Hebrews 11:20-40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Blessed Man

My daughters are too old for this now, but when they were young, crib-size and diaper-laden-I'd come home, shout their names, and watch them run to me with extended arms and squealing voices. For the next few moments we would speak the language of love. We'd roll on the floor, gobble bellies, and tickle tummies and laugh and play. We delighted in each other's presence. They made no requests of me, with the exception of "Let's play, Daddy." And I made no demands of them, except, "Don't hit Daddy with the hammer." In this very special dad time-my kids let me love them!

Psalm 127:3-5 reminds us, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."

I am a blessed man!

From Dad Time

 Hebrews 11:20-40

By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.

21  By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph’s sons in turn, blessing them with God’s blessing, not his own—as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff.

22  By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.

23  By an act of faith, Moses’ parents hid him away for three months after his birth. They saw the child’s beauty, and they braved the king’s decree.

24–28  By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going. By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn’t touch them.

29  By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned.

30  By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat.

31  By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God.

32–38  I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets.… Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

39–40  Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, June 02, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 112

Hallelujah!

Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God,

Who cherish and relish his commandments,

Their children robust on the earth,

And the homes of the upright—how blessed!

Their houses brim with wealth

And a generosity that never runs dry.

Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people—

God’s grace and mercy and justice!

The good person is generous and lends lavishly;

No shuffling or stumbling around for this one,

But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.

Unfazed by rumor and gossip,

Heart ready, trusting in God,

Spirit firm, unperturbed,

Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies,

They lavish gifts on the poor—

A generosity that goes on, and on, and on.

An honored life! A beautiful life!

Someone wicked takes one look and rages,

Blusters away but ends up speechless.

There’s nothing to the dreams of the wicked. Nothing.

Insight

Psalm 112 begins in much the same way as Psalm 1, but instead of focusing on what the “blessed” person doesn’t do (see Psalm 1:1), it describes what those who fear God do. Much like the repeated theme of Psalm 119, the first verses of Psalm 112 focus on the blessings that come to those who love God’s law. And here we find still more allusion to the promises of God in Deuteronomy 6:1-3, that in loving God and keeping His commandments, the people of God will enjoy His promises.

For the Israelites, that meant earthly prosperity. For believers in Jesus today, we also claim God’s promises as we love and follow Him. But as Peter points out in his second letter, God has given us “everything we need” through Jesus to live a life that honors Him (2 Peter 1:3) and that the blessing is enjoying Him forever (v. 4). By: Jed Ostoich

Generously Given and Shared

Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely. Psalm 112:5

When my wife, Cari, and I finished our higher education, we had several thousand dollars in debt that we needed to consolidate through a lower interest rate. We applied for a loan at the local bank but were turned down because we hadn’t lived or worked in that city for long. A few days later, I shared what had happened with my friend Ming, who was an elder in our church. “I’d like to mention this to my wife,” he said on the way out the door.

A few hours later, the phone rang. It was Ming: “Ann and I would like to loan you the money you need, interest free,” he offered. I didn’t know what to say, so I responded, “I can’t ask that of you.” “You’re not asking!” Ming answered jovially. They kindly gave us the loan, and Cari and I paid them back as quickly as we could.

I believe Ming and Ann were generous because of their love for God. As Scripture tells us, “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice” (Psalm 112:5). Those who trust in God can have “steadfast” hearts that “are secure” (vv. 7-8), understanding that He’s the source of everything good in their lives.

God has been generous with us, giving us life and forgiveness. Let’s be generous in sharing His love and our resources with those in need. By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

How has God been generous to you? How can you share His kindness and generosity with someone in need today?

Thank You, loving Father, for giving me the gift of life and for providing for me every day. Help me to trust You and have a generous heart like Yours.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, June 02, 2024

What Are You Haunted By?

What man is he that feareth the Lord? — Psalm 25:12

What are you haunted by? “Nothing,” you will say. But we are all haunted by something. Usually we are haunted by ourselves or, if we are Christians, by our spiritual experience. The psalmist says we must be haunted by God—that it is God alone we must fear.

To be haunted by the Lord is to make him the ruling consciousness of our lives. A child’s consciousness is so mother-haunted that although children are not always consciously thinking of their mother, they instinctively seek their mother whenever a crisis arises. In the same way, we are to live and move and have our being in God. The whole of our life, inside and out, is to be absolutely dominated by his presence.

If we are haunted by God, nothing else can get in—no worries, no distractions, no troubles. We see now why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying (Matthew 6:25–34). How dare we be so unbelieving when God is all around?

“His soul shall dwell at ease” (Psalm 25:13 KJV). In tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander—in the midst of all these things—if our life is hidden with Christ in God, he will keep us in peace. We rob ourselves of the marvelous revelation of this abiding companion- ship. “God is our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can get through this shelter.

2 Chronicles 17-18; John 13:1-20

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”

The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R

Jeremiah 44, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The State of Your Heart

The State of Your Heart

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.” Luke 6:45, NIV

When you are offered a morsel of gossip marinated in slander, do you turn it down or pass it on? That depends on the state of your heart . . .

The state of your heart dictates whether you harbor a grudge or give grace, seek self-pity or seek Christ, drink human misery or taste God’s mercy.

Jeremiah 44

The Same Fate Will Fall upon All

1–6  44 The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros: “This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what’s left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins, and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods—no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about. Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, “Please, please—don’t do this, don’t fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion.” But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one. So I let loose with my anger, a firestorm of wrath in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and left them in ruins and wasted. And they’re still in ruins and wasted.’

7–8  “This is the Message of God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘So why are you ruining your lives by amputating yourselves—man, woman, child, and baby—from the life of Judah, leaving yourselves isolated, unconnected? And why do you deliberately make me angry by what you do, offering sacrifices to these no-gods in the land of Egypt where you’ve come to live? You’ll only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.

9–11  “ ‘Have you so soon forgotten the evil lives of your ancestors, the evil lives of the kings of Judah and their wives, to say nothing of your own evil lives, you and your wives, the evil you flaunted in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? And to this day, there’s not a trace of remorse, not a sign of reverence, nobody caring about living by what I tell them or following my instructions that I’ve set out so plainly before you and your parents! So this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies decrees:

11–14  “ ‘Watch out! I’ve decided to bring doom on you and get rid of everyone connected with Judah. I’m going to take what’s left of Judah, those who have decided to go to Egypt and live there, and finish them off. In Egypt they will either be killed or starve to death. The same fate will fall upon both the obscure and the important. Regardless of their status, they will either be killed or starve. You’ll end up cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. I’ll give those who are in Egypt the same medicine I gave those in Jerusalem: massacre, starvation, and disease. None of those who managed to get out of Judah alive and get away to Egypt are going to make it back to the Judah for which they’re so homesick. None will make it back, except maybe a few fugitives.’ ”

Making Goddess Cookies

15–18  The men who knew that their wives had been burning sacrifices to the no-gods, joined by a large crowd of women, along with virtually everyone living in Pathros of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: “We’re having nothing to do with what you tell us is God’s Message. We’re going to go right on offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, keeping up the traditions set by our ancestors, our kings and government leaders in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem in the good old days. We had a good life then—lots of food, rising standard of living, and no bad luck. But the moment we quit sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her, everything fell apart. We’ve had nothing but massacres and starvation ever since.”

19  And then the women chimed in: “Yes! Absolutely! We’re going to keep at it, offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her. Aren’t our husbands behind us? They like it that we make goddess cookies and pour out our offerings to her.”

