Daily devotionals, Deuteronomy 33 and more

 To Meet Our Greatest Need

To Meet Our Greatest Need - December 24, 2025

Christmas cards. Punctuated promises. On this day, can I share words from my favorite Christmas cards?

“He became like us, so we could become like Him.” “Angels still sing and the star still beckons.” And from Isaiah 9:6, “God has given a Son to us. His name will be Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, and Prince of Peace.”

And my favorite: “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Deuteronomy 33

The Message

The Blessing

33 1-5 Moses, man of God, blessed the People of Israel with this blessing before his death. He said,

God came down from Sinai,

    he dawned from Seir upon them;

He radiated light from Mount Paran,

    coming with ten thousand holy angels

And tongues of fire

    streaming from his right hand.

Oh, how you love the people,

    all his holy ones are palmed in your left hand.

They sit at your feet,

    honoring your teaching,

The Revelation commanded by Moses,

    as the assembly of Jacob’s inheritance.

Thus God became king in Jeshurun

    as the leaders and tribes of Israel gathered.

6 Reuben:

“Let Reuben live and not die,

    but just barely, in diminishing numbers.”

7 Judah:

“Listen, God, to the Voice of Judah,

    bring him to his people;

Strengthen his grip,

    be his helper against his foes.”

8-11 Levi:

“Let your Thummim and Urim

    belong to your loyal saint;

The one you tested at Massah,

    whom you fought with at the Waters of Meribah,

Who said of his father and mother,

    ‘I no longer recognize them.’

He turned his back on his brothers

    and neglected his children,

Because he was guarding your sayings

    and watching over your Covenant.

Let him teach your rules to Jacob

    and your Revelation to Israel,

Let him keep the incense rising to your nostrils

    and the Whole-Burnt-Offerings on your Altar.

God bless his commitment,

    stamp your seal of approval on what he does;

Disable the loins of those who defy him,

    make sure we’ve heard the last from those who hate him.”

12 Benjamin:

“God’s beloved;

    God’s permanent residence.

Encircled by God all day long,

    within whom God is at home.”

13-17 Joseph:

“Blessed by God be his land:

    The best fresh dew from high heaven,

    and fountains springing from the depths;

The best radiance streaming from the sun

    and the best the moon has to offer;

Beauty pouring off the tops of the mountains

    and the best from the everlasting hills;

The best of Earth’s exuberant gifts,

    the smile of the Burning-Bush Dweller.

All this on the head of Joseph,

    on the brow of the set-apart one among his brothers.

In splendor he’s like a firstborn bull,

    his horns the horns of a wild ox;

He’ll gore the nations with those horns,

    push them all to the ends of the Earth.

Ephraim by the ten thousands will do this,

    Manasseh by the thousands will do this.”

18-19 Zebulun and Issachar:

“Celebrate, Zebulun, as you go out,

    and Issachar, as you stay home.

They’ll invite people to the Mountain

    and offer sacrifices of right worship,

For they will have hauled riches in from the sea

    and gleaned treasures from the beaches.”

20-21 Gad:

“Blessed is he who makes Gad large.

    Gad roams like a lion,

    tears off an arm, rips open a skull.

He took one look and grabbed the best place for himself,

    the portion just made for someone in charge.

He took his place at the head,

    carried out God’s right ways

    and his rules for life in Israel.”

22 Dan:

“Dan is a lion’s cub

    leaping out of Bashan.”

23 Naphtali:

“Naphtali brims with blessings,

    spills over with God’s blessings

As he takes possession

    of the sea and southland.”

24-25 Asher:

“Asher, best blessed of the sons!

    May he be the favorite of his brothers,

    his feet massaged in oil.

Safe behind iron-clad doors and gates,

    your strength like iron as long as you live.”

* * *

26-28 There is none like God, Jeshurun,

    riding to your rescue through the skies,

    his dignity haloed by clouds.

The ancient God is home

    on a foundation of everlasting arms.

He drove out the enemy before you

    and commanded, “Destroy!”

Israel lived securely,

    the fountain of Jacob undisturbed

In grain and wine country

    and, oh yes, his heavens drip dew.

29 Lucky Israel! Who has it as good as you?

    A people saved by God!

The Shield who defends you,

    the Sword who brings triumph.

