Proverbs 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LET US WORSHIP - September 9, 2026

On Mount Carmel, in full view of 850 false prophets, “Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:30).

Why? Why did the prophet rebuild the altar? Because it was a tool of worship. Do we long to see revival? Then let us begin at the altar.

Why does worship matter? Simple. The devil wants the top spot. When you worship God, when you publicly praise Jehovah in song and sacrament, Satan is defeated. He has no recourse to a worshipping church—none. When we sing, angels stand. When we pray, demons flee. When we look to God, heaven hearkens to listen, and hell hurries to leave. Wonder happens when God’s people worship.

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 5

Nothing but Sin and Bones

1–2  5 Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom;

listen very closely to the way I see it.

Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense;

what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.

3–6  The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet,

her soft words are oh so smooth.

But it won’t be long before she’s gravel in your mouth,

a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.

She’s dancing down the primrose path to Death;

she’s headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.

She hasn’t a clue about Real Life,

about who she is or where she’s going.

7–14  So, my friend, listen closely;

don’t treat my words casually.

Keep your distance from such a woman;

absolutely stay out of her neighborhood.

You don’t want to squander your wonderful life,

to waste your precious life among the hardhearted.

Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you?

Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you?

You don’t want to end your life full of regrets,

nothing but sin and bones,

Saying, “Oh, why didn’t I do what they told me?

Why did I reject a disciplined life?

Why didn’t I listen to my mentors,

or take my teachers seriously?

My life is ruined!

I haven’t one blessed thing to show for my life!”

Never Take Love for Granted

15–16  Do you know the saying, “Drink from your own rain barrel,

draw water from your own spring-fed well”?

It’s true. Otherwise, you may one day come home

and find your barrel empty and your well polluted.

17–20  Your spring water is for you and you only,

not to be passed around among strangers.

Bless your fresh-flowing fountain!

Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!

Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—

don’t ever quit taking delight in her body.

Never take her love for granted!

Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore?

for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?

21–23  Mark well that God doesn’t miss a move you make;

he’s aware of every step you take.

The shadow of your sin will overtake you;

you’ll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark.

Death is the reward of an undisciplined life;

your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, September 09, 2026

by Karen Pimpo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Luke 14:15-24

The Story of the Dinner Party

15  That triggered a response from one of the guests: “How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God’s kingdom!”

16–17  Jesus followed up. “Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table.’

18  “Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses. The first said, ‘I bought a piece of property and need to look it over. Send my regrets.’

19  “Another said, ‘I just bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out. Send my regrets.’

20  “And yet another said, ‘I just got married and need to get home to my wife.’

21  “The servant went back and told the master what had happened. He was outraged and told the servant, ‘Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and wretched you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.’

22  “The servant reported back, ‘Master, I did what you commanded—and there’s still room.’

23–24  “The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.’ ”

Today's Insights

In the first century, feast invitations played a role in establishing and promoting social status. Invitations were typically extended to people at the same level of social standing or slightly lower. For someone’s banquet invite to be rejected by his peers (Luke 14:17-18) would’ve been humiliating, and responding to such rejection by inviting those far below the host’s own social class (vv. 21-23) would’ve been unheard of. In Jewish thought, God’s kingdom was often portrayed as a banquet (see Isaiah 25:6-9). Through this parable, Jesus challenged His listeners’ focus on securing social status (Luke 14:7). He emphasized that God’s kingdom is expansive and includes everyone. All who receive Him by faith are welcomed into His kingdom.

For further study, read: Having A Personal Relationship With God

God’s Open Invitation

Compel them to come in, ?so that my house will be full. Luke 14:23

Before my close friend’s wedding, we meticulously set the table for two hundred guests at the reception. With joyful anticipation we spent hours folding napkins, aligning cutlery, straightening tablecloths, and arranging flowers. After putting in all that work, we couldn’t wait for guests to arrive and enjoy it! But when many seats remained empty, we were sorely disappointed.

Jesus shared a similar story with some Pharisees as they ate together (Luke 14:15-20). He described a man who lovingly planned a great banquet for many people, but few attended and gave flimsy excuses. The man was angry at their rejection. He extended his invitation to society’s outcasts, “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame” (v. 21). When there was still room, his servants went even further abroad to “compel [others] to come in” (v. 23).

This parable reminds us that many of God’s chosen people refused Jesus as their Messiah and rebuffed His invitation into His kingdom (John 1:11). To continue God’s plan to save the world despite their rejection, He opened His invitation to the gentiles, people not of Jewish heritage. All who receive Jesus by faith are welcome to God’s kingdom banquet, regardless of whether the world thinks they’re worthy. The invitation is still open today.

Reflect & Pray

What do you think the guest list to God’s kingdom banquet looks like? How can we spread the good news?

Dear Jesus, thank You for making a way for me to experience a personal relationship with You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, September 09, 2026

Determinedly Discipline Other Things

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience. — 2 Corinthians 10:5–6

These verses point to the strenuous nature of Christian discipleship. Paul writes that he takes every thought captive, knowing that “every act of disobedience” to Christ will be punished. So much Christian activity today has never been disciplined in the way Paul describes; it has simply sprung into being on impulse. In our Lord’s life, every project was disciplined according to the will of his Father. There was not a single impulsive movement of the Son’s own will apart from his Father’s: “Whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).

Think how different we are from the example set by Jesus. We start projects because we’ve had a vivid religious experience and felt the thrill of inspiration, not because we’re living in obedience to God’s will. We’d rather take impulsive action than be imprisoned and disciplined to obey Christ, because we overvalue practical work. Meanwhile, disciples who aren’t caught up in busywork and who do bring every project into captivity for the Lord are criticized and told they’re not sincere about God or souls.

True sincerity is found in obeying God, not in obeying the inclination to serve him; obeying an inclination is born of an undisciplined human nature. It’s inconceivable yet true that many Christians are motivated to work for God by their own human nature, a nature which has never been spiritualized by determined discipline.

We are prone to forgetting that, as Christians, we must be committed to Jesus Christ not only for salvation but for his point of view. We must commit ourselves to Jesus Christ’s view of God, of the world, of sin, and of the devil. When we do, we will understand that we have a responsibility to renew our minds, so that they may be transformed and brought into complete captivity for him.

Proverbs 6-7; 2 Corinthians 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence. 

Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, September 09, 2026

The Healing Power of Making a Difference - #10348

Scripture:  Proverbs 11:24-25

Bob was one senior who was a tremendous blessing to our ministry. He’d been the kind of volunteer who had been there for every kind of project you could imagine. His whole life—it seems like he’s been a warrior for the Lord. But then, he had some illnesses and an accident that slowed him down—even to the point of walking with a cane and honestly looking a little more stooped than usual. We asked him if he could help oversee this important remodeling project at our Headquarters. Before we could finish the tour of the area that needed work, Bob was spouting out ideas about how it could be done. Later I actually saw Bob in the hallway—walking tall, walking fast, without his cane, like a man half his age!