20–23  Then Jeremiah spoke up, confronting the men and the women, all the people who had answered so insolently. He said, “The sacrifices that you and your parents, your kings, your government officials, and the common people of the land offered up in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—don’t you think God noticed? He noticed, all right. And he got fed up. Finally, he couldn’t take your evil behavior and your disgusting acts any longer. Your land became a wasteland, a death valley, a horror story, a ghost town. And it continues to be just that. This doom has come upon you because you kept offering all those sacrifices, and you sinned against God! You refused to listen to him, wouldn’t live the way he directed, ignored the covenant conditions.”

24–25  Jeremiah kept going, but now zeroed in on the women: “Listen, all you who are from Judah and living in Egypt—please, listen to God’s Word. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You women! You said it and then you did it. You said, “We’re going to keep the vows we made to sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out offerings to her, and nobody’s going to stop us!” ’

25–27  “Well, go ahead. Keep your vows. Do it up big. But also listen to what God has to say about it, all you who are from Judah but live in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name, backed by everything I am—this is God speaking!—that never again shall my name be used in vows, such as “As sure as the Master, God, lives!” by anyone in the whole country of Egypt. I’ve targeted each one of you for doom. The good is gone for good.

27–28  “ ‘All the Judeans in Egypt will die off by massacre or starvation until they’re wiped out. The few who get out of Egypt alive and back to Judah will be very few, hardly worth counting. Then that ragtag bunch that left Judah to live in Egypt will know who had the last word.

29–30  “ ‘And this will be the evidence: I will bring punishment right here, and by this you’ll know that the decrees of doom against you are the real thing. Watch for this sign of doom: I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, those who are out to kill him, exactly as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah to his enemy Nebuchadnezzar, who was after him.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, June 01, 2024

Today's Scripture

2 Timothy 1:6-10

And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

8–10  So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.

Insight

Paul and Timothy had a wonderful relationship as mentor and mentee—one that Paul felt had risen to the level of a father and son (see 2 Timothy 1:2; 2:1). Though there were a number of men and women that Paul discipled and trained for ministry (including Titus, Tychicus, Aristarchus, Aquila and Priscilla, and others), there seems to be a distinctly different relationship with Timothy. In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul introduces him to the believers at Corinth this way: “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord.” This is unusually strong language for Paul and clearly speaks to a depth of relationship. No wonder in some of his final words he appeals to Timothy to join him: “Do your best to come to me quickly” (2 Timothy 4:9). By: Bill Crowder

From Holey to Holy

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. 2 Timothy 1:9

As a child, my daughter loved playing with her Swiss cheese at lunch. She’d place the pastel yellow square on her face like a mask, saying, “Look, Mom,” her sparkly green eyes peeking out from two holes in the cheese. As a young mom, that Swiss-cheese mask summed up my feelings about my efforts—genuinely offered, full of love, but so very imperfect. Holey, not holy.

Oh, how we long to live a holy life—a life set apart for God and characterized by being like Jesus. But day after day, holiness seems out of reach. In its place, our “holeyness” remains.

In 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Paul writes to his protégé Timothy, urging him to live up to his holy calling. The apostle then clarified that “[God] has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (v. 9). This life is possible not because of our character, but because of God’s grace. Paul continues, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (v. 9). Can we accept God’s grace and live from the platform of power it provides?

Whether in parenting, marriage, work, or loving our neighbor, God calls us to a holy life—made possible not because of our efforts to be perfect but because of His grace. By:  Elisa Morgan

Reflect & Pray

How do you view personal holiness? In what ways will you ask God to remind you of His all-surpassing grace that brings about His holiness in your life?

Dear God, please help me to lean into Your grace and not my efforts to live a holy life.

For further study, read Why Would Anyone Want to Be Holy?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, June 01, 2024

The Staggering Question

Son of man, can these bones live? — Ezekiel 37:3

Can that sinner be turned into a saint? Can that twisted life be put right? There is only one answer: “Sovereign Lord, you alone know” (Ezekiel 37:3).

Some of us think we know exactly what another soul needs. We come trampling in, armed with religious common sense, and say, “Oh, yes. With a little more Bible reading and devotion and prayer, I see how it can be done.” If we think this way, we are mistaking panic for inspiration. It’s much easier to do something than to trust in God. That is why so few of us work with God, while so many of us run around doing tasks he never asked us to do, saying we’re working for him. We would rather busy ourselves with work for God than believe in him.

If I believe in God, I know that he will do what I can’t. I despair of his ability to help others when I fail to see how he has helped me. Once I realize what God’s power has accomplished in my own life, I will stop despairing of others. But if I’ve never had any spiritual work done, I will panic. I panic to the exact degree that I lack personal spiritual experience.

“My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them” (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is apart from his presence, he has to show it to you inside yourself. If the Holy Spirit has given you this vision—the vision of what you are apart from the grace of God—you know that the worst criminal is only half as bad in practice as you are in possibility. “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals what human nature is apart from his grace.

2 Chronicles 15-16; John 12:27-50

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him. 

Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L

Jeremiah 43, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: UNINTERRUPTED AWARENESS - May 31, 2024

Unceasing prayer may sound complicated, but it needn’t be that way – just change your definition of prayer. Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. Acknowledge his presence everywhere you go. As you stand in line to register your car, think, Thank you, Lord, for being here. In the grocery store as you shop, think, Your presence, my King, I welcome.

People struggle with life when they don’t have answers. The darkest valleys are blackened by the shadow of question marks. So what do you do? Think harder? Try harder? Have longer conversations with yourself? Ephesians 6:18 (MSG) says, “Pray hard and long.” Why not pray to the One with all the answers and let him take over?

Jeremiah 43

Death! Exile! Slaughter!

1–3  43 When Jeremiah finished telling all the people the whole Message that their God had sent him to give them—all these words—Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah, backed by all the self-important men, said to Jeremiah, “Liar! Our God never sent you with this message telling us not to go to Egypt and live there. Baruch son of Neriah is behind this. He has turned you against us. He’s playing into the hands of the Babylonians so we’ll either end up being killed or taken off to exile in Babylon.”

4  Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers, and the people along with them, wouldn’t listen to God’s Message that they stay in the land of Judah and live there.

5–7  Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers gathered up everyone who was left from Judah, who had come back after being scattered all over the place—the men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, all the people that Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had left in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and last but not least, Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. They entered the land of Egypt in total disobedience of God’s Message and arrived at the city of Tahpanhes.

8–9  While in Tahpanhes, God’s Word came to Jeremiah: “Pick up some large stones and cover them with mortar in the vicinity of the pavement that leads up to the building set aside for Pharaoh’s use in Tahpanhes. Make sure some of the men of Judah are watching.

10–13  “Then address them: ‘This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: Be on the lookout! I’m sending for and bringing Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon—my servant, mind you!—and he’ll set up his throne on these very stones that I’ve had buried here and he’ll spread out his canopy over them. He’ll come and absolutely smash Egypt, sending each to his assigned fate: death, exile, slaughter. He’ll burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods. He’ll either burn up the gods or haul them off as booty. Like a shepherd who picks lice from his robes, he’ll pick Egypt clean. And then he’ll walk away without a hand being laid on him. He’ll shatter the sacred obelisks at Egypt’s House of the Sun and make a huge bonfire of the temples of Egypt’s gods.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, May 31, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jude 1:17-23

17–19  But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: “In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.” These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!

20–21  But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

22–23  Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.

