1 Kings 22 bible reading and devotionals.

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Max Lucado Daily: Once And For All Time

“We are made holy through the sacrifice Christ made in his body once and for all time.” Hebrews 10:10

The Son of God became the Lamb of God, the cross became the altar, and we were made holy through the sacrifice Christ made in His body once and for all time.

What needed to be paid was paid. What had to be done was done. Innocent blood was required. Innocent blood was offered, once and for all time. Bury those five words deep in your heart. Once and for all time.

1 Kings 22

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel had said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?”

4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”

6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”

8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.

9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”

10 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 11 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”

12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”

14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”

15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”

“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

17 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”

18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”

19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.

“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.

“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’

23 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from[c] the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.

25 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”

26 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”

28 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”

Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead

29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely this is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, 33 the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.

34 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 35 All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: “Every man to his town. Every man to his land!”

37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. 38 They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),[d] and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared.

39 As for the other events of Ahab’s reign, including all he did, the palace he built and adorned with ivory, and the cities he fortified, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 40 Ahab rested with his ancestors. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoshaphat King of Judah

41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43 In everything he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.[e] 44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel.

45 As for the other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 46 He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. 47 There was then no king in Edom; a provincial governor ruled.

48 Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships[f] to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber. 49 At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with yours,” but Jehoshaphat refused.

50 Then Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son succeeded him as king.

Ahaziah King of Israel

51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 52 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 53 He served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.



Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 139:1-16


For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Wonderfully Made

June 16, 2012 — by Albert Lee

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. —Psalm 139:14

When I was a child, someone close to me thought they could motivate me to do better by frequently asking me, “Why are you so stupid?” I didn’t know how much this had affected me until I was a teenager and heard someone behind me say, “Stupid!” At the word, I quickly turned around, thinking he was talking to me.

Knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord helped me to realize that because God created me in His image (Gen. 1:27), I’m not stupid but am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14). God declares that all He has made is “very good” (Gen. 1:31), and the Psalms remind us that we are “skillfully wrought” (Ps. 139:15).

The psalmist David describes how God knows each one of us intimately: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (vv.1-3).

Not only are we wonderfully made, but because of Christ’s death on the cross, we can also be wonderfully restored to a right relationship with God. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . . . All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17-18 NIV).

In His own image God created man,
He formed his body from the dust of the earth;
But more than that, to all who are in Christ
He gives eternal life by second birth. —Hess
Each person is a unique expression of God’s loving design.



My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 16, 2012

“Will You Lay Down Your Life?”

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. . . . I have called you friends . . . —John 15:13, 15

Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said to the Lord, “I will lay down my life for Your sake,” and he meant it (John 13:37). He had a magnificent sense of the heroic. For us to be incapable of making this same statement Peter made would be a bad thing— our sense of duty is only fully realized through our sense of heroism. Has the Lord ever asked you, “Will you lay down your life for My sake?” (John 13:38). It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways. There was only one bright-shining moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was there that He emptied Himself of His glory for the second time, and then came down into the demon-possessed valley (seeMark 9:1-29). For thirty-three years Jesus laid down His life to do the will of His Father. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). Yet it is contrary to our human nature to do so.

If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, “Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful.” And Jesus says to us, “. . . I have called you friends. . . .” Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honor is at stake in your bodily life.

1 Kings 21 bible reading and devotionals.

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MaxLucado.com:Joint Heirs

You’ve been claimed… adopted as God’s very own child!

Romans 8:29 says “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.”

Abandon you to a fatherless world?  No way.  Before you knew you needed adopting, he’d already filed the papers and selected the wallpaper for your room.

Those who have access to God’s family Bible can read your name.  He wrote it there.  He covered the adoption fees.  We don’t finance our adoption, but we do accept it.  And the moment we accept his offer, we go from orphans to heirs!

Romans 18:7 says “we’re heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”  No stepchildren or grandchildren.  You and Christ share the same will.  What he inherits, you inherit.

You are headed home!

From Come Thirsty

1 Kings 21

Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”

4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:

“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.[a] 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’

23 “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of[b] Jezreel.’

24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”

25 (There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)

27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 15:4-10

4 He said, "Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Won't he leave the 99 in the open country? Won't he go and look for the one lost sheep until he finds it? 5 When he finds it, he will joyfully put it on his shoulders 6 and go home. Then he will call his friends and neighbors together. He will say, 'Be joyful with me. I have found my lost sheep.'
 7 "I tell you, it will be the same in heaven. There will be great joy when one sinner turns away from sin. Yes, there will be more joy than for 99 godly people who do not need to turn away from their sins.

