Proverbs 9 and daily devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: An Invitation

In Joshua Chapter 1 God said, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night that you may observe to do all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success."

Gods word to Joshua is Gods word to us! I invite you to join me at GloryDaysToday.com for a 4-week journey in a Glory Days Scripture Memorization Challenge to memorize a verse a week.

Start with Joshua 1:9- the reminder that God has given you power. Then 2 Timothy 3:16-17- Scripture is a weapon useful in all situations. John 1:12- a reminder to inherit your inheritance. And then Joshua 21:43-45- the reminder that God fights for you, in the power of Gods Word, to face down every stronghold that stands against us!

From Glory Days

Proverbs 9

Lady Wisdom Gives a Dinner Party

9 1-6 Lady Wisdom has built and furnished her home;

    it’s supported by seven hewn timbers.

The banquet meal is ready to be served: lamb roasted,

    wine poured out, table set with silver and flowers.

Having dismissed her serving maids,

    Lady Wisdom goes to town, stands in a prominent place,

    and invites everyone within sound of her voice:

“Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on?

    Come with me, oh come, have dinner with me!

I’ve prepared a wonderful spread—fresh-baked bread,

    roast lamb, carefully selected wines.

Leave your impoverished confusion and live!

    Walk up the street to a life with meaning.”

* * *

7-12 If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you’ll get slapped in the face;

    confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins.

So don’t waste your time on a scoffer;

    all you’ll get for your pains is abuse.

But if you correct those who care about life,

    that’s different—they’ll love you for it!

Save your breath for the wise—they’ll be wiser for it;

    tell good people what you know—they’ll profit from it.

Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-God,

    insight into life from knowing a Holy God.

It’s through me, Lady Wisdom, that your life deepens,

    and the years of your life ripen.

Live wisely and wisdom will permeate your life;

    mock life and life will mock you.

Madame Prostitute Calls Out, Too

13-18 Then there’s this other woman, Madame Prostitute—

    brazen, empty-headed, frivolous.

She sits on the front porch

    of her house on Main Street,

And as people walk by minding

    their own business, calls out,

“Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on?

    Steal off with me, I’ll show you a good time!

    No one will ever know—I’ll give you the time of your life.”

But they don’t know about all the skeletons in her closet,

    that all her guests end up in hell.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion 

Monday, September 14, 2015

Read: Matthew 21:28-32

Parable of the Two Sons

28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”

They replied, “The first.”[a]

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

Footnotes:

21:29-31 Other manuscripts read “The second.” In still other manuscripts the first son says “Yes” but does nothing, the second son says “No” but then repents and goes, and the answer to Jesus’ question is that the second son obeyed his father.

INSIGHT:

Matthew 21 describes several events in the life of Christ. This chapter opens with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (vv. 1-11) followed by the cleansing of the temple (vv. 12-17) and the cursing of the fig tree (vv. 18-22). Then the parable of the two sons follows a debate with the religious leaders about Jesus’ authority (vv. 23-32). It is this issue that forms the context of the parable, for it deals with how the sons responded to authority. The son who did his father’s wishes was the one who honored his father. Bill Crowder

Words and Actions

By Dave Branon

Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

The email from the student in my college writing class expressed urgency. It was the end of the semester, and he realized he needed a better grade to participate in sports. What could he do? He had missed some assignments, so I gave him two days to complete those papers and improve his grade. His response: “Thank you. I’ll do it.”

Two days—and the deadline—passed, and no papers appeared. He didn’t back up his words with action.

Jesus told about a young man who did something similar. The boy’s dad asked him to do some work in the vineyard. The son said, “I will, sir” (Matt. 21:30). But he was all talk and no action.

In commenting on this parable, Matthew Henry concluded: “Buds and blossoms are not fruit.” The buds and blossoms of our words, which breed anticipation of what we might do, are empty without the fruit of our follow-through. Jesus’ main application was to religious leaders who spoke of obedience yet refused to follow through with repentance. But the words apply to us as well. It is in following God “with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18)—not in making empty promises—that we honor our Lord and Savior.

Our actions in obeying God show Him more love, honor, and praise than any empty words we might say to try to appear good.

Dear Father, help me to follow through on my promises to You and to all who depend on me. Especially help me to do Your will and not just talk about it.

Words are the blossoms, action the fruit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, September 14, 2015

Arguments or Obedience

…the simplicity that is in Christ.  —2 Corinthians 11:3

Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and…every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).

Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, September 14, 2015

When Idols Crash - #7481

Ive lived long enough to see a lot of crashes. Not cars or planes - people. Actually, we see it in the news all too often dont we? Sometimes it happens to our teams that we root for. My football team, for example in the NFL went one year from the Super Bowl to a very embarrassing losing season. They had been at the top of the heap and they ended up at the bottom the next year. But weve watched heroes crash havent we; pastors, Christian leaders, politicians, judges, athletes? We see it all the time. In fact, maybe youve heard some crashes in your own life.

Im Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Idols Crash."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 5. Now, the Ark of God is where the presence of God was located in the Old Testament. So, remember that as we read this word, "After the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, they took it to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagons temple and set it beside Dagon. (Thats their god.) When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained."

Well, heres the idol, Dagon, the center of the Philistines worship. Theyd pinned their hopes on him, or it, and it kept falling over. I mean, what do you expect though, when you put that idol next to the Lord himself? The idol just couldnt stand up. Idols never can. They all eventually crash, leaving only God for us to worship.

Its interesting that the Apostle John concludes his book of 1 John written to Christians with this word, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." See, theres a tendency for us, even as Christians, to unintentionally make gods out of earthly things and earthly people. No, its not a statue in the closet. You dont burn incense. It just becomes the main focus of your time, your energy, your planning, your money. And every idol either has let you down or is about to. Thats why we keep hearing the crashes of idols.

I remember several years ago in the middle of an economic earthquake, how my friends on Wall Street would say, "Ron, we always thought we were depending on the Lord until this happened. And then we find out what we were really depending on. And when it let us down, we were a mess."

There is a man who has given so much to his career and his institution, only to be suddenly attacked by the people hes given so much for. Again, something was crashing. The dad whos worked and planned so hard for his son to receive a top honor, only to watch him lose it in the final round. He said, "Ron, it was the death of a dream."

See, our idols are subtle. Your career can become your focus, your children can, a position you really want, maybe someone youre in love with, a financial goal, a home, a dream - just an idolatrous dream you have. And instead of it revolving around God, youve drifted into having God revolve around it. It is an idol.

The First Commandment said, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Either it has crashed, it is crashing, or it will crash. It has to, so youll come back to where you started; depending on, living for the Lord Christ alone. The hymn writer said it so well, "The dearest idol I have known; help me tear it from the throne."

It hurts to have an idol crash, but its a loss that will bring you back to Gods best. Your idol will crash; it has to. But thats okay. When it does, the only God worth worshiping is there for you, beckoning for you to come back home.

Proverbs 8 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: God Surrounds Us

God surrounds us like the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. He is everywhere:  above, below, on all sides. We choose our response—rock or sponge? Resist or receive? Everything within you says, harden your heart. Run from God, resist God, blame God.

But be careful.  Hard hearts never heal.  Spongy ones do! Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence.  Here’s how. Lay claim to the nearness of God. He says in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Grip this promise like the parachute it is. Repeat it over and over until it trumps the voices of fear. The Lord God is with you, and He is mighty to save. Cling to His character.  Quarry from your Bible a list of the deep qualities of God and press them into your heart. He is sovereign. You will get through this!

From You’ll Get Through This

Proverbs 8

The Message

Lady Wisdom Calls Out

8 1-11 Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?

    Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?

She’s taken her stand at First and Main,

    at the busiest intersection.

Right in the city square

    where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,

“You—I’m talking to all of you,

    everyone out here on the streets!

Listen, you idiots—learn good sense!

    You blockheads—shape up!

Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well,

    I’m telling you how to live at your best.

My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth—

    I can’t stand the taste of evil!

You’ll only hear true and right words from my mouth;

    not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.

You’ll recognize this as true—you with open minds;

    truth-ready minds will see it at once.

Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money,

    and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.

For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth;

    nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

12-21 “I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;

    Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.

The Fear-of-God means hating Evil,

    whose ways I hate with a passion—

    pride and arrogance and crooked talk.

Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics;

    I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.

With my help, leaders rule,

    and lawmakers legislate fairly;

With my help, governors govern,

    along with all in legitimate authority.

I love those who love me;

    those who look for me find me.

Wealth and Glory accompany me—

    also substantial Honor and a Good Name.

My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;

    the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.