Your enemies will come crawling on their bellies

    and you’ll march on their backs.

Luke 2:8-14

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Todays Insights

In Luke 1, we read Mary’s song in which she “glorifies . . . God my Savior” (vv. 46-47). She includes herself by referring to “the humble state of [God’s] servant” (v. 48) and notes how God “has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble” (v. 52). In Luke 2, God lifts up the humble when the angel appears first to shepherds with the good news of Jesus’ birth (vv. 9-12). Shepherds lived “on the margins,” rendered ceremonially unclean by a job whose requirements kept them outside the city limits and outside civic norms. Shepherds found it difficult even to participate in the religious festivals and sacrifices. Yet they were the chosen eyewitnesses for the angelic celebration on a Bethlehem hillside (vv. 13-14). The angel spoke of “great joy for all the people” (v. 10)—shepherds included. We’re included too. May we celebrate the wonder of Christ’s birth.

Delight

Many historians believe the first-ever radio broadcast of music and speech was heard by radio operators on US Navy and other ships in the Atlantic on Christmas Eve, 1906. Instead of the usual beeps and pulses to transmit codes, they listened to Reginald Fessenden play a violin solo of the Christmas carol “O, Holy Night.” Fessenden closed his broadcast by echoing the angels’ praise: “Glory to God in the highest heaven!” (Luke 2:14). The listeners must have been startled by the evocative music and statement of praise over the birth of Jesus.

The first people surprised by Jesus’ birth were the shepherds who’d been keeping to their usual business of watching their sheep at night (Luke 2:8). Then an angel appeared, shining with the glory of God and giving the shepherds a fright (v. 9). The angel urged them not to be afraid and declared: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (vv. 10-11). The shepherds left their sheep to investigate the angel’s words and found the baby lying in a manger, just as they had been told (vv. 16, 20).

The shepherds accepted this good news of great joy. May we too rejoice and share the wonders of Jesus’ birth and life.

The Hidden Life

​

 Summary

​

The Spirit of God witnesses to the simple, almighty security of the life that is hidden with Christ in God. This is continually brought out in the Epistles. We talk as if living the sanctified life were the most precarious thing, when actually it’s the most secure thing. The sanctified life has God in and behind it. Trying to live without God is what is precarious. If we’re born again, it is the easiest thing to live in right relationship to God and the most difficult thing to go wrong. All we have to do is heed his warnings and walk in the light (1 John 1:7).

When we think of being delivered from sin, of being filled with the Spirit and walking in the light, we picture the peak of a great mountain, very high and wonderful—a peak so removed from everyday life that we think, “I could never live up there!” But when, by God’s grace, we do get up there, we find that it isn’t a peak at all but a great plateau with ample room to live and grow: “You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way” (Psalm 18:36).

When you really do see Jesus, I defy you to doubt him. When he appears to you and says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1), I defy you to trouble your mind. It’s a moral impossibility to doubt when he is there. Every time you get into personal contact with Jesus, his words are real.

“My peace I give you” (v. 27). It’s a peace all over—from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, an irrepressible confidence. “Your life is now hidden with Christ in God,” and the unshakable peace of Jesus Christ is imparted to you.

The Christmas Invitation - #10163

December 24, 2025

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It was the biggest night of the year in a little town called Cornwall. It was the night of the annual Christmas pageant. Since there are no nearby malls or cities to compete with, the pageant is pretty much packed out every year. Its an especially big deal for the children in town. They get to try out for the roles in the Christmas story, and everybody wants a part.

Which leads us to the problem of Harold. See, Harold wanted to be in the play, too, but he was...well, he was kind of a slow and simple kid. The directors were ambivalent, I mean, they knew Harold would be crushed if he didnt have a part, but they were afraid he might mess up the towns magic moment if he did. Finally, they decided to cast Harold as the innkeeper - the one who turns Mary and Joseph away the night Jesus is to be born. He only has one line: "Im sorry, we have no room." Well, no one could imagine what that one line was going to do to everyones Christmas.

Im Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Christmas Invitation."

The night of the pageant the church was packed, as usual. I mean, the set was in place, and there was an entire wall with scenes of Bethlehem painted on it, including the door of the inn where Harold would greet - and then turn away - the young Jewish travelers.