The Story of the Lost Coin

 8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. She will light a lamp and sweep the house. She will search carefully until she finds the coin. 9 And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors together. She will say, 'Be joyful with me. I have found my lost coin.'
 10 "I tell you, it is the same in heaven. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns away from sin."

Lost And Found

June 15, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

Rejoice with me, for I have found the [coin] which I lost! —Luke 15:9

Recently, I couldn’t find my credit card. I began frantically looking for it because losing a credit card is no small thing. Automatic payments and daily purchases would all be disrupted until it could be replaced. Not to mention the possibility of someone finding it and charging items to our account. What a relief it was when my wife found it on the floor under the computer table.

In Luke 15:8-10, Christ told the story of something that was lost—a valuable coin, which was equivalent to a day’s wages. The woman who lost the coin was so concerned about locating it that she lit a lamp, swept the house, and carefully searched until she found it. Then she told her friends “Rejoice with me, for I have found the [coin] which I lost!” (v.9). Then Jesus gave the point of the story: “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (v.10).

People are of great value to God. Those who don’t know Him are lost in their sins. Christ paid the ultimate price by dying on the cross for their redemption. Do you know people who are lost? Ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to share the good news with them so they can repent of their sins and be found by our gracious God.

The Lord has come to seek and save
A world that is lost in sin;
And everyone who comes to Him
Will be restored and changed within. —Sper
To be found, you must first admit that you’re lost.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 15, 2012

Get Moving! (2)

Also . . . add to your faith . . . —2 Peter 1:5

In the matter of drudgery. Peter said in this passage that we have become “partakers of the divine nature” and that we should now be “giving all diligence,” concentrating on forming godly habits (2 Peter 1:4-5). We are to “add” to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits— we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace. Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do. Yet, “Jesus . . . took a towel and . . . began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” (John 13:3-5).

We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks. The routine of life is actually God’s way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don’t always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God.

It is difficult for us to do the “adding” that Peter mentioned here. We say we do not expect God to take us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we do! I must realize that my obedience even in the smallest detail of life has all of the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I will do my duty, not for duty’s sake but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience all of the magnificent grace of God is mine through the glorious atonement by the Cross of Christ.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Supporting the Weak Spot - #6635

Friday, June 15, 2012

When our kids were growing up we occasionally had our own personal emergency room at our house! Our youngest son dislocated his ankle in football, so the doctor put an air cast on his ankle for about six weeks for support. Oh, and then the oldest son, yeah he had surgery for a knee injury that he got in sports. So they recommended that he wear a knee brace whenever he played a game where he had to pivot much. So, let's see. You've got your ankle cast; you've got your knee brace. It's all based on a simple principle that prevents further injury.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Supporting the Weak Spot."

Okay, our word for today from the Word of God is from Luke 4 where Jesus is in the desert. "He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written, man does not live on bread alone.'" And at that point He is quoting a Scripture that He has obviously memorized from Deuteronomy 8:3.

Okay, where was Jesus' weak spot there in the wilderness? Well, obviously after 40 days, it was His need for food. Where did the Devil aim his temptation? Well, at Jesus' need for food, of course. And you notice Jesus' response; a verse that directly addresses the point where He was vulnerable. It's about bread. It's about food. Basically a verse that says, "Life is bigger than food." Okay, I've got a feeling that wasn't the first time Jesus said that verse. I have a feeling that during those days of fasting, He'd been drawing strength from that verse frequently. It's like a brace on a weakened knee; He applied Scripture to the area where He would tend to be weak.

Now, unlike what the four spiritual laws say about God, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," the Devil hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. He's sized up that vulnerable spot, and he's going to try to bring you down with that. So it's pretty important that you size it up, or you're going to be easy prey. Jesus knew his vulnerable spot, and He braced it with Scripture; specific Scripture that dealt with that specific issue. If the Devil is going to bring you down, what weakness do you think he'll use? Oh, you probably know. He's pushed that button many times. It's worked all too often. See, it's important for you to find Scripture that gives you God's view on your weak spot. Memorize it; repeat it to yourself frequently, not just when you're under attack. I think that's what Jesus did.

Re-program yourself by thinking Scripture where you usually think sin, and then hammer the Devil with God's Word and a response that is biblical whenever temptation comes. The Devil can't stand a biblical response.