You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk—

    at the intersection of Justice Avenue,

Handing out life to those who love me,

    filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

22-31 “God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—

    before he did anything else.

I was brought into being a long time ago,

    well before Earth got its start.

I arrived on the scene before Ocean,

    yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.

Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,

    I was already there, newborn;

Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,

    and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,

And set Sky firmly in place,

    I was there.

When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,

    built the vast vault of Heaven,

    and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,

When he drew a boundary for Sea,

    posted a sign that said no trespassing,

And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,

    I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.

Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,

    always enjoying his company,

Delighted with the world of things and creatures,

    happily celebrating the human family.

32-36 “So, my dear friends, listen carefully;

    those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.

Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;

    don’t squander your precious life.

Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,

    awake and ready for me each morning,

    alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.

When you find me, you find life, real life,

    to say nothing of God’s good pleasure.

But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;

    when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 13, 2015

Read: John 3:13-19

3 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[a] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[b]

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[c] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

Footnotes:

3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him.
3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave.

INSIGHT:
Jesus spoke of Himself as “the Son of Man” (John 3:13), a title used exclusively to refer to Himself in the Gospels. In today’s passage, Jesus used it synonymously with “God’s one and only Son” (v. 18; see Matt. 26:63-64). Jews who were familiar with the book of Daniel would have recognized Jesus as the Messiah (see Dan. 7:13-14). Although “Son of Man” is a Messianic title, Jesus often used it in connection with His humiliation and suffering and His dying on the cross (Matt. 12:40; 17:9,12,22; Luke 9:22,44; 18:31-33; John 3:14-16). Making a typological reference to the bronze snake in Number 21:4-9, Jesus said that He too would be lifted up and anyone who looks to Him will not die but have eternal life (John 3:14-15). Sim Kay Tee

God So Loved . . .

By Marion Stroud

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

July 28, 2014, marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. In the British media many discussions and documentaries recalled the start of that 4-year conflict. Even the TV program Mr. Selfridge, which is based on an actual department store in London, included an episode set in 1914 that showed young male employees lining up to volunteer for the army. As I observed these portrayals of self-sacrifice, I felt a lump in my throat. The soldiers they depicted had been so young, so eager, and so unlikely to return from the horror of the trenches.

Although Jesus didn’t go off to war to defeat an earthly foe, He did go to the cross to defeat the ultimate enemy—sin and death. Jesus came to earth to demonstrate God’s love in action and to die a horrendous death so that we could be forgiven of our sins. And He was even prepared to forgive the men who flogged and crucified Him (Luke 23:34). He conquered death by His resurrection and now we can become part of God’s forever family (John 3:13-16).

Jesus came to earth to demonstrate God’s love in action.
Anniversaries and memorials remind us of important historical events and heroic deeds. The cross reminds us of the pain of Jesus’ death and the beauty of His sacrifice for our salvation.

Dear Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You left Your home in heaven, came to earth, and willingly went to the cross for me. Thank You for paying the penalty for my sins and forgiving me.

The cross of Jesus is the supreme evidence of the love of God. Oswald Chambers

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 13, 2015


After Surrender— Then What?

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. “…another will gird you…” (John 21:18; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Luke 24:36-53, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We Don't Know Enough

God is the One who judges. We don't know enough! We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn't see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk but cannot see the tack in her shoe. Only one who has followed yesterday's steps can be their judge. Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. How can you dismiss a soul until God's work is complete? Philippians 1:6 says, "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again."

Be careful! A stammering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next.  Don't call Noah a fool. You may be asking him for a lift. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:5, "Do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes."

From In the Grip of Grace

Luke 24:36-53

While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.

41–43  He asked, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.

You’re the Witnesses

44  Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”

45–49  He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”

50–51  He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven.

52–53  And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, September 12, 2026

by James Banks

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

James 1:2-12

Faith Under Pressure

2–4  Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

5–8  If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

9–11  When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don’t ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that’s a picture of the “prosperous life.” At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.

12  Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

Today's Insights

Jesus is the greatest example of one who persevered under trial. Hebrews instructs us to “[Fix] our eyes on [him], the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2). The Greek word translated “endured” (hypomeno) is rendered “perseveres” in James 1:12: “Blessed is the one who perseveres.” What’s in view in both usages is hopeful endurance. The anticipation of God-honoring, soul-strengthening outcomes calls for “joy” (v. 2) even in the midst of our challenges. Because navigating life’s difficulties can be hard, we’re invited to ask God for wisdom (v. 5) and trust that He’ll bring good out of our trials.

