Song of Solomon 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: What You Were Made to Do

Many people stop short of their destiny. They settle for someone else’s story. Grandpa was a butcher, Dad was a butcher, so I guess I’ll be a butcher. Everyone I know is in farming, so I guess I’m supposed to farm. Consequently, they risk leading dull, joyless, and fruitless lives. They never sing the song God wrote for their voices. They never cross a finish line with heavenward-stretched arms and declare, I was made to do this!  They fit in, settle in, and blend in. But they never find their call.

Don’t make the same mistake. Ephesians 2:10 says: “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Your existence is not accidental. Your skills are not incidental. God shaped each person in turn!

From Glory Days

Song of Solomon 4

Young Man

You are beautiful, my darling,
    beautiful beyond words.
Your eyes are like doves
    behind your veil.
Your hair falls in waves,
    like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as white as sheep,
    recently shorn and freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
    each tooth matched with its twin.[a]
3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
    your mouth is inviting.
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
    behind your veil.
4 Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,
    jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
    twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
6 Before the dawn breezes blow
    and the night shadows flee,
I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh
    and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
    beautiful in every way.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
    come with me from Lebanon.
Come down[b] from Mount Amana,
    from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
where the lions have their dens
    and leopards live among the hills.
9 You have captured my heart,
    my treasure,[c] my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
    with a single jewel of your necklace.
10 Your love delights me,
    my treasure, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
    your perfume more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride.
    Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes are scented
    like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
    a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.
13 Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates
    with rare spices—
henna with nard,
14     nard and saffron,
    fragrant calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,
    and every other lovely spice.
15 You are a garden fountain,
    a well of fresh water
    streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.
Young Woman

16 Awake, north wind!
    Rise up, south wind!
Blow on my garden
    and spread its fragrance all around.
Come into your garden, my love;
    taste its finest fruits.

Footnotes:

4:2 Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin.
4:8 Or Look down.
4:9 Hebrew my sister; also in 4:10, 12.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 16, 2015

Read: Galatians 6:1-10

We Harvest What We Plant

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly[b] should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Footnotes:

6:1a Greek Brothers, if a man.
6:1b Greek spiritual.

INSIGHT:
In Galatians 6:2 Paul instructs the Galatian believers to carry each other’s burdens. However, in verse 5 Paul says that each person should carry his own load. In the case of carrying each other’s burdens, we are to do so in the context of someone caught in sin (v. 1). However, in the case of carrying our own load, it is so that we do not compare ourselves to others and become unduly disheartened by our progress (or lack of it). J.R. Hudberg

Shared Struggles

By Bill Crowder

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. —nlt

Galatians 6:2

April 25, 2015, marked the 100th commemoration of Anzac Day. It is celebrated each year by both Australia and New Zealand to honor the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought together during World War I. It marks a time when neither country had to face the dangers of war alone; soldiers from both countries engaged in the struggle together.

Sharing life’s struggles is fundamental to the way followers of Christ are called to live. As Paul challenged us, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2 nlt). By working together through life’s challenges we can help to strengthen and support one another when times are hard. By expressing toward one another the care and affections of Christ, the difficulties of life should draw us to Christ and to each other—not isolate us in our suffering.

Difficulties in life can draw us to Christ & to each other.
By sharing in the struggles of another, we are modeling the love of Christ. We read in Isaiah, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa. 53:4 nkjv). No matter how great the struggle we face, we never face it alone.

Thank You, Father, that I don’t have to walk my life’s journey alone. You are near.


Read more about the nearness of God in The Lord Is My Shepherd at discoveryseries.org/hp952

We can go a lot further together than we can alone.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 16, 2015

Still Human!

…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31

In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.

We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.

We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own.  Disciples Indeed, 386 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 16, 2015
The Life-Changing Equation For the People You Love - #7526

It was always so much fun when we stuffed all five Hutchcrafts into the car for a long trip. And, of course, we had turf wars in the back seat. You remember that? Especially as our kids became bigger. We had three kids trying to figure out who gets which third or more, of the turf in the back seat. Of course that was only one of our problems.

After we'd been driving for awhile, we'd often hear these unsettling sounds emanating from the back seat. Our daughter was prone to needing some air and space back there, and it happened when she was stuck in the middle. And she began to experience discomfort and started letting out soft moans. Her brothers would imitate those noises, of course more loudly and more obnoxious. She couldn't help it! She had a touch of claustrophobia. "Come on, guys! She needed some space."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Life-Changing Equation For the People You Love."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 4:2, and Paul talks about different ways we might go about trying to get people to change. Can you think of anybody you want to change? Okay. He says, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction."

