was essential for the structure to come to fruition. Additional wires were added to the first until a massive cable, along with three others, was woven together. When finished, each cable—composed of more than five thousand galvanized wires—helped support the longest suspension bridge in its day. What started as something small turned into a huge part of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Jesus’ life began in a small way—a baby born and placed in a feeding trough in a tiny town (Luke 2:7). The prophet Micah prophesied His humble birth, writing, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel” (Micah 5:2; see also Matthew 2:6). A small start, but this ruler and shepherd would see His fame and mission “reach to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4).

Jesus was born in a small place in humility, and His life on earth ended as “he humbled himself” and died a criminal's death on a “cross” (Philippians 2:8 nlt). But by His immense sacrifice He bridged the gap between us and God—providing salvation for all who believe. This season, may you receive God’s great gift in Jesus by faith. And if you do believe, may you humbly praise Him anew for all He’s done for you. By: Tom Felten

Reflect & Pray

What small or big thing is God doing in your heart? How will you humbly respond to Him?

Jesus, thank You for humbly coming to save me by Your great sacrifice.

Learn more about the life of Christ.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, January 02, 2023

Will You Go Out Without Knowing?

He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?” You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “…do not worry about your life…nor about the body…” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?

Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. Not Knowing Whither, 867 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, January 02, 2023

HOW NEW IS YOUR NEW YEAR? - #9386

There's a reason so many of us grandparents are overcoming our technophobia and venturing into cyberspace. We get to see pictures of our grandkids as soon as they're taken!

There's that hilarious photo that our son sent me. It was a picture of our then one-year-old grandson sitting on the kitchen floor with a fork in his hand. Oh, yeah, with a lemon-meringue pie splatted on the floor next to him. He's looking at the camera with an expression somewhere between "uh-oh" and "what's the problem?"

Then came the story with the picture. Dad and big sis were outside, and Mom had to leave the room briefly. As she left, she said to our seven-year-old grandson, "You're in charge." Which apparently was interpreted as, "Keep playing your video game." That's when Terminator Toddler made his move to the pie on the counter above him. The law of gravity? Well, of course, that provided a very valuable assist.

That's when Daddy - the event photographer - walked into the room. As he surveyed the mess on the floor, big brother made a proud announcement, "Guess what, Daddy? I'm in charge!" All Daddy could think was, "You sure you want to own this mess, son?" Strange as it may seem, I'm actually thinking about that little drama as a personal parable early in this new year.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How New is Your New Year?"

I wonder how many times that would be a picture of imaginary conversations between God and me as He surveys that mess right in front of me? And there I am saying, "Guess what, Father? I'm in charge!" And He must be thinking as He looks at the damage, "Yeah, I could tell you're in charge, Ron."

So how new is any new year really going to be? Especially in the parts of our lives that are messy, confused, tense, and troubled? It may all depend on who's in charge. I've found that the messes are usually in areas where I've hijacked the wheel from God and decided to take charge myself, often without even realizing it. Then I hear the echoes of a haunting question from God. It's in our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 3:3 - "After beginning with the Spirit" (that's the Holy Spirit) "are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

When I'm facing something that I can't fix or change or control, I desperately turn to Him and I say, "Jesus, take the wheel!" But somewhere along the way, Mr. Control takes it back. And that's where the messes come from. A new year, a fresh start, usually makes us reflect a little on things that aren't as they should be; in our marriage, our family, our finances, maybe our relationships. Maybe it's our lifestyle, our love life, our walk with God.

If you see a mess in a part of your life that you're looking at right now, consider whether you have moved Jesus to the margins and said, "I'm in charge" effectively making you "Lord" of that part of your life instead of Him. That's when He asks that disturbing question, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46).

The realization that I was never meant to drive my life; that's the first step to beginning a relationship with God; the very relationship you were made for. And when you realize that the mess of your life, the guilt of your life, the shame of your life, the hurt we've inflicted is because we've taken our life and done it our way instead of His. That's called SIN in the bible.

