Genesis 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOUR FATHER’S BLESSING - January 29, 2025

Luke concluded his gospel with these words: “Jesus led his followers as far as Bethany, and he raised his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he was separated from them and carried into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51 NCV).

To be blessed is to be validated. Even today, in parts of Brazil a child won’t leave the house without his parents’ blessing. Walking out the door they will ask, “Benção, Papai?” or “Blessing, Father?”  They seek an endorsement from the most significant leader of their life—their father. They don’t want to leave the house without their father’s approval.

Perhaps you never knew your father’s blessing, never knowing how your father felt about you. If so, you, more than anyone, will treasure the moment in heaven when your heavenly Father blesses you.

What Happens Next

Genesis 9

God blessed Noah and his sons: He said, “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Every living creature—birds, animals, fish—will fall under your spell and be afraid of you. You’re responsible for them. All living creatures are yours for food; just as I gave you the plants, now I give you everything else. Except for meat with its Life-blood still in it—don’t eat that.

5  “But your own Life-blood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

6–7  Whoever sheds human blood,

by humans let his blood be shed,

Because God made humans in his image

reflecting God’s very nature.

You’re here to bear fruit, reproduce,

lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!”

8–11  Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: “I’m setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds, farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I’m setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth.”

12–16  God continued, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.”

17  And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I’ve set up between me and everything living on the Earth.”

18–19  The sons of Noah who came out of the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah; from these three the whole Earth was populated.

20–23  Noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent. Shem and Japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father’s exposed body.

24–27  When Noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said,

Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves,

a slave to his brothers!

Blessed be God, the God of Shem,

but Canaan shall be his slave.

God prosper Japheth,

living spaciously in the tents of Shem.

But Canaan shall be his slave.

28–29  Noah lived another 350 years following the flood. He lived a total of 950 years. And he died.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

by Karen Pimpo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Leviticus 22:1-9

Leviticus 22:1-9

 God spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to me with reverence so they won’t desecrate my holy name. I am God.

3  “Tell them, From now on, if any of your descendants approaches in a state of ritual uncleanness the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to God, he will be cut off from my presence. I am God.

4–8  “Each and every one of Aaron’s descendants who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge may not eat any of the holy offerings until he is clean. Also, if he touches anything defiled by a corpse, or has an emission of semen, or is contaminated by touching a crawling creature, or touches a person who is contaminated for whatever reason—a person who touches any such thing will be ritually unclean until evening and may not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has washed well with water. After the sun goes down he is clean and may go ahead and eat the holy offerings; they are his food. But he must not contaminate himself by eating anything found dead or torn by wild animals. I am God.

9  “The priests must observe my instructions lest they become guilty and die by treating the offerings with irreverence. I am God who makes them holy.

Today's Insights

The book of Leviticus is so named in English because it focuses largely on the work and duties of the Israelite priesthood. These priests were from the tribe of Levi. Aaron, a Levite, was Israel’s first high priest. These words were given while the people of Israel camped at the base of Mount Sinai, and the Levitical law formed the structure and foundation for the practices and worship of Judaism for centuries to come.

Becoming Holy

I am the Lord, who makes them holy. Leviticus 22:9

After viewing world-class ceramic sculptures at an art museum, I was invited to create my own “pinch pot” from air-dry clay. I spent two hours shaping a little bowl, engraving patterns, and painting. The result of all my hard work was underwhelming: a tiny, misshapen pot with uneven color. It wasn’t going to end up in a museum anytime soon.

Living up to a high standard can be daunting. The Israelite priests experienced this as they tried to follow God’s commands to be ceremonially clean (Leviticus 22:1-8) plus additional instructions regarding the sacrifices (vv. 10-33). The priests’ work was supposed to be holy—set apart—but despite their best efforts, they often fell short. That’s why God ultimately placed the responsibility for their righteousness on His own shoulders: “I am the Lord, who makes [the priests] holy,” He told Moses repeatedly (22:9, 16, 32).

Jesus is our perfect High Priest and He alone provided the pure, acceptable sacrifice for sin through His death on the cross. He prayed, “I give myself as a holy sacrifice for [my disciples] so they can be made holy by your truth” (John 17:19 nlt). When it feels like our attempts at living right are just amateur pinch pots, we can rest in the perfect work Jesus has already completed and rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to live for Him.

Reflect & Pray

Where’s your lack of holiness most frustrating to you? How has Jesus fulfilled that requirement for perfection?

I’m so thankful that my righteousness rests in You, Jesus! Thank You for making me holy.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

The Unmistakable Voice of God

Who are you, Lord? —Acts 26:15

Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken. It comes to you in the language you know best, not through your ears but through your circumstances.

When we have gone astray, when we have grown too sure of ourselves, God has to come in and set us right. He has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. In these moments, his voice is overwhelming. He speaks to us as he spoke to Isaiah, with a “strong hand,” revealing to us the depths of our ignorance (Isaiah 8:11). He tells us that we’ve been serving Jesus in a spirit that is not his, pushing his message in the spirit of the devil. The words we’ve been speaking might have sounded right, but our spirit was that of the enemy: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

There is no escape when our Lord speaks. I must take his rebuke to heart: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55 KJV). Have I been persecuting Jesus by a zealous determination to serve him in my own way? To do God’s work in the Spirit of Jesus is to have the humble and gentle Spirit kindled inside me. If instead I am filled with self-satisfaction or a grim sense of having “done my duty,” I know that in fact I have not done it. We imagine that anything unpleasant is our duty! Is that at all like the Spirit of the Lord? “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8 KJV).

Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Approved Unto God, 11 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Human Jumper Cables - #9928

One little light. That's all it took to render our car totally unusable. The little light in the rear of our vehicle was left on one night after we unloaded some things, and it stayed on for several days while we were gone. When we got back, everything in that car said, "I'm not starting, pal!" because that one little light totally drained our battery. But then came the hero! Yes, up came our friend in his pickup truck with his trusty jumper cables. And those cables delivered the energy that my flat old battery needed to run again!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Human Jumper Cables."

What does it take to get a drained and tired battery going again? A jolt from jumper cables that infuses the energy needed to revive it. And what does it take to get a drained and tired person going again? Human jumper cables that deliver new energy to revive them.

I'm guessing that you know someone right now who is pretty depleted - emotionally, mentally, maybe spiritually or physically. When they turn the key, not much is happening because their battles, their responsibilities have left them unable to get going again. That's why God has given us each other. To be jumper cables for each other when we sense that someone we know is pretty run down. If you've got your eyes open for them, you'll see someone in need of an emotional and spiritual "jump" most every day of your life.

There's a wonderful example of this. It's in 2 Timothy 1:16-17, our word for today from the Word of God. This is the last letter Paul ever wrote. He's away from most of his friends, he's locked up in Caesar's prison in Rome, and he knows he may never leave there alive. And in fact, he won't. Then along comes an unsung hero called Onesiphorus, and he is God's jumper cables to help the great apostle find the energy to go on.

Listen to Paul's testimony and think about how you could be this for someone you know: "May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains...When he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me."

Okay, when you're one of God's jump starters, you wake up in the morning and you say, "Lord, show me who needs me today." Then you look for, even go out of your way if necessary, to call that person who needs encouragement, or to write them, or email them, or visit with them, text them, facebook them, just stop and take time with them.