Now what he's talking about here is approaching people who need to change. You've probably got somebody like that in your life. Like somebody you're married to? One of your children? A friend? Somebody at church? "Oh yeah, I've got somebody who needs to change." Well, here's how Paul says to go about it. You give them the truth, you encourage, you exhort, you correct, you rebuke when you need to, but then be prepared to wait. He says to do this with patience. They're not going to change right away.

So, the life-changing equation goes something like this: Truth plus space equals a changed life. Now, our daughter, in that back seat, needed some space. That might be what the person in your life who you want to change, might be what they need. You've been after them a lot, maybe nagging them. You know what? They need some space, and that's the hard part. You told them what's right. You told them what the Bible says about it, but now you've got to give them some space to choose it.

That person you love, maybe they're suffering from emotional or spiritual claustrophobia, because you've chased them too much. See, if they don't respond right away, we're like, "See, they didn't listen!" So we hammer them again and again, and what we're probably doing is making the change take even longer and making their resistance even stronger.

Here's another equation: Truth plus pressure equals rebellion. See, we're afraid we're losing the person and our fear comes out as nagging and pressure, but here's how the life-changing process works. You give the person the truth on that issue, then you allow them the dignity and the space to choose it for themselves. Leave them some room. They're not just going to throw up their hands, raise the white flag and say, "I'm wrong. You're right." Back off, and let them decide. See, maybe you've given them the truth, but no space, and so you're getting rebellion. Paul's words, "do it with great patience."

Here's an even better equation: Truth plus space plus prayer equals a changed life, because while you're giving them space and while you're waiting to see what they do with the truth, (and maybe biting your nails about it) you're on your knees talking to God about them, more than you're talking to them about God. Maybe you could just say to the Lord, "Lord I've done my best, now please do the rest."

I like what Ruth Graham said about Billy Graham, she said, "You know, it's my job to love Billy, it's God's job to change him." Well it's God's job to change that person. You love them, you tell them the truth, and then leave some space for God to do the changing.

Acts 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Becoming Like Him

Healthy marriages have a sense of tenderness, an honesty, an ongoing communication. The same is true in our relationship with God. Sometimes we go to Him with our joys, sometimes our hurts, but we always go. And as we go, the more we go, the more we become like Him. Paul says we're being changed from "glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
People who live long lives together eventually begin to sound alike, to talk alike, even think alike. As we walk with God, we take on His thoughts, His principles, His attitudes.  We take on His heart.
And just as in marriage, communion with God is no burden. Indeed, it's a delight.
The Psalmist says, "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty.  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Ps. 84:1-2 NIV).
Nothing-nothing compares with it!
From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Acts 6

Seven Men Chosen to Serve
6 But as the believers[a] rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

Stephen Is Arrested
8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.[b]

13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth[c] will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.

Footnotes:

6:1 Greek disciples; also in 6:2, 7.
6:12 Greek Sanhedrin; also in 6:15.
6:14 Or Jesus the Nazarene.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, November 15, 2015

Read: Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2     Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.[a]
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Footnotes:

100:3 As in an alternate reading in the Masoretic Text; the other alternate and some ancient versions read and not we ourselves.

INSIGHT:
Psalm 100 is a doxology, a statement or word (logos) describing the glory (doxa) of God. This psalm forms the conclusion to a series of psalms that celebrate the Lord’s rule in power, glory, and grace. In spite of its brevity, it is considered preeminent among the psalms of praise and thanksgiving. Its superscription—“For giving grateful praise”—is unique to this song. Psalm 100 is used often in liturgical worship and is the basis for several hymns, including “All People that on Earth Do Dwell.” Bill Crowder

Who We Are

By Albert Lee

You are . . . God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9

In her autobiography, Corrie ten Boom described her and her sister Betsie’s horrific time in a Nazi concentration camp in the early 1940s. On one occasion they were forced to take off their clothes during an inspection. Corrie stood in line feeling defiled and forsaken. Suddenly, she remembered that Jesus had hung naked on the cross. Struck with wonder and worship, Corrie whispered to her sister, “Betsie, they took His clothes too.” Betsie gasped and said, “Oh, Corrie, . . . and I never thanked Him.”