So, where is the hole in your armor; that weak spot? Is it an old bitterness, maybe the tendency to think you're worthless, your sexual desires, maybe your thought life, tending to worry a lot, tending to run ahead of God. You know what it is. You've lived with that weakness for a long time; now cover it with Scripture.

You're ready for the Devil when you keep covering your weak spot with God's Word about it. That's a strong spiritual brace that will help you avoid any further injury. So, support that weak spot.

Acts 13:26-52 bible reading and devotionals.

Click hear to listen to the message from the Lord Jesus Christ.

MaxLucado.com:Dread of Death

Dread of death ends when you know heaven is your true home!

In all my air travels I’ve never seen one passenger weep when the plane landed.  Never!  No one clings to the armrests and begs, “Don’t make me leave.  Let me stay and eat more peanuts!”  We’re willing to exit the plan because the plane has no permanent mailing address.

Nor does the world.  Philippians 3:20 says, “We are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.”

Why don’t you do this?  Give God your death. Imagine your last breath, envision your final moments.  And offer them to him.  Deliberately.  Regularly.

My personal prayer has become, “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.”

With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth!

From Come Thirsty

Acts 13:26-52
New International Version (NIV)
26 “Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

32 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:

“‘You are my son;
    today I have become your father.’[a]
34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,

“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’[b]
35 So it is also stated elsewhere:

“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’[c]
36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41 “‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’[d]”
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you[e] a light for the Gentiles,
    that you[f] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[g]”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Revelation 5:1-12

The Scroll and the Lamb

 1 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides. It was sealed with seven seals.
 2 I saw a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll. No one could even look inside it.

 4 I cried and cried because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

 5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll."

 6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if he had been put to death. He stood in the center of the area around the throne. The Lamb was surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes. The eyes stand for the seven spirits of God, which are sent out into all the earth.

 7 The Lamb came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. 8 Then the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one had a harp. They were holding golden bowls full of incense, which stand for the prayers of God's people.

 9 Here is the new song they sang.
   "You are worthy to take the scroll
      and break open its seals.
   You are worthy because you were put to death.
      With your blood you bought people for God.
      They come from every tribe, language, people and nation.
 10 You have made them members of a royal family.
      You have made them priests to serve our God.
      They will rule on the earth."

 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of millions and millions of angels. They surrounded the throne. They surrounded the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang,
   "The Lamb, who was put to death, is worthy!
   He is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength!
   He is worthy to receive honor and glory and praise!"

The Lamb Who Is The Lion

June 14, 2012 — by C. P. Hia

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . [and] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. —Philippians 2:10-11

In Revelation 5, the apostle John portrays Jesus, the Lion of Judah (v.5), as a wounded Lamb (v.6). Referring to this word picture, preacher Charles Spurgeon asked, “Why should our exalted Lord appear in His wounds in glory?” His reply: “The wounds of Jesus are His glory.”

Typically, the symbol of a lamb does not represent power and victory. Most people prefer symbols of strength that invite admiration. Yet God chose to be incarnated as a baby born into a poor carpenter’s home. He lived as an itinerant preacher and died “as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isa. 53:7) on a Roman cross. Everyone, including His disciples, thought that His crucifixion spelled the end of the One who had dared to defy the established religious order of His day. But when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He demonstrated mightily God’s incomparable power and glory.

The day is coming when Jesus will return in glory to rule what is rightfully His. On that day, all will bow before Him and say, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev. 5:12). Jesus, the Lamb who is also the Lion, deserves our praise!

Every knee in heaven is bending
To the Lamb for sinners slain;
Every voice and harp is swelling—
“Worthy is the Lamb to reign!” —Deck
To honor our King, His praises we sing.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 14, 2012

Get Moving! (1)

Abide in Me . . . —John 15:4

In the matter of determination. The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by way of the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I then have to build my thinking patiently to bring it into perfect harmony with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus— I have to do it myself. I have to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Abide in Me”— in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is. Our lives are not made up of only one neatly confined area.

Am I preventing God from doing things in my circumstances by saying that it will only serve to hinder my fellowship with Him? How irrelevant and disrespectful that is! It does not matter what my circumstances are. I can be as much assured of abiding in Jesus in any one of them as I am in any prayer meeting. It is unnecessary to change and arrange my circumstances myself. Our Lord’s inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord’s life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, “Yes, Lord, just a minute— I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then.” Get moving— begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.