It's almost always a sacrifice to do that because of all the things you've got to do. But you may have nothing more important to do than this extension of Jesus' love to someone who's really depleted right now. Your joy can jump start theirs. Your praying in faith can jump start theirs. Your affirmation of their value and their significance can jump start them believing it again themselves. Your belief in them can re-energize their courage to get back in the ring for another round. Your reminder of who they really are to God and to you may be just the spiritual jolt they need to get going again.

You could say, "Well, I need someone to jump start me!" You're thinking a lot lately about your burdens, your problems, and your feelings. You know the greatest way to get out of your pit is to reach out and help someone else get out of theirs. Proverbs 11:25 - "He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

You have what someone needs today to get started again. You know that? Don't just cruise on by, oblivious to the needs in front of you. "Lord, show me who needs me today." That's the prayer that will make you the conduit to deliver the very resources of God to someone who really can't go on without them. You are God's jumper cables!

Genesis 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: OUR REWARD - January 28, 2025

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV).

The Bible speaks of a reward ceremony that will take place in Paradise immediately after the rapture of the church. This event is called the judgment seat of Christ. The Greek word translated judgment is bema – the bema seat judgement. This is not a trial to ascertain whether we are innocent or guilty, saved or lost. That judgment occurs during our lifetime.

The bema judgment is about recognition. Salvation is based on the work of Christ for us. Our recognition is based on our work for him. Our deeds do not contribute to our salvation. Our deeds do, however, inform our reward.

What Happens Next

Genesis 8

Then God turned his attention to Noah and all the wild animals and farm animals with him on the ship. God caused the wind to blow and the floodwaters began to go down. The underground springs were shut off, the windows of Heaven closed and the rain quit. Inch by inch the water lowered. After 150 days the worst was over.

4–6  On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ship landed on the Ararat mountain range. The water kept going down until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains came into view. After forty days Noah opened the window that he had built into the ship.

7–9  He sent out a raven; it flew back and forth waiting for the floodwaters to dry up. Then he sent a dove to check on the flood conditions, but it couldn’t even find a place to perch—water still covered the Earth. Noah reached out and caught it, brought it back into the ship.

10–11  He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again. It came back in the evening with a freshly picked olive leaf in its beak. Noah knew that the flood was about finished.

12  He waited another seven days and sent the dove out a third time. This time it didn’t come back.

13–14  In the six-hundred-first year of Noah’s life, on the first day of the first month, the flood had dried up. Noah opened the hatch of the ship and saw dry ground. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the Earth was completely dry.

15–17  God spoke to Noah: “Leave the ship, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives. And take all the animals with you, the whole menagerie of birds and mammals and crawling creatures, all that brimming prodigality of life, so they can reproduce and flourish on the Earth.”

18–19  Noah disembarked with his sons and wife and his sons’ wives. Then all the animals, crawling creatures, birds—every creature on the face of the Earth—left the ship family by family.

20–21  Noah built an altar to God. He selected clean animals and birds from every species and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar. God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I’ll never again kill off everything living as I’ve just done.

22  For as long as Earth lasts,

planting and harvest, cold and heat,

Summer and winter, day and night

will never stop.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

by Sheridan Voysey

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 33:2-6

God, treat us kindly. You’re our only hope.

First thing in the morning, be there for us!

When things go bad, help us out!

You spoke in thunder and everyone ran.

You showed up and nations scattered.

Your people, for a change, got in on the loot,

picking the field clean of the enemy spoils.

5–6  God is supremely esteemed. His center holds.

Zion brims over with all that is just and right.

God keeps your days stable and secure—

salvation, wisdom, and knowledge in surplus,

and best of all, Zion’s treasure, Fear-of-God.

Today's Insights

The Hebrew word Yeshu’ah (“salvation,” “deliverance,” “rescue”) is a key word in the book of Isaiah. Noun and verb forms appear numerous times. This word occurs in the prayer in Isaiah 33:2: “Be . . . our salvation in time of distress.” It’s also used in verse 6 as a pronouncement about God: “He will be . . . a rich store of salvation.” In his commentary Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. summarizes the book’s message with these words: “God is announcing to us through Isaiah: The Lord, for all that he is, saves, for all that’s worth, sinners, for all that we need. This truth is better than we give it credit for.” Isaiah 33:22 captures this truth well. “The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.”

God—Our Sure Foundation

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. Isaiah 33:6

With a crumbling kitchen and sagging floors, our house needed renovation. After large sections of it were demolished, builders began digging a new foundation. Then things got interesting.

As the builders dug, shovel loads of broken plates, 1850s-era soda bottles, even cutlery emerged. Were we built on an old garbage dump? Who knows, but as a result, our engineer said our foundations would need to be dug deeper or else cracks would appear in our walls.

Good foundations make for strong houses. The same is true of our lives. When the Israelites were shaken by their enemies, Isaiah prayed for them to stay strong (Isaiah 33:2-4). But their strength wouldn’t come from bravery or weapons, but by building their lives on God. “He will be the sure foundation for your times,” the prophet said, “a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge” (v. 6). Jesus said something similar, teaching that those who built their lives on His wisdom would withstand life’s storms (Matthew 7:24-25).

A sure sign our foundations need tending is when cracks like aggression, addiction, or marriage problems appear in our lives. When we seek security where it can’t be found or follow the wisdom of this age alone, we’ll be on shaky ground. But those who build their lives on God gain access to all His strength and treasures (Isaiah 33:6).

Reflect & Pray

What “cracks” in your life might reveal a faulty foundation? How is your foundation looking this week?

Father God, I praise You for being the surest foundation for my life.

Learn to set aside distractions with Discover the Word in order to focus on just "One Tingh."

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Our Way or His?

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? —Acts 26:14

Are we determined to serve God in our own way, or in his? Until we undergo the baptism by fire of the Holy Spirit, we will always be tempted to put our own ambitions and interests first. We won’t understand that our self-will and stubbornness stab Jesus, that our insistence on our own dignity and rightness hurts him. Every time we stand on our right to ourselves and insist that this is what we intend to do, we persecute our Lord.

When we realize what we’ve been doing, it is the most crushing thing. We see that we’ve been lying, see that every time we went out into the world with the Lord’s name on our lips and selfishness in our hearts, we were persecuting Christ. We were preaching sanctification while exhibiting the spirit of Satan.

Is the word of God alive and true in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life prove the lie of what I say? That is the question we must ask ourselves. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of one thing only: a perfect oneness with the Father. All we do should be founded on this oneness, not a prideful determination to “be godly.” “Learn from me,” Jesus said, “for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). If we are gentle and humble, it means that we can be easily taken advantage of, easily snubbed, and easily ignored. But if we submit to this treatment for his sake, we will prevent Jesus Christ being persecuted.

Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. 

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

READY OR NOT, HERE HE COMES - #9927

The love of Mary Ann's life, Tom, was coming for a visit. He lived in another state, so those visits were really special. He was due to arrive Friday night or Saturday sometime, and Mary Ann's room had been declared a federal disaster area. Finally, on Thursday afternoon, she decided she'd better get busy trying to recover her room. It was really in an embarrassing condition.

Mary Ann's room was at that point on Friday morning when the phone rang. It was Tom. He was calling to say he loved her and that he was looking forward to seeing her soon. That was all the incentive she needed to finish the job. Unfortunately, she did not get that opportunity. Tom had called from downstairs. He had arrived earlier than Mary Ann expected. So in he walked and there she stood, dressed in her "grubbies," hair matted on her forehead, surrounded by an indescribable mess!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Ready Or Not, Here He Comes."