It is easy for us to live thanklessly in a world that is full of trouble, struggles, and woes. On any given day we can find many reasons to complain. However, Psalm 100 exhorts God’s people to be glad, joyful, and thankful for “it is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (v. 3). As we remember who we are, we can respond in thanksgiving. For even in the worst of times, we can remember Christ’s love and sacrifice for us.

Don’t let the brutality of the world take away your thankful heart. Remember you are God’s child, and He has shown you His goodness and mercy through His work on the cross.

I thank You, Lord, that though my heart can grow cold at times, when I remember that I am Yours and You are mine, I’m encouraged yet again. Thank You for Your love for me, for Your mercy, and Your sacrifice.

Praise comes naturally when you count your blessings.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 15, 2015

“What Is That to You?”

Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L

Song of Solomon 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Cry Out to Jesus

My friend Jim has battled a muscular condition much of his adult life. The atrophy slurs his speech and impairs his walk. But it doesn't diminish his faith or erase his smile.
One Sunday we asked church members to park in the back lot and leave the closest spots for guests. As I arrived, I saw Jim. He had parked in the distant corner and was walking toward the sanctuary. His life is an example. I pray that God will heal Jim's body. But until he does, God is using Jim to inspire people like me.
God will do the same with you. He will use your struggle to change others. Or-he may use your struggle to change you! Disease cannot destroy us. And death has lost its sting. Cry out to Jesus in the power of a simple prayer! He will heal you-instantly or gradually or for sure, ultimately!
From Before Amen

Song of Solomon 3

Young Woman

One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover.
    I yearned for him, but he did not come.
2 So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city,
    searching in all its streets and squares.
I will search for the one I love.”
    So I searched everywhere but did not find him.
3 The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds,
    and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Then scarcely had I left them
    when I found my love!
I caught and held him tightly,
    then I brought him to my mother’s house,
    into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived.
5 Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
    by the gazelles and wild deer,
    not to awaken love until the time is right.[g]
Young Women of Jerusalem

6 Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness
    like a cloud of smoke?
Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense
    and every kind of spice?
7 Look, it is Solomon’s carriage,
    surrounded by sixty heroic men,
    the best of Israel’s soldiers.
8 They are all skilled swordsmen,
    experienced warriors.
Each wears a sword on his thigh,
    ready to defend the king against an attack in the night.
9 King Solomon’s carriage is built
    of wood imported from Lebanon.
10 Its posts are silver,
    its canopy gold;
    its cushions are purple.
It was decorated with love
    by the young women of Jerusalem.
Young Woman

11 Come out to see King Solomon,
    young women of Jerusalem.[h]
He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day,
    his most joyous day.

Footnotes:

3:5 Or not to awaken love until it is ready.
3:11 Hebrew of Zion.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 14, 2015

Read: Isaiah 37:30-38

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:

“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,
    and next year you will eat what springs up from that.
But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;
    you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 And you who are left in Judah,
    who have escaped the ravages of the siege,
will put roots down in your own soil
    and grow up and flourish.
32 For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,
    a group of survivors from Mount Zion.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will make this happen!
33 “And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

“‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem.
    They will not even shoot an arrow at it.
They will not march outside its gates with their shields
    nor build banks of earth against its walls.
34 The king will return to his own country
    by the same road on which he came.
He will not enter this city,’
    says the Lord.
35 ‘For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,
    I will defend this city and protect it.’”
36 That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians[a] woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 37 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

38 One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.

Footnotes:

37:36 Hebrew When they.

INSIGHT:
Isaiah 36–37 and a parallel account in 2 Kings 18–19 tell of the threat and siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians during the reign of Hezekiah. Having exiled the northern kingdom of Israel 10 years earlier (2 Kings 18:9-12), Assyria now turned its attention to Judah (v. 13). Initially, Hezekiah tried to avert the invasion by agreeing to pay tribute (vv. 14-16), but Assyria was determined to attack Judah (v. 17; Isa. 36:1). Hezekiah turned to God for help (37:14-20), and Isaiah prophesied the defeat of the Assyrians and promised protection and deliverance for Judah (vv. 21-37). Sim Kay Tee

The Mighty Finns

By Tim Gustafson

Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.

Isaiah 37:20

It began as a distant, foreboding hum, then grew into an ominous, earth-rattling din. Soon hundreds of tanks and thousands of enemy infantrymen swarmed into view of the badly outnumbered soldiers in Finland. Assessing the murderous wave, an anonymous Finn lent some perspective. Courageously, he wondered aloud about the enemy: “Where will we find room to bury them all?”