And you're ready at that point to say, "I need a Savior. I need a Rescuer from this sin." Especially when you understand that the Bible says that sin carries an eternal death penalty, which Jesus loved you so much that He paid on the cross when He died for your sin. And He walked out of his grave; He's alive. He can walk into your life this very day at your invitation and forgive that sin, and erase it forever.

If you're ready for that next step that makes that possible - a new you - you can find some answers at our website ANewStory.com. I hope you'll go there. Maybe this new year is time for new management.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Acts 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Big News

The big news of the Bible is not that you love God, but that God loves you; not that you can know God, but that God already knows you!

God tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him, he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and reached his verdict: He loves you still!

No discovery will disillusion him, no rebellion will dissuade him. You need not win his love. You already have it. And since you can't win it, you can't lose it! He loves you with an everlasting love!

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Acts 3

One day at three o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting. At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout. Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Look here.” He looked up, expecting to get something from them.

6-8 Peter said, “I don’t have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. He jumped to his feet and walked.

8-10 The man went into the Temple with them, walking back and forth, dancing and praising God. Everybody there saw him walking around and praising God. They recognized him as the one who sat begging at the Temple’s Gate Beautiful and rubbed their eyes, astonished, scarcely believing what they were seeing.

11 The man threw his arms around Peter and John, ecstatic. All the people ran up to where they were at Solomon’s Porch to see it for themselves.

Turn to Face God

12-16 When Peter saw he had a congregation, he addressed the people:

“Oh, Israelites, why does this take you by such complete surprise, and why stare at us as if our power or piety made him walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his Son Jesus. The very One that Pilate called innocent, you repudiated. You repudiated the Holy One, the Just One, and asked for a murderer in his place. You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead—and we’re the witnesses. Faith in Jesus’ name put this man, whose condition you know so well, on his feet—yes, faith and nothing but faith put this man healed and whole right before your eyes.

17-18 “And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.

19-23 “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. Moses, for instance, said, ‘Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.’

24-26 “All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days would come. These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God’s covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: ‘By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, January 01, 2023

Today's Scripture

Philippians 1:12–21

They Can’t Imprison the Message

12-14 I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.

15-17 It’s true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they’ll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world. One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I am here defending the Message, wanting to help. The others, now that I’m out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.

18-21 So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!

And I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a platform! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his prize. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.

Insight

Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is much loved because of its emphasis on joy. Considered by many to be the apostle’s most practical letter, it nevertheless contains one of the most theological segments in the New Testament. The declaration in Philippians 2:5–11, believed by some to have been a part of an ancient hymn, explores what Christ left behind to come to earth as a human being. It also explores His ultimate mission—the cross—and the glory that will be His one day, when “every knee [will] bow” and “every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord” (vv. 10–11). By: Bill Crowder

Choose Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Keith was feeling down as he trudged through the produce aisle. His hands trembled from the first signs of Parkinson’s disease. How long before his quality of life began to slide? What would this mean for his wife and children? Keith’s gloom was shattered by laughter. Over by the potatoes, a man pushed a giggling boy in a wheelchair. The man leaned over and whispered to his son, who couldn’t stop grinning. He was noticeably worse off than Keith, yet he and his dad were finding joy where they could.

Writing from prison or under house arrest as he awaited the outcome of his trial, the apostle Paul seemingly had no right to be joyful (Philippians 1:12–13). The emperor was Nero, a wicked man who had a growing reputation for violence and cruelty, so Paul had reason to be concerned. He also knew there were preachers who were taking advantage of his absence to gain glory for themselves. They thought they could “stir up trouble” for the apostle while he was imprisoned (v. 17).

Yet Paul chose to rejoice (vv. 18–21), and he told the Philippians to follow his example: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). Our situation might seem bleak, yet Jesus is with us now, and He’s guaranteed our glorious future. Christ, who walked out of His tomb, will return to raise His followers to live with Him. As we begin this new year, may we rejoice! By: Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What personal suffering or injustice causes you to languish in your sorrow? How might the truth of Jesus bring you joy?

Father, please raise my eyes above my circumstances. I look to You alone for joy.