Insight

Jude’s original intent in writing his letter was to teach about the truth of the gospel. However, he felt compelled to shift that purpose to addressing false teachers. He says, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (v. 3). He goes on to say that those teachers “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4). He made further accusations in verses 8 and 12 but closed by encouraging the children of God to remain faithful (vv. 17-23) and assured them of God’s help: “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (v. 24). By: Bill Crowder

Mercy through Pizza

Be merciful to those who doubt. Jude 1:22

The invitation for dinner from my church leader Harold and his wife, Pam, warmed my heart, but also made me nervous. I’d joined a college Bible study group that taught ideas that contradicted some of the teachings in the Bible. Would they lecture me about that?

Over pizza, they shared about their family and asked about mine. They listened as I talked about homework, my dog Buchi, and the guy I had a crush on. Only later did they gently caution me about the group I was attending and explain what was wrong with its teachings.

Their warning took me away from the lies presented in the Bible study and close to the truths of Scripture. In his letter, Jude uses strong language about false teachers, urging believers to “contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3). He reminded them that “in the last times there will be scoffers . . . who divide you . . . and do not have the Spirit” (vv. 18-19). However, Jude also calls on believers to “be merciful to those who doubt” (v. 22) by coming alongside them, showing compassion without compromising the truth.

Harold and Pam knew I wasn’t firmly grounded in my faith, but instead of judging me, they first offered their friendship and then their wisdom. May God give us this same love and patience, using wisdom and compassion as we interact with those who have doubts. By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

Who can you reach who’s struggling with their faith? How can you lovingly guide them to the truths of Scripture?

Father, I need Your wisdom and guidance to help those who are being affected by false teaching. Please give me the words to say.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, May 31, 2024

God First

Jesus would not entrust himself to them, . . . for he knew what was in each person.— John 2:24-25

Put trust in God first. “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people” (John 2:24). Our Lord trusted no one except God, yet he was never suspicious, never bitter, never in despair about anyone. He simply trusted entirely in what God’s grace could do. If we put our trust in people before God, if we insist on people being something they never can be—absolutely right—we’ll become bitter and end up despairing of everyone. This is why we must never trust in anything but the grace of God.

Put God’s needs first. “Here I am, I have come to do your will” (Hebrews 10:9). Many of us are obedient to whatever we perceive to be a need. We say to ourselves, “The unsaved are dying without God. They need the Lord; they need me to come and preach the gospel.” Jesus was never obedient to a need; he was obedient to the will of his Father. Before we rush off into work for God, we have to make sure that we are honoring God’s will for our own lives. God wants us to be rightly related to him. Once we are, he will open the way for us to meet needs elsewhere.

Put God’s trust first. “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5). God entrusts himself to us as an infant. He asks us to turn our personal life into a “Bethlehem,” a place where he may safely dwell, so that we may be slowly transfigured by his life inside us. God’s ultimate purpose for us is that his Son will be manifested in our mortal bodies. Are we honoring the trust he’s placed in us?

2 Chronicles 13-14; John 12:1-26

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. 

The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, May 31, 2024

It took me a while to get up the courage to clean our garage. It might have taken you time to do it too, if you had seen what shape it was in! I mean, there was the general accumulated "mess" that hadn't been touched for awhile. And then there was the mess left from youth ministry stored there. On top of that, different members of our family and staff had been going, and borrowing and returning, and borrowing and returning, and oh my goodness! The mess was there.

Oh, and then there was the mess from various friends who use our garage to store some of their things. All in all, we had discovered a new peak to be climbed. We called it Mount Mess! And there it was right in front of me. So, get on my work clothes, go downstairs, take a deep breath and I almost turned around and gave up. My first thought, "How about we torch it." No, we need to clean it. I thought maybe that would be the simplest answer. No, it's not good. But the question that depressed me was one that you've probably asked while facing a Mount Mess of your own, "Where do I start?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where Do I Start Cleaning?"

Our word for today from the Word of God, John 2, and I'm going to begin reading verses 13-16. "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts, He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple area; both sheep and cattle. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves, He said, 'Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father's house into a market.'"

I'll tell you what's incredible about this. This is Jesus' first appearance in Jerusalem. Want to make a good impression? He's going to the big city. You'd think He'd want to make a nice, positive impact there when He arrives. But notice what His first act is. It's not a miracle, it's not a healing, and it's not a sermon. It's an indignity - an attack - against sin in God's house.

Now, you and I are living in a world that morally resembles my un-cleaned garage; it is a spiritual mess. Sex has been divorced from love and commitment. Speaking of divorce, it's the most common "answer" for marital problems. Lying is so common you pretty much expect people not to be telling the truth. There's garbage permeating our media input, and it just goes on and on. Where are we going to start cleaning?

Well, Jesus will say, "Start by cleaning up My house." That's where He started. 1 Peter 4:17 says, "Judgment must begin at the house of God." A.W. Tozer said, "The Bible will not die in the hands of Communists, or humanists, or atheists, or abortionists. It will die in the hands of its friends because they don't use it themselves."

See, we've become amazingly casual about sin. Oh, we're against it, but we flirt with it and we see how close we can get to it. We read about it, we watch it being portrayed, we laugh about it, and we allow creeping compromise to erode what was once a much higher standard in our lives just a short time ago. Jesus takes a whip to sin when it's tolerated in His house, and you're His house now.

See, the Bible says we're the temple of the Holy Spirit; He lives in you. Now, you may look righteous compared to the rest of the people around you, but your standard isn't them. It's the personal holiness of Jesus himself. Oh, sure, we should fight the decay in our lost world, but we should turn most of our guns on our own sin - our own compromise. Many people are not considering Christ because they've never seen an alternative in someone their own age who is really living for Christ, demonstrating the difference.

The history of revival throughout the church tells us that whenever God's people start hating the sin in their own lives, tens of thousands of people start finding Christ. So, where do I start cleaning with the mess inside my own heart?

Hebrews 11:1-19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PEACE HAPPENS WHEN WE PRAY - May 30, 2024

Worry happens when we keep our problems to ourselves or present our problems to the puny deities of money, muscle, or humankind. The act of prayer moves us from a spirit of concern to a spirit of gratitude. Even before our prayers are answered, our hearts begin to change. So take these steps:

First, take your worries to God. Set aside some time each day to pour out your concerns, complaints, fears and woes to him. Don’t suppress; express! Take everything to God and then…leave it with him.

Find a promise to match your problem. Spend time in the promises and stories of Scripture. Find a promise that fits your problem, and build your prayers around it.

Pray specifically. Generic prayers aren’t nearly as effective as heartfelt prayers that target particular needs.

Peace happens when we pray.

Hebrews 11:1-19

Faith in What We Don’t See

1–2  11 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

3  By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

4  By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.

5–6  By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

7  By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.

8–10  By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.

11–12  By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That’s how it happened that from one man’s dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.

13–16  Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.

17–19  By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him—and this after he had already been told, “Your descendants shall come from Isaac.” Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that’s what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Today's Scripture

Luke 6:43-45

Work the Words into Your Life

43–45  “You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.