Poor girl! I mean, he came at a time when she did not expect him, and she was not ready. Not being ready might be okay when it's a boyfriend who's arriving unexpectedly. It's not okay when it's God who's arriving unexpectedly, which seems to be His modus operandi.

That's why Jesus provided this inside information for us in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 24, beginning with verse 39, where He tells us what His coming will be like. "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come...Be ready because the Son of God will come at an hour when you do not expect Him."

Jesus was speaking specifically here of that day when He will return to this earth to write the final chapter of human history - the Second Coming of Christ. And while He made clear that no one will be able to predict the exact time He will come, He did give us signs that would be evident in the world when heaven's two-minute warning has been sounded.

And many Bible scholars believe that the world has never looked more like the kind of world Jesus said He would return to than it does today. People seem to be able to sense that. Look at how they made years ago the "Left Behind" series that became huge bestsellers because it was about a scenario for what the Bible calls the "last days." One major network aired a major mini-series entitled "Revelations" - imagining that world that Jesus will return to. You hear on the news more and more of the words like "apocalyptic" and biblical proportions.

But whether or not Jesus comes back physically in our time, He is most certainly going to come for you in this generation. And when He does, will you be ready? The Bible describes us as being in a mess - the mess of a life where we've sinned against God, we've ignored God, we've marginalized God, we've rejected God's rule of our life.

But that same Bible says, "God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). You and I did the sinning; Jesus did the dying so He could forgive those sins that otherwise would condemn you forever. You're not ready to meet Him until your sins have been erased from God's book. And that can only happen when you make the Savior your Savior, by turning over the life that He gave you to the One who gave His life for you. This could be your day to "get ready" if you'll tell Jesus, "I'm Yours."

In fact, right now where you are, why would you hesitate when there's so much at stake? This is the only guaranteed day you have? Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm done running my own life. You died for my sin, You're alive today, and I am Yours."

There's all the information you need to anchor a relationship with Jesus Christ at our website. Please check it out today, it's ANewStory.com.

He'll be coming for you, one way or another, and then it's too late to get ready. The time to do that is now. Opening your heart to Jesus means you are ready for eternity, whenever it comes.

Genesis 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A CROWN IN YOUR FUTURE - January 27, 2025

There is a crowning in your future. Not in Westminster Abbey, but in Paradise, and not by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but by Jesus. By this point we will have been raptured from earth and escorted into the presence of our Savior. And Jesus will have kept the promise: “I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live” (John 14:3 MSG).

Millions, maybe billions, of people will have vanished. Graves will be vacant. God-rejectors will tumble into a cesspool of violence and pandemonium. At some point a despot will promise to restore peace. He will sign a treaty with Israel, and seven years of tribulation will begin. Thankfully, we will not be here to witness it. As the chaos begins below, the celebration will have begun above.

What Happens Next

Genesis 7

 Next God said to Noah, “Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you’re the righteous one.

2–4  “Take on board with you seven pairs of every clean animal, a male and a female; one pair of every unclean animal, a male and a female; and seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and a female, to insure their survival on Earth. In just seven days I will dump rain on Earth for forty days and forty nights. I’ll make a clean sweep of everything that I’ve made.”

5  Noah did everything God commanded him.

6–10  Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters covered the Earth. Noah and his wife and sons and their wives boarded the ship to escape the flood. Clean and unclean animals, birds, and all the crawling creatures came in pairs to Noah and to the ship, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. In seven days the floodwaters came.

11–12  It was the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month that it happened: all the underground springs erupted and all the windows of Heaven were thrown open. Rain poured for forty days and forty nights.

13–16  That’s the day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, accompanied by his wife and his sons’ wives, boarded the ship. And with them every kind of wild and domestic animal, right down to all the kinds of creatures that crawl and all kinds of birds and anything that flies. They came to Noah and to the ship in pairs—everything and anything that had the breath of life in it, male and female of every creature came just as God had commanded Noah. Then God shut the door behind him.

17–23  The flood continued forty days and the waters rose and lifted the ship high over the Earth. The waters kept rising, the flood deepened on the Earth, the ship floated on the surface. The flood got worse until all the highest mountains were covered—the high-water mark reached twenty feet above the crest of the mountains. Everything died. Anything that moved—dead. Birds, farm animals, wild animals, the entire teeming exuberance of life—dead. And all people—dead. Every living, breathing creature that lived on dry land died; he wiped out the whole works—people and animals, crawling creatures and flying birds, every last one of them, gone. Only Noah and his company on the ship lived.

24  The floodwaters took over for 150 days.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, January 27, 2025

by Nancy Gavilanes

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Kings 4:1-7

One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to God. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves.”

2  Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Nothing,” she said. “Well, I do have a little oil.”

3–4  “Here’s what you do,” said Elisha. “Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside.”

5–6  She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them. When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, “Another jug, please.”

He said, “That’s it. There are no more jugs.”

Then the oil stopped.

7  She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, “Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what’s left.”

Today's Insights

Elisha was the disciple of the great prophet Elijah during the ninth century bc (853-798). He was plowing when Elijah “threw his cloak around him” (1 Kings 19:19)—a sign that God was calling him to continue Elijah’s ministry. Before Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2), Elisha asked, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (v. 9), a request to be his successor or heir. God granted Elisha’s request (vv. 10-12), likely because He knew his motive and that he longed to be used by Him. Like Elijah, Elisha prophesied in Israel against the idolatry and injustice of the nation. And like his predecessor, Elisha performed many miracles, including multiplying a widow’s oil (2 Kings 4:1-7), raising a woman’s son from the dead (vv. 8-37), and healing Naaman of leprosy (5:1-14). Elisha faithfully served as a prophet for more than fifty years.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 2 Kings 4:5

During my years as a journalist, I enjoyed telling other people’s stories, but I was trained to not share my own opinions. So years after I had felt God call me out of my journalism career, when I increasingly felt God directing me to write a blog and speak about Him, I was a little nervous about sharing my thoughts, especially about my faith. As I started blogging, I was afraid I’d run out of things to say. But week after week, I found encouraging words and insights to share. The more I wrote, the more ideas flowed. The same is still true now.

I have witnessed in my own life how God has filled me with more joy and inspiration when I’ve poured out my gifts and talents to serve others.

In 2 Kings, we read about a poor widow who went to the prophet Elisha for help. Her late husband’s creditor wanted to seize her two sons. All she had at home was a small jar of olive oil. The prophet instructed her to collect empty jars from her neighbors and to keep pouring oil into the containers. “They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring” (4:5). She kept pouring until all the jars were miraculously filled. She could pay her family’s debts with the extra oil.

God is faithful and always provides. He’s blessed us with gifts and talents and resources to be a blessing to others. Let’s not hide or dismiss our gifts but use them for His glory.

Reflect & Pray

What gifts and talents has God given you? How are you using your gifts to serve others?

Dear God, thank You for blessing me and making me a blessing.

God has blessed all with unique gifts. Learn more about the gifts of the Spirit here.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, January 27, 2025

Look Again and Think

Do not worry about your life. —Matthew 6:25

How easy following this command would be if we could just decide, once and for all, to stop worrying about the world and its demands; if, having pledged ourselves to Jesus, we could just forget about the things that used to obsess us. But answering the call is never this easy. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the pull of desire and hunger and lust—these are recurring tides, always lapping at our shores. If we don’t allow the Spirit of God to rise up against them, they’ll come flooding in.