A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Whatever-It-Takes Love - #6634

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Frankly, I just don't know how the mothers of young children do it all. I've realized again just watching our daughter and our daughters-in-law and all that they have to juggle taking care of our grandchildren. One day our daughter was doing one of those juggling acts trying to get her 18-month-old son ready to leave on a winter day. She also had a lot to load in the car. So, while she was shuttling back and forth, she accidentally let the door to the house close behind her and it locked. Her son was inside. Her keys were in the house. Every door and window turned out to be locked. Of course, her son was oblivious to the problem and there were no neighbors close by.

Well, just as she started to drive to a neighbor's house and call for some help, she noticed a second story bathroom window that was open just a little crack. Now, it wasn't easy, but Mommy got a ladder, she climbed to the second story, she opened a window and literally tore open the screen that stood between her and her son. (You should see that screen!) Somehow, she managed to squeeze through that little window and propel herself onto the bathroom floor. Believe me, nothing was going to stop her from getting to the child she loves!

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whatever-It-Takes Love."

Well, here's some great news! There's someone who loves you like that; the person your heart can finally put total trust in, the person who wants to love you as you have wanted and needed to be loved your whole life.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 10:11 and it describes how far Jesus Christ has gone to break through to you. He describes Himself here as a shepherd, and you and me as sheep that He will do anything for. Anything? Yeah. Jesus says here, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

Now, our daughter is a mother like most mothers, who will do whatever it takes to be reunited with the child she loves. Well, Jesus is the Savior who will do whatever it takes, including a brutal death on a cross; being totally cut off from God the Father whatever it took to be reunited with you because He loves you so much.

Jesus gives this amazing perspective on what is about to happen as He is nailed to that cross. He says, "...I lay down My life...No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again..." (John 10:17-18). Which, by the way, He did when He walked out of His grave on Easter morning. Oh, it may have looked like Roman soldiers were taking Jesus' life, but He said He was giving His life to pay for all the sinning you and I have ever done. He is the Son of God. No one can take His life. He gave it for you.

So the Son of God left heaven, climbed down the ladder to this selfish old planet, and died on a cross, separated from God, to tear open the wall between you and God; which makes what you do with Jesus really serious business. The only response that will bring this incredible love into your life is for you to say, "Jesus, I'm done driving my life. I was never supposed to do it. I'm turning to You with all my heart because You loved me enough to die for me."

You may have heard about His love a thousand times, or maybe never before, but there's never been a time you've responded to the love of Jesus. Well, until now. If you want to begin your personal love relationship with Jesus Christ, and experience this life changing love for yourself, then I urge you to tell Him that right now, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

And I'd like to invite you to come to our website as soon as you can today. And I think you'll find some help and you'll find some support for beginning this awesome relationship with Jesus. The website? It's YoursForLife.net. It's actually been created with you in mind and I hope you'll go there.

This is so very important because God will never forget what you do with His Son. Not after all His Son has done for you.

1 Kings 20 bible reading and devotionals

A message from the Lord Jesus.

MaxLucado.com:Death Sits in His Jurisdiction

Is the dread of death robbing your joy of life?

At the age of 37, Florence told her friends her life hung by a thread.  So she went to bed.  And she stayed there…for 53 years!  She did die, but at the age of 90!

Except for three years, Florence cowered before the giant of death.  During those few years she made a name for herself, not as one who suffered, but as a friend of those who did.  She was history’s most famous nurse. Yet, Florence Nightingale lived as a slave of depression and death.

What about you?  Jesus came to deliver those who’ve lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.  Death sits in His jurisdiction.

Psalm 139:16 says, “You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment laid out before a single day had passed.”

From Come Thirsty


1 Kings 20

Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

20 Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.’”

4 The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.”

5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6 But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’”

7 The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, “See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.”

8 The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.”

9 So he replied to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.’” They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad.

10 Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.”

11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’”

12 Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents,[b] and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.

Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab.

The prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’”

“And who will start the battle?” he asked.

The prophet answered, “You will.”

15 So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16 They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17 The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first.

Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, “Men are advancing from Samaria.”

18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”

19 The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20 and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21 The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.

22 Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.”

23 Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. 25 You must also raise an army like the one you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they.” He agreed with them and acted accordingly.

26 The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.

28 The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

29 For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

31 His officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”

32 Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says: ‘Please let me live.’”

The king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

33 The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. “Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!” they said.

“Go and get him,” the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot.

34 “I will return the cities my father took from your father,” Ben-Hadad offered. “You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”

Ahab said, “On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.” So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.