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Healing Power of Making a Difference.”

A new spark, a new spring in his step–what made this almost overnight difference in our friend? At least in part, I think it was the prospect of making a difference again! He was re-energized by having a mission. You know what? That might be just what the doctor—I mean, The Doctor—ordered for someone who’s listening right now.

In Proverbs 11:24-25, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible spells out this healing power of making a difference for other people. Here’s what it says. “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

When you’re all focused on yourself, your world is small, your hurts are big, you’re claustrophobic, you’re sometimes bitter and self-pitying. But when you’re focused on people who need you, on things you can do to make a difference, it’s literally life-giving. Jesus described this strange but ever-true equation: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it” (Luke 9:24).

Hold onto your life, you lose it. Give your life away, you find it. I’ve seen that proven true from teenagers to people way up in years. We all need a mission. It begins by looking around your world and asking this great question, “Who needs me around here? Who can I help with what I know? Who can I help with what I’ve been through?” Often we’re looking for someone to help us instead of someone to help. We’re focused on who could meet our needs instead of whose needs we could help meet. And we’re miserable. Nobody wants to come to our pity parties, and life looks ugly because we keep looking through a dirty window, and that window is called “It’s all about me.”

Maybe it’s time for you to think more about “giving your life away”—about a mission you could become involved in. You might have some very real limitations, some hurts, some handicaps. But there is someone you can help with what you know; whether it’s in person, or letters, or emails, or texts, or with the phone. At least you can tell them about your Jesus and help them be in heaven with you.

A young man once wrote to Mother Teresa, and he was asking how he could have the kind of significance with his life that she was experiencing as she ministered to dying people in Calcutta’s worst slums. She wrote back just a four-word reply: “Find your own Calcutta.” That’s the answer. Find a place where you are needed, where you can pour yourself into someone other than yourself, into something bigger than yourself. And, when you do, prepare to experience the awesome healing power of making a difference!

John 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SERVE THE LORD ONLY - September 8, 2026

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) reads, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Our enemy is the devil. At the end of this age, his time will end. Until then, expect our Father to show up. He will not sit still while Satan harms his creation.

Our days are as dark as were the days of Elijah. Our God is as alive as he was in the days of Elijah. Dare we dream of a renewal that silences the stewards of Satan and reveals them for the frauds they are? Let’s imitate Elijah: Serve the Lord only! God wasn’t one of his options. God was his only option.

Unbreakable Courage

John 21

Fishing

1–3  21 After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.”

3–4  The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him.

5  Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?”

They answered, “No.”

6  He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.”

They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in.

7–9  Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!”

When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.

10–11  Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip.

12  Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master.

13–14  Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.

Do You Love Me?

15  After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16  He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”

17–19  Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”

20–21  Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?”

22–23  Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?”

24  This is the same disciple who was eyewitness to all these things and wrote them down. And we all know that his eyewitness account is reliable and accurate.

25  There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, September 08, 2026

by Patricia Raybon

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Philippians 1:27; 2:1-4

Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news,

He Took on the Status of a Slave

1–4  2 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Today's Insights

Paul made the appeal for unity among brothers and sisters in Jesus (Philippians 1:27) from a context of factions and persecution. As he wrote, he was imprisoned, yet he said, “What has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel” (v. 12). He noted that some were “[preaching] Christ out of selfish ambition” (v. 17). He knew his own life was in danger (v. 20), and he warned his hearers that they’d also face opposition (vv. 27-28). Yet he knew they’d “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel” (v. 27). Their behavior needed to contrast with those whose motivation was prideful (2:3). Any suffering they might endure would serve to enhance their unity. Such courage and unity only take place through the power of the Holy Spirit. He guides us and helps us grow in fellowship with one another.

For further study, read: Give Me Jesus

What a Fellowship

Stand firm in the one Spirit. Philippians 1:27

Rachel “church hopped” for three years before finding a Bible study group that provided what she couldn’t find in a traditional church—community. Rachel is Deaf. Around the world, many Deaf people face similar worship challenges. Her house church nurtures community by watching a Deaf church service on YouTube, discussing the teaching with each other, and then sharing a meal. The small group provides the Spirit-led church family Rachel craves.

The apostle Paul explains what makes a church a community: the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Writing from prison, he urged this connection to the church at Philippi. His hope, in part, was to encourage spiritual unity in a congregation he’d formed and loved.

“Stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one,” Paul urged (Philippians 1:27). He added, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, . . . then make my joy complete by being like-minded” (2:1-2).

So don’t be selfish, he said, “not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (vv. 3-4). Those wise words can guide all church families. By the power of God’s Holy Spirit, our communities can serve Him in harmonious fellowship with each other.

Reflect & Pray

How do you sense the Holy Spirit working in your life? ?How can God’s Spirit help you grow His fellowship in your church?

Dear God, in a sometimes-unloving world, please inspire me to follow Your Holy Spirit’s leading to help build communities that reflect You.?For further study, read Give Me Jesus: Philippians 2 at odbm.org.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, September 08, 2026

Determinedly Demolish Some Things

Demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. —  2 Corinthians 10:5

Deliverance from sin isn’t deliverance from human nature. There are certain things in human nature, such as prejudice, which the Christian has to destroy by neglect; we have to flat-out refuse to give these things air. Other things we have to hand over to God, then stand still and witness the power of his salvation.

But there are also things which have to be destroyed by violence—by drawing on the divine strength imparted to us by God’s Spirit. Any theory or idea that raises itself up against the knowledge of God has to be determinedly demolished, not through fleshly effort or compromise but by drawing on his power. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Only when God has altered our disposition and we have entered into the experience of sanctification can this fight begin. Our fight isn’t against sin. We can never fight against sin; sin is Jesus Christ’s domain, and he deals with it through redemption. The war we must fight is the war of turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never easily done, nor does God intend it to be easily done. It’s done only through a series of moral choices. God doesn’t make us holy in the sense of instantly giving us a good character. He makes us holy in the sense of imparting innocence. It’s up to us to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices.

These choices are continually in conflict with the entrenched habits of our natural lives—the pretensions and arguments that raise themselves up against the knowledge of God. We can refuse to make the moral choice, knowing that if we do, we’ll be of no account in his kingdom. Or we can determinedly demolish every pretension, and let Jesus bring us to glory.

Proverbs 3-5; 2 Corinthians 1 

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ. 