Jesus is telling us to be careful about one thing only: our relationship to him. Common sense shouts that this is ridiculous, that we must think about what we’re going to eat and drink and wear. Jesus says we must not. Beware of thinking that Jesus’s words don’t apply to your particular circumstances, that he doesn’t understand what you’re going through right now. Jesus understands your circumstances better than you do, and he says you must not make these things the central concern of your life. Whenever there’s a competition, put your relationship to God first.

“Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What mean little imps have been looking in and saying, “What are you going to do next month, next summer, next year?” “Do not be anxious,” Paul tells us (Philippians 4:6). Look again, and think, drawing your awareness to the “much more” of your heavenly Father: “Will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30).

Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18:1-20

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.

Disciples Indeed, 388 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, January 27, 2025

God's Music Through You - #9926

We raised a son who loves sports, but he also had an ability in music. How do you put those two together? A lot of times those two interests don't go together. Well, it was fourth grade when we thought it was time to introduce our son to a musical instrument. And when we talked a little bit about what instrument he'd be interested in, he said, "Well, maybe the saxophone."

We really didn't have a saxophone or the money to buy one, but a friend called us and said that he knew we were interested in getting a saxophone for our son. He'd found a classy, reconditioned instrument that was all shined up and looked great and was willing to make it available to us. Now, I really wasn't too sure how my son and the saxophone would get along at their first meeting, until our friend handed it to him for a first try. I've got to tell you, I was expecting squawks and squeaks.

But instead, out came a couple of notes loud and strong as if he'd been playing it for a while. It was great! He played it loud and strong for many years! I looked at that saxophone one day; I saw myself.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Music Through You."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 4:17. Paul's talking about how God has played His music through him. "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it." Now, this is Paul's reflection on his life's work as he's nearing the end of his life. And I was struck by these two words "through me." The Lord through me is seeing that the message is fully proclaimed.

Notice he doesn't say it's being proclaimed by me. He said, "Everything that's happening in my ministry comes through me. All those churches that have been established, all those people that have come to Christ, all those letters that are going to become part of the New Testament; ultimately, all those sermons preached. I'm just an instrument."

Which brings me back to my son's saxophone. It never did produce any music by itself. It would really just kind of lay there like a piece of shiny plumbing...only an instrument. But it could play jazz, or pop, or gospel, or patriotic. But that sax didn't decide what it would play; it was only an instrument. And the music was not by the sax, it came through the sax. Without the master playing it... (By the way, my son would love that...the master.) Without the master playing it, it's shining but it's useless, because it's only an instrument.

But then, so are you, and so am I. God has designed you for some special purposes. And if you try to play yourself, you'll be useless. When you realize that you're only an instrument, good things start to happen. First, you relax and you realize you can make a difference because it isn't up to you. You let the master musician pick you up and use you, and play melodies through you that you could never manufacture yourself.

Secondly, you stop telling the master what tune you should be playing. You let Him pick the tune. And thirdly, you give the credit where credit belongs. Anything that happens as a result of my life is not by me, it's through me. That means you can be surprised daily by what He's going to play through you, and you can wake up expectant daily, that He's going to use you.

You're only an instrument, but you don't belong in the case. No, the Master Musician wants to play through your life.

Matthew 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  A Picture of the Spirit

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth.” John 16:13

Envision a father helping his son learn to ride a bicycle, and you will have a partial picture of the Holy Spirit. The father stays at the son’s side. He pushes the bike and steadies it if the boy starts to tumble. The Spirit does that for us; he stays our step and strengthens our stride. Unlike the father, however, he never leaves. He is with us to the end of the age.

Matthew 2

Scholars from the East

1–2  2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”

3–4  When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5–6  They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,

no longer bringing up the rear.

From you will come the leader

who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”

7–8  Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”

9–10  Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!

11  They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.

12  In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.

13  After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”

14–15  Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”

16–18  Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he’d gotten from the scholars). That’s when Jeremiah’s sermon was fulfilled:

A sound was heard in Ramah,

weeping and much lament.

Rachel weeping for her children,

Rachel refusing all solace,

Her children gone,

dead and buried.

19–20  Later, when Herod died, God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt: “Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead.”

21–23  Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother, and re-entered Israel. When he heard, though, that Archelaus had succeeded his father, Herod, as king in Judea, he was afraid to go there. But then Joseph was directed in a dream to go to the hills of Galilee. On arrival, he settled in the village of Nazareth. This move was a fulfillment of the prophetic words, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, January 26, 2025

by Amy Boucher Pye

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Proverbs 2:1-11

Make Insight Your Priority

1–5  2 Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;

collect my counsels and guard them with your life.

Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;

set your heart on a life of Understanding.

That’s right—if you make Insight your priority,

and won’t take no for an answer,

Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold,

like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,

Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours;

you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.

6–8  And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free,

is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.

He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well,

a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere.

He keeps his eye on all who live honestly,

and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.

9–15  So now you can pick out what’s true and fair,

find all the good trails!

Lady Wisdom will be your close friend,

and Brother Knowledge your pleasant companion.

Good Sense will scout ahead for danger,

Insight will keep an eye out for you.

Today's Insights

The book of Proverbs is often misunderstood to be a book of promises. In reality, however, it’s a book that shows how life works best when lived according to the wisdom of God. In chapters 1-9, King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12), offers wisdom to his son on a variety of issues including moral purity. Because Solomon’s life story revealed his own struggles in this area, some scholars have wondered if Solomon wrote these words earlier in his life—in anticipation of children that would come later. Other scholars believe Solomon offered this insight very late in life, with his own moral failings as a backdrop to the accuracy of that wisdom. Either way, it’s clear that despite his great God-given wisdom, Solomon struggled at times to apply that wisdom to his own life

Reverent Fear

If you look for [wisdom] as for silver . . . then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4-5

Jeremy writes, “I know quite a bit about the fear of dying. Seven years ago . . . I felt intense, sickening, dizzying, overwhelming fear when I was told I had incurable cancer.” But he learned to manage his fear by leaning on the presence of God and moving from his fear of death to embracing a reverent fear of Him. To Jeremy, this means being in awe of the Maker of the universe who will “swallow up death” (Isaiah 25:8) while also understanding deep within that God knows and loves him.

The fear of the Lord—a deep respect and awe for our holy God—is a theme that runs throughout Scripture. King Solomon admonished his son to fear the Lord in his series of wise sayings, the Proverbs. He said that if his son would turn his “ear to wisdom” and “search for it as for hidden treasure,” then he’d “understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:2, 4-5). Along with wisdom and knowledge, he’d find discretion and understanding (vv. 10-11).

When we face challenges of many kinds and experience a sense of dread and fear, we’re reminded of our limitations. But as we turn to God, asking Him to help us humble ourselves before Him and worship Him in reverence, we’ll find He helps us to move from being fearful to embracing a healthy fear of Him.

Reflect & Pray

How important is “the fear of the Lord” to you? How could you humble yourself before Him today?

Creator Father, You made the heavens and the earth and yet You know and love me. Please help me to serve and honor You all the days of my life.