A Prophet Condemns Ahab

35 By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me with your weapon,” but he refused.

36 So the prophet said, “Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.

37 The prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him and wounded him. 38 Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent[c] of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

“That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”

41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die.[d] Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’” 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion


Read: Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one who obeys the law of the Lord.
      He doesn't follow the advice of evil people.
   He doesn't make a habit of doing what sinners do.
      He doesn't join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
 2 Instead, he takes delight in the law of the Lord.
      He thinks about his law day and night.
 3 He is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
      It always bears its fruit at the right time.
   Its leaves don't dry up.
      Everything godly people do turns out well.
 4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
      They are like straw
      that the wind blows away.
 5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
      Sinners won't have any place among those who are godly.
 6 The Lord watches over the lives of those who are godly.
      But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.

The Best Teacher

June 13, 2012 — by Dave Branon

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. —Psalm 1:1

In talking to young people about preparing for the future, I’ve had several say something like this: “We must get into the world to experience ungodly situations and ungodly people in order to grow stronger.”

This kind of thinking has swallowed up many immature Christians and eventually turned them against God. Sure, we’re in the world (John 17:15) and we’re exposed to non-Christian situations (school, job, neighborhood), but we need to be careful that exposure to those situations does not lead to embracing ungodly philosophies. All of us would mature faster by following the divine pattern suggested in Psalm 1:1.

First, let’s not let our decisions and choices be controlled by the “counsel of the ungodly.” Second, we shouldn’t put ourselves in a place where those who don’t know Jesus can unduly influence our thought processes. Third, let’s avoid getting comfortable with those who mock God, His Word, and His role in our life so that their thinking seems right to us.

Counsel from such sources leads us away from God. Instead, it’s best to get our training, our guidance, and our advice from God’s holy Word and those who know it and love it. God and His Word, not experiences, are our best teacher.

You’ve given us Your Spirit, Lord,
To help us grow, mature, and learn,
To teach us from Your written Word,
So truth from error we’ll discern. —Sper
Let God’s Word fill your memory, rule your heart, and guide your life.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 13, 2012

Getting There (3)

. . . come, follow Me —Luke 18:22

Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.

If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.

Have I come to Him? Will I come now?


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

When the Kids All Agree - #6633

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

When our kids were growing up, we had an interesting system of government at our house. I had one big vote, and theoretically my one vote could count more than the other four sometimes. Nice system. That was the theory. In reality it didn't happen very often. There's one dynamic that takes place before a family decision that really can change the outcome, and that's what I would call skillful lobbying; especially by my three children, and they got really good at it.

Let's say one of them didn't want to go for dinner where we were planning to go. He wanted pizza. He'd come in and say, "Dad, I don't want to go there, I want pizza." Okay, he's going to get overruled. Then two of them would come in together; (he managed somehow to get somebody else to come with him) and they would say "We want pizza, Dad." Well, that was a little stronger, but then all three of them came together. "We want pizza!" Well, to tell you the truth, we usually ended up changing where we were going, even though I wanted to go somewhere else. There's honestly power in kids asking together.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When the Kids All Agree."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 18:19-20. "Again, Jesus says, I tell you if two of you on earth agree..." (Oh, wait a minute, this sounds like my kids doesn't it?) "If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them."

Now, okay, God is not some earthly father who is pressured by "pizza lobbyists" like I was as an earthly father. But there is a principle here, an important secret of spiritual power, that somehow praying together has a special affect in heaven; asking God, our Father, together for the same thing. I don't understand why it's extra powerful, but I do know that Jesus says something special happens in heaven when God's kids go to Him together for something.

Frankly, I think Christians do very little praying together. We're so private about our faith sometimes. We're self-conscious about maybe saying something wrong. I don't really know how to, you know, pray the big words or whatever. But God puts a premium on united prayer. He says, "What you ask together, it will be done in heaven." That's pretty exciting!

Do you ever wonder what to do when somebody else is praying and you're with them? Do you doze off? They're praying out loud, do you just plan ahead what you're going to say? No. Agreeing with them, you enter into their requests in your heart. You're saying either aloud or quietly, "Me, too, Lord. I'm asking You for that too. I'm trusting You for that too." You're not a passive listener, or asleep while someone else prays. I've often encouraged young people I'm working with to get into praying triplets where there are three people who pray together; two people who are not Christians that they each pray for. And that's spreading a lot of places...this idea of prayer triplets.

I've asked young people before, "How many people are in your prayer triplet?" The answer - four. Because Jesus said, "You can see three, but I'm right there." So don't just pray for people. Pray with people. Don't say, "I'll pray for you." Put an arm around them and pray right there. Get a regular team of partners together who agree on some things and be prepared to see mountains moved, and hearts changed, and answers discovered.