Insight

Jesus’ words in Luke 6:17-49 mirror the discourse He gave in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Yet there are differences in the two settings. Matthew says “Jesus . . . went up on a mountainside and sat down” (5:1). Luke tells us that after spending the night on a mountainside praying with His disciples (6:12), “He went down with them and stood on a level place” (v. 17). Today’s Scripture reading is from this “sermon on the level place.” It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus would share His transformational teaching at different locales. Most of His audience would be new and hadn’t yet heard His message. This section of Luke (6:43-45) loosely parallels Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:15-20, where He warns that we’ll know false prophets by their fruit. In Luke, however, Jesus focuses not on false teachers but on us. Our words reveal the kind of fruit we’re bearing. By: Tim Gustafson

Words Reflect Our Heart

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart. Luke 6:45 nlt

How do you eliminate foul language? A high school chose to institute a “no foul language” promise. The students took an oath, saying: "I do solemnly promise not to use profanities of any kind within the walls and properties of [our school].” This was a noble effort, but, according to Jesus, no external rule or pledge can ever cover the odor of foul speech.

Removing the stench of the words that come from our mouths begins with renewing our hearts. Just as people recognize the kind of tree by the fruit it bears (Luke 6:43-44), Jesus said that our speech is a convincing indicator of whether our hearts are in tune with Him and His ways or not. Fruit stands for a person’s speech, “for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (v. 45). Christ was pointing out that if we really want to change what’s coming out of our mouths, we first have to focus on changing our hearts as He helps us.

External promises are useless to curb the foul language that comes forth from an untransformed heart. We can only eliminate foul speech by first believing in Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:3) and then inviting the Holy Spirit to fill us (Ephesians 5:18). He works within us to inspire and help us to continually offer thanks to God (v. 20) and to speak encouraging and edifying words to others (4:15, 29; Colossians 4:6).  By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What do your words and speech say about your heart? How are you inviting the Holy Spirit to transform your speech these days?

Dear Jesus, please help me speak words that honor You and edify others.

For further study, read Words Matter: Speaking with Wisdom in an Age of Outrage.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, May 30, 2024

“Yes, But . . . !”

I will follow you, Lord; but . . .— Luke 9:61

Suppose God tells you to do something that doesn’t square with your common sense. What are you going to do? Hang back? If this is your inclination, watch out. If you develop the habit of avoidance in your physical life, the habit will rule you until you break it. The same is true in your spiritual life. Again and again you will come to what Jesus Christ wants from you, and again and again you will turn back. “But suppose I obey God in this matter,” you say. “What about my concerns? I can only obey God if his command follows common sense. Don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”

Jesus Christ demands that we display the same reckless, daring attitude in spiritual life that the boldest among us display in natural life. If you’re going to do anything worthwhile, sometimes you have to risk everything and leap. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you leap into what he says, risking everything common sense has taught you. The instant you do, you’ll find that his command makes perfect spiritual sense.

Measured by the standard of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem insane. But if you measure them by the standard of faith, you will find that they are the words of God. Trust entirely in God, and when he brings you to the precipice of a challenge . . . leap. We act like pagans in a crisis: only one in a crowd is daring enough to risk everything on the character of God.

2 Chronicles 10-12; John 11:30-57

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Your Personal A.D. - #9754

Easter night, millions of Americans tuned in to Jesus, this was actually several years ago when "The Bible" miniseries was on cable TV. Except this time, "A.D. - The Bible Continues" was on a major network. I was one of those millions who was watching on Easter, plunged into the world-changing events of that first Good Friday and Easter.

I couldn't help but connect it to a touching Facebook post I saw on Good Friday about a bookstore visit that a dear Native American friend had with her young grandson - who she calls "Handsome." Handsome spotted a painting that really got his attention. It was Jesus nailed to the cross. He went straight to it and he said "with passion" in his voice, his grandma said, "Gramma look! Can we buy it? It's the last one. If we don't buy it, someone else will get it!"

Here's what our friend wrote: "Today is Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross for me. How could I not buy the picture for Handsome?" Well, I'll tell you, that picture of that little boy hugging that painting is tattooed in my mind. It occurred to me that the little guy was onto something.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Personal A.D."

You know what I think that little boy had? I think he had the idea that you need to make Jesus yours while you can. Not because there's a limited supply, but because that ultimate spiritual opportunity won't always be there.

Jesus described that opportunity this way in Revelation 3:20, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in." If I hadn't already "opened the door" to Jesus, I think watching that TV reminder of His awful death might just have done it. Looking there and realizing that the price He paid to rescue me from the death penalty for what I've done against Him; for my sins. In the Bible's words, "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

I suspect a lot of us have felt that knock on the door, that tugging in our heart maybe many times. But just like that little Native boy realized, it's important to grab Jesus while you can, because we never know when our heart is going to beat for the last time. And we'll suddenly be on the brink of eternity.

Or because we have reached the spiritual point of no return. There is one the Bible calls the "Hardening of your heart." Ignoring Jesus' knock so many times you just don't hear Him anymore. The Bible has this warning and it is our word for today from the Word of God. It is from Hebrews 4:7. And who knows, it might have your name on it today. "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7).

You know, there seems to be one other especially disturbing way that we can miss Jesus; one that can make postponing Jesus life's biggest mistake. "Call on Him while He is near," the Bible says (Isaiah 55:6). Which suggests He won't always be near. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father...draws them to Me" (John 6:44). I've got to come to Jesus, not when I'm ready, but when He's ready. When I "hear His voice."

If you feel that tugging, if you hear His voice inside, He's ready. It's time! You say, "Ron, I've never gotten this settled. Let's get this done today. Would you reach out with all the faith you can and say, "Jesus, I'm yours." Would you tell Him that in your heart? Tell Him that out loud if you choose. I would urge you to come to our website. It is all about securing your personal relationship with Jesus and thus securing your eternity. It's ANewStory.com. Please check it out.

I remember the day I heard that voice and I opened the door. It changed my life forever and my eternal destination; moving from the emptiness of life without Jesus to the amazingness of life with Him. And moving from B.C. - before Christ, without Christ - to my personal "A.D."

Jeremiah 42, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HEAVENLY HELPERS - May 29, 2024

The prophet Daniel discovered how seriously God takes our prayers. Daniel was troubled. He resolved to pray. After three weeks, Daniel saw a man with a belt of gold around his waist. His face was like lightning, his eyes on fire. Daniel was so stunned he fell to the ground. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven…” (Daniel 10:12 NLT).

The moment Daniel began praying, the answer was issued. Demonic forces blocked the pathway of the angel, and the impasse lasted a full three weeks. Have you prayed and heard nothing? If so, I beg you, don’t give up. You have been heard in heaven. Angelic armies have been dispatched. Just keep praying. Heaven has helpers for you.

Jeremiah 42

What You Fear Will Catch Up with You

1–3  42 All the army officers, led by Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, accompanied by all the people, small and great, came to Jeremiah the prophet and said, “We have a request. Please listen. Pray to your God for us, what’s left of us. You can see for yourself how few we are! Pray that your God will tell us the way we should go and what we should do.”

4  Jeremiah the prophet said, “I hear your request. And I will pray to your God as you have asked. Whatever God says, I’ll pass on to you. I’ll tell you everything, holding nothing back.”

5–6  They said to Jeremiah, “Let God be our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don’t do everything that your God directs you to tell us. Whether we like it or not, we’ll do it. We’ll obey whatever our God tells us. Yes, count on us. We’ll do it.”

7–8  Ten days later God’s Message came to Jeremiah. He called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him, including all the people, regardless of how much clout they had.

9–12  He then spoke: “This is the Message from God, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your prayer. He says, ‘If you are ready to stick it out in this land, I will build you up and not drag you down, I will plant you and not pull you up like a weed. I feel deep compassion on account of the doom I have visited on you. You don’t have to fear the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing. I’m on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do. I’ll pour mercy on you. What’s more, he will show you mercy! He’ll let you come back to your very own land.’