Backstage, the angels were playing Frisbee with their halos, and the shepherds were waiting till the last minute to put on their annually laundered bathrobes, and Harold was being personally coached by the nervous directors. "Now remember, Harold, when Joseph says, Do you have a room for the night? you say...you say..." Hesitantly, Harold said, "Im sorry. We... We have no room." The directors looked at each other somewhat hopefully. Theyd done all they could.

Well, the Christmas story unfolded according to plan - angels singing, Josephs dream, the trip to Bethlehem. Finally, Joseph and Mary arrived at the door of the Bethlehem Inn, looking appropriately tired, discussing whether the baby might come tonight. Joseph knocked on the inn door. Backstage, the directors were just out of sight, coaching Harold to open the door now. And wouldnt you know it - the door was stuck! The whole set shook; Harold tried to get that door open. When he finally did, Joseph asked his question on cue: "Do you have a room for the night?"

Harold froze. From backstage, a loud whisper: "Im sorry. We have no room." And Harold mumbled, "Im sorry. We have no room." And, with a little coaching, he shut the door. Well, the directors heaved a sigh of relief - prematurely. As Mary and Joseph disappeared into the night, the set suddenly started shaking again, and the door opened. Harold was back! And then, in an unrehearsed moment that folks would never forget, Harold went running after the young couple, shouting as loud as he could, "Wait! Wait! You can have my room!"

I think little Harold may have understood the real issue of Christmas better than anyone there that night. How can you leave Jesus outside? You have to make room for Jesus. And that may be the issue for you this Christmas season. What will you do with this Son of God who came to earth to find you? This One who trades a throne room for a stable, angel praise for human mockery, this Creator who gives Himself on a cross? The Bible gives us the only appropriate response in Galatians 2:20, our word for today from the Word of God: "The life I now live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." You look at what Jesus did to pay for your sin on that cross, and you say those life-changing words - "For me."

Jesus is at your door this Christmas. Maybe Hes been knocking for a long time and maybe He wont keep knocking much longer. All your life - even in the events of the last few months - its been to prepare you for this crossroads moment with Jesus your Savior.

Id love to help you cross over as the Bible says, "from death to life" belonging to Jesus. Our website is there for that purpose - ANewStory.com. Dont leave Him outside any longer. Open the door this Christmas season. "Jesus, I cannot keep You out any longer. Come on in. You can have my room. You can have my life."

Devotions

 

More Than A Christmas Story

More Than A Christmas Story - December 23, 2025

The virgin birth is much, much more, than a Christmas story. It’s a story of how close Christ will come to you.

The first stop on his itinerary was a womb. Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep inside Mary for an answer. Better still, look deep within yourself. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Scripture says (Colossians 1:27).

Christ grew in Mary until he had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs. He will come out in your speech, in your actions, in your decisions. Every place you live will be a Bethlehem. Every day you live will be a Christmas. Deliver Christ into the world—your world!

Deuteronomy 32

The Message

The Song

32 1-5 Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you.
    Attention, Earth, I’ve got a mouth full of words.
My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain,
    my words arrive like morning dew,
Like a sprinkling rain on new grass,
    like spring showers on the garden.
For it’s God’s Name I’m preaching—
    respond to the greatness of our God!
The Rock: His works are perfect,
    and the way he works is fair and just;
A God you can depend upon, no exceptions,
    a straight-arrow God.
His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children,
    throw mud at him but none of it sticks.

6-7 Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this?
    This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence?
Isn’t this your father who created you,
    who made you and gave you a place on Earth?
Read up on what happened before you were born;
    dig into the past, understand your roots.
Ask your parents what it was like before you were born;
    ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.

8-9 When the High God gave the nations their stake,
    gave them their place on Earth,
He put each of the peoples within boundaries
    under the care of divine guardians.
But Godhimself took charge of his people,
    took Jacob on as his personal concern.

10-14 He found him out in the wilderness,
    in an empty, windswept wasteland.
He threw his arms around him, lavished attention on him,
    guarding him as the apple of his eye.
He was like an eagle hovering over its nest,
    overshadowing its young,
Then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air,
    teaching them to fly.
God alone led him;
    there was not a foreign god in sight.
God lifted him onto the hilltops,
    so he could feast on the crops in the fields.
He fed him honey from the rock,
    oil from granite crags,
Curds of cattle and the milk of sheep,
    the choice cuts of lambs and goats,
Fine Bashan rams, high-quality wheat,
    and the blood of grapes: you drank good wine!