Go to your Father together, because something special happens in a Father's heart when the kids all agree.

1 Kings 19 bible reading and devotionals.

Click to hear the word of the Lord.

Max Lucado: His Masterpiece

As a group of fishermen relaxed in an old Scottish seaside inn, one of the men gestured widely, depicting a fish that got away.  His arm struck the waiter’s tray, sending its contents onto the white wall, leaving an ugly brown splotch.

The innkeeper sighed, “The whole wall will have to be repainted.”

“Perhaps not,” offered a stranger.  “Let me work with it!”

The man pulled brushes, oils, and colors out of an art box.  He dabbed away at the ugly splotch.  An image emerged–a stag with a great rack of antlers.  His signature at the bottom read:  Sir Edwin Landseer.  A famous painter of wildlife.  In his hands, a mistake became a masterpiece!

God’s hands do the same.  He draws together the disjointed blotches in our life.  Ephesians 2:7 says, we become “examples of the incredible wealth of God’s favor and kindness toward us!”

We are His masterpiece!

From Come Thirsty

1 Kings 19

Elijah Flees to Horeb

19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

The Call of Elisha

19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”

“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”

21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Peacocks And Their Kin

June 12, 2012 — by David H. Roper

My strength is made perfect in weakness. —2 Corinthians 12:9

Male peacocks are resplendent creatures with iridescent blue-green plumage and elongated trains tipped with “eyes” colored in hues of gold, red, and blue. They are strikingly beautiful birds, but they have ugly feet!

To be honest, most of us have some type of physical limitation. It may be something we’ve borne all our lives or one we’ve recently acquired.

Paul described his deficiency as a “thorn in the flesh” that kept him humble (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Three times he asked the Lord to remove it, probably thinking that he could then serve God better. But the Lord assured him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul replied, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

One of the ironies of faith is that God often chooses us to accomplish His most important tasks despite our imperfections, not because of our speaking ability, looks, or fitness for the task. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “God was looking for someone weak enough to use, and he found [you and me]!” When we find our strength in Him, He can use us in ways we could never imagine (v.9).

Lord, I have many weaknesses. Please show Your
strength through me by using me in whatever way
You please. May others see You at work in me and
praise Your name. Amen.
God’s strength is best seen in our weakness.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 12, 2012

Getting There (2)

They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’ —John 1:38-39

Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They . . . remained with Him that day . . . .” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

“You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “. . . We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The "God Is For Girls" Myth - #6632

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Jeff was the quarterback of our high school football team back when we lived in New Jersey. He always attended this little Bible study we had pre-game, but he never made a commitment to Christ. Well, I saw him on one of his breaks from college. He said, "You know, Ron, I've made a commitment to Christ now, but it was hard to do it in high school, especially because we were guys.

Well, think about that! I mean, look at the population of any average church youth group. Mostly guys? No, it's usually mostly girls. Look at the missionaries around the world. More men? No, a lot more women it seems like. If one person in a married couple is a believer, more often than not isn't it the wife? What's going on here? Well, weren't the first 12 followers of Jesus men?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'God Is For Girls' Myth."

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 John 2, and I'm going to read the second part of verse 14. John says, "I write to you young men because you are strong." Okay, there's nothing wimpy about this group he's writing to. "I'm writing to you because you are strong." Why? "The Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

Okay, he's writing to young men here who are sold out to a cause; who are fighters, winners, over-comers; they're champions. They are young men who have found the ultimate outlet for their manness - Jesus Christ. They are waging spiritual war for Him and they're winning.

Now, if you go back as far as the Garden of Eden, which is about as far back as you can go, you'll find that when God came looking for somebody after the first sin He didn't come looking for Eve. He said, "Adam, where are you?" When Sarah laughed at God's promise, the Lord didn't come looking for Sarah. He came looking for Abraham. When God selected some people to build His church on, it was men - 12 men.

Now, this is not to exclude women from following Christ. Oh, no, they were intensely loyal to Him during His earthly ministry here. And no doubt women have a spiritual radar and sensitivity that we men will probably never have. There's a love and a tenderness about a woman that lets us know what God's accepting love is like. But from Eden until now, man was created by God to take the spiritual lead.

God is not just for girls. I mean, it's unacceptable for a girl to be the conscience of a dating relationship. It's unacceptable for a woman to be the spiritual leader in a family because of a man forfeiting that leadership. It's unacceptable for a man to hold back in spiritual arenas while he's giving his all in his business and every other arena.