For further study, read Why? Seeing God in Our Pain.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, January 01, 2023

Let Us Keep to the Point

"…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." —Philippians 1:20

My Utmost for His Highest. “…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.

My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.

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: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Proverbs 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Hope-Filled Heart

You and I live in a trashy world. Unwanted garbage comes our way on a regular basis. Haven’t you been handed a trash sack of mishaps and heartaches? Sure you have. May I ask, what are you going to do with it? You could hide it. Pretend it isn’t there. But sooner or later it will start to stink. So what will you do?

If you follow the example of Christ, you’ll learn to see tough times differently. God wants you to have a hope-filled heart. . .just like Jesus. Wouldn’t you want that? Jesus saw his Father’s presence in the problem. Sure, Max, but Jesus was God. I can’t see the way he saw. Not yet, maybe. But don’t underestimate God’s power. He can change the way you look at life.

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Proverbs 21

God Examines Our Motives

Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God;

he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

2 We justify our actions by appearances;

God examines our motives.

3 Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors

mean far more to God than religious performance.

4 Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked—

are just plain sin.

5 Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run;

hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

6 Make it to the top by lying and cheating;

get paid with smoke and a promotion—to death!

7 The wicked get buried alive by their loot

because they refuse to use it to help others.

8 Mixed motives twist life into tangles;

pure motives take you straight down the road.

Do Your Best, Prepare for the Worst

9 Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack

than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

10 Wicked souls love to make trouble;

they feel nothing for friends and neighbors.

11 Simpletons only learn the hard way,

but the wise learn by listening.

12 A God-loyal person will see right through the wicked

and undo the evil they’ve planned.

13 If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor,

your cries will go unheard, unanswered.

14 A quietly given gift soothes an irritable person;

a heartfelt present cools a hot temper.

15 Good people celebrate when justice triumphs,

but for the workers of evil it’s a bad day.

16 Whoever wanders off the straight and narrow

ends up in a congregation of ghosts.

17 You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life!

The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.

18 What a bad person plots against the good, boomerangs;

the plotter gets it in the end.

19 Better to live in a tent in the wild

than with a cross and petulant spouse.

20 Valuables are safe in a wise person’s home;

fools put it all out for yard sales.

21 Whoever goes hunting for what is right and kind

finds life itself—glorious life!

22 One sage entered a whole city of armed soldiers—

their trusted defenses fell to pieces!

23 Watch your words and hold your tongue;

you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.

24 You know their names—Brash, Impudent, Blasphemer—

intemperate hotheads, every one.

25 Lazy people finally die of hunger

because they won’t get up and go to work.

26 Sinners are always wanting what they don’t have;

the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

27 Religious performance by the wicked stinks;

it’s even worse when they use it to get ahead.

28 A lying witness is unconvincing;

a person who speaks truth is respected.

29 Unscrupulous people fake it a lot;

honest people are sure of their steps.

30 Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived,

can get the better of God.

31 Do your best, prepare for the worst—

then trust God to bring victory.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Today's Scripture

2 Timothy 4:1–8

I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.

3-5 You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.

6-8 You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming.

Insight

Paul’s second letter to Timothy was written from a Roman prison. Many scholars believe he was incarcerated in the Mamertine prison, known in ancient times as the Tullianum prison. According to one source, the Mamertine prison was a place for political prisoners who were “doomed for execution.” A door in the lower chamber gave access to Rome’s sewer system, which was often used to carry away the bodies of executed prisoners. While there’s no historical evidence that Paul (or Peter) was imprisoned in the Mamertine prison, tradition has long held that to be the case. As a result of that longstanding connection to the church’s great apostles, the prison has been used as a place of worship since around the seventh century. Whether this was the actual location of Paul’s imprisonment or not, his letter makes it clear that he was anticipating his upcoming execution and was ready to see his Savior (2 Timothy 4:6–8). By: Bill Crowder