13–17  “But do not say, ‘We’re not staying around this place,’ refusing to obey the command of your God and saying instead, ‘No! We’re off to Egypt, where things are peaceful—no wars, no attacking armies, plenty of food. We’re going to live there.’ If what’s left of Judah is headed down that road, then listen to God’s Message. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: ‘If you have determined to go to Egypt and make that your home, then the very wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt and the starvation you dread will track you down in Egypt. You’ll die there! Every last one of you who is determined to go to Egypt and make it your home will either be killed, starve, or get sick and die. No survivors, not one! No one will escape the doom that I’ll bring upon you.’

18  “This is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘In the same way that I swept the citizens of Jerusalem away with my anger and wrath, I’ll do the same thing all over again in Egypt. You’ll end up being cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. And you’ll never see your homeland again.’

19–20  “God has plainly told you, you leftovers from Judah, ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ Could anything be plainer? I warn you this day that you are living out a fantasy. You’re making a fatal mistake.

“Didn’t you just now send me to your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to our God. Tell us everything that God says and we’ll do it all’?

21–22  “Well, now I’ve told you, told you everything he said, and you haven’t obeyed a word of it, not a single word of what your God sent me to tell you. So now let me tell you what will happen next: You’ll be killed, you’ll starve to death, you’ll get sick and die in the wonderful country where you’ve determined to go and live.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Today's Scripture

Ephesians 4:29-32

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

30  Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.

31–32  Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Insight

Paul admonishes the Ephesian believers in Jesus to “not let any unwholesome talk come out of [their] mouths” (4:29). The word for “unwholesome” is sapros, which means “rotten” or “worthless.” The same word is used to describe bad or spoiled produce (“a bad tree bears bad fruit,” Matthew 7:17) or decaying meat and fish (they “threw the bad [fish] away,” 13:48). It indicates something is of poor quality or unfit for use. The apostle is telling the Ephesians that in the same way that one wouldn’t put rotten food into their mouths, they shouldn’t let anything rotten come out. This teaching is reminiscent of what Jesus said in Mark 7:20-23: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” By: J.R. Hudberg

Advice from One Older

Be kind and compassionate to one another. Ephesians 4:32

“What do I regret?” That was the question New York Times bestselling writer George Saunders answered in his 2013 commencement speech at Syracuse University. His approach was that of an older person (Saunders) who shared one or two regrets he’d had in life with the younger people (graduates) who could learn something from his examples. He listed a few things people might assume he regretted, like being poor and working terrible jobs. But Saunders said he really didn’t regret those at all. What he did regret, however, were failures of kindness—those opportunities he had to be kind to someone, and he let them pass.

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Ephesus answering this question: What does the Christian life look like? It’s tempting to rush in with our answers, like possessing a particular political view, avoiding certain books or films, worshiping in a particular manner. But Paul’s approach didn’t limit him to contemporary issues. He does mention abstaining from “unwholesome talk” (Ephesians 4:29) and ridding ourselves of things like bitterness and anger (v. 31). Then to conclude his “speech,” in essence, he says to the Ephesians as well as to us, “Don’t fail to be kind” (v. 32). And the reason behind that is because in Christ, God has been kind to you.

Of all the things we believe the life in Jesus to be, one of them, surely, is to be kind. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

Where have you recently failed to be kind? What’s one way you can succeed in kindness today?

Dear Jesus, as You’ve been kind to me, let me be kind to others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Undisturbed Relationship

In that day you will ask in my name. . . . The Father himself loves you because you have loved me.— John 16:26-27

“You will ask in my name.” By “name,” Jesus means “nature.” He isn’t saying, “You will use my name as a magic word to get what you want from the Father.” He’s saying, “You will be so intimate with me that you will be one with me.”

“In that day . . .” The day Jesus is speaking of isn’t a day in the future; it’s here and now. It’s a day of undisturbed relationship between God and his child. Just as Jesus stood blameless in the presence of his Father, so by the baptism of the Spirit are we lifted into relationship with him: “. . . that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” (John 17:21).

“The Father himself loves you.” The union is complete and absolute. Our Lord doesn’t mean that your external life will be free of complexity and confusion, but that just as he knew the Father’s heart and mind, you too will know it. By the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he will lift you into the heavenly places, where he can reveal God’s counsels to you.

“My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (16:23). Jesus is saying that God will recognize our prayers. What a challenge! By the power of the resurrection and the ascension, by the sent-down Holy Spirit, we can be lifted into such a relationship with the Father that we are at one with his sovereign will, just as Jesus was. In this wonderful position, we can pray to God in his name—in his nature—which is gifted to us by the Holy Spirit, and whatever we ask will be given.

2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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, 946 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

The Fatal Fear and How to Beat It - #9753

I get to spend my summers with some of the most courageous young people I've ever known. They're the Native American young people who go to reservations each summer to bring the hope they have found in Christ to young people who are where they once were.

Stepping out on that court with a microphone to tell about your Jesus is pretty intimidating. This night it was Tricia's turn - and, yes, she was scared. This reservation was especially hard. She came for prayer, and she got it. Minutes later she was at center court with the mic. I listened from the bus as she went out there and literally took charge! She commanded the attention of everyone there. And God used her that night to really open hearts and prepare the way for a harvest of those young people choosing Jesus.

Later, I asked her, "Tricia! What happened to that fear you told me about? That was so powerful!" She had prayed a prayer that I taught her, "Lord help me see what You see when You see these young people. And break my heart for what breaks Yours." She went out on that court and saw "lost" in their eyes, she said. Her mission was bigger than her fear.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Fatal Fear and How to Beat It."

We know the people around us need our Jesus. That He's their only hope of an eternity in heaven. We try to live our faith before them. But no matter how good we are, they're not going to guess Jesus died on the cross to pay for their sins. We have to tell them. But so often, we don't.

There's often one thing that stops us. Fear. Fear of what they'll think of us, fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of messing it up - and so on. Notice what those fears have in common - they're all about me.

We're at that Moses moment where God said He was calling Moses to join Him in rescuing his people. Moses' reaction? "Who am I?" Parts of that conversation are our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 3 and 4, beginning with chapter 3, verse 4. Moses asks "who am I?" "And God said, 'I will be with you." God says, "Who am I, Moses?" That's the right question. This isn't about who Moses is, it's about who God is. In chapter 4, verse 12, God promises: "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

So how do we move past the fear that's keeping us from sharing Jesus' Good News?

First, realize that you are the glove, not the hand. My glove can't do anything - it's powerless. But when I put my hand in that glove, it can do all kinds of things gloves can't do! So when you open your mouth to share your Jesus, you are God's glove! He will give you the courage, the opening, the words, the tone. You don't rescue people - He does!

Second, pray the 3-open prayer. Lord, open a door - a natural opportunity to tell the difference Jesus is making. Then, Lord open their heart. And then the big one - Lord, open my mouth! He'll do it!

And finally, let a bigger fear win! You've been hesitant to go in for the rescue because of what might happen to you if you do. But shouldn't we be more afraid of what will happen to them if we don't? We just can't leave them lost. See, courage is not the absence of fear. It's the disregard of it. Yes, I'm afraid. But I will not let my fear decide what I do any more!

Pray the prayer Tricia prayed on that reservation - "Help me see what You see, Jesus, when you see this person I need to tell. And go ahead, Lord, break my heart for them."