15-18 Jeshurun put on weight and bucked;
    you got fat, became obese, a tub of lard.
He abandoned the God who made him,
    he mocked the Rock of his salvation.
They made him jealous with their foreign trendy gods,
    and with obscenities they vexed him no end.
They sacrificed to no-god demons,
    gods they knew nothing about,
The latest in gods, fresh from the market,
    gods your ancestors would never call “gods.”
You walked out on the Rock who gave you your life,
    forgot the birth-God who brought you into the world.

19-25 God saw it and spun around,
    angered and hurt by his sons and daughters.
He said, “From now on I’m looking the other way.
    Wait and see what happens to them.
Oh, they’re a turned-around, upside-down generation!
    Who knows what they’ll do from one moment to the next?
They’ve goaded me with their no-gods,
    infuriated me with their hot-air gods;
I’m going to goad them with a no-people,
    with a hollow nation incense them.
My anger started a fire,
    a wildfire burning deep down in Sheol,
Then shooting up and devouring the Earth and its crops,
    setting all the mountains, from bottom to top, on fire.
I’ll pile catastrophes on them,
    I’ll shoot my arrows at them:
Starvation, blistering heat, killing disease;
    I’ll send snarling wild animals to attack from the forest
    and venomous creatures to strike from the dust.
Killing in the streets,
    terror in the houses,
Young men and virgins alike struck down,
    and yes, breast-feeding babies and gray-haired old men.”

26-27 I could have said, “I’ll hack them to pieces,
    wipe out all trace of them from the Earth,”
Except that I feared the enemy would grab the chance
    to take credit for all of it,
Crowing, “Look what we did!
    God had nothing to do with this.”

28-33 They are a nation of idiots,
    they don’t know enough to come in out of the rain.
If they had any sense at all, they’d know this;
    they would see what’s coming down the road.
How could one soldier chase a thousand enemies off,
    or two men run off two thousand,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
    unless Godhad given them away?
For their rock is nothing compared to our Rock;
    even our enemies say that.
They’re a vine that comes right out of Sodom,
    who they are is rooted in Gomorrah;
Their grapes are poison grapes,
    their grape-clusters bitter.
Their wine is rattlesnake venom,
    mixed with lethal cobra poison.

34-35 Don’t you realize that I have my shelves
    well stocked, locked behind iron doors?
I’m in charge of vengeance and payback,
    just waiting for them to slip up;
And the day of their doom is just around the corner,
    sudden and swift and sure.

36-38 Yes, God will judge his people,
    but oh how compassionately he’ll do it.
When he sees their weakened plight
    and there is no one left, slave or free,
He’ll say, “So where are their gods,
    the rock in which they sought refuge,
The gods who feasted on the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink-offerings?
Let them show their stuff and help you,
    let them give you a hand!

39-42 “Do you see it now? Do you see that I’m the one?
    Do you see that there’s no other god beside me?
I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal—
    there is no getting away from or around me!
I raise my hand in solemn oath;
    I say, ‘I’m always around. By that very life I promise:
When I sharpen my lightning sword
    and execute judgment,
I take vengeance on my enemies
    and pay back those who hate me.
I’ll make my arrows drunk with blood,
    my sword will gorge itself on flesh,
Feasting on slain and captive alike,
    the proud and vain enemy corpses.’”

43 Celebrate, nations, join the praise of his people.
    He avenges the deaths of his servants,
Pays back his enemies with vengeance,
    and cleanses his land for his people.

44-47 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua son of Nun. When Moses had finished saying all these words to all Israel, he said, “Take to heart all these words to which I give witness today and urgently command your children to put them into practice, every single word of this Revelation. Yes. This is no small matter for you; it’s your life. In keeping this word you’ll have a good and long life in this land that you’re crossing the Jordan to possess.”

48-50 That same day God spoke to Moses: “Climb the Abarim Mountains to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, overlooking Jericho, and view the land of Canaan that I’m giving the People of Israel to have and hold. Die on the mountain that you climb and join your people in the ground, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and joined his people.