Finishing Strong

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

At the age of 103, a woman named Man Kaur competed as India’s oldest female athlete during the 2019 World Masters Athletic Championship in Poland. Remarkably, Kaur won gold in four events (javelin throw, shot put, 60-meter dash, and 200-meter run). But most astounding was that she ran faster than she ran in the 2017 championship. A great-grandmother running into her second century, Kaur showed how to finish strong.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a younger disciple, of how he’d entered his concluding years. “The time for my departure is near,” Paul wrote (2 Timothy 4:6). Reflecting on his life, he confidently believed he was finishing strong. “I have fought the good fight,” Paul said. “I have finished the race” (v. 7). He wasn’t confident because he’d calculated his impressive accomplishments or surveyed his vast impact (though they were immense). Rather, he knew he’d “kept the faith” (v. 7). The apostle had remained loyal to Jesus. Through sorrows and joys, he’d followed the One who’d rescued him from ruin. And he knew that Jesus stood ready with a “crown of righteousness,” the joyful finale to his faithful life (v. 8).

Paul insists that this crown isn’t for an elite few but for “all who have longed for [Christ’s] appearing” (v. 8). As we head into a new year, let’s remember that Jesus stands eager to crown all who’ve loved Him, and may we live to finish strong. By: Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What would it look like for you to finish strong? Who has been an example of finishing well?

God, I want to finish well. Help me to love You more than anything or anyone else.

For further study, read Finishing Well: Gracefully Living with Life’s Changes.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Yesterday

You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12

Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples. Approved Unto God, 11 L

Bible in a Year: Malachi 1-4; Revelation 22

Friday, December 30, 2022

Proverbs 20 and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado: A HEART LIKE JESUS - December 30, 2022

You could hide it, pretend it isn’t there. But sooner or later it will start to stink. So what will you do? If you follow the example of Christ, you’ll learn to see tough times differently.

He wants you to have a hope-filled heart…just like Jesus. Wouldn’t you want that? Jesus saw his Father’s presence in the problem. Sure, Max, but Jesus was God. I can’t see the way he saw. Not yet, maybe. But don’t underestimate God’s power. He can change the way you look at life.

Proverbs 20

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;  whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion;  those who anger him forfeit their lives.

It is to one’s honor to avoid strife,  but every fool is quick to quarrel.

Sluggards do not plow in season;  so at harvest time they look but find nothing.

The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,  but one who has insight draws them out.

Many claim to have unfailing love,  but a faithful person who can find?

The righteous lead blameless lives;  blessed are their children after them.

When a king sits on his throne to judge,  he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;  I am clean and without sin”?

Differing weights and differing measures—  the Lord detests them both.

Even small children are known by their actions,  so is their conduct really pure and upright?

Ears that hear and eyes that see—  the Lord has made them both.

Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;  stay awake and you will have food to spare.

“It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer—  then goes off and boasts about the purchase.

Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,  but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;  hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

Food gained by fraud tastes sweet,  but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

Plans are established by seeking advice;  so if you wage war, obtain guidance.

A gossip betrays a confidence;  so avoid anyone who talks too much.

If someone curses their father or mother,  their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

An inheritance claimed too soon  will not be blessed at the end.

Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”  Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.

The Lord detests differing weights,  and dishonest scales do not please him.

A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.  How then can anyone understand their own way?

It is a trap to dedicate something rashly  and only later to consider one’s vows.

A wise king winnows out the wicked;  he drives the threshing wheel over them.

The human spirit is[c] the lamp of the Lord  that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;  through love his throne is made secure.

The glory of young men is their strength,  gray hair the splendor of the old.

Blows and wounds scrub away evil,  and beatings purge the inmost being.

Our Daily Bread Devotional

Today's Scripture:

Psalm 107:23–32

Some went out on the seaa in ships;b

they were merchants on the mighty waters.

24 They saw the works of the Lord,c

his wonderful deeds in the deep.

25 For he spoked and stirred up a tempeste

that lifted high the waves.f

26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

in their perilg their courage meltedh away.

27 They reeledi and staggered like drunkards;

they were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they criedj out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.k

29 He stilled the storml to a whisper;

the wavesm of the seab were hushed.n

30 They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided themo to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanksp to the Lord for his unfailing loveq

and his wonderful deedsr for mankind.