Learn more about the fear of the Lord by watching this video.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Look Again and Consecrate

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field. . . will he not much more clothe you? —Matthew 6:30

A simple message is always a puzzle to those who aren’t simple. What Jesus is saying here is “God looks after those who seek his kingdom, so seek and don’t worry about anything else.” But we’ll never be able to take this message to heart if we don’t possess Jesus’s own simplicity.

To be simple is to concentrate on our relationship with him. We slip out of spiritual communion when we complicate things, worrying and overthinking and insisting we know better than God. We get lost in the cares of the world, and we forget the promise of “much more.” Jesus compares us to the “birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26): their only goal is to obey the principle of life inside them. What principle is inside us? Jesus says that if we are rightly related to him, obeying the Spirit inside, God will look after our “feathers.”

To be simple is to grow where we are planted. “See how the flowers of the field grow,” Jesus says (v. 28). Many of us refuse to grow where we’re planted, and the result is that we never take root, never blossom fully. Jesus says that we shouldn’t go running after the things we think we need. If we obey the life God has given us, he will look after the rest.

To be simple is to consecrate each moment to God. Consecration involves setting ourselves aside for one particular thing—giving it our attention, dedicating our actions to it. We can’t consecrate ourselves to God once and be done with it. We must consecrate continually, each moment and every action. If we do, we will find ourselves absolutely free: free to do God’s work, free to live lives of amazing simplicity, free to set aside confusion, angst, and worry.

Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.

The Place of Help, 1005 R

Genesis 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Tough Questions

Some questions aren’t always easy to answer.  Maybe that’s the way it should be!  Here’s just that kind of question:

“I get tired of hearing people brush aside troubles with the platitude in Romans 8:28, ‘All things work together for good.’ Isn’t saying that cruel?”

The verse says, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.”  I think it’s one of the most helpful, comforting verses in the entire Bible.  It announces God’s sovereignty in any painful, tragic situation we face. Why?  Because we know God is at work for our good!  He uses our struggles to build character.

So what do we do?  We trust.  Totally!  And we remember. . .God is working for the good.  Yes, any verse can be misused, but that doesn’t make it useless!

Genesis 6

Giants in the Land

1–2  6 When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.

3  Then God said, “I’m not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they’re going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years.”

4  This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.

Noah and His Sons

5–7  God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I’m sorry I made them.”

8  But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.

9–10  This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11–12  As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core.

13  God said to Noah, “It’s all over. It’s the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I’m making a clean sweep.

14–16  “Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.

17  “I’m going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.

18–21  “But I’m going to establish a covenant with you: You’ll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you’ll need and store it up for you and them.”

22  Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, January 25, 2025

by Elisa Morgan

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 25:28-31

“Forgive my presumption! But God is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights God’s battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you.

If anyone stands in your way,

if anyone tries to get you out of the way,

Know this: Your God-honored life is tightly bound

in the bundle of God-protected life;

But the lives of your enemies will be hurled aside

as a stone is thrown from a sling.

30–31  “When God completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder. And when God has worked things for good for my master, remember me.”

Today's Insights

The account in 1 Samuel 25 shows that David could be a bit of a hothead. Denied supplies by conceited Nabal, he reacted in anger and went to slaughter Nabal’s entire household (v. 22). Nabal’s wife, Abigail, however, stopped David from bloodshed with wise words. She pointed out that he should trust God with vengeance (vv. 26, 29, 31) and not take it into his own hands.

Abigail fully expected David to take the throne from then-ruling Saul (v. 28), but begged David not to act rashly. In a way, Abigail’s challenge stopped him from treating Nabal the same way that Saul had been treating him—pursuing bloodshed out of self-centered anger (see 22:6-19).

God’s Perfect Care

The life of my lord [David] will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. 1 Samuel 25:29

David Vetter died at age twelve after spending his entire life in a bubble. Nicknamed “The Bubble Boy,” David was born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). His parents had lost their first son to the disease and were determined to protect their second-born. To prolong his life, NASA engineers designed a plastic protection bubble as well as a spacesuit so his parents could hold David in the outside world. Oh, how we all long to protect those we love!

King David was wronged by Nabal, the foolish husband of Abigail. In a rogue moment, David sought revenge by his own hands. Abigail rushed to meet him with a wise reminder, “Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God” (1 Samuel 25:29). The concept of “bundle” conveys the idea of gathering up valuable items so the owner can protectively carry them. Abigail reminded David that God wanted to carry him in a protective bundle. He was safest in God’s hands, rather than in his own. “My lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself” (v. 31).

We do well to work to protect others when they need it, but it’s only in God’s perfect care that they’re truly safe.

Reflect & Pray

When are you tempted to gather others into self-made bubbles of protection? How can you remember that God’s care is the best?

Dear Father, please help me to trust You with my loved ones, knowing that You can carry them better than I can.

Learn how to show compassion by following Jesu's example.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Leave Room for God

But when it pleased God . . . —Galatians 1:15 kjv

Have you learned how to leave space for God—to give him a little elbow room to work in your life? Too often, as we go about making our plans, we forget to leave a place for God to come in as he chooses. We say that this or that will happen, but none of our predictions leave room for the element of divine surprise.

Would we be shocked if God came into our meetings, our prayers, or our preaching in a way we’d never expected? However well we think we know God, we can never know exactly what he’ll do. What we can know is that, when it pleases him, he will break in. This is the great lesson to learn—that at any minute God may arrive. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, and yet God never works in any other way.

Keep in constant, intimate contact with God, so that his surprising power may break through at any time and any place. Always be in a state of expectancy, and remember to leave room. Do not look for God to come in any particular way, but do look for him.

Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. 

My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Genesis 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: KEEP AN EYE TOWARD THE SKY - January 24, 2025

The rapture of the Christians sounds fantastical. Yet, before you write it off, remember this is how God works. Did he not flood the earth? Did he not turn the Red Sea into a red carpet so the Hebrews could escape bondage?

God is the God of divine interruptions. Holy surprises. Who could have imagined God living on earth? But he came. Who could’ve imagined God hanging on a cross? But he died. Who could have imagined the empty tomb? But he rose from the dead. He intervenes in mighty and miraculous ways. He has before. He will again.

In the meantime keep an eye toward the sky, and live in such a way that Christ will find you faithfully looking for him. “Always be ready, because you don’t know the day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42 NCV).

Genesis 5

The Family Tree of the Human Race

1–2  5 This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God. He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.

3–5  When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years. And he died.

6–8  When Seth was 105 years old, he had Enosh. After Seth had Enosh, he lived another 807 years, having more sons and daughters. Seth lived a total of 912 years. And he died.

9–11  When Enosh was ninety years old, he had Kenan. After he had Kenan, he lived another 815 years, having more sons and daughters. Enosh lived a total of 905 years. And he died.

12–14  When Kenan was seventy years old, he had Mahalalel. After he had Mahalalel, he lived another 840 years, having more sons and daughters. Kenan lived a total of 910 years. And he died.

15–17  When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he had Jared. After he had Jared, he lived another 830 years, having more sons and daughters. Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years. And he died.

18–20  When Jared was 162 years old, he had Enoch. After he had Enoch, he lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Jared lived a total of 962 years. And he died.

21–23  When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had Methuselah. Enoch walked steadily with God. After he had Methuselah, he lived another 300 years, having more sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years.

24  Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.

25–27  When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had Lamech. After he had Lamech, he lived another 782 years. Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. And he died.