51-52 “This is because you broke faith with me in the company of the People of Israel at the Waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin—you didn’t 

honor my Holy Presence in the company of the People of Israel. You’ll look at the land spread out before you but you won’t enter it, this land that I am giving to the People of Israel.”

No Favoritism

In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant was stopped for recklessly driving his carriage through Washington DC. One published account says that the officer, an African American named William West, warned Grant, “Your fast driving, sir . . . is endangering the lives of the people who have to cross the street.” Grant apologized, but the next night he was racing carriages again. West stopped Grant’s horses. “I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty.” West arrested the president.

I admire this brave man for doing his duty. So did Grant. He praised West and made sure he kept his job. God also was pleased, for He hates the injustice of favoritism. James wrote, “Believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism” (James 2:1). That includes not giving special favors to the rich and powerful, leaving only leftovers for the poor (vv. 2-4). Instead, we’re called to love our neighbor as ourselves (v. 8). If we play favorites, serving our platinum club neighbors rather than the less privileged, we “sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (v. 9).

God didn’t play favorites with us. He loved us when we had nothing to offer, when we were “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). With His help, we can love all people equally.

Identified with His Death

The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces an issue of will. Will I accept the verdict God passed on sin in the cross of Christ? Do I want to be identified with the death of Jesus? To be killed to all my former interest in sin, worldliness, and self? To be so identified with Jesus that I’m spoiled for everything else but him? The great privilege of discipleship is that I can sign on under his cross, and this means death to sin.

Get alone with Jesus and tell him either that you don’t want sin to die out in you or that, at all costs, you want to be identified with his death. The instant you act in confident faith on what our Lord did on the cross, a supernatural identification with his death takes place, and you will know with a knowledge that passes knowledge that your old self is crucified with Christ. The proof that your old self has been crucified with Christ is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.

Every now and again, our Lord lets us see what life would be like if it weren’t for him. It’s a justification of what he said in John 15:5: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” That’s why the bedrock of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to him. We mistake the ecstasy of our first introduction into the kingdom of God for God’s purpose in getting us there. His purpose in getting us there is that we realize all that personal identification with Jesus Christ means.

The Open Door at the Manger - #10162

December 23, 2025

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It was Christmas Eve, and the Hutchcraft family was acting out the Christmas story. Our daughter was Mary, with a towel draped over her head. Our oldest son was Joseph, bathrobe and all. Our then two-year-old son was the closest we could come to a baby, so he was in the giant laundry basket. I was, of course, an angel dressed in a white sheet, sitting celestially on the back of the couch. And my wife - well, she wanted to be a sheep. So she was crawling around the living room floor with our sheepskin rug draped over her, doing her very best "baaa's." And the doorbell rang! It was two teenage girls from our youth group. Their folks were home getting drunk, and they were wondering if they could come to our house for a little sanity. When they came in, our Christmas players were in full gear, "baaa" and all. The door was open and we invited them right into our Christmas.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Open Door at the Manger."

It was only appropriate that we should say to anyone who came to our door on Christmas Eve, "Come on in." After all, that's what God did when His Son was born that first Christmas. He threw open the door and said, "Come on in" no matter what you're like. He might be saying that to you this very day.

Anybody's welcome to come on in and join God's family. How do we know? Well, for one thing, look at who got the first invitation to "come on in." Shepherds. These guys were considered the lowest of the low-lifes. They were unfit to even be allowed in God's temple. So of all the people God could invite to the first Christmas party, who does He ask to come? Shepherds.

It says so in Luke 2, beginning with verse 8, in our Christmas word for today from the Word of God. "There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them..." The angel made this startling announcement: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." So Jesus begins His life on earth by welcoming in people that most would say are definitely "not His type."

Maybe that's how you feel; you're not the religious type. Maybe you, like the shepherds, have experienced your share of closed doors, rejection, condemnation, and plenty of loneliness. It could be you've done a lot of things, and made a lot of mistakes, just looking for love and acceptance. And you know you've done a lot of wrong things. But that's the very kind of people Jesus came for!