32 Let them exalts him in the assemblyt of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.

Insight

Psalm 107 opens and closes with the ideas that guide the understanding of all forty-three verses. Verse 1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” And verse 43 reads, “Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.” The combination of these verses tells the reader that God’s “loving deeds” will endure forever. The verses in between are broken into sections that describe the stories of the redeemed (vv. 2–3). Taken together, this psalm paints a picture of a God who acts to bring people to Himself. His loving deeds that endure forever are what bring people to a recognition and dependence on the goodness and love of Him.

By: J.R. Hudberg

Grace Amid the Chaos

They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

Psalm 107:30

I was drifting off into an impromptu nap when it hit me. From the basement, my son ripped a chord on his electric guitar. The walls reverberated. No peace. No quiet. No nap. Moments later, competing music greeted my ears: my daughter playing “Amazing Grace” on the piano.

Normally, I love my son’s guitar playing. But in that moment, it jarred and unsettled me. Just as quickly, the familiar notes of John Newton’s hymn reminded me that grace thrives amid the chaos. No matter how loud, unwanted, or disorienting the storms of life might be, God’s notes of grace ring clear and true, reminding us of His watchful care over us.

We see that reality in Scripture. In Psalm 107:23–32, sailors struggle mightily against a maelstrom that could easily devour them. “In their peril, their courage melted away” (v. 26). Still, they didn’t despair but “cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress” (v. 28). Finally, we read: “They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven” (v. 30).

In chaotic moments, whether they’re life-threatening or merely sleep-threatening, the barrage of noise and fear can storm our souls. But as we trust God and pray to Him, we experience the grace of His presence and provision—the haven of His steadfast love.

By: Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

When have you experienced God’s haven of peace in other people? To whom might you offer similar encouragement?

Father, help me to remember to call out to You when the waters of life are rising, and help me to offer hope to others.

For further study, read Navigating the Storms of Life.

My Utmost for His Highest

“And Every Virtue We Possess”

By Oswald Chambers

…All my springs are in you. —Psalm 87:7

Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “…put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!

The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.

And every virtue we possess Is His alone.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L

A Word With You by Ron Hutchcraft

THE ANSWER IN THE MIRROR - #9385

You know, occasionally I see something enlightening in a little comic strip called "Family Circus." For example, there was this one where the house is a total disaster, and Mom walks in. The look on her face tells you that Mt. Vesuvius is about to blow. She has only one question, "Who did this?" Dad and the children are all innocent, of course. Apparently, the house must have just exploded and made itself a mess. But when Mom presses her question for who should be held responsible, one of the kids cleverly responds: "It was the ghost of 'not me'!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Answer in the Mirror."

That ghost of "not me"? He really gets around. There are a lot of folks who see almost every problem, every conflict, or every mistake that way. Whoever is at fault, it certainly isn't me. Sadly, those folks continue to be the common denominator in one problem after another because they simply can't see, or admit, their blame for anything. That's what destroys marriages, and children, and friendships, working relationships, churches - you name it. Mature people, on the other hand, are those who can look in the mirror and honestly see their part of the blame.

Our word for today from the Word of God - Proverbs 16:2 - provides this insight: "All a man's ways seem innocent to him..." Boy, is that true! "They" did it! They caused the problem. I'm a victim! It's their fault." Never me - always them. We have this amazing, and perverted, ability to see ourselves as usually being in the right, of bearing little or no blame for the problem, of seeing our own complete innocence and someone else's complete guilt. If you are to any degree like that, I could almost guarantee you are leaving behind you your own personal "trail of tears."

That verse in Proverbs 16 says, "All a man's ways seem" (notice the word "seem") "innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord." See, when God looks at the situation, He sees what's really going on inside us and holding us responsible for the part that we've done wrong. I'm happy to repent for other people's sins. I just need to be quick to repent of my sins.

Sadly, those who tend to see the fault as being in the other person find themselves trapped in a repetitious life-cycle of friction, unhappiness, self-pity, negativity, destructive talk, anger, hurt, and a constant state of what I would call "un-peace." You live that way until you finally see the trail of brokenness behind you, and you realize you were a common denominator in all or most of that unhappiness.