Some 2,600 years before Finland showed such pluck in that World War II battle, an anxious Judean citizenry reacted quite differently to their own overwhelming situation. The Assyrian armies had trapped the people of Jerusalem inside its walls, where they faced the hopeless prospect of a starvation-inducing siege. Hezekiah nearly panicked. But then he prayed, “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth” (Isa. 37:16).

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord answered with strong words for Assyria’s King Sennacherib. “Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!” (v. 23). Then God comforted Jerusalem. “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” (v. 35). The Lord defeated Sennacherib and destroyed the Assyrian army (vv. 36-38).

No matter what dangers loom on your horizon today, the God of Hezekiah and Isaiah still reigns. He longs to hear from each of us and show Himself powerful.

In what ways has God shown Himself strong in the past?


Share your story with others in the comments section below.

God is greater than our greatest problem.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 14, 2015

Discovering Divine Design

As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… —Genesis 24:27

We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “…the Lord led me…” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.

Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.  Not Knowing Whither, 903 R

Song of Solomon 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: You at Your Best

Call it what you wish. A talent…a skill set…a gift. The terms are different, but the truth is the same. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.”

You aren’t the only person with your skill. But you are the only person with your version of your skill. You entered the world uniquely equipped. Psalm 139:13-15 describes it as “knit together, woven together in the dark of the womb, intricately and curiously wrought.”

Each of us! Not some of us, a few of us, or the elite among us. Each of us has a beauty that longs to be revealed and released. It is you at your best! When you stand at the intersection of your skill and God’s call, you are standing at the corner of Promised Land Avenue and Glory Days Boulevard.

From Glory Days

Song of Solomon  2

Young Woman

I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,[c]
    the lily of the valley.
Young Man

2 Like a lily among thistles
    is my darling among young women.
Young Woman

3 Like the finest apple tree in the orchard
    is my lover among other young men.
I sit in his delightful shade
    and taste his delicious fruit.
4 He escorts me to the banquet hall;
    it’s obvious how much he loves me.
5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am weak with love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.
7 Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
    by the gazelles and wild deer,
    not to awaken love until the time is right.[d]
8 Ah, I hear my lover coming!
    He is leaping over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a swift gazelle
    or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
    looking through the window,
    peering into the room.
10 My lover said to me,
    “Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!
11 Look, the winter is past,
    and the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds[e] has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
13 The fig trees are forming young fruit,
    and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!”
Young Man

14 My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
    behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
    let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
    and your face is lovely.
Young Women of Jerusalem

15 Catch all the foxes,
    those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
    for the grapevines are blossoming!
Young Woman

16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
    He browses among the lilies.
17 Before the dawn breezes blow
    and the night shadows flee,
return to me, my love, like a gazelle
    or a young stag on the rugged mountains.[f]

Footnotes

2:1 Traditionally rendered I am the rose of Sharon. Sharon Plain is a region in the coastal plain of Palestine.
2:7 Or not to awaken love until it is ready.
2:12 Or the season of pruning vines.
2:17 Or on the hills of Bether.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 13, 2015

Read: Genesis 3:6-13,22-24

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

Footnotes:

3:8 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter.

INSIGHT:
Today’s passage records the entrance of sin into an innocent world. But it also records God’s grace in response to sin. Rather than let Adam and Eve eat from the tree of life and live forever in their sin, God graciously blocked the way to that tree (vv. 22-23). J.R. Hudberg

The Big Stink

By Marvin Williams

God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 3:5

In August 2013, large crowds gathered at the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to witness the blooming of the tropical plant known as the corpse flower. Since the flower is native to Indonesia, and may flower only once every several years, its blooming is a spectacle. Once open, the huge spiky, beautiful, red bloom smells like rotten meat. Because of its putrid fragrance, the flower attracts flies and beetles that are looking for rotting meat. But there is no nectar.

Like the corpse flower, sin holds out promises but in the end offers no rewards. Adam and Eve found this out the hard way. Eden was beautiful until they ruined it by doing the one thing God urged them not to do. Tempted to doubt God’s goodness, they ignored their Creator’s loving warning and soon lost their innocence. The God-given beauty of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil became like a corpse flower to them. The reward for their disobedience was alienation, pain, emptiness, toil, and death.

God made us to share in His life & joy.
Sin looks inviting and may feel good, but it doesn’t compare with the wonder, beauty, and fragrance of trusting and obeying God, who has made us to share His life and joy.

What temptations are you facing today? Remember that God promises to help you fight against temptation. Ask Him to help you remember to rely on Him.