For further study, listen to the following podcast: A Trust Trial

Persevering into Joy

Blessed is the one who perseveres. James 1:1

Nestled in a corner of the brick steps leading up to our front door is a hardy little scarlet begonia. We didn’t plant it—it must have grown there from a seed that fell out of a hanging basket. But we’ve let it remain. Year after year it’s a cheerful reminder to my wife and me that perseverance is a beautiful thing.

James offers even more beautiful encouragement to persevere, especially to those facing opposition for their faith in Jesus: “Consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3).

Pure joy? We balk at those words, but the apostle is looking forward to the truth that God is over everything and is able to bring good out of even difficult circumstances. James completes the thought: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because . . . that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (v. 12). The word blessed is the same word Jesus uses in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), and it carries the meaning—among other things—of “happy.”

Whatever we face, including spiritual battles and life’s hard challenges, God will sustain us in His love and will one day mercifully reward us with the beauty of His joy.

Reflect & Pray

How does it help you to know that God is able to ?bring good out of our most challenging circumstances? ?What do you most look forward to from Him today?

Thank You for persevering to the cross for me, dear Jesus. You bring the greatest happiness of all!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Spiritual Confusion

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. — Matthew 20:22

Sometimes in our life with God, there is spiritual confusion. At such times, it’s no use saying there shouldn’t be confusion. Confusion isn’t a question of right and wrong. It’s a question of God taking you down a path you don’t understand. The only way you’ll get at what God wants is to keep going through the confusion until you reach clarity.

The hiding of his friendship. “Suppose you have a friend . . .” (Luke 11:5). Jesus tells the story of a man who seemed not to care for his friend. Sometimes, Jesus says, that is how your heavenly Father will appear. In your confusion, you will think he’s an unkind friend, but he is not. Don’t give up. Remember, Jesus is the one who said, “Everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:8).

The shadow on his fatherhood. “Which of you fathers . . .” (Luke 11:11). Jesus says there are times when your Father will appear like an unloving father, but he is not. If a shadow covers the face of your Father just now, rest in confidence that he will ultimately reveal his purposes and will justify himself in everything he has permitted. Often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller communion.

The strangeness of his faithfulness. “In a certain town there was a judge . . .” (Luke 18:2). At times, Jesus says, your Father will look like an unjust judge, but he is not. Stand firm in the belief that what Jesus says is true, and remember that God has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you ask. The time is coming, Jesus says, when we shall see perfectly clearly. Then the veil will be lifted, the shadows will disappear, the confusion will go, and we will begin to understand the friendship, the fatherhood, and the faithfulness of God with regard to our own lives.

Proverbs 13-15; 2 Corinthians 5

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them.

Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

Proverbs 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD - September 11, 2026

Immediately after the Mount Carmel experience, Elijah instructed Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain” (1 Kings 18:41 NIV). But then we read that the sky was cloudless. How do we explain his announcement? I found the answer in the Hebrew word that is translated sound. Elijah was choosing to hear God’s covenant and disregard the circumstances.

The circumstances: the silent sky, the blazing sun, dearth of clouds. The promise of God, the words spoken to Elijah, said, “Pull out your umbrella.” Elijah chose to hear the “voice” of God’s promise.

What about us? Multiple times each day, we choose the message we follow. Are we reeling from the problems, or are we standing on God’s promises? 

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 7

Dressed to Seduce

1–5  7 Dear friend, do what I tell you;

treasure my careful instructions.

Do what I say and you’ll live well.

My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!

Write it out on the back of your hands;

etch it on the chambers of your heart.

Talk to Wisdom as to a sister.

Treat Insight as your companion.

They’ll be with you to fend off the Temptress—

that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.

6–12  As I stood at the window of my house

looking out through the shutters,

Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,

I spotted a young man without any sense

Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,

then turning up the path to her house.

It was dusk, the evening coming on,

the darkness thickening into night.

Just then, a woman met him—

she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.

Brazen and brash she was,

restless and roaming, never at home,

Walking the streets, loitering in the mall,

hanging out at every corner in town.

13–20  She threw her arms around him and kissed him,

boldly took his arm and said,

“I’ve got all the makings for a feast—

today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,

So now I’ve come to find you,

hoping to catch sight of your face—and here you are!

I’ve spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed,

colorful imported linens.