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, September 08, 2026

You, God, and the Wall - #10347

Scripture:  Isaiah 59:2

I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but there were a lot of rumors in college that I was behind some practical jokes and pranks that happened while I was there. That’s hard to imagine, huh? I mean, it probably wouldn’t come as a total surprise to some of those folks if finally I ended up in the penitentiary. Fortunately, my sentence was only about four hours, because I did end up at Alcatraz. Yep! Now, we had taken some young people out to that famous prison in the middle of San Francisco Bay to do a special radio program. Of course, it’s been some years since any prisoners were held there on what they called The Rock, but it is still quite a place to see. While we were there, we experienced this awful claustrophobia of being locked in one of those little cells; the isolation of being in solitary confinement. For the closing segment of the program, we walked out of one of the prison gates and down to the rocks outside that overlook the bay. One of the young people with us was walking out with me, and he made quite an observation, because it was really a tremendously commanding view. He said, “Just think, there was only a wall between them and all this beauty.”

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “You, God, and the Wall.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is about just such a wall; one which may be keeping you from the beauty you were made for. Our word for today from the Word of God is Isaiah 59:2. It says, “Your iniquities" - that’s all the times that we’ve done things our way instead of God’s way. "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you.” Separation—that was the feeling we felt so strongly at Alcatraz. A person there was, in simple words, cut off from love, from freedom, from a beautiful world.

In a sense, God is saying here that we are all prisoners in our own personal Alcatraz—cut off from Him, from His love, from His peace, His heaven, which may account for an incurable loneliness you’ve experienced over the years. It turns out we’re lonely for God, because our sin has built a wall between us and our Creator. In fact, you may very well have not needed me to realize that there’s a wall between you and God. You knew that. You can feel it. You’ve felt it for a long time. Well, if that wall doesn’t come down in time, it becomes a death sentence; separation from God that is irreversible and eternal.

The wall that separates you from the beauty that God wants you to have can come down, but not because of anything you or I can do about it. Somehow, our sins have to be removed and forgiven, and the death penalty has to be paid by someone who takes our place. In 1 Peter 3:18, the Bible says “Christ died for our sins…the righteous" - that’s Him - "for the unrighteous" - that’s you and me - "to bring you to God.” What Jesus did on the cross was to take your rap. You did the sinning, Jesus did the dying. Which means the wall can come down the moment you put your total trust in Jesus to erase your sins from God’s book and give you eternal life in place of eternal death.

When the door opened that day in the prison we were in, we were so anxious to leave behind that darkness and that loneliness and to finally step out to where we could breathe free and enjoy the beauty just beyond the wall. That’s exactly what God wants you to experience today. He wants the wall between you and Him to come down, and it can upon your invitation.

This could be the day when you say, “Lord, I believe that some of those sins you were dying for on that cross were mine. I turn from the running of my own life. You were meant to run it, and you will from now on. You came back from the dead, You are alive, and Jesus, because you died on the cross for me, I am Yours.” That’s the moment the wall will come down and you will experience all God has for you.

Our website is here and it is prepared for you to go to right now and be sure you belong to Jesus Christ. Would you check it out? It's ANewStory.com.

Today you’re at the door. Jesus is on the other side waiting to lead you out. Follow Him, because it is really beautiful on the other side of the wall.

Proverbs 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DECEIVE NO MORE - September 7, 2026

1 Kings 18:40 (NIV) reads, “Elijah commanded them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!’ They seized them, and Elijah had them…slaughtered there.”

This moment does not sit well in our modern, westernized mindset. Elijah, a man of God, brandishing a sword and executing several hundred men? Except for the fact that these weren’t just men; they were disciples of the devil. They were demonic in their devotion to the cause of hell, all in the name of God.

In the final days, as recorded in Revelation 20:3 (NKJV), God will “cast him [Satan] into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more.”

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 4

Your Life Is at Stake

1–2  4 Listen, friends, to some fatherly advice;

sit up and take notice so you’ll know how to live.

I’m giving you good counsel;

don’t let it go in one ear and out the other.

3–9  When I was a boy at my father’s knee,

the pride and joy of my mother,

He would sit me down and drill me:

“Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live!

Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding!

Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch!

Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life;

love her—she keeps her eye on you.

Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!

Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!

Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;

never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.

She’ll garland your life with grace,

she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”

10–15  Dear friend, take my advice;

it will add years to your life.

I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,

I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road.

I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys,

or wasting time making wrong turns.

Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip.

Guard it well—your life is at stake!

Don’t take Wicked Bypass;

don’t so much as set foot on that road.

Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth.

Make a detour and be on your way.

16–17  Evil people are restless

unless they’re making trouble;

They can’t get a good night’s sleep

unless they’ve made life miserable for somebody.

Perversity is their food and drink,

violence their drug of choice.

18–19  The ways of right-living people glow with light;

the longer they live, the brighter they shine.

But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—

travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

Learn It by Heart

20–22  Dear friend, listen well to my words;

tune your ears to my voice.

Keep my message in plain view at all times.

Concentrate! Learn it by heart!

Those who discover these words live, really live;

body and soul, they’re bursting with health.

23–27  Keep vigilant watch over your heart;

that’s where life starts.

Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;

avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.

Keep your eyes straight ahead;

ignore all sideshow distractions.

Watch your step,

and the road will stretch out smooth before you.

Look neither right nor left;

leave evil in the dust.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, September 07, 2026

by Dave Branon

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Psalm 32:6-8

These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;

when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts

we’ll be on high ground, untouched.

7  God’s my island hideaway,

keeps danger far from the shore,

throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

8  Let me give you some good advice;

I’m looking you in the eye

and giving it to you straight:

Today's Insights

Psalm 32 is one of seven penitential psalms (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), where the petitioner confesses his sins and turns to God for forgiveness. David penned Psalm 51 after repenting from his sins of adultery and murder (see 2 Samuel 11-12), and many scholars believe this was also the context for the writing of Psalm 32. The psalmist speaks of his heavy burden of guilt (vv. 3-4) and the joy of receiving God’s forgiveness (vv. 1-2). David notes the importance of confession of sin (v. 5) rather than stubbornly resisting like “the horse or the mule” (v. 9). God will deal graciously with the contrite and repentant, for “the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (v. 10). He’s promised us His watchful guidance and loving care: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (v. 8).

For further study, listen to the Evening Meditations Podcast: The Lord Sees You

God’s Loving Eye

I will instruct you and teach you in the ?way you should go; I will counsel you ?with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8

My wife, Sue, and I had just finished walking five miles across the Mackinac Bridge, which links Michigan’s two peninsulas. This annual Labor Day event in the United States is a tradition in our state dating back to 1958. We grabbed a seat on a park bench to rest. A man sat down next to us to catch his breath as well. Soon his wife and adult daughter joined him, and we learned that their family—also believers in Jesus—had suffered through the death of a teenage girl just as we did many years ago.

Together we were able to share how God has sustained us and given us strength and faith through the years. It was amazing to think that among the 33,000 walkers that day, we found a family that understood our hearts.