God’s commands can overpower Satan’s suggestions.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 13, 2015

Faith or Experience?

…the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 13, 2015

Forgiven Means It's Gone - #7525




Okay, if you've always been skinny, you can just give it up. You're not going to understand what I'm about to say. Okay? But if you've ever been overweight, I think you'll understand this. Once you've been overweight, you always tend to think of yourself as overweight even when you're not any more. I used to weigh 210 pounds. That was pretty big for a guy my size, because I'm not really big. Now, thankfully, I've been able to keep a lot of it off for years. It doesn't matter, I still feel overweight. It's crazy! Others may say you're okay, and the scale might even say you're okay. But there's this voice that keeps whispering, "Overweight!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Forgiven Means It's Gone."

Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?" Okay, that's the bad news. "Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, or idolaters, or adulterers, nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, or slanderers, or swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." I'll tell you this, most of us are in there somewhere.

Now the good news, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Now, I'll tell you one of the belittling lies of sin, "You're still dirty. You're still away from God. You're still unworthy. You're still guilty. There's no use. It's hopeless." And God's Word screams to those who've been forgiven by Christ, "No! That is a lie! What God says you are is what you are. And God says that is what you were, it's not what you are any more."

The verb tense makes all the difference in the world. Your guilt has been erased. He uses the word "washed." You've been given a spiritual shower if you've been to Jesus' cross; if you've dropped that sin, however dirty, however ugly, however many times repeated, or however willful. If you've dropped it at that cross and you've trusted Him to forgive it, you are clean. You are washed by God.

Then He says, "You were sanctified." That means you've been made special again. And then He says, "You have been justified." That means you've been made right with God. Of course, the Devil is going, "Hey, you're still spiritually overweight, you know. You're still carrying the weight of the past around." That voice is about what you were. It's like the voice that wrongly says, "You're still overweight" even when the weight is really gone.

The Devil wants you to give up. He wants you to go back to the old you. But Leviticus 26:13 is a wonderful promise I think applies to even us today. God says, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high."

You are new! Why don't you live new? Don't live in that old junk believing that it still has to be you. Don't buy the lie. Because of the power of the blood of Jesus to forgive, because He shed that blood on the cross for those very sins, you are not carrying that weight - that burden - any more.

This could be your day to experience that forgiveness for yourself. Whatever you wish you hadn't done, all the sins, all the mistakes, all the hurts you've inflicted, all the pain of the past can be brought to the cross of Jesus, and He will take that burden as He did on the cross when He died for you and say, "It is now mine. You are forgiven. You are clean. You are new."

It happens when you say, "Jesus, I'm yours and I'm putting all my trust in what You did when You died for me." Please consider making this your day to do that. Go to our website. We'll help you get connected with Jesus there. It's ANewStory.com. Or you can text us at 442-244-WORD.

Remember, if Jesus has forgiven you, walk and talk confidently, because whatever your enemy may say to lie to you, that old weight, that old burden, that sin is gone!

Song of Solomon 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Spill Your Heart Before God

As a member of God's family, come to Him- not as a stranger, but as an heir. Earnestly make your requests known to him; not because of what you have achieved, but because of what Christ has done! Jesus spilled his blood for you. You can spill your heart before God.
Jesus said if you have faith, you can tell a mountain to go and jump into the sea (Mark 11:23). What is your mountain? What is the challenge of your life? Call out to God for help! Will he do what you want? I cannot say, but this I can say, "He will do what is best." That includes any force that is seeking to drive you out of the Promised Land. "Ask and it will be given to you," Jesus said in Matthew 7:7.  It is a battle, but you do not fight in vain. Call on God for great things!
From Glory Days

Song of Solomon 1

Young Woman[a]

2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
    for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How fragrant your cologne;
    your name is like its spreading fragrance.
    No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!
    The king has brought me into his bedroom.
Young Women of Jerusalem

How happy we are for you, O king.
    We praise your love even more than wine.
Young Woman

How right they are to adore you.
5 I am dark but beautiful,
    O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
    dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
    the sun has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
    they forced me to care for their vineyards,
    so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?
    Where will you rest your sheep at noon?
For why should I wander like a prostitute[b]
    among your friends and their flocks?
Young Man

8 If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
    follow the trail of my flock,
    and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling,
    as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
10 How lovely are your cheeks;
    your earrings set them afire!
How lovely is your neck,
    enhanced by a string of jewels.
11 We will make for you earrings of gold
    and beads of