As God said to Moses, "I have come down to rescue them. Now, go. I am sending you."

Jeremiah 41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE TRINITARIAN TRIFECTA - May 28, 2024

Paradise is not promised until Jesus returns. Peace, joy, and absence of pain are promises of the future, not of the present. Sin is still epidemic, but the cure is coming.

Christ predicted bad news. He told us things are going to get bad before they get better. And when conditions worsen, “See to it that you are not alarmed” (Matthew 24:6 NIV). The only time we should get scared is when something surprises God. If something takes God by surprise, we are doomed. But since God knows all things, we are comforted.

The same God who has the power of omniscience (knowing everything) also has the power of omnipresence (being multipresent) and omnipotence (having all power). That trinitarian trifecta is unstoppable. All problems are too small in the shadow of God.

Jeremiah 41

Murder

1–3  41 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, came. He had royal blood in his veins and had been one of the king’s high-ranking officers. He paid a visit to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah with ten of his men. As they were eating together, Ishmael and his ten men jumped to their feet and knocked Gedaliah down and killed him, killed the man the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land. Ishmael also killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were stationed there.

4–5  On the second day after the murder of Gedaliah—no one yet knew of it—men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, eighty of them, with their beards shaved, their clothing ripped, and gashes on their bodies. They were pilgrims carrying grain offerings and incense on their way to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.

6  Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to welcome them, weeping ostentatiously. When he greeted them he invited them in: “Come and meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”

7–8  But as soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his henchmen slaughtered the pilgrims and dumped the bodies in a cistern. Ten of the men talked their way out of the massacre. They bargained with Ishmael, “Don’t kill us. We have a hidden store of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey out in the fields.” So he held back and didn’t kill them with their fellow pilgrims.

9  Ishmael’s reason for dumping the bodies into a cistern was to cover up the earlier murder of Gedaliah. The cistern had been built by king Asa as a defense against Baasha king of Israel. This was the cistern that Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled with the slaughtered men.

10  Ishmael then took everyone else in Mizpah, including the king’s daughters entrusted to the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam by Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, as prisoners. Rounding up the prisoners, Ishmael son of Nethaniah proceeded to take them over into the country of Ammon.

11–12  Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him heard about the atrocities committed by Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They set off at once after Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him at the large pool at Gibeon.

13–15  When all the prisoners from Mizpah who had been taken by Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers with him, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They were so happy! They all rallied around Johanan son of Kareah and headed back home. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah got away, escaping from Johanan with eight men into the land of Ammon.

16  Then Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers with him gathered together what was left of the people whom Ishmael son of Nethaniah had taken prisoner from Mizpah after the murder of Gedaliah son of Ahikam—men, women, children, eunuchs—and brought them back from Gibeon.

17–18  They set out at once for Egypt to get away from the Chaldeans, stopping on the way at Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem. They were afraid of what the Chaldeans might do in retaliation of Ishmael son of Nethaniah’s murder of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor of the country.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Today's Scripture

Acts 16:16-26

Beat Up and Thrown in Jail

16–18  One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, “These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you!” She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, “Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!” And it was gone, just like that.

19–22  When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood.

22–24  The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.

25–26  Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.

Insight

This incident with the fortune-telling female slave occurred in the city of Philippi (Acts 16:12). After Paul cast a demon out of the girl, her owners were angry over the loss of their ability to exploit her (vv. 18-19). As they made their false allegations against Paul and Silas, they leveled a racially charged statement: “These men are Jews, and are . . . advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” (vv. 20-21). Ironically, both Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, a fact that Paul leveraged as they were about to be released from prison (vv. 37-39). By: Tim Gustafson

Impromptu Praise

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Acts 16:25

During a short-term missions trip to Ethiopia, our team accompanied another team from a local ministry on an outreach to a group of young men who’d hit hard times and were living in shacks in a literal junkyard. They were such a delight to meet! We shared testimonies, encouraging words, and prayers together. One of my favorite moments that evening was when a local team member played his guitar and we got to worship with our new friends under the radiant moon. What a sacred moment! Despite their desperate situation, these men had hope and joy that can only be found in Jesus.

In Acts 16, we read about another impromptu praise time. This one broke out in a jail in the city of Philippi. Paul and Silas had been arrested, beaten, flogged, and imprisoned while serving Jesus. Instead of giving in to despair, they worshiped God by "praying and singing” in their jail cell. “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose” (vv. 25-26).

The jailer's first thought was to end his life, but when he realized the prisoners hadn’t escaped, he was in awe of God, and salvation came to his family (vv. 27-34).

God delights in hearing us praise Him. Let’s worship Him during both the highs and lows of life. By:  Nancy Gavilanes

Reflect & Pray

How has God enabled you to praise and worship Him even in the bad times? How has He revealed Himself in remarkable ways when you’ve done so?

Dear God, please help me to praise You no matter what I’m facing.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Unquestioned Revelation

In that day you will no longer ask me anything.— John 16:23

When is “that day”? It is when the resurrection life of Jesus manifests itself inside you, and the ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. Then, says Jesus, “you will no longer ask me anything.”

Until the resurrection life of Jesus is manifested inside you, you may often find yourself confused and wanting to ask questions. After his life has been established in you, the questions begin to fade, until finally none remain. At this point, you know that you have come to the place of complete reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, a place of perfect contact with God’s purposes. Are you living that life now?

In this place of perfect contact, you find that many things are still dark to your understanding—yet none have the ability to come between your heart and God. That is why Jesus says that, in that day, “you will no longer ask me anything.” You will not ask because you will not need to ask. The command given in John 14:1—“Do not let your hearts be troubled”—will describe the real state of your heart, and you will know, beyond a doubt, that God is working everything out according to his purpose.

If something is a mystery to you and it is coming between you and God, don’t look for the explanation in your intellect; look for it in your disposition. Your disposition is what is wrong. When you have submitted yourself entirely to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear. You will have come to the place where there is no distance between the Father and his child, because the Lord has made you one.

2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him.  

So Send I You, 1301 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

It's Not About Christians - #9752

We had three kids. They were all in the junior high band at different times over a seven year period of time. So I got to go to seven straight years of junior high band concerts. I enjoyed watching our kids develop musically, but I cannot say it was a memorable music experience. Fortunately, they stuck to pieces that were at their level. But what if they had attempted, say Beethoven, the musical genius.

Just imagine you didn't know much about Beethoven and I invited you to come to one of these band concerts with me? "Hey, they're performing a Beethoven symphony. I know you're going to be impressed with Beethoven's ability!" Now, it's after the concert and I say, "Well, what did you think of Beethoven?" Your response? "Uh, not impressed." "Well, I know there were a lot of squeaks and squawks and instruments missing. But please, please don't judge Beethoven based on the way they played his music. He's a genius. They just don't play his music real well."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "It's Not About Christians."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 1:16-17 - two words here that instantly eliminate a lot of confusion and most of the reasons for not giving yourself to Jesus Christ. Here's what it says, "Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, and He saw Simon and his brother, Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow Me' Jesus said. At once they left their nets and followed Him."

Not long after that it records in Mark 2:14, that He came up to Levi, who was a tax collector, and He came to his tax collector's booth and said, "Follow Me." He just kept saying that to people, "Follow Me." In other words Jesus is saying, "I am the issue." That's why one of Christianity's most brilliant minds, the Apostle Paul, said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, "I was determined when I was among you to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." He's saying, "This is all about Jesus and Him dying on the cross for you."