28–31  When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. He named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us a break from the hard work of farming the ground that God cursed.” After Lamech had Noah, he lived another 595 years, having more sons and daughters. Lamech lived a total of 777 years. And he died.

32  When Noah was 500 years old, he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, January 24, 2025

by Adam R. Holz

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Colossians 2:6-12

From the Shadows to the Substance

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

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

11–15  Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.

Today's Insights

Paul wrote the book of Colossians to the church in Colossae, which was possibly founded by Epaphras (Colossians 1:6-7). Paul wrote this letter during his first Roman imprisonment to address false beliefs and warn of the danger of falling prey to “hollow and deceptive” teaching (2:8). He knew the best way not to be led astray was to be “rooted and built up in [Christ]” (v. 7) through a relationship with Him and familiarity with Scripture. Elsewhere, the apostle warned of false teachers (themselves deceived by Satan) who deceived “naive people” through “smooth talk and flattery” (Romans 16:18) and “empty words” (Ephesians 5:6). He urged believers to battle deception by being “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” by putting on “the full armor of God, so that [we] can take [our] stand against the devil’s schemes” (6:10-11). With God, we can “stand firm” (v. 14).

Christ Matters Most

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy. Colossians 2:8

My wife and I like cheesy, feel-good romantic movies. I could say it’s her thing. But I like ’em too. Their charm and appeal lies in their predictable path toward happily ever after. Recently, we watched one that offered some questionable romantic advice. Love is a feeling, it said. Then, Follow your heart. Finally, Your happiness matters most. Our emotions matter, of course. But self-focused emotionalism is a lousy foundation for a lasting marriage.

Mainstream culture dishes up many ideas that sound good initially but crumble upon closer inspection. And careful inspection is exactly what Paul has in mind in Colossians 2. There, he emphasizes that being “rooted and built up in [Christ], strengthened in the faith” (v. 7) enables us to identify our culture’s lies. The apostle calls such lies “hollow and deceptive philosophy,” built “on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (v. 8).

So the next time you watch a movie, ask yourself or those you’re with, “What does this movie suggest is wise? How does that compare to what Scripture says is true?” And remember that it’s Christ that matters most. Only in Him can we find true wisdom and wholeness (vv. 9-10).

Reflect & Pray

How does popular culture shape how you see the world? How does your faith help you evaluate the values you encounter in entertainment?

Father, our world is filled with stories that promise life but ultimately run counter to Your truth. Please give me a hunger for Your wisdom that I might walk in Your ways.

For further study, read The Story of God’s Quest of Redemption.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, January 24, 2025

The Overmastering Relationship

I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness. —Acts 26:16

Paul’s vision on the road to Damascus was no passing dream. It was a vision that brought with it clear and emphatic instructions. Jesus told Paul that from now on Paul’s whole life was to be mastered: it was to be subdued, to have no end, aim, or purpose except Christ’s. “I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant.”

All of us, when we are born again, have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. The big thing we must learn is not to be disobedient to the vision; we must not say that it can’t be attained. We think it can’t be attained because our faith doesn’t have the proper foundations. It isn’t enough to believe that God has redeemed the world, or that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did come alive in us. We must have the basis of a personal relationship with him. Paul wasn’t given a script or a doctrine to proclaim; he was brought into a vivid, personal, overmastering relationship with Jesus Christ, and on this basis he became a witness.

We too must have as the foundation of our faith a personal relationship with Jesus. This is the only way our vision will be attained, and the only way we’ll succeed in obeying it. Verse 16 is immensely commanding: “to appoint you as a servant and as a witness.” There is nothing there apart from a personal relationship.

Paul was devoted to a person, not a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else; he lived for nothing else. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, January 24, 2025

You're Free - #9925

For three months, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer were prisoners of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, accused along with other aid workers of trying to convert Afghans to Christianity. In October of 2001 their prison cells were suddenly shaken by the thunder of U.S. bombs falling on the city of Kabul. Weeks later, after a cold, sleepless night in a steel shipping container, the girls and their colleagues found themselves in a new prison south of Kabul, with rockets crashing down on the contested town they were in. Suddenly, there were men banging on their prison doors. They thought their Taliban captors were returning, and now their fate was clearly uncertain as the situation around them dissolved into total chaos. Then, to their surprise, an anti-Taliban soldier came in with reams of ammunition around his neck. He was just shouting two wonderful words, "You're free! You're free!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You're Free!"

What a feeling to be imprisoned, to be in great danger, and then to have a liberator suddenly come crashing into your chaos shouting, "You're free!" Well, that's an experience shared by many who have met the ultimate Liberator.

His rescue of folks like you and me is described in the Bible in John 8, beginning with verse 34. It's our word for today from the Word of God. "Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'" When Jesus talks about "sin," He's talking about something a lot deeper than breaking some religion's rules. He's referring to the fact that we've all decided to run our own lives instead of letting God run them - which has led us to a lot of selfish choices, a lot of hurtful actions, and a lot of accumulated garbage in our lives. There's not one of us who doesn't know the weight of the guilt of our mistakes; the bondage to our dark side that has made it impossible for us to shake some of the junk that we really don't want in our lives.

But Jesus moves from talking about our slavery to our dark side to the promise of something better - freedom! In fact, He goes on to say, "If the Son (that's Him - the Son of God) sets you free, you will be free indeed." Now, Jesus Christ is offering to you and me the promise of being liberated forever from the guilt, the shame, and the slavery of this sin-prison we're in - something no religion could ever do for you.

He wants to remove your guilt with total forgiveness for every wrong thing you have ever done - a total new beginning. He wants to remove the shame and replace it with a new sense of cleanness and worth. He wants to give you the spiritual power to stop doing the things you've never been able to shake.

But for Jesus to be able to rescue you from the prison of your sin, He had to give His life. He went to the cross to pay for and remove your death penalty for every wrong thing you have ever done. There is a death penalty. Sin is a capital crime against the God of the universe. And only paying the death penalty can set us free. And Jesus said, "I'll take it instead of you."

So He stands ready to make this day your Liberation Day if you'll tell Him you're opening your life to Him...that you're going to depend totally on Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin. If you've never done that, you can swing open the door to Him right now. You can tell Him right where you are, "Jesus, I turn from the running of my own life. I believe when You died on the cross You did it for every sin I've ever committed. I believe you're alive, and I am now pinning all my hopes on You. I am yours."

Go to our website, I think it will help you get this settled. Just check out ANewStory.com.

You know what this day could be for you? This could be the day that Jesus, the great Liberator, comes into your life and makes this awesome announcement, "You're free! You're free!"

Genesis 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: REASON FOR COMFORT - January 23, 2025

When will the rapture take place? Some Bible students place the rapture during the tribulation, others after the tribulation. It seems best to position it before the years of trouble. Jesus compared this moment to the rescues of Noah and Lot. Noah felt no raindrops; Lot felt no brimstone. In the same manner, I believe Jesus will emancipate his church, and we will not feel the evil of the Antichrist.

Also, Paul urged us to “encourage one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:18 NIV). How can we use the rapture message to encourage one another if we are going to face the Antichrist and the tribulation? If such were the case, Paul would have said, “Warn one another.” But he didn’t.

The rapture of the church is a reason for comfort and assurance. Yes, the tribulation is coming. But, yes, the church will be leaving. Consequently, be encouraged.

What Happens Next

Genesis 4

Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”

2  Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.