That's when you stop blaming others and you finally experience what Jesus promised, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). And the truth is, the man or woman in the mirror has been wrong, has shared the blame, and has apologies to give, as well as some forgiving to do.

I saw a simple, but profound little sentence on a church sign recently. It said, "God, I have a problem. It's me." That kind of prayer is the only place some of us are ever going to find any healing, any happiness, or any peace. Not "I have a problem - it's them," but "it's me." That admission can save a marriage, a relationship with a child. It could save the unity of a church or a ministry, or a relationship that's too valuable to lose.

It's not my brother, not my sister, but it really is me, O Lord, standin' in the need of prayer! The answer is in the mirror...and then on your knees.

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Proverbs 19 and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado : O ONE HAS IMAGINED - December 29, 2022 Try this. Imagine a perfect world. Whatever that means to you, imagine it. Does that mean peace? Then envision absolute tranquility. Does a perfect world imply joy? Then create your highest happiness. Will a perfect world have love? Ponder a place where love has no bounds.

Whatever heaven means to you, imagine it. Get it firmly fixed in your mind. Delight in it. Dream about it. Long for it. And then smile as the Father reminds you from the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” No one. No one has come close. Think of all the songs about heaven, all the artists’ portrayals. All the lessons preached, and poems written, and chapters drafted. When it comes to describing heaven, we are all happy failures.

Proverbs 19

Better the poor whose walk is blameless  than a fool whose lips are perverse.

Desire without knowledge is not good—  how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,  yet their heart rages against the Lord.

Wealth attracts many friends,  but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

A false witness will not go unpunished,  and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

Many curry favor with a ruler,  and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—  how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading,  they are nowhere to be found.[a]

The one who gets wisdom loves life;  the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

A false witness will not go unpunished,  and whoever pours out lies will perish.

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—  how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

A person’s wisdom yields patience;  it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,  but his favor is like dew on the grass.

A foolish child is a father’s ruin,  and a quarrelsome wife is like  the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,  but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Laziness brings on deep sleep,  and the shiftless go hungry.

Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,  but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,  and he will reward them for what they have done.

Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;  do not be a willing party to their death.

A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;  rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

Listen to advice and accept discipline,  and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,  but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

What a person desires is unfailing love[b];  better to be poor than a liar.

The fear of the Lord leads to life;  then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;  he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;  rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.

Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother  is a child who brings shame and disgrace.

Stop listening to instruction, my son,  and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

A corrupt witness mocks at justice,  and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

Penalties are prepared for mockers,  and beatings for the backs of fools.

Our Daily Bread Devotional

Today's Scripture:

Matthew 10:1, 5–10, 16–20 (NIV)

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.d 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.e 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heavenf has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,a drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your beltsg—10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.h

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.n Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.o 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councilsp and be flogged in the synagogues.q 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kingsr as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.s At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Fathert speaking through you.

Insight

As Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, He gave them very clear directions: take your message to those who will listen and leave the homes of those who won’t (Matthew 10:13–15). Some scholars see a connection here to Matthew 25 where Jesus described how the nations will be judged—those who receive even the “least of these brothers and sisters of mine” will inherit eternal life (v. 40). Those who reject Jesus’ messengers reject Jesus and life itself. The message of hope is ours to carry to the world, and we hope and pray people will repent and believe; yet it’s their choice what they’ll do with it.

By: Jed Ostoich

Just As I Am

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority.

Matthew 10:1

The young woman couldn’t sleep. Having suffered with a physical disability for many years, she’d be center stage at a church bazaar the next day to raise funds for higher education. But I’m not worthy, Charlotte Elliott reasoned. Tossing and turning, she doubted her credentials, questioning every aspect of her spiritual life. Still restless the next day, she finally moved to a desk to pick up pen and paper to write down the words of the now classic hymn, “Just As I Am”:

“Just as I am, without one plea, / But that Thy blood was shed for me, / And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, / O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”

Her words, written in 1835, express how Jesus called His disciples to come and serve Him. Not because they were ready. They weren’t. But because He authorized them—just as they were. A ragtag group, his team of twelve included a tax collector, a zealot, two overly ambitious brothers (see Mark 10:35–37), and Judas Iscariot “who betrayed him” (Matthew 10:4). Still, He gave them authority to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons” (v. 8)—all without taking any money, luggage, extra shirt or sandals, or even a walking stick with them (vv. 9–10).