The people who miss Jesus and miss heaven are the people who think they've got it all together, who are very religious and very good and they think not really in need of a Savior who died on the cross for their sins. But just like He did for those shepherds, whether you were born in church or never been in church in your life, Jesus is throwing open the door to His family and to His heaven and He's saying, "Come on in. I died. I rose again so you and I can be together forever."

The greatest mistake you could ever make would be if you missed what Jesus died to give you. Can you think of a better time to throw open the door of your life to Jesus than Christmastime - the time He left heaven to come here to rescue you? He's waiting for you to reach out to Him and put your total trust in what He did for you on the cross - whatever you've done. This isn't about what you've done. It's about what He's done on the cross for you.

Right where you are, at this very special time, why don't you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours from this day on." Your life will never be the same. I would love to help you right now make that new beginning of making the Savior your Savior this Christmas season.

I just invite you to go to our website and there you can find for yourself how to be sure you've begun this relationship with Jesus. The website is ANewStory.com.

And as we celebrate the day Jesus was born, you can celebrate the day you get born into His family. Go to sleep tonight with Christ in your heart with His peace in your soul. From Him, and from our team here - Merry Christmas!

Luke 8:1-25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: His Kingdom Will Never End

His kingdom will never end. Luke 1:33

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing, is the teenage girl in the smelly stable.

As Mary looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty—she can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God.

So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33)

He looks like anything but a king. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

God came near!

Luke 8:1-25

He continued according to plan, traveled to town after town, village after village, preaching God’s kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with him. There were also some women in their company who had been healed of various evil afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager; and Susanna—along with many others who used their considerable means to provide for the company.

The Story of the Seeds

4–8  As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and traveled along. He addressed them, using this story: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn’t have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop.

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

9  His disciples asked, “Why did you tell this story?”

10  He said, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren’t going to get it:

Their eyes are open but don’t see a thing,

Their ears are open but don’t hear a thing.

11–12  “This story is about some of those people. The seed is the Word of God. The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word, but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they won’t believe and be saved.

13  “The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn’t go very deep. It’s only another fad, and the moment there’s trouble it’s gone.

14  “And the seed that fell in the weeds—well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money, and having fun.

15  “But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there’s a harvest.

Misers of What You Hear

16–18  “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way. We’re not keeping secrets; we’re telling them. We’re not hiding things; we’re bringing everything out into the open. So be careful that you don’t become misers of what you hear. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”

19–20  His mother and brothers showed up but couldn’t get through to him because of the crowd. He was given the message, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to see you.”

21  He replied, “My mother and brothers are the ones who hear and do God’s Word. Obedience is thicker than blood.”

22–24  One day he and his disciples got in a boat. “Let’s cross the lake,” he said. And off they went. It was smooth sailing, and he fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

Getting to his feet, he told the wind, “Silence!” and the waves, “Quiet down!” They did it. The lake became smooth as glass.

25  Then he said to his disciples, “Why can’t you trust me?”

They were in absolute awe, staggered and stammering, “Who is this, anyway? He calls out to the winds and sea, and they do what he tells them!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion 

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Read: Hebrews 9:11-22

Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come.[a] He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds[b] so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

16 Now when someone leaves a will,[c] it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.[d] 17 The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.

18 That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. 19 For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats,[e] along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”[f] 21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. 22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Just The Right Time

By Julie Ackerman Link

Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come. —Hebrews 9:11

The conductor stood on the podium, his eyes scanning the choir and orchestra. The singers arranged the music in their folders, found a comfortable position for standing, and held the folder where they could see the conductor just over the top. Orchestra members positioned their music on the stand, found a comfortable position in their seats, and then sat still. The conductor waited and watched until everyone was ready. Then, with a downbeat of his baton, the sounds of Handel’s “Overture to Messiah” filled the cathedral.

With the sound swirling around me, I felt I was immersed in Christmas—when God, at just the right moment, signaled the downbeat and set in motion an overture that started with the birth of the Messiah, the “High Priest of the good things to come” (Heb. 9:11).

Every Christmas, as we celebrate Christ’s first coming with glorious music, I’m reminded that God’s people, like choir and orchestra members, are getting ready for the next downbeat of the conductor when Christ will come again. On that day, we will participate with Him in the final movement of God’s symphony of redemption—making all things new (Rev. 21:5). In anticipation, we need to keep our eyes on the conductor and make sure we are ready.