See, man is built to look for a cause to give 100% to. That's why a guy loves sports, because it's someplace where he can feel like he's giving everything he can give; or business. He throws himself into making it in business. But every man knows that those causes are ultimately a disappointment no matter how much you give. There's only one cause a man was built to lose himself in, and that's the service of Jesus Christ; all of my manness in the service of the God-man, Jesus.

It may be that you have pursued every kind of conquest as a guy and never yet found what will fill the hole in your heart, and give you that cause that was worth everything you have. You've never found that meaning for your one life you have on this planet, and the answer is in the One who made you, who you were made for, and who died for you on a cross. The man Jesus Christ.

Maybe today is your day to finely step into completeness in Him. I hope you'll tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm your guy from now on." We'd love to help you know how to begin with Him, and that's what our website's about. Go there today. It's YoursForLife.net.

And then see, as a man, you can take your stand for Christ boldly, passionately, without reservation, and that's how you become a spiritual champion. That is maximum manhood!

Acts 13:1-25 bible reading and devotionals.

Click to hear the word of the Lord.
Max Lucado: What's Heaven Telling You?

When the doctor who had examined the tremor in my hand said,  "You're fine.  You're in good health"- I did what you might expect.  I began to weep and asked,  "How much time do I have left?"
The doctor cocked his head, puzzled.  Wait a second, you're thinking!  Didn't you hear what the doctor told you?  And I'm wondering-didn't you hear what heaven told you?
That response to my doctor?  I made it up.  Actually, I was elated.  And when I see that thumb shake, I chalk it up to an aging body and place my trust in the doctor's words.
You should do the same.  For just as my thumb will occasionally tremble, you will occasionally sin.  And when you do, remember sin may touch, but it cannot claim you. Christ is in you!  Trust his work for you.  Trust his work in you.  Your heart is his home, and he is your master!
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23?
From Come Thirsty

Acts 13:1-25
New International Version (NIV)
13 1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

On Cyprus

4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct[a] in the wilderness; 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.

“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Ephesians 2:1-13

God Has Given Us New Life Through Christ

 1 You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. 2 You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don't obey God.
 3 At one time we all lived among them. We tried to satisfy what our sinful nature wanted to do. We followed its longings and thoughts. God was angry with us and everyone else because of the kind of people we were.

 4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5 So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God's grace has saved you.

 6 God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom because we belong to Christ Jesus. 7 He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can't be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done.

 8 God's grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn't come from anything you do. It is God's gift. 9 It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it.

 10 God made us. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good things. Long ago God prepared them for us to do.

God's New Family

 11 You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "circumcised." But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands.
 12 Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. 13 At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.

A Circle Of Friends

June 11, 2012 — by David C. McCasland

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. —Ephesians 2:13

Many high school students with autism or Down syndrome feel excluded and ignored. They often eat alone in a crowded cafeteria because other students don’t know how to relate to them or simply don’t care. To address this need, speech therapist Barbara Palilis began “Circle of Friends”—a program that pairs students with disabilities with nondisabled peers for lunch dates and social activities. Through this outreach, special-needs students and those nondisabled peers who befriend them continue to be enriched and changed through the gift of acceptance, friendship, and understanding.

Being included is at the heart of the gospel of Christ. “God, who is rich in mercy, . . . even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:4-5). Through faith in Christ, we “who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v.13).

Our privileged place as members of the “household of God” (v.19) should give us eyes to see and hearts to care for those around us who are ignored and alone. If each of us would reach out in caring friendship to one person today, what a difference it would make for us all.

I needed help. Someone came alongside,
Sent by our Savior to care and to guide.
I now help you. We know that He is there,
Loving us both, and extending His care. —Verway
Reach out in friendship and encourage the lonely; energize the weary.



My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 11, 2012

Getting There (1)

Come to Me . . . —Matthew 11:28

Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.

Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.

Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.

“. . . and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

How to Give a Man a Makeover - #6631

Monday, June 11, 2012

Every once in a while a woman decides to try something daring. She has what they call a makeover! She'll look in the mirror and say, "I'm tired of looking like this. I think I'll try something different." So she puts herself really into someone else's hands. Not just anyone. Oh, no, no! Someone who can skillfully change your eye makeup, your facial color, maybe your lip stick, maybe your hair style, your wardrobe. And "voila"! You look different. Hopefully you look better. But you had a makeover. Now, when's the last time you ever heard of a man having a makeover? Well, actually some men could really use one.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Give a Man a Makeover."