3–5  Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

6–7  God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

8  Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

9  God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”

10–12  God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”

13–14  Cain said to God, “My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.”

15  God told him, “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

16  Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden.

17–18  Cain slept with his wife. She conceived and had Enoch. He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch.

Enoch had Irad,

Irad had Mehujael,

Mehujael had Methushael,

Methushael had Lamech.

19–22  Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who live in tents and herd cattle. His brother’s name was Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and flute. Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who worked at the forge making bronze and iron tools. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

23–24  Lamech said to his wives,

Adah and Zillah, listen to me;

you wives of Lamech, hear me out:

I killed a man for wounding me,

a young man who attacked me.

If Cain is avenged seven times,

for Lamech it’s seventy-seven!

25–26  Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, “God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed.” And then Seth had a son whom he named Enosh.

That’s when men and women began praying and worshiping in the name of God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 23, 2025

by Karen Huang

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

Today's Insights

We sometimes fail to consider the connection between suffering and spiritual growth. In Paul’s letter to the people in Corinth, he spoke of the eternal glory that our troubles bring: “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

This isn’t the only place where Scripture states that our difficulties are actually beneficial for us. The apostle says in Romans, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (5:3-4). James too tells us that the testing of our faith is for our benefit: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (1:2-4).

God’s Promises

What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

It was painful to see my dad losing his memory. Dementia is cruel, taking away all the recollections of people until there’s no remembrance left of the life they lived. One night, I had a dream I believe God used to encourage me. In the dream, He had a small treasure chest in His hands. “All your dad’s memories are safely stored here,” He told me. “I’ll keep them in the meantime. Then one day, in heaven, I’ll return them to him.”

In the following years, this dream comforted me whenever my dad didn’t know who I was. I’d be reminded that his disease was temporary. Because he was a child of God, he’d be permanently restored one day.

It also helped to remember that Paul described suffering as “light and momentary” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The apostle wasn’t underplaying suffering; he himself had suffered much (vv. 7-12). He was emphasizing that in the light of eternity and the future glory that’s ours in Christ, our troubles are light and momentary. All the glorious blessings we already have in Jesus now—and those we’ll one day experience—will infinitely outweigh them all (v. 17).

Because of God and His promises, we can choose not to lose heart. Even as we suffer, we can live each day in faith, relying on His power to renew us (v. 16). Let’s “fix our eyes” on His eternal promises today (v. 18).

Reflect & Pray

What suffering are you experiencing? How can God’s promises and all that you have as His child help you to not lose heart?

Father, thank You that my suffering doesn’t have the final say. You do.

What has God promised, and how can we learn to trust Him? Read here to learn more.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Unveiled Face

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image. —2 Corinthians 3:18

The most remarkable characteristic of a Christian is the unveiled face. Open and honest, hiding nothing, we stand before God so that our lives may become a mirror of his. By being filled with the Spirit, we are transformed. By standing unveiled before him, we become his mirror. It is always easy to sense when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord. We can feel the Lord’s own character, shining out from within.

The golden rule for the Christian life is this unfailing concentration on God. If God requires it, we must be willing to set aside our concerns for everything else—work, food, clothing, shelter, everything. The busyness of modern life tends to draw our attention away from God, darkening the mirror within. Usually, the thing that dirties the mirror is a “good” thing, a worthy concern. It is the good that is the enemy of the best.

Let other things come and go as they may. Let other people criticize as they will. But never let anything disturb the life that is hidden with Christ in God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in him. This is the one thing that tends to get pushed aside, and it is the one thing that shouldn’t. It is the toughest discipline we undergo as Christians: the discipline of keeping our focus on the glory of the Lord.

Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. 

Disciples Indeed, 388 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 23, 2025

All Day Righteousness - #9924

Some days I wear a shirt and tie, because, well, that's kind of appropriate for the meetings I'm going to have that day. Now, you go home a little later and get into jeans and an old shirt. Why? Well, because I don't want to do all the work I'm going to be doing there in, you know, my dress up clothes. It will be appropriate for the work I have to do there.

Now, when I go to a wedding in a few weeks, I'll dress up for that. I'll get in my very best. When I go to the beach, No, I won't do that. I won't wear what I wear to the wedding. See, I change my clothes for the occasion just like you do. There is something I don't change no matter what the occasion - my skin. I change my clothes; I always have the same skin.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "All Day Righteousness."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 10, and I'm going to read verse 31. "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." That's an interesting verse. What Paul's saying here is that living for Christ is so practical that you can even do it while you're eating or drinking; having lunch, having breakfast. It's that kind of practical thing.

A couple of Sundays ago I had preached at a church about giving God your best instead of giving Him just your leftovers. And a man came up to me very sincerely and said, "Ron, I really do want to give God my best, but no matter how much I try to do for Him, I feel like I'm never doing enough. You know, I've got my job, and I've got my family, and I've got a lot of other things, and I feel like I'm just never doing enough for Him."

Well, as we talked, I began to realize that enough meant for him doing more spiritual things. And that isn't primarily what the Lord is looking for. He wants to make more things you're already doing spiritual; not have you do more spiritual things.

Our problem is that we reduce our Christ-life to a compartment. We say, "Well, let's see. Here's my money, here's my friends, here's my family, here's my job, here's my recreation. Oh, wait, here's a compartment I have available. Yeah, that's for Jesus. I'll just write in Jesus there and now I've got my Jesus compartment."

Jesus is King of Kings, Lord of Lords. He is not going to be a compartment. He doesn't fit in a compartment. He wants to be in all the compartments; not have one of His own. He wants to be the Lord of all those practical areas. So, you're not adding a list of spiritual things to do. You're letting Christ make the things you already do His things.

So you drive unselfishly for example. You drive to the glory of God. You use your car to help others. You shop for Him. Maybe walking into that grocery store and trying to bring some joy and some love into the otherwise dull life of a checkout girl. Who knows?

Colossians 3:17 picks up the same theme when it says, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." And then it goes on to talk about what kind of wife you are, being a husband to the glory of God. It talks about obeying your parents, and as you're doing it saying to the Lord, "This is for You, Jesus." Fathering in positive ways that don't tear your kids down. It talks about employees working with all their heart as if Jesus were their boss. He is.

Your relationship with Christ isn't just some set of spiritual clothes you put on to do spiritual work, to go to spiritual meetings and then take off. It's skin that you carry with you into every area of your life.

Living for Christ is a style that you carry with you all day, everywhere, like skin.

Matthew 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A MOMENT OF MIRACLES - January 22, 2025

What a moment of miracles the rapture will be! All prayers for healing will be answered. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask of me, I will do for you” (John 16:23-24, paraphrased). This is no over-promise. It’s only a matter of time.

This calling forth includes all God’s children who were conceived yet never took a breath outside the womb. Miscarriages and abortions took many. Christ will lay claim to them all, and they will live in glorified bodies.

This raptured population includes children who never reached the age of accountability. They lacked the maturity to decide for or against Christ. They are safe in his care. So are people who lacked the mental capacity to comprehend salvation.

This resurrection of the righteous will occur in a “twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52 NKJV). That is how long Jesus needs to collect his church.

What Happens Next

Matthew 1

The family tree of Jesus Christ, David’s son, Abraham’s son:

2–6  Abraham had Isaac,

Isaac had Jacob,

Jacob had Judah and his brothers,

Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar),

Perez had Hezron,

Hezron had Aram,

Aram had Amminadab,

Amminadab had Nahshon,

Nahshon had Salmon,

Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),

Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),

Obed had Jesse,

Jesse had David,

and David became king.