Sound the soul-inspiring anthem,

Angel hosts, your harps attune;

Earth’s long night is almost over,

Christ is coming—coming soon! —Macomber

The advent of Christ celebrates His birth and anticipates His return.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Experience or God’s Revealed Truth?

We have received…the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. —1 Corinthians 2:12

My experience is not what makes redemption real— redemption is reality. Redemption has no real meaning for me until it is worked out through my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left only with my personal experiences, I am left with something not produced by redemption. But experiences produced by redemption prove themselves by leading me beyond myself, to the point of no longer paying any attention to experiences as the basis of reality. Instead, I see that only the reality itself produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth— Jesus Christ.

If you try to hold back the Holy Spirit within you, with the desire of producing more inner spiritual experiences, you will find that He will break the hold and take you again to the historic Christ. Never support an experience which does not have God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions or insights you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? You must allow Him to be Lord over you, and pay no attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. Then there will come a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience, and you can truthfully say, “I do not care what I experience— I am sure of Him!”

Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you have had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is.

Deuteronomy 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: No Room

Some of the saddest words on earth are “We don’t have room for you.” Jesus knew the sound of those words.  He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, “We don’t have room for you” (Luke 2:7).

And when he was hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection?  “We don’t have room for you in our world.”

Even today Jesus is given the same treatment.  He goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. Every so often, he’s welcomed.  Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay.  And to that person Jesus gives this great promise, “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2).

What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts….And he makes room for us in his house!

From Grace for the Moment

Deuteronomy 31

The Charge

1–2  31 Moses went on and addressed these words to all Israel. He said, “I’m 120 years old today. I can’t get about as I used to. And God told me, ‘You’re not going to cross this Jordan River.’

3–5  “God, your God, will cross the river ahead of you and destroy the nations in your path so that you may dispossess them. (And Joshua will cross the river before you, as God said he would.) God will give the nations the same treatment he gave the kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, and their land; he’ll destroy them. God will hand the nations over to you, and you’ll treat them exactly as I have commanded you.

6  “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”

7–8  Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, “Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he’d give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”

9–13  Moses wrote out this Revelation and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Chest of the Covenant of God, and to all the leaders of Israel. And he gave these orders: “At the end of every seven years, the Year-All-Debts-Are-Canceled, during the pilgrim Festival of Booths when everyone in Israel comes to appear in the Presence of God, your God, at the place he designates, read out this Revelation to all Israel, with everyone listening. Gather the people together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living among you—so they can listen well, so they may learn to live in holy awe before God, your God, and diligently keep everything in this Revelation. And do this so that their children, who don’t yet know all this, will also listen and learn to live in holy awe before God, your God, for as long as you live on the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”

14–15  God spoke to Moses: “You are about to die. So call Joshua. Meet me in the Tent of Meeting so that I can commission him.”

So Moses and Joshua went and stationed themselves in the Tent of Meeting. God appeared in the Tent in a Pillar of Cloud. The Cloud was near the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

16–18  God spoke to Moses: “You’re about to die and be buried with your ancestors. You’ll no sooner be in the grave than this people will be up and whoring after the foreign gods of this country that they are entering. They will abandon me and violate my Covenant that I’ve made with them. I’ll get angry, oh so angry! I’ll walk off and leave them on their own, won’t so much as look back at them. Then many calamities and disasters will devastate them because they are defenseless. They’ll say, ‘Isn’t it because our God wasn’t here that all this evil has come upon us?’ But I’ll stay out of their lives, keep looking the other way because of all their evil: they took up with other gods!

19–21  “But for right now, copy down this song and teach the People of Israel to sing it by heart. They’ll have it then as my witness against them. When I bring them into the land that I promised to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they eat and become full and get fat and then begin fooling around with other gods and worshiping them, and then things start falling apart, many terrible things happening, this song will be there with them as a witness to who they are and what went wrong. Their children won’t forget this song; they’ll be singing it. Don’t think I don’t know what they are already scheming to do, and they’re not even in the land yet, this land I promised them.”