My bed is aromatic with spices

and exotic fragrances.

Come, let’s make love all night,

spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!

My husband’s not home; he’s away on business,

and he won’t be back for a month.”

21–23  Soon she has him eating out of her hand,

bewitched by her honeyed speech.

Before you know it, he’s trotting behind her,

like a calf led to the butcher shop,

Like a stag lured into ambush

and then shot with an arrow,

Like a bird flying into a net

not knowing that its flying life is over.

24–27  So, friends, listen to me,

take these words of mine most seriously.

Don’t fool around with a woman like that;

don’t even stroll through her neighborhood.

Countless victims come under her spell;

she’s the death of many a poor man.

She runs a halfway house to hell,

fits you out with a shroud and a coffin.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, September 11, 2026

by Nancy Gavilanes

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Psalm 30:2-13

God, my God, I yelled for help

and you put me together.

God, you pulled me out of the grave,

gave me another chance at life

when I was down-and-out.

4–5  All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God!

Thank him to his face!

He gets angry once in a while, but across

a lifetime there is only love.

The nights of crying your eyes out

give way to days of laughter.

6–7  When things were going great

I crowed, “I’ve got it made.

I’m God’s favorite.

He made me king of the mountain.”

Then you looked the other way

and I fell to pieces.

8–10  I called out to you, God;

I laid my case before you:

“Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead?

auction me off at a cemetery yard sale?

When I’m ‘dust to dust’ my songs

and stories of you won’t sell.

So listen! and be kind!

Help me out of this!”

11–12  You did it: you changed wild lament

into whirling dance;

You ripped off my black mourning band

and decked me with wildflowers.

I’m about to burst with song;

I can’t keep quiet about you.

God, my God,

I can’t thank you enough.

Today's Insights

Psalm 30 is a psalm of praise for the way God had delivered and healed David (vv. 1-3, 9-11). But as commentators Jacobson and Tanner put it, the psalm isn’t just a psalm of praise, but “a psalm about praise” calling hearers to “a complete life of praise.” It’s God’s merciful and restoring character that gives His people reason to live a life of praise (vv. 4-5). To be abandoned by God would be to be “silenced” (v. 9). But God won’t abandon us and instead comforts us in our sorrow and turns our “wailing into dancing” (v. 11); therefore, we have reason to “praise [Him] forever” (v. 12). Today, when we’re experiencing sorrow and pain, we can praise Him and turn to Him for comfort.

For further study, read: Past Rescure, Present Song

Divine Comfort

Weeping may stay for the night, ?but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

The sound of the cascading water confirmed that I’d arrived at the 9/11 Memorial Pools in New York City, a place I’d avoided visiting for fear of being overwhelmed by sadness and grief from what took place there that tragic day in 2001. I walked around the two large reflection pools located where the Twin Towers once stood. It was deeply moving to see all the names of those who died etched on the walls—some with roses placed on them by loved ones.

I was in Manhattan on the morning of 9/11 but thankfully not near the World Trade Center. Still, as a native New Yorker, the tragedy hit too close to home. I was finally at Ground Zero, yet I wasn’t overcome by sorrow or fear. I felt peace as I stood there and recalled God’s sustaining grace. That peace was a gift from the God who knows how to comfort us.

As we read the Psalms, we see that David experienced sorrow, fear, and grief as well as divine comfort. In Psalm 30, he writes, “I called to you for help, and you healed me” (v. 2). “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (v. 5). God turned David’s “wailing into dancing” and “removed [his] sackcloth and clothed [him] with joy” (v. 11).

When we’re feeling overwhelmed with sorrow, loss, or pain, let’s turn to the God of all comfort, who is close to the brokenhearted, and give thanks to Him as David did: “Lord my God, I will praise you forever” (v. 12).

Reflect & Pray

When have you experienced God’s comfort? How can you receive His comfort today?

Dear God, thank You for Your comfort.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, September 11, 2026

Ministering as Opportunity Surrounds Us

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. — John 13:14

Ministering as opportunity surrounds us doesn’t mean choosing our surroundings; it means ministering wherever God places us. The characteristics we manifest now, in our immediate surroundings, show God what we’ll be like in other surroundings.