Two families with similar stories ending up together in a sea of people. It sounds a little like something that can happen only because of what God told King David in Psalm 32. After David expressed his appreciation to God for protection and deliverance, he got this encouraging word from Him: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (v. 8 nkjv).

God watches over His children, and He brings them together because they need each other. It’s another indication that “the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (v. 10).

Reflect & Pray

When have you experienced something that reminded you that God has His loving eye on you? What does His unfailing love mean to you?

Dear God, thank You that You’re real and that You’re always watching over me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, September 07, 2026

Springs of Irrepressible Life

The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. — John 4:14

In John 4:14, our Lord doesn’t speak of a trickle of water but of a mighty spring, swelling its banks. Be filled with this water, and the sweetness of a vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of you as lavishly as it is imparted. If you find that your life isn’t flowing out as it should, search for the reason. It’s certain you are to blame, because you have not kept right with the source. Does Jesus say that when you keep right with him, you will be personally blessed? No. He says that out of you will flow rivers of living water—irrepressible life.

Jesus wants us to be channels through which he can flow. He wants to use us to bring his rivers of living water in blessing to everyone we meet. Some of us are like the Dead Sea—always taking in and never giving out. If we stay rightly related to our Lord, then as surely as we receive from him, he will pour out through us. When he is not pouring out, it means something is wrong in our relationship with him.

Has something come between you and Jesus Christ? Has something hindered your belief in him? If not, then Jesus says out of you will flow rivers of living water. These waters are neither an experience nor a blessing passed on; they are a continually flowing river. Guard well your belief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to him, and there will be no dryness and no deadness, only a steady flow for other lives.

Do you find it extravagant to say that mighty rivers will flow out of you—an individual believer of no particular significance? Have you looked for the rivers in your life and failed to see them? In the history of God’s work, it has nearly always started from those who, though they were obscure, unknown, and ignored, were steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 1-2; 1 Corinthians 16 

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. 

The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, September 07, 2026

Getting Things Ready for God to Come - #10346

Scripture:  Acts 2:1-2

God blessed the Hutchcraft home with three very unique children. Anybody who knows them, nod your head now. Good…okay. I realize that’s three more than a number of families, some of whom would love to just have one child. We’ve had some friends tell us, “Ron, we’ve been trying to have children for three years,” or five years, or ten years. And today doctors do all they can to increase those possibilities. They’ll suggest times of the month when the baby would be most likely conceived; sometimes they’ll give you fertility drugs. And many a childless couple does all that they can to conceive a new life, and the way that they do that is just to create the conditions, to the best of their ability, in which the miracle could happen. Even though they can’t make it happen, they do their best to prepare for a life to begin.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Getting Things Ready for God to Come.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 2:1-2, and it records for us the most dramatic visit - Holy Spirit visit - in history. “When the day of Pentecost came,” it says, “they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” And you know from there it became even more exciting as the Holy Spirit changed the city of Jerusalem and launched a movement that has reached you and me today.

Maybe today you have a longing deep inside to have a special, personal touch from the Holy Spirit. You know you need one; maybe a touch of what they call revival. You don’t even know what the word means, but you’d love to experience some. You know you need a reviving work for the Holy Spirit, something new and fresh and more powerful than you’ve had before. Maybe it’s a supernatural provision for a God-sized need right now. It’s a healing touch, or a restoring touch.

Well, if you need a little personal Pentecost right now, you’re in the same situation in a way as the couple who wants a child. You can’t make the miracle happen; that’s up to God. But you can create the conditions that the Holy Spirit can respond to, and that’s exactly what these people did when this great Spirit visit happened at Pentecost.

In Acts 1:12 it says, “They returned to Jerusalem from a hill called The Mount of Olives and waited there.” And that’s exactly what Jesus had commanded them to do - to wait in Jerusalem. Verse 14: “They all joined together constantly in prayer.” See, the way you create the conditions for the baby to come, for the baby of revival to come, of healing, of God’s restoring touch, is first to obey: to do what the Lord told you to do, to wait patiently, to be in the place God has placed you. Be sure you are where He wants you to be.

Second step, you’ve got to pray. You obey and then you pray. And you notice it says, “They prayed constantly.” That means through the day, dialoging with God, and often saying to Him as you ride, as you walk, and as you’re in the middle of your responsibilities, “Lord, please give me that special touch.” Cry out to Him often, pray constantly for it. “Seek the Lord continually,” David said.

And thirdly it says, “They stayed together.” You obey, you pray, and you stay together. And you eliminate any walls between you and any other believers. Usually these kinds of Spirit-touches come from praying together. God comes to places where His kids are all together, persistently asking Him to come. It’s not a microwave revival. It’s from people who will wait, who will pray, who will stick together, who will pursue Him together passionately. Who will pay the price.

Pentecost doesn’t begin at a public meeting; it doesn’t begin at a planning meeting. It usually begins in a prayer meeting. So if you’re hungry for a new spiritual life to be conceived, create the conditions in which it happens and expect God to respond with the visit you sought.

Only you can create the conditions. Only God can send the revival. 

Proverbs 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  We Don’t Like to Wait

We don’t like to wait.  We’re the giddy-up generation. We frown at the person who takes eleven items to the ten-item express checkout. We drum our fingers while the microwave heats our coffee. “Come on, come on.”  We really don’t like to wait!

Look around you. Do you realize where we sit?  This planet is God’s waiting room. The young couple? Waiting to get pregnant. The guy with the briefcase?  Waiting for work. Waiting on God to give or to help.  Waiting on God to come. The land of waiting. And you? Are you in God’s waiting room?

You may be infertile or inactive, in limbo, in between jobs or in search of a house, spouse, health, or help. Here’s what you need to know. While you wait, God works! God never twiddles His thumbs. He never stops. Just because you’re idle, don’t assume God is. Trust Him.  In the right time, you’ll get through this.

From You’ll Get Through This

Proverbs 3

Don’t Assume You Know It All

1–2  3 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you;

take to heart my commands.

They’ll help you live a long, long time,

a long life lived full and well.

3–4  Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.

Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.

Earn a reputation for living well

in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.

5–12  Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;

don’t sulk under his loving correction.

It’s the child he loves that God corrects;

a father’s delight is behind all this.

The Very Tree of Life

13–18  You’re blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom,

when you make friends with Madame Insight.

She’s worth far more than money in the bank;

her friendship is better than a big salary.

Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth;

nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

With one hand she gives long life,

with the other she confers recognition.

Her manner is beautiful,

her life wonderfully complete.

She’s the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her.

Hold her tight—and be blessed!

19–20  With Lady Wisdom, God formed Earth;

with Madame Insight, he raised Heaven.

They knew when to signal rivers and springs to the surface,

and dew to descend from the night skies.

Never Walk Away

21–26  Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life;

don’t for a minute lose sight of them.