See, so many people's objections to Jesus are because, well, honestly Christians you might say don't play His music very well. "People are hypocrites! I've seen those Christians." Really? Was Jesus a hypocrite? "Well, the church is only after money!" Was Jesus only after money? See, the only reason for not being a follower of Jesus is because of a problem you have with Jesus. It's never been about Christianity. It's never been about Christians. It's all about Jesus. "Follow Me" He said. So if you don't like the inconsistencies in Christianity, neither do I. Neither does Jesus. But that's no reason to put off the Son of God.

Maybe you've been burned by Christianity or Christians somewhere along the way. But it wasn't Jesus who did that. Like the junior high band playing the music of Beethoven. We don't always play His music very well, but we're practicing and trying to sound more like Him. But don't reject the Savior who died in your place for your sin because of something that His imperfect followers have done.

When you take your last breath, it's going to be Jesus you're face to face with. And all that's going to matter is how you responded to His life-changing, life-giving invitation, "Follow Me."

Don't you want to be sure you belong to Him? No one else can get you to heaven, because no one else paid for the sin that will keep you out of heaven. No one else has the power to give you eternal life, because no one else walked out of His grave under His own power except the Savior, Jesus. He's ready to walk into your life.

If you want that to happen for you today and experience this Jesus for yourself, tell Him that. "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website. That's what it's there for, to help you get this settled - ANewStory.com.

He's been waiting a long time for you. I know the band isn't perfect, but the Master, Jesus? You can totally trust Him. You've been enough days without Him. Let this be your first day with Him.

Hebrews 10:19-39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: OUR GOOD GIVER - May 27, 2024

“Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified!’”  (Psalm 40:16 NKJV).

The grateful heart is like a magnet sweeping over the day, collecting reasons for gratitude. For the jam on our toast and the milk on our cereal. For the joke that delights us and the warm sun that reminds us of God’s love. For the men who didn’t cheat on their wives. For the wives who didn’t turn from their men. For the kids who, in spite of unspeakable pressure to dishonor their parents, decided not to do so. Thank You Lord.

To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse God’s accomplishments is to discover his heart. To discover his heart is to discover not just good gifts but the good Giver.

Hebrews 10:19-39

Don’t Throw It All Away

19–21  So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.

22–25  So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

26–31  If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.

32–39  Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.

It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;

he’ll show up most any minute.

But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;

if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.

But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, May 27, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Peter 5:6-11

So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

He Gets the Last Word

8–11  Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

Insight

What does the New Testament tell us about our “enemy the devil” (1 Peter 5:8)? First, it gives him a variety of names: “Satan,” which means “accuser” or “adversary” (Revelation 12:9-10); “Beelzebul, the prince of demons” (Matthew 12:24); “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4); “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2); “the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3); “the great dragon” (Revelation 12:9); and the “ancient serpent” (Revelation 20:2; see 2 Corinthians 11:3).

Second, Satan’s mission is “to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He’s opposed to God and seeks to drive a wedge between humans and God. Thus, he’s an especially dangerous foe to believers in Jesus. He hopes to tear down our confidence and trust in God and deter us from our mission of spreading the gospel. He also controls those opposed to God who resist the gospel. By: Alyson Kieda

When It’s Time

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

When my friends Al and Kathy Schiffer flew their iconic, World War II–era airplane to airshows, it was the reactions of the elderly war veterans that meant the most to them. They would come by so they could talk about the wars they served in and the airplanes they flew. Most of their battle stories were told with tears in their eyes. Many have said that the best news they received while serving their country were the words, “The war is over, boys. It’s time to go home.”

These words from an earlier generation relate to the war believers in Jesus are engaged in—our good fight of faith against the devil, the enemy of our souls. The apostle Peter warned us: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He tempts us in various ways and uses discouragement in suffering and persecution to try to draw us away from our faith in Jesus. Peter challenged his first readers and us today to “be alert and of sober mind” (1 Peter 5:8). We depend on the Holy Spirit so we won’t let the enemy cause us to surrender the fight and bring us down.

We know that one day Jesus will return. When He comes, His words will have an effect similar to that felt by wartime soldiers, bringing tears to our eyes and joy to our hearts: “The war is over, children. It’s time to go Home.” By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

What help do you need from God to resist the devil’s schemes? How could your fellow believers help you?

Almighty God, You’re far greater than anyone or anything that stands against me. Please help me to rely on Your strength and power.

For further study, read Know the Enemy: Revealing Truths about Satan.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, May 27, 2024

The Life That Lives

Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.— Luke 24:49

When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive life itself from the ascended Lord. The baptism of the Spirit isn’t what changes us; it’s the power of the ascended Christ coming into our lives through the Spirit. Too often we separate what the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t something we experience separately from Jesus Christ; it’s the evidence of the ascended Christ coming to dwell within us.

Are you still waiting to receive the Spirit? If you are, it isn’t because of God. In Luke 24, the disciples are told to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Spirit—to be “clothed with power from on high”—but there is a specific reason why they must wait: “The Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39). As soon as our Lord was glorified, what happened? “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33).

We have to embrace the revelation that the Holy Spirit is here, now, among us. After our Lord was glorified, the Spirit came into this world, and he has been with us ever since. This means that, unlike the disciples, we do not have to wait. If you haven’t yet received the Spirit, it isn’t because God is holding the Spirit back from you; it’s because of your lack of fitness. Openness to the Holy Spirit is the maintained attitude of the believer.

If you are still waiting for the Spirit, consider what you’re denying yourself. The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t for time or eternity; it is one amazing, glorious now. “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Begin to know him now, and never stop. 

2 Chronicles 1-3; John 10:1-23

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ. 

My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, May 27, 2024

When You're Empty, You Can Be Filled - #9751

Some years ago, we learned a great way to make our vacation dollars stretch, and that's important these days! We ordered ice water with our meals instead of Coke or something.

Now you say, "Well, that's no big deal." Yeah, it is. We finally talked our kids into it because the five of us, we figured, could save three or four dollars every time we ate out. And pretty soon you add those up and you've got enough to eat another meal out. We also learned it was a good idea to do that throughout the year. Hey, listen, drinking water is good for you.

Now, frankly I drink a lot. I mean, I'm a heavy drinker of ice water that is. Got a bottle of water right in front of me right now. And I often try to persuade the waitress to leave a pitcher for us, but she usually doesn't. I'm just trying to save her some steps, because we're going to clean up a lot of water. So when I see her coming, I check my glass. And if it's partly full I glug the rest as fast as I can. And I've seen people who do the same with their coffee when the coffee pot is approaching. It's called "empty it so it can be filled again." It's a good idea.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You're Empty, You Can Be Filled."

All right, here's our word for today from the Word of God. It's from 2 Corinthians 12. I'll begin reading at verse 7. Now, we know that generally empty is bad…like an empty gas tank, or an empty wallet. But empty is not bad when it comes to the workings of God. In fact, we're going to read the testimony of an empty glass guy.

Paul says, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Hutchcraft translation: "When I am empty, then I can be filled." You see, Paul was a man with great talent, great stamina, great knowledge, great influence, but some very severe physical problem has him in its grip - his thorn he called it. And he's saying here, "It hurts. It's tough to function with it. I've got work to do, and here I am coming up empty!" We say, "Oh, that's bad." He says, "No, that's good. Because when I'm empty, Christ can fill me. And in those weak times there's just a little of me and a lot of Him."