It takes all of God’s power in me to do commonplace things in the way God would do them. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, he was performing work of the most menial and commonplace kind, yet the way he performed it made it holy. Can I use a towel in the way Jesus used a towel? Towels and dishes and all the other ordinary stuff of life reveal what I’m made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty in me to do my chores in the way they ought to be done.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). Watch the kind of people God brings around you. You will be humiliated to discover that this is his way of revealing to you the kind of person you’ve been to him. He is telling you to treat the people in your life as he has treated you. “Oh,” you say, “I’ll treat people as I should when I’m out ministering in the world.” That would be like trying to produce the munitions of war in the trenches; you’d be killed while you were doing it.

We have to go the second mile with God. Some of us get worn out in the first ten yards, because God compels us to go where we cannot see the way. “I’ll wait to obey until I get nearer the big crisis,” we say. We have to obey now. If we don’t practice walking steadily in the little things, we will do nothing in the crisis.

Proverbs 10-12; 2 Corinthians 4

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, September 11, 2026

There When You Fall - #10350

Scripture:  Lamentations 3:19

I happened to be there when my friend, Rick, tried a jet ski for the first time. Now, you may have seen those little water machines that look kind of like a baby snowmobile, and they’re a lot of fun. But it takes some skill to stay balanced on them as they start to take off across the water. Rick actually handled it pretty well for a while; he’s a good water skier, and that didn’t surprise me. But it was inevitable that he would eventually fall off. I expected that when he hit the water, that jet ski was going to take right off without him across the water. I wondered how he’d ever get back! It didn’t happen. That jet ski is designed to start going in a circle near you, and it did, and it circles until you can get back on. Well, that’s exactly what you need when you fall off.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “There When You Fall.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Lamentations 3, and we’re going to begin reading at verse 19. Now, you probably were not discussing Lamentations over breakfast this morning, but Jeremiah wrote it. It follows this long book that’s named after him. Of course, he’s a great man of God, but he’s a great man of God who knew about failure too. In fact, here’s what he says; maybe some things you and I can relate to. I’m sure we can. Beginning with Lamentations 3:19 and then ending with a phrase that you may have sung in church many times.

“I remember my affliction in my wandering…” Can you relate to that? He says, “the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them.” See, his mind is playing back failures. “My soul is downcast within me,” he says. “This really gets me depressed,” in other words. “Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope.” Okay, the sun’s coming up now. “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”

Jeremiah is reflecting on times when even the most committed of us believers fall off, so to speak, as my friend fell off that jet ski. And he captures the feelings very well. “When I fail my Lord I feel discouraged, I feel depressed, sometimes like, ‘What’s the use?’ But every new day, every morning His compassions do not fail, His mercies are new every morning. Every new day I find my Lord circling near me to pick me up even though I fell off.”

The prophet Zephaniah says, “Every new day, He does not fail.” Yes, when I looked at how that jet ski operated, I couldn’t help but think of how our Lord deals with us. It could be that even now you’re feeling crushed by a feeling of failure; you’ve let your Lord down, you’ve let yourself down, and you’ve let other people down. And maybe you feel like you’re just going to stay down. In fact, at times like these your feelings are telling you, “Hey, you fell off! And you know what? The Lord’s going on without you, buddy!” Wrong. “His mercies are new every morning.”

Jeremiah said, “My hope is every new day is a new start. Great," he says of God, "is Your faithfulness.” Not great is our faithfulness; great is His faithfulness. So, no failure needs to last more than 24 hours. Because there’s a new day, and there’s new mercies.

Today your Lord is there, circling faithfully. See, He stopped when you fell off, and He’s been lovingly waiting to pick you up and to get you off to a fresh new start.

Proverbs 6 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: TRUST THE PROMISE - September 10, 2026

What tragedy has rendered your life a desert? Has God allowed a season of dryness to come your way? Then learn from the life of Elijah. He trusted the promise despite the predicament.

The predicament? Drought. The promise? It appears in 1 Kings 18:1 (NKJV): “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” God had set a limit upon the predicament, and Elijah knew it was just a matter of time before the rain returned.

Do you know the same? “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NLT). The Bible never guarantees the absence of a drought, but it emphatically assures that the drought will not end in eternal defeat.Explore Christian Books

Unbreakable Courage

Proverbs 6

Like a Deer from the Hunter

1–5  6 Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor

or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,

If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back

and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,

Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess.

You’re in that man’s clutches!

Go, put on a long face; act desperate.

Don’t procrastinate—

there’s no time to lose.