They’ll keep your soul alive and well,

they’ll keep you fit and attractive.

You’ll travel safely,

you’ll neither tire nor trip.

You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry,

you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.

No need to panic over alarms or surprises,

or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner,

Because God will be right there with you;

he’ll keep you safe and sound.

27–29  Never walk away from someone who deserves help;

your hand is God’s hand for that person.

Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”

or “Try me tomorrow”

when the money’s right there in your pocket.

Don’t figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor

when he’s sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.

30–32  Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder,

always spoiling for a fight.

Don’t try to be like those who shoulder their way through life.

Why be a bully?

“Why not?” you say. Because God can’t stand twisted souls.

It’s the straightforward who get his respect.

33–35  God’s curse blights the house of the wicked,

but he blesses the home of the righteous.

He gives proud skeptics a cold shoulder,

but if you’re down on your luck, he’s right there to help.

Wise living gets rewarded with honor;

stupid living gets the booby prize.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, September 06, 2026

by Marvin Williams

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Jude 1:20-23

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

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

Today's Insights

Because of the prevailing environment in Jude’s day—which included “ungodly” spiritual leaders who were promoting damaging doctrines (1:4)—he wrote an urgent, intense letter to believers in Jesus whom he addressed as “dear friends” (vv. 3, 17, 20), sometimes translated “beloved.” He strongly urged the believers “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (v. 3). The King James Version uses stronger language, rendering the Greek word epagonizomai as “earnestly contend.” It means “to struggle for,” “to exercise great effort and exertion for something.” It was used of athletic contests to describe the struggle and effort expended by the athletes. The faith refers to the teaching of Christ and the apostles that was believed and practiced by His followers. Today, God will help those who’ve heard and responded to the truth of Scripture to earnestly “contend for the faith,” remain faithful, and encourage others who are being deceived by false teachers.

For further study, read: Reclaiming Hope

Contending for the Faith

Save others by snatching them from the fire; ?to others show mercy, mixed with fear. Jude 1:23

A twenty-seven-year-old student studying in Japan had to be rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week! After being airlifted during his first climb due to dangerous conditions, he realized he’d left his phone and other belongings behind. Four days later, ignoring warnings, he returned to the mountain, only to need to be rescued again—this time suffering from altitude sickness. His story made headlines for its rarity but also because he’d knowingly trekked back into danger.

This account mirrors a spiritual reality—we often tend to head back to what God has rescued us from. Jude captures this tension in his little letter. Written to a church threatened by false teachers and moral compromises, he exhorted believers “to contend for the faith” (1:3), not just for themselves but for others too. Jude challenged them to snatch others “from the fire” (v. 23)—taking an active role in shielding struggling believers from false teachers. As believers in Jesus, we can’t simply stand back and watch others flounder and fail.

Today, God is calling us to rescue others and to resist returning to the place we were rescued from. His grace will rescue us more than once, but it also calls us to live like we’ve already been rescued. Through God’s strength, let’s contend for the faith and help others be built up in the “most holy faith” (v. 20).

Reflect & Pray

How can we show mercy to believers who doubt? ?What does it mean to show mercy mixed with reverent fear?

Dear God, please help me contend for the faith and help those experiencing doubt.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, September 06, 2026

Diffusiveness of Life

Rivers of living water . . . — John 7:38

A river touches places of which its source knows nothing. Jesus says that if we have received his fullness, it doesn’t matter how small the visible measure of our lives may be; out of us will flow rivers that will bless the farthest reaches of the earth. We have nothing to do with the outflow; it is the mighty work of God. God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing it is.

A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. It goes steadily along in its course, then comes to an obstacle and, for a while, is blocked. But it soon makes a pathway around. Or a river may drop out of sight for miles, then emerge again, broader and grander than ever. So it is with the Spirit of God.

Has an obstacle come into your life? Do you see God using others while you seem to be of no use? Keep paying attention to the source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all. Never focus on the obstacle or difficulty; the river is completely indifferent to anything in its path and will flow steadily through you when you remember to keep your sights on the source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ. Nothing—no emotion, no experience—must keep you from the one great source.

Think of the healing and far-flung rivers nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been awakening our minds to amazing truths, and each truth he awakens points to the wider power of the river he will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has nourished in you mighty torrents of blessings for others.

Psalms 148-150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

 

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

Proverbs 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Moral Absolutes

When I was nine years old, I complimented a friend’s model airplane. He said, “I stole it!”  He could tell I was stunned because he asked, “Do you think that was wrong?” When I told him I did, he answered simply, “It may be wrong for you, but it’s not wrong for me. I know the owner. He’s rich…I’m not.”

What do you say to that argument? If the majority opinion determines good and evil, what happens when the majority is wrong? A godly view of the world has something to say to my childhood thief. You may think it’s right. Society may think it’s okay. But the God who made you said, ‘You shall not steal’—and he wasn’t kidding. The hedonist’s world of no moral absolutes works fine on paper and sounds great in a college philosophy course, but in life? Paul described it best in Romans 1:21, “Their foolish minds were filled with darkness.”

From In the Grip of Grace

Proverbs 2

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.

They’ll keep you from making wrong turns,

or following the bad directions

Of those who are lost themselves

and can’t tell a trail from a tumbleweed,

These losers who make a game of evil

and throw parties to celebrate perversity,

Traveling paths that go nowhere,

wandering in a maze of detours and dead ends.

16–19  Wise friends will rescue you from the Temptress—

that smooth-talking Seductress

Who’s faithless to the husband she married years ago,

never gave a second thought to her promises before God.

Her whole way of life is doomed;

every step she takes brings her closer to hell.

No one who joins her company ever comes back,

ever sets foot on the path to real living.

20–22  So—join the company of good men and women,

keep your feet on the tried-and-true paths.

It’s the men who walk straight who will settle this land,

the women with integrity who will last here.

The corrupt will lose their lives;

the dishonest will be gone for good.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, September 05, 2026

by Monica La Rose

Numbers 22:22-23, 25-31

As he was going, though, God’s anger flared. The angel of God stood in the road to block his way. Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. When the donkey saw the angel blocking the road and brandishing a sword, she veered off the road into the ditch. Balaam beat the donkey and got her back on the road.

the donkey again saw God’s angel blocking the way and veered into the fence, crushing Balaam’s foot against the fence. Balaam hit her again.

26–27  God’s angel blocked the way yet again—a very narrow passage this time; there was no getting through on the right or left. Seeing the angel, Balaam’s donkey sat down under him. Balaam lost his temper; he beat the donkey with his stick.

28  Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: “What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?”

29  Balaam said, “Because you’ve been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now.”

30  The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you’ve ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?”

He said, “No.”

31  Then God helped Balaam see what was going on: He saw God’s angel blocking the way, brandishing a sword. Balaam fell to the ground, his face in the dirt.