I can totally relate to what Paul is saying here because I've been there. Oh, not with a severe thorn in the flesh, but totally depleted, frustrated, hurt, disappointed, too tired to do what I had to do. There have been so many times when my radar is down, my emotions are spent, my physical energy is totally gone. I can't even feel it seems like.

And wouldn't you know it, I have people who need me then; work to get done. I'm empty, and every time my Lord moves in gently and He says, "It's okay. There's not much of you left right now. Many times when there's a lot of you, Ron, there's too little of Me in what you do. But this time it's going to have to be all Me isn't it? So, relax and I'll fill you, I'll strengthen you, I'll take you outside your limitations into My unlimited resources." And those have been some of the sweetest, greatest victories of my life and probably of yours.

Look, if you've had it, don't give up; open up to be filled with Christ's strength. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Now, there's just a little of you, but that means there can be a lot of Him.

If your glass is empty that's good news, because you're about to be filled with Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He Knows What You Need

How did Jesus endure the terror of the crucifixion? He went first to the Father with his fears. He modeled the words of Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”

Do the same with yours! And be specific. Jesus was. “Take this cup,” He prayed. Give God the number of the flight. Tell Him the length of the speech. Share the details of the job transfer. He has plenty of time. He also has plenty of compassion. He won’t tell you to “buck up” or “get tough.” He has been where you are. He knows how you feel. And He knows what you need.

That’s why we punctuate our prayers as Jesus did. “If you are willing. . .” Was God willing? Yes and no. He didn’t take away the cross, but he took away the fear. Who’s to say He won’t do the same for you?

From Traveling Light

Jeremiah 40

Go and Live Wherever You Wish

1  40 God’s Message to Jeremiah after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard set him free at Ramah. When Nebuzaradan came upon him, he was in chains, along with all the other captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being herded off to exile in Babylon.

2–3  The captain of the bodyguard singled out Jeremiah and said to him, “Your God pronounced doom on this place. God came and did what he had warned he’d do because you all sinned against God and wouldn’t do what he told you. So now you’re all suffering the consequences.

4–5  “But today, Jeremiah, I’m setting you free, taking the chains off your hands. If you’d like to come to Babylon with me, come along. I’ll take good care of you. But if you don’t want to come to Babylon with me, that’s just fine, too. Look, the whole land stretches out before you. Do what you like. Go and live wherever you wish. If you want to stay home, go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan. The king of Babylon made him governor of the cities of Judah. Stay with him and your people. Or go wherever you’d like. It’s up to you.”

The captain of the bodyguard gave him food for the journey and a parting gift, and sent him off.

6  Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and made his home with him and the people who were left behind in the land.

Take Care of the Land

7–8  When the army leaders and their men, who had been hiding out in the fields, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor of the land, putting him in charge of the men, women, and children of the poorest of the poor who hadn’t been taken off to exile in Babylon, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, accompanied by their men.

9  Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, promised them and their men, “You have nothing to fear from the Chaldean officials. Stay here on the land. Be subject to the king of Babylon. You’ll get along just fine.

10  “My job is to stay here in Mizpah and be your advocate before the Chaldeans when they show up. Your job is to take care of the land: Make wine, harvest the summer fruits, press olive oil. Store it all in pottery jugs and settle into the towns that you have taken over.”

11–12  The Judeans who had escaped to Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few survivors in Judah and made Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor over them. They all started coming back to Judah from all the places where they’d been scattered. They came to Judah and to Gedaliah at Mizpah and went to work gathering in a huge supply of wine and summer fruits.

13–14  One day Johanan son of Kareah and all the officers of the army who had been hiding out in the backcountry came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and told him, “You know, don’t you, that Baaliss king of Ammon has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam didn’t believe them.

15  Then Johanan son of Kareah took Gedaliah aside privately in Mizpah: “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one needs to know about it. Why should we let him kill you and plunge the land into anarchy? Why let everyone you’ve taken care of be scattered and what’s left of Judah destroyed?”

16  But Gedaliah son of Ahikam told Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do it. I forbid it. You’re spreading a false rumor about Ishmael.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3

Announce Freedom to All Captives

1–7  61 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me

because God anointed me.

He sent me to preach good news to the poor,

heal the heartbroken,

Announce freedom to all captives,

pardon all prisoners.

God sent me to announce the year of his grace—

a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—

and to comfort all who mourn,

To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,

give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,

Messages of joy instead of news of doom,

a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”

planted by God to display his glory.

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3

Insight

The beautiful truth of Isaiah 61:1-3 is that it was intended to prepare the people of Israel for their Messiah. How do we know that? Because when Jesus—the Messiah—came, He used this text to announce His arrival and ministry to the people of Nazareth, His hometown. Following Christ’s season of temptation in the wilderness, He went home (Luke 4:14). When He stepped into the synagogue, He read from the scroll of Isaiah. The great promise of Isaiah was to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:2), and with Jesus’ arrival that time had come. How did the people respond? At first, they were amazed at His “gracious words” (Luke 4:22), but that shifted when He explained His ministry to the gentiles (vv. 24-27). The people became “furious” with Him and sought to kill Him (vv. 28-29). By: Bill Crowder

Beauty in Place of Soil

Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:3

One evening, I noticed neat rows of soil in a vacant lot near my home. Each row contained small green leaves with tiny buds peeking out. The next morning, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a patch of beautiful red tulips sprouting in the lot.

The previous fall, a group had planted one hundred thousand bulbs in empty lots throughout the South Side of Chicago. They chose red to symbolize how redlining (lending discrimination by banks) had impacted neighborhoods where primarily minorities lived. The tulips symbolized the houses that could have been in those lots.

God’s people have endured many challenges—from being exiled from their homelands to discrimination like redlining. Yet, we can still find hope. Isaiah reminds Israel during a time of exile that God would not leave them. He’d give them a “crown of beauty” in place of ashes. Even the poor would receive “good news” (61:1). God promised to exchange despairing spirits with a “garment of praise.” All of these images evoke His splendor and would bring joy to the people, who would now be “oaks of righteousness” instead of dejected exiles (v. 3).

Those tulips also show that God can create splendor from dirt and discrimination. I look forward to seeing the tulips each spring, and more importantly renewed hope in my neighborhood and other communities. By:  Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

Where in your community have you seen beauty replace despair? How can you help create beauty in places of despair?

Thank You, God, for the beauty You allow me to see even when my circumstances seem dire.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We think rightly or wrongly about prayer according to the idea of prayer we have in our minds. If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood in our hearts, we think rightly. The breathing continues ceaselessly; the blood flows ceaselessly. We’re not always conscious of these activities, but they are always going on. This is how it ought to be with prayer. We might not be conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect, prayerful harmony with God, but if we are obeying him, he always is. Prayer isn’t an exercise; it’s life. To “pray continually” means to keep the childlike habit of spontaneous prayer in our hearts at all times.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. Do we, through the Holy Spirit, share Jesus’s certainty? Or do we always think of the times when it seemed God didn’t answer? Jesus taught that “everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:8). “But, but, but . . .” we say. We forget that God answers prayer in the best way—not sometimes but every time. His answer might not come immediately, nor in the exact way we want, but it does come.

Do we truly expect God to answer prayer? The danger with many of us is that we want to water down what Jesus said. We want to make his words mean something that agrees with common sense. If what Jesus said is only common sense, it wasn’t worthwhile for him to say it. The things Jesus said about prayer are supernatural revelations.

1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The Bible does not thrill; the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically. 

Disciples Indeed, 387 R