“I am sending you,” He said (v. 16), and He was enough. For each of us who say yes to Him, He still is.

By: Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What’s your current situation or status in life? What doubts have you expressed about your readiness to be used by God?

Jesus, bid me to come to You, fully dependent on Your grace and power to make a difference.

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Deserter or Disciple?

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. —John 6:66

When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “…for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.

Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R

A Word With You by Ron Hutchcraft

WHEN LOVE LETS YOU DOWN - #9384

When I was a teenager, you could tell a girl was going steady by the fuzzy ring around her neck. And when our son started going with a girl, she just got his jacket; football jacket - the one he earned with blood, sweat, tears, and my money. But you could tell this girl was going with my son; the jacket had his name on it. I have to tell you though, it was slightly amusing. See, my son was a big lineman. She swam in that coat! And she wasn't the only one. We had a lot of girls in our school who were dating athletes, and they wore their jackets as a symbol, "Hey, I belong to him. He's mine." But it didn't look that great on most of them. No. You know, wearing what a man gives you for security may not be the best fit for you.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Love Lets You Down."

Our word for today from the Word of God. We're in Genesis 29. Let me give you some background. Jacob has worked seven years to earn Rachel's hand. He didn't realize until he lifted the veil on his wedding night he'd been deceived. He had married the sister, Leah, who was not Miss America or Miss Israel. So he had to work seven more years to get Rachel, the one he really wanted. Now he's got two wives. The Bible says, "Rachel he loved. Leah was unloved by him." But Leah, like every woman, had a very deep love hunger.

I read now from our word for today from the Word of God, Genesis 29:31. "When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, He opened her womb. But Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, 'It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.'" Interesting isn't it? She's looking to this man for the love and the identity she needs and she's coming up empty.

Well, then, she finally has another baby. And it says in verse 34, "Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, 'Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have born him three sons.' So he was named Levi. Again the man does not give her what she needs. Finally in verse 35, "She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, 'This time I will praise the Lord.'" See, Leah had hoped to find her identity in Jacob's love. She didn't get it. But finally, after three times of counting on a baby to secure her man's attention, she refocuses her love hunger from Jacob to Jehovah; from her husband to her Heavenly Father.

There's many a woman who has been disappointed by a man. There's frustration, there's bitterness. If you're a woman, maybe you've been hurt by a father whose love or approval you could never seem to win, or maybe a boyfriend or a husband has let you down like Jacob did with Leah. Or maybe you've been abused, betrayed, or abandoned. It could be you've had positive relationships with the men in your life but they still haven't been able to be all you need.

Leah, like so many women, was looking at the wrong place for identity. No woman was ever meant to derive her identity and worth from the approval of a man. She said, "I'm going to turn to the Lord." Maybe that's what He's asking of you. The jacket that reflected some of my son's identity didn't fit the woman in his life. She was never meant to find her identity in being his girl. Every woman is headed for disappointment and chronic insecurity if she's trying to define herself by some man in her world.

It's a liberating day when you discover that no man could do for your worth what the Lord can do. He loved Leah; her man didn't. He gave her His divine blessing when her man wouldn't give his. Learn from Leah. Don't waste time trying to find your identity in the fickle, fragile love or approval of people. Look beyond them to the Lord. Start drawing on Him for all you need. You're a unique masterpiece creation of a loving God. In fact, you were worth dying for. What you get from any man is just a bonus.

Maybe you've never experienced the love of Jesus for yourself. Tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." Our website, I think, will help you get started with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Be sure that you bring your love hunger to the only One who will never disappoint you. He is your Savior. He is your Shepherd. He is Jesus Christ.

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Monday, January 2, 2023

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Friday, December 30, 2022

Thursday, December 29, 2022