Today's Insights

One wonders how Balaam, a non-Jewish prophet, knew about Yahweh, the one true God. Balaam had a reputation as an effective prophet; that’s why Midian’s King Balak commissioned him (Numbers 22:5-6). Yet even though God spoke to Balaam (v. 9), he wasn’t righteous. He later advised Midianite women to seduce Israelite men into sexual sin and idolatry (see 25:1-9; 31:15-16). We serve the God who can open the mouth of a donkey (22:28) and the eyes of a wicked prophet (vv. 31, 34). We can expect Him to open the eyes of those who trust Him and want to serve Him.

For further study, read: Who is Your Neighbor

When God Opens Our Eyes

The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times?” Numbers 22:32

In thirteenth-century France, legend has it that a knight left his baby boy at home guarded by his greyhound dog Guinefort. The knight returned to find chaos—the crib overturned, his son nowhere to be seen, and his hound’s mouth covered in blood. Assuming the dog had harmed his son, he killed it. Afterward, he found the body of a large snake covered in dog bites—and his son unharmed under the cradle. Guinefort had saved the baby’s life. The dog’s heroism and unjust fate so moved people that they misguidedly revered Guinefort as a saint.

Scripture records a similar incident, in which an animal was unjustly punished for protecting its owner. The prophet Balaam had been hired by the Moabite king to curse God’s people (Numbers 22:4-6). On Balaam’s journey, an “angel of the Lord . . . with a drawn sword” (v. 23) blocked his path. Balaam’s donkey, seeing the danger, avoided the angel twice—only to be beaten for his efforts (vv. 23, 25). When the donkey could no longer evade the angel, he refused to move and was again punished (vv. 26-27).

Finally, God enabled the donkey to speak and defend itself (vv. 29-30), and then He opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel and heed God’s instructions (v. 31-32).

We’re not likely to hear an animal talk back to us anytime soon, but God can still open our eyes in unexpected ways. When that happens, let’s be prepared to listen.

Reflect & Pray

When has God opened your eyes? How has that changed you?

Gracious God, please help me to hear and respond to Your leading.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, September 05, 2026

Keeping Watch

Watch with Me. — Matthew 26:38

When Jesus says, “Watch with me,” he is telling us to watch with no private point of view at all. In the early stages of our life with him, we do not watch with Jesus; we watch for him and expect him to watch with us. It takes us time to begin to view everything that happens in the way our Lord views it—through the revelation of the Bible.

Jesus asked his disciples to watch with him in the garden of Gethsemane, when peril was close at hand. In the same way, he comes to us, in some present-day Gethsemane where his honor is at stake, and says, “Watch with me.” He does this to teach us to identify ourselves with him and to see things from his perspective. But we will not. We say, “No, Lord. I can’t see the meaning of this. It’s too awful.”

If we don’t understand our Lord, if we don’t even know what his suffering is for, how can we ever watch with him? The disciples loved Jesus to the limits of their natural capacity, but they didn’t understand what he was after; they couldn’t grasp why his goal was to go to his death. In the garden of Gethsemane, they allowed themselves to be consumed by their own sorrow, and they fell asleep instead of keeping watch. At the end of three years of the closest intimacy with their Lord, “all the disciples deserted him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).

And yet, the disciples did eventually learn to watch with Jesus. How? After Gethsemane, a series of wonderful things happened. Our Lord died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven; he sent the Holy Spirit, telling his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). This is how the disciples were changed. On the day of Pentecost, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit” (2:4), and they learned to watch with Jesus for the rest of their lives.

Psalms 146-147; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be.

My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R

John 20:16-31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE LORD HE IS GOD - September 4, 2026

Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a duel on Mt. Carmel. He dared them to call on Baal to send fire. From morning to evening they cried. Satan had no response. With the prophets of Baal exhausted and defeated, Elijah “repaired the altar of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:30 NASB).

Twelve stones symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. They saturated the altar with water three times so that everything was soaked. Then Elijah prayed. He didn’t even request fire. But the Lord sent it. A blaze from heaven consumed the water, the rocks, the wood, even the dust. For the first time in three generations, the nation of Israel cried to Jehovah, “The Lord, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39 NASB).

Is it time for our generation to rebuild the altar?

Unbreakable Courage

John 20:16-31

Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!”

17  Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’ ”

18  Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her.

To Believe

19–20  Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.

20–21  The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”

22–23  Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”

24–25  But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”

But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”

26  Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”

27  Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”

28  Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”

29  Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”

30–31  Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, September 04, 2026

By Adam R. Holz

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 12:1-7, 10, 14

Discipline in a Long-Distance Race

1–3  12 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

4–11  In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,

but don’t be crushed by it either.

It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;

the child he embraces, he also corrects.

God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training,

While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.

Hebrews 12:14

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language

14–17  Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God.

Today's Insights

The original audience of the letter to the Hebrews were Jewish believers in Jesus who may have considered reverting back to Judaism or were straying toward false teachings (see 2:1-4; 3:1-4). Many scholars believe the book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in ad 70 because it includes references to Jewish ceremonies and sacrifices. Hebrews encourages believers to endure and hold fast to Christ (2:1-4; 3:7–4:13; 5:11–6:2). In chapter 11, known as the “Hall of Faith,” the author commends the many men and women of the Bible who lived by faith and sometimes died because of it. Therefore, because of their witness and example, believers in Jesus are prompted to “throw off everything that hinders” us—including sin—and “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (12:1). 

For further study, read: Sin is Awful, God is Gracious

Junk Files

Let us throw off everything that hinders ?and the sin that so easily entangles. Hebrews 12:1

My smartphone occasionally reminds me I’m not good at digital housekeeping. “Junk files are taking up space,” the message reads. “Delete 675MB of junk files.” Now, I dislike being nagged by my phone. But if I clean out those files, I’ve got more space for things that really matter. Then, when I’m at my daughter’s swim meet, for instance, I’ll have enough digital storage to actually shoot a video of her winning a race instead of unexpectedly realizing that those pesky “junk files” have sabotaged my ability to capture the moment.

Junk files on our phones are easy to delete. But what about the “junk files” in our souls? Like our phones, our souls can be clogged with stuff that keeps us from flourishing spiritually. The author of Hebrews understood this reality, encouraging us to pay close attention to anything that trips us up in our walk with God. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,” he writes, followed by this challenge: “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

What weighs you down? What trips you up? Hebrews encourages us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (v. 2), who alone can help us identify and delete the “junk files” that hinder our abundant life in Him.

Reflect & Pray

What most trips you up in your relationship with God? How does your faith help you identify and throw off sinful influences?