Run like a deer from the hunter,

fly like a bird from the trapper!

A Lesson from the Ant

6–11  You lazy fool, look at an ant.

Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.

Nobody has to tell it what to do.

All summer it stores up food;

at harvest it stockpiles provisions.

So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?

How long before you get out of bed?

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

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

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

poverty your permanent houseguest!

Always Cooking Up Something Nasty

12–15  Riffraff and rascals

talk out of both sides of their mouths.

They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet,

they cross their fingers behind their backs.

Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty,

always stirring up trouble.

Catastrophe is just around the corner for them,

a total smashup, their lives ruined beyond repair.

Seven Things God Hates

16–19  Here are six things God hates,

and one more that he loathes with a passion:

eyes that are arrogant,

a tongue that lies,

hands that murder the innocent,

a heart that hatches evil plots,

feet that race down a wicked track,

a mouth that lies under oath,

a troublemaker in the family.

Warning on Adultery

20–23  Good friend, follow your father’s good advice;

don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.

Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;

wear them like a scarf around your neck.

Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;

whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;

when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.

For sound advice is a beacon,

good teaching is a light,

moral discipline is a life path.

24–35  They’ll protect you from wanton women,

from the seductive talk of some temptress.

Don’t lustfully fantasize on her beauty,

nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.

You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread,

but a wanton woman may well eat you alive.

Can you build a fire in your lap

and not burn your pants?

Can you walk barefoot on hot coals

and not get blisters?

It’s the same when you have sex with your neighbor’s wife:

Touch her and you’ll pay for it. No excuses.

Hunger is no excuse

for a thief to steal;

When he’s caught he has to pay it back,

even if he has to put his whole house in hock.

Adultery is a brainless act,

soul-destroying, self-destructive;

Expect a bloody nose, a black eye,

and a reputation ruined for good.

For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband;

wild for revenge, he won’t make allowances.

Nothing you say or pay will make it all right;

neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, September 10, 2026

By Kirsten Holmberg

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Proverbs 13:18-22

Refuse discipline and end up homeless;

embrace correction and live an honored life.

19  Souls who follow their hearts thrive;

fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.

20  Become wise by walking with the wise;

hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.

21  Disaster entraps sinners,

but God-loyal people get a good life.

22  A good life gets passed on to the grandchildren;

ill-gotten wealth ends up with good people.

Today's Insights

In the book of Proverbs, people are often contrasted using categories such as wise or foolish, good or bad, honorable or shameful. Generosity is a characteristic of those who are “good.” Generous people desire to benefit those who’ll outlive them: “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children” (13:22). The Proverbs teach us some dimensions of giving that are unexpected. For example, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty” (11:24). Another insight is that God takes our generosity to others personally: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord” (19:17 esv; see 14:31). Believers in Jesus view money as an investment in God’s work and His people rather than a commodity to consume. And that’s the posture of a blessed person. There’s a mystery to giving that requires participation to fully appreciate. As God supplies our needs, we can choose to live generously toward others.

For further study, listen to this webinar: Christian Generosity

Legacy of Generosity

A good person leaves an inheritance ?for their children’s children. Proverbs 13:22

Though we didn’t live in the same state as my maternal grandparents, I’m grateful to have known them as well as I did. They traveled regularly to Colorado to see us, and we enjoyed visits with them in California. As my sister and I became adults, our conversations with our grandparents expanded from playful childhood topics to include more serious discussion of finances. They explained to us that they wanted to share their resources with us while they were alive but that most of their estate would be given to charity at their passing.

My grandparents were, indeed, quite generous to us over their lifetimes. When they died, I was genuinely proud to see their remaining resources given to others. When I compare their real-life example with the words recorded in Proverbs 13:22, that “a good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children,” I see their legacy to me from a broader perspective. We aren’t to live selfishly but instead care for those coming after us.

We won’t all have financial wealth to pass on to future generations. Yet in choosing to live generously toward others with whatever resources we have, even if just time and attention, our children (and theirs) receive a precious inheritance: a legacy of generosity. As we depend on God for our needs, we’re able to share both our faith and our resources with others.

Reflect & Pray

Whose example of faithful, generous living benefited you? How might you extend practical help to others today?