Hey look! Men are pretty stubborn about changing. It's hard for me to say that, but it's a fact. If you're a woman who is married to one, you say, "I know...I know. I didn't have to tune in to find this out today." Well, if you're a woman, my guess is there's a man in your life who could use a little work. Can you think of someone? Not so much physically; but maybe like more in his personality, his spiritual leadership, his communication, his attitudes, his bad habits. Now I've got you going, right? Are we together in this?

Now, our word for today from the Word of God, Titus 2:4-5. It talks about some skills that hopefully older women have mastered so they can pass them on to the next generation of women. Then it says, "They can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the Word of God."

Now, it's kind of a neat dynamic here. You've got the veterans teaching the rookies what they're supposed to do. And the single phrase that begins it is this: "Love their husbands." Notice it doesn't say, "The older women should teach the younger women how to change their husbands." It says "how to love them."

Ruth Graham, Billy Graham's wife, said very wisely: "It is my job to love Billy; it is God's job to change him." That principle applies to sons and fathers to some extent, and certainly to husbands. A woman is a powerful force in changing a man if she makes him feel safe. A man often isn't going to risk changing unless he feels like there's a woman who will love him whether he changes or not.

Unfortunately, a lot of women want to give God a little help in reconstructing this big, old lummox, so that woman brings out the hammer and chisel, and starts nagging, and pushing, and criticizing, and attacking. "I'll change him!" All the push tactics make him feel cornered, attacked, and less secure. Therefore, he's less likely to change. Remember, a man has to feel safe in order to take the risk to try to change.

If nagging doesn't do it, well what will you might ask. We're back to what the older women are supposed to teach the younger women, "love your husband." Praise his strengths often. If he makes a little progress, compliment that. As my wife had on a little plaque over the kitchen sink, "Water what you want to grow." Hold your tongue if it's going to be negative and tearing downwards. Share gently your feelings when you're hurting, but not his failings, but your feelings. Let him know how much you need him, and then pray for him to change. I know it feels risky just to love him, but it's how God says it works.

Does the man you want to be different feel safe in your love? I hope he does. Unconditional love? Well, that's God's way for a woman to give her man a makeover.

1 Kings 18 bible reading and devotionals.

Click here to hear the message from the Lord.

Max Lucado Daily: Saved by Faith


Saved by Faith

“The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.” Galatians 5:6

Symbols are important. Some of them, like communion and baptism, illustrate the cross of Christ. They symbolize salvation . . . but they do not impart salvation.

Putting your trust in a symbol is like claiming to be a sailor because you have a tattoo . . .

Our God . . . saves us, not because we trust in a symbol, but because we trust in a Savior.

1 Kings 18

Elijah and Obadiah

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”

8 “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

9 “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 13 Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”

15 Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire —he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[c] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 18:1-8

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Unanswered

June 10, 2012 — by Anne Cetas

[Jesus] spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. —Luke 18:1

One of my biggest struggles is unanswered prayer. Maybe you can relate. You ask God to rescue a friend from addiction, to grant salvation to a loved one, to heal a sick child, to mend a relationship. All these things you think must be God’s will. For years you pray. But you hear nothing back from Him and you see no results.

You remind the Lord that He’s powerful. That your request is a good thing. You plead. You wait. You doubt—maybe He doesn’t hear you, or maybe He isn’t so powerful after all. You quit asking—for days or months. You feel guilty about doubting. You remember that God wants you to take your needs to Him, and you tell Him your requests again.

We may sometimes feel we’re like the persistent widow in Jesus’ parable recorded in Luke 18. She keeps coming to the judge, badgering him and trying to wear him down so he’ll give in. But we know that God is kinder and more powerful than the judge in the parable. We trust Him, for He is good and wise and sovereign. We remember that Jesus said we “always ought to pray and not lose heart” (v.1).

So we ask Him, “Summon Your power, O God; show us Your strength, O God, as You have done before” (Ps. 68:28 NIV). And then we trust Him . . . and wait.

Pray on, then, child of God, pray on;
This is your duty and your task.
To God the answering belongs;
Yours is the simpler part—to ask. —Chisholm
Delay is not denial so keep praying.



My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 10, 2012

And After That What’s Next To Do?

. . . seek, and you will find . . . —Luke 11:9

Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “. . . seek, and you will find . . . .” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “. . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . .”

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . .” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.

“. . . knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God . . .” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands . . .” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “. . . purify your hearts . . .” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament . . . ” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves . . . ” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “. . . to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).