Dear Father, please give me the wisdom and courage to “throw off . . . the sin that so easily entangles” me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, September 04, 2026

His

They were yours; you gave them to me. — John 17:6

A disciple is one in whom the Holy Spirit has forged this realization: “I am not my own.” To say “I am not my own” is to have reached a point of great spiritual nobility. If I am a disciple, I make a sovereign decision to give myself over to Jesus Christ. Then the Holy Spirit comes in to teach me his nature. He teaches me this not so that I’ll hold myself apart from others, like a showroom exhibit of holiness, but in order to make me one with my Lord. Until I am made one with him, he won’t send me out. Jesus Christ waited until after the resurrection to send his disciples to preach the gospel, because only then did the power of the Holy Spirit come upon them, enabling them to perceive who Jesus Christ was and to become one with him.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children . . . such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t say, “Such a person cannot be a good and moral individual.” He says, “Such a person cannot be one over whom I write the word mine.” Any of the relationships Jesus mentions may be a competitive relationship. I may prefer to belong to my father or my mother, to my spouse or to myself. If I do, Jesus says I cannot be his disciple. This doesn’t mean I won’t be saved; it simply means I won’t be his.

“You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Our Lord makes his disciples his own possessions. He becomes responsible for them. The spirit the disciple receives isn’t the spirit of hard work or of doing practical things for Jesus. It’s the spirit of love and devotion, of being a perfect delight to him. The secret of the disciple is “I am entirely his, and he is carrying out his work through me.”

Be entirely his.

Psalms 143-145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

 

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, September 04, 2026

Orphan in Your Heart - #10345

Scripture:  John 14:18

As your parents get older, they love to tell those stories again, and again, and again. We’ve enjoyed hearing some of the family stories that my wife’s dad had to tell. And, you know what? It filled in a lot of blanks, as we tried to put together the history of the last couple of generations. We asked him once about that little girl named Ada. My wife’s grandfather, Granddad Glenn, had one child – her dad. And he wanted a sister! So, Granddad Glenn traveled from their small town to a major city to check out the adoption possibilities at an orphanage there. I don’t know if he was prepared for the reception he got there. Everywhere he went, children asked him if they could go home with him. But there was this one dark-haired, dark-eyed little girl who just would not leave his side. Her name was Ada. She wouldn’t let go of Granddad’s hand, and she kept looking up at him with her big brown eyes and begging him, “Please let me go home with you. Please take me.” He did. And my wife’s dad got his sister.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Orphan in Your Heart.”

The heart of an orphan desperately reaching for someone to love and take care of her. Maybe that’s a feeling you know even though you’re not physically an orphan. But life can get pretty lonely; relationships that were supposed to bring you love and happiness ended up bringing disappointment and hurt. You live enough years, there’s a good chance you end up feeling abandoned at some point, left out, rejected, alone – even with a lot of people around you.

And the biggest mistakes we make in our life are often mistakes we make for love. We keep reaching for a hand that might offer love and saying, “Take me. If you do, I’ll be OK.” But we’ve never really been totally OK. No love has ever been enough love, and sometimes we’ve paid too high a price to get someone to take us.

It’s this orphan feeling in the human heart that Jesus Christ speaks to in our word for today from the Word of God, recorded in John 14:18. He says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Jesus says, “I can give you the ‘never leave you’ love that your heart's always been hungry for.’” Actually, He’s the only one who can finally bring us spiritual orphans home.

The loneliness we just keep feeling is ultimately cosmic loneliness. We’re lonely for God. Why? Well, He made us for His love and we’ve left Him. It isn’t that we don’t have a Father. We feel like emotional and spiritual orphans because we’ve never begun a relationship with this Father who loves us so very much.

In Isaiah 53:6, God describes how we have missed His love. It says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” Our sin – our "my way" living has cut us off from the love we were made for, and only Jesus could bring us back. The rest of that verse says, “The Lord laid on him (that’s Jesus) the wrongdoing of us all.”

In other words, Jesus died on the cross, carrying all the guilt and all the hell of all your sin and mine. That’s why He cried out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Reason: He was cut off from His Father so you would never have to be cut off from Him again.

And now He’s reaching out His hand for you to offer you the relationship – the love you were made for. The question is, “Are you going to reach back?” Won't you grab the hand of Jesus and tell Him, “Lord, take me. You’re this orphan’s only hope. You died for me. I am yours. I want to be a child of the Heavenly Father, born into His family this day because of what You did on the cross for me.”

Listen, if that’s where your heart is, go to our website. It has all the information you need to confirm that you belong to God through Jesus. That website is ANewStory.com.

Your Heavenly Father has come to where you are today to bring you into His family, to bring you home to His love. Like a little orphan many years ago, reach up and say, “Take me.” Oh He will. And you will be an orphan no more.

Proverbs 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: TATTOOED ON GOD’S HAND - September 3, 2026

On the second day of the D-Day invasion, Leon was taken captive by the Nazis. While being marched to a POW camp, he and another soldier escaped. A farmer found them and put them in touch with the French underground. They took his US credentials and created a French ID card for him.

He made it back to the Allied camp. Yet with no American ID, he was suspected of being a spy. He rolled up his sleeve and said, “Would this prove I’m an American?” It was a tattoo of an eagle, and on its breast was an American flag with the word Mother written across it. That convinced them.

Sound familiar? God says, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16 NIV). Satan is vicious, but he will not be victorious. Why? Your name is tattooed on God’s hand.

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 1

WISE SAYINGS OF SOLOMON

A Manual for Living

1–6  1 These are the wise sayings of Solomon,

David’s son, Israel’s king—

Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,

to understand what life means and where it’s going;

A manual for living,

for learning what’s right and just and fair;

To teach the inexperienced the ropes

and give our young people a grasp on reality.

There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,

still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—

Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,

the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

Start with God

7  Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;

only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

8–19  Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you;

never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee.

Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair,

like rings on your fingers.

Dear friend, if bad companions tempt you,

don’t go along with them.

If they say—“Let’s go out and raise some hell.

Let’s beat up some old man, mug some old woman.

Let’s pick them clean

and get them ready for their funerals.

We’ll load up on top-quality loot.

We’ll haul it home by the truckload.

Join us for the time of your life!

With us, it’s share and share alike!”—

Oh, friend, don’t give them a second look;

don’t listen to them for a minute.

They’re racing to a very bad end,

hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on.

Nobody robs a bank

with everyone watching,

Yet that’s what these people are doing—

they’re doing themselves in.

When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens:

the more you get, the less you are.

Lady Wisdom

20–21  Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.

At the town center she makes her speech.

In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.

At the busiest corner she calls out:

22–24  “Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?

Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?

Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?

About face! I can revise your life.

Look, I’m ready to pour out my spirit on you;

I’m ready to tell you all I know.

As it is, I’ve called, but you’ve turned a deaf ear;

I’ve reached out to you, but you’ve ignored me.

25–28  “Since you laugh at my counsel

and make a joke of my advice,

How can I take you seriously?