22  So Moses wrote down this song that very day and taught it to the People of Israel.

23  Then God commanded Joshua son of Nun saying, “Be strong. Take courage. You will lead the People of Israel into the land I promised to give them. And I’ll be right there with you.”

24–26  After Moses had finished writing down the words of this Revelation in a book, right down to the last word, he ordered the Levites who were responsible for carrying the Chest of the Covenant of God, saying, “Take this Book of Revelation and place it alongside the Chest of the Covenant of God, your God. Keep it there as a witness.

27–29  “I know what rebels you are, how stubborn and willful you can be. Even today, while I’m still alive and present with you, you’re rebellious against God. How much worse when I’ve died! So gather the leaders of the tribes and the officials here. I have something I need to say directly to them with Heaven and Earth as witnesses. I know that after I die you’re going to make a mess of things, abandoning the way I commanded, inviting all kinds of evil consequences in the days ahead. You’re determined to do evil in defiance of God—I know you are—deliberately provoking his anger by what you do.”

30  So with everyone in Israel gathered and listening, Moses taught them the words of this song, from start to finish.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, December 20, 2025

by 

Bill Crowder

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Matthew 1:18-25

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.

Today's Insights

Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). John’s gospel describes His incarnation in this way: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The concept that God is with His people can be seen throughout the Bible. It’s the theme of Psalm 46, where the repeated refrain is: “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (vv. 7, 11). The psalm concludes with this tender appeal to those facing loneliness or any other life challenge: “Be still, and know that I am God” (v. 10). Whatever we’re facing today, God is with us, and we’re never alone.

With Us in Our Loneliness

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Henry David Thoreau described a city as a place where many people are “lonesome together.” Those words have the ring of truth. In my youth, songs like “Mr. Lonely,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Eleanor Rigby” focused on isolation and loneliness. In recent years, the pandemic was one of the most isolating seasons the world has known. And social media can feed that loneliness, giving us connection without relationship. Perhaps loneliness is the new pandemic.

As Matthew shared the story of the birth of Jesus (1:18-25), he told us, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet [Isaiah]: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’) ” (vv. 22-23). Ponder that for a moment. God with us!

As believers in Jesus, we’re never alone. We’ve been born again into the family of Christ, a family that spans the globe and the ages. The apostle Paul said, “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Ephesians 2:19). We’re loved by the ever-present God, who said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Whatever you’re facing today, your heavenly Father is present with you. Allow Him to help you as you step into life’s uncertainties and challenges. He’s with you.

Reflect & Pray

When have you felt lonely? When experiencing this sense of isolation, how do you respond to it?

Thank You, Father, that because of Your abiding presence, I’m never alone.

Discover more about being lonely by reading Alone Instead of Lonely by Reclaim Today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, December 20, 2025

The Right Lines of Work

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. — John 12:32

Very few of us have any understanding of why Jesus Christ died. It wasn’t out of sympathy. If sympathy is all that human beings require, then Christ’s cross was a farce; there was no need for it. But the cross was necessary. What the world needs isn’t just a little bit of love, as so many preach today; it’s a surgical operation.

When you are face–to–face with a soul in spiritual difficulty, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If the soul you’re counseling can get to God by some path other than the cross, then the cross is unnecessary. If you’re holding out your own sympathy as that other path, you’re a traitor to Jesus Christ. You have to keep your soul rightly related to God and pour out for others in the way he has designated, not in the human way of sympathy and understanding. The dominant note in spiritual guidance today is amiable religiosity; we have to avoid this, or we ignore God and his gospel.

The one thing New Testament workers have to do is exhibit Jesus Christ crucified, to lift him up all the time. Any doctrine that isn’t embedded in the cross will lead astray. When we believe in Jesus Christ and base our message on the reality of redemption, the people we talk to will inevitably be concerned by what we say. The thing that remains and deepens is the worker’s simple relationship to Jesus Christ. Our usefulness to God depends on that and that alone.

God’s workers can’t be poetic; we have to be surgical. Our calling is to uncover sin and reveal Jesus Christ as savior, not to give beautiful discourses. We have to go deep when we preach to others, as deep as God has gone with us. We have to be discerning in sensing which Scriptures will bring the truth straight home to another soul, and then apply them fearlessly.

Micah 1-3; Revelation 11

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him. 

The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L