Dear Father, please help me to live generously.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Worshipping as the Occasion Arises

I saw you while you were still under the fig tree. — John 1:48

We imagine that we’ll rise to the occasion when a big crisis comes along. But a big crisis only reveals what we’re made of; it doesn’t put anything new into us. Are you telling yourself that you’ll do what’s necessary if God gives the call? You won’t—not unless you’re already rising to the occasion. You have to be the real thing with God before the big event, in the workshop of your private life with him.

Every day, God is giving you small, seemingly insignificant things to do, things which may go entirely unnoticed by the world. If you don’t believe God has engineered these things and therefore you aren’t using them as opportunities for worship, you’ll be revealed as unfit when the crisis comes. Crises always reveal character.

A private worshipping relationship with God is the great essential of spiritual fitness. The time will come when you have to step out from “under the fig tree”—out from your sheltered, private place—and go forth into the glare and the crowd. If you haven’t been worshipping in private, as the occasion arises, you’ll find you have no value to God in the outside world. But if you have been worshipping in private, you will be ready when God sends you out, because in the unseen life—the life no one saw but God—you’ve become perfectly fit. When the strain arrives, God will know he can rely on you.

Do you think you have no time for worshipping or praying or reading the Bible? Do you say to yourself, “I can’t be expected to live a worshipful life in the circumstances I’m in right now; my opportunity hasn’t come yet. When it does, of course I’ll be ready”? You won’t be. If you haven’t been worshipping where you are right now, as the occasion arises, then in the crisis you’ll be useless to yourself and an enormous hindrance to those around you. The workshop of the disciple’s life is the hidden, personal time spent worshipping God.

Proverbs 8-9; 2 Corinthians 3

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. 

My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, September 10, 2026

The High Price of Neglect - #10349

Scripture:  Proverbs 27:23-24

It was the house Grandma and Granddad built with a little help from their granddaughter, who happened to turn out to be my wife. That was many years ago. Grandma and Granddad are gone, and the house was in the hands of renters for a number of years. And the landlord, my wife's dad, lived hours away, and his age and his health prevented him from keeping up with what was happening. And man, I'll tell you, the house and the land around it, not good stuff was happening. When he deeded that house to the rest of the family, they weren’t really pleased with what had happened over the years. The house was run down; the carpet was infested with bugs; fences had been moved. And nobody in the family had to do anything to accumulate this mess. All we had to do was do nothing.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The High Price of Neglect.”

And who is that silent thief? He has a name. His name is neglect. He doesn't make much noise, but he sure steals a lot from you. Since the family began to own the house, they've been working very hard to recover what that silent thief stole.

Our word for today from the Word of God is a warning against this silent thief. Proverbs 27:23-24 say, "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks; give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations." So God's saying, "Take good care of what's important to you. What you don't take care of, you may very well lose."

People end up with major health problems; not always because they do terrible things to their body, but because they just let their body go. But neglect is even more damaging in your important relationships.

It may be that in that spinning gerbil wheel of your busy life, someone you love is suffering from neglect. You haven't done anything bad to your mate or child, or maybe your parents. You just haven't done much. Remember, neglect is the silent thief. Slowly, but very surely, intimacy is lost, trust is lost, communication, closeness. Believe me, we saw what neglect did to a house. The longer you let things go, the harder it's going to be to get it fixed. It may be time for a priority check; time to bring those that you love and those you need the most back from the margins and back into the center.

Tragically, the most important relationship in your life can atrophy through neglect - your relationship with God. You may not have done something awful. You're just slowly pushing Jesus to the edges of your schedule and your life.

And on that day when you go into eternity, as we all will, if you miss heaven will it be because of the silent thief? He will have stolen from you the greatest treasure of all—eternal life. By getting you to miss a personal relationship with Jesus just by never getting around to beginning that relationship.

That's why God's book says, "How shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). Many people will spend eternity away from God, not because they rejected what Jesus did on the cross, but because they simply neglected it. They put it off, they made excuses. They postponed God. This "great salvation" is what Jesus did by loving you so much He died to pay your death penalty for your sin. But that salvation isn't your salvation until you tell Jesus you’re putting your total trust in Him like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard as their only hope.

So, let me ask you, "When did you do that with Jesus?" If you never have, and you don't want to risk losing the heaven that Jesus died to give you, would you give yourself to Him today? Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." This would be the day to go to our website and get that information that will help you secure that relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com.

I’ve known too many people who waited one day too long to get to Jesus, and that neglect stole their eternity. Don't walk by Jesus any more. No, run into His waiting arms.

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.