I’ll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!

What if the roof falls in,

and your whole life goes to pieces?

What if catastrophe strikes and there’s nothing

to show for your life but rubble and ashes?

You’ll need me then. You’ll call for me, but don’t expect an answer.

No matter how hard you look, you won’t find me.

29–33  “Because you hated Knowledge

and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,

Because you wouldn’t take my advice

and brushed aside all my offers to train you,

Well, you’ve made your bed—now lie in it;

you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?

Don’t you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?

Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.

First pay attention to me, and then relax.

Now you can take it easy—you’re in good hands.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, September 03, 2026

By Karen Huang

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Deuteronomy 10:12-15

So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today—live a good life.

14–18  Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now.

Today's Insights

“Moses summoned all Israel” (Deuteronomy 5:1), and he began to publicly review the covenant God had made with His people. They were about to cross the Jordan River (Joshua 3), and Moses would soon step across a “metaphorical” Jordan into eternity (Deuteronomy 34:7). Much of his speech recounts Israel’s rebellion during their meandering forty-year journey out of Egypt (9:7-24). Even as he assured them of their future success in inhabiting the promised land, Moses warned, “It is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess” (v. 6). It was because God had chosen them, in spite of their failure: “They are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm” (v. 29). Because God was their God, Israel was to follow Him. Although His holiness can’t tolerate sin, His Spirit enables believers in Jesus today to “fear” Him, “[obey]” Him, and worship Him (10:12).

For further study, read: The Fear of the Lord

Reverent Fear of God

Fear the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 10:12

“I killed people in the past,” Tanitan said, “but ever since I chose to believe in Jesus Christ, He will not allow me to commit such practices anymore.” Tanitan, a member of the Ilongot tribe from the Sierra Madre mountains in the Philippines, came from a culture of head-hunting—the practice of hunting humans and severing their heads. In comparing his life before he knew God to his life now, Tanitan said, “Before, I was afraid to die but not afraid to kill. Now, I am afraid to kill but not afraid to die.”

As I read Tanitan’s story in the book To the Headhunters of Sierra Madre by Florentino Santos, I thought of how his newfound fear of or reverence toward God developed his desire to obey Him. I remembered Moses’ words to the Israelites before they entered the land God promised them: “What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 10:2). Reverence toward God was to be reflected in obedience to Him. God’s people were to “walk in obedience to Him, to love Him . . . and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees” (vv. 12-13).

As believers in Jesus, our deep respect for God’s holiness compels us to hate evil and do what pleases Him (Proverbs 8:13). Let’s ask Him to help us make reverence toward God a way of life.

Reflect & Pray

From today’s Scripture, how would you describe the “fear [of] the Lord”? Where do you find obeying God difficult, and how can the command to fear Him help you?

Holy God, please help me to experience reverent fear in Your presence.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, September 03, 2026

The Waters of Satisfaction Scattered

The three mighty warriors . . . drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord. — 2 Samuel 23:16

Have you recently received something that is like water from the well near Bethlehem? Has God given you love? Friendship? Spiritual blessings? It’s at the peril of your soul’s well-being that you use his gift to satisfy yourself. If you do, you cannot pour it out before the Lord. Remember that you can never sacrifice to God that with which you long to satisfy yourself. Satisfy yourself with one of his blessings and it will corrupt you. Rather, you must do what common sense says is an absurd waste and pour it out.

How am I to pour out before the Lord the love I receive from others? There’s only one way: through the determination of my mind. People may do certain things for me which are humanly impossible to repay, things I could never accept if I didn’t know God. Since I do know him, I am able to accept others’ loving acts because I know that God will repay them—so long as I give the thing back to him in my mind. I do this by saying, “This is too great and worthy for me; it’s not meant for a human being at all. I must pour it out.” The moment I commit something to the Lord, it will begin to flow in rivers of living water all around. If instead I hoard the love others give me, it will turn to poison. Love has to be transfigured by being poured out before the Lord.

Have you become bitter and sour because you have clutched one of God’s blessings for yourself? If instead you had poured it out to him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. God wants to use you to enlarge other people’s horizons. Get into the habit of immediately giving back to him everything he gives to you, and he will make you an immeasurable blessing to others.

Psalms 140-142; 1 Corinthians 14:1-20 

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, September 03, 2026

Spiritual Spectators - #10344

Scripture:  John 9:13

I guess I’m just too sensitive. I feel guilty when I walk in a store, knowing I’m not going to buy anything. And some bored salesperson sees me come in, and then you see that look of hope, that look of expectancy on their face, “At last I can justify my existence. At last I’ve got a customer! At last I can accomplish something. At last I can sell something.” And so they very pleasantly ask, “May I help you?” And then come those two most hated words to the ears of a salesperson, “Just looking.” Suddenly they lose all interest in me and they retire dejectedly back to their corner. Did I say I’m too sensitive? Well, I’ll tell you this, nobody ever gets very excited about someone who is just looking.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Spiritual Spectators.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 9. I’ll begin reading at verse 13. It’s the story of the man who had been born blind who Jesus healed. Now, Jesus has always been troubled by people who are just looking. For example in this passage, “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was the Sabbath. Therefore, the Pharisees also asked Him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes’ the man replied, ‘and I washed and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God for he does not keep the Sabbath.’”

This is amazing! You want to say to the Pharisees, “Guys, wake up! A man who could never see before was just healed! Do you understand what just happened?” And they are busy doing their theological analysis of the situation. They have no intention of buying into what Jesus is doing. They’re just looking. Everywhere Jesus performed miracles it seemed that there were two groups of people: the "expectors" who had faith, who wanted to get in on the supernatural and who did, and the "dissectors" who stood off with their arms folded and said, “What shall we call this? Where does this fit in our theology?” And they saw no miracle.

What bothers me is that the dissectors were the religious folks, the spiritual veterans, the Bible people. That’s me. That might be you. And they were always so busy analyzing

the miracle, they missed the miracle. You know, as you get more settled into Christian things and you know more Christian ideas, and hold more Christian jobs, a subtle numbness can start to grow inside of you. You go to church to watch God speak to others. You make spiritual events happen, but you stop letting them happen to you. You start to become a discusser of God’s working rather than an experiencer of His working. You used to have an experience now you just have knowledge.

You start to become critical of His leaders and their methods. Can you see that creeping sleep in your soul? Somewhere you stepped out of the middle of God’s life-changing work and you moved to the edges to watch, to analyze, to categorize, to criticize. Hey, it’s cold out there. You show up at God’s store, you look around, but you don’t buy into the wonder of it all. Why don’t you get back into the mainstream where the miracles are? Let God happen to you again, not just happen around you.

When Jesus is offering such supernatural merchandise, it would be a shame if you were just on the edges and just looking.