6–11  David had Solomon (Uriah’s wife was the mother),

Solomon had Rehoboam,

Rehoboam had Abijah,

Abijah had Asa,

Asa had Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat had Joram,

Joram had Uzziah,

Uzziah had Jotham,

Jotham had Ahaz,

Ahaz had Hezekiah,

Hezekiah had Manasseh,

Manasseh had Amon,

Amon had Josiah,

Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers,

and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile.

12–16  When the Babylonian exile ended,

Jeconiah had Shealtiel,

Shealtiel had Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel had Abiud,

Abiud had Eliakim,

Eliakim had Azor,

Azor had Zadok,

Zadok had Achim,

Achim had Eliud,

Eliud had Eleazar,

Eleazar had Matthan,

Matthan had Jacob,

Jacob had Joseph, Mary’s husband,

the Mary who gave birth to Jesus,

the Jesus who was called Christ.

17  There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David,

another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile,

and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ.

The Birth of Jesus

18–19  The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

20–23  While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term:

Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;

They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).

24–25  Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

by Winn Collier

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 1:1-4

Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!

The Son Is Higher than Angels

3–6  After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule.

Today's Insights

How God has made Himself known to us is noted briefly in Hebrews 1. In the past, He spoke “through the prophets” (v. 1), but now He “has spoken to us by his Son” (v. 2). The supreme revelation of God to us is Jesus. The first of several warning passages comes on the heels of the exaltation of Jesus in Hebrews 1. Readers are cautioned about rejecting the message of the Son and those commissioned by Him (2:3).

The revelation of the Son is also seen in the teaching of Christ in Mark 12:1-12. Using story, He spoke of a man who planted a vineyard and sent servants (representing the prophets) to gather its fruit. When they were rejected, the man sent “a son, whom he loved” (v. 6)—a reference to God’s Son, Jesus—and they killed him (v. 8). Christ’s teaching here also concludes with words about rejecting the Son—“the stone the builders rejected” (v. 10).

Recognizing God

The Son is the . . . exact representation of [God’s] being. Hebrews 1:3

Today's Devotional

I flew to India, a land I’d never visited, and arrived at the Bengaluru airport after midnight. Though there’d been a flurry of emails, I didn’t know who was picking me up or where I should meet him. I followed the streaming mass of humanity to the baggage claim and customs, then out into the sticky night where I tried to spot a pair of friendly eyes among the sea of faces. For an hour, I walked back and forth in front of the crowd, hoping someone would recognize me. A kind man finally approached. “Are you Winn?” he asked. “I’m so sorry. I thought I’d recognize you, and you kept walking in front of me—but you didn’t look how I expected.”

We regularly get confused and fail to recognize people or places we should know. God provides an unmistakable way of recognizing Him, however. He arrived in our world as Jesus, who “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). Christ is God’s exact representation. When we see Him, we have complete confidence that we’re seeing God.

If we want to know what God is like—what He would say, how He would love—then we need only look and listen to Jesus. Are we truly hearing what “[God] has spoken” (v. 2) through Him? Are we actually following His truth? To be sure that we know how to recognize God, we fix our gaze on the Son and learn from Him.

Reflect & Pray

When do you have trouble recognizing God’s voice? How does fixing your focus on Jesus help?

Dear God, I want to know Your voice and follow You. Please help me recognize You in Jesus.

Learn how to listen for God's voice by checking out 4 Ways You Might be Mishearing God: How to Listen for His Voice.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Where Am I Looking?

Look unto me, and be ye saved. —Isaiah 45:22 kjv

The mind wanders, casting about. It worries over today and tomorrow, growing dizzy with its troubles and trials. These troubles vanish when we look to God, but we must truly look: to look means to concentrate fully on Jesus. This, in effect, is the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount: we must narrow all our interests until the attitude of our mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ (Matthew 5–7).

To look to God is to be saved. We have stories and ideas in our minds of great Christian saints and heroes. We think we must emulate their lives to be saved. But there is no salvation in emulation; it is not simple enough. “Look unto me, and be ye saved,” says God. Not “you will be saved” but “you are saved.” We get preoccupied and grumpy with God, and all the time he is saying, “Just look.”

Concentrating on God is a great spiritual challenge. It is easier in times of trouble, when we desperately need him, than in times of peace and contentment. God’s blessings absorb us, pulling us away in delighted distraction. We must not let them. Though a thousand wonderful things vie for our attention, we must learn to let them come and go, keeping our focus on God.

“Look unto me,” says God. The moment you look, salvation is.

Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God.

Biblical Ethics, 125 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

The Warning is the Difference - #9923

He was in Singapore when he got word of a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean and the possibility of a killer tsunami that could be headed for land; land that included his own village in India. He knew what he had to do. Desperately, he tried to reach his family there by means of a cell phone, and they answered. He warned them about the approaching danger, and they in turn warned the entire village of some 150 people. Within minutes they all were headed for high ground. The tsunami did hit that village full force. The homes were destroyed, the boats were destroyed, but every single person from that village survived.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Warning is the Difference."

People that Indian man cared about, people who otherwise would have died, are alive today because of a simple reason - one man who gave the warning.

For every person you care about, every person in your personal world, whether they live or die eternally depends on that same urgent act of love - someone giving the warning. Warning that God's judgment for our lifetime of sinning is coming our way for all of us. The Bible makes clear that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). We're all guilty of rebellion against God; making ourselves the center of our lives where our Creator is the only One who belongs there. But the warning of God's Word declares not only the bad news of the inevitable death penalty for our sin, but the wonderful Good News of where the high ground is. It's that hill where Jesus died to pay the death penalty that we all deserve. The lives of people around you can literally be saved forever if someone gives them the warning.

To be sure, God's the One who draws them to Jesus. He's the one who saves the lost. But we're His plan - you and I - for pointing them His direction. And our silence is a fatal silence. That's why God has made our responsibility vividly clear in a number of places in Scripture, including our word for today from the Word of God. In Ezekiel 3, beginning with verse 16, God's challenge to His prophet mirrors what He is expecting of us who know the way to eternal safety; some of the most sobering words in the Bible, "I have made you a watchman." You're the one on the wall who can see the danger coming and whom God holds responsible for warning the people around you.

Listen, He goes on to say, "When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood." Whether or not you think you're responsible to warn the people you know, God obviously thinks you are, and He's going to judge you accordingly. Like that man who called his village to warn the people he loved, God has given you life-saving information - information which they must have in order to have a chance at heaven. You know it. They don't. It's up to you in the power of God's Spirit. Whatever consequences you're afraid of if you tell them about Jesus, they can't even compare to the consequences if you don't tell them.

Just before God spoke this challenge, He led His messenger to just spend some time among the people he was being sent to rescue. Ezekiel says, "I sat among them for seven days - overwhelmed." Would you just look at the spiritual needs around you. Let God give you His eyes to see what He sees when He looks at the people you know. To feel what He feels about the destiny that awaits them unless someone tells them how to get to Heaven.

Let God overwhelm you, even break your heart for the precious people within your reach. Pray for God to open their heart, to open a door for you to speak to them, and to open your mouth when He does. Because the wave is coming, but they don't have to die. No, if you'll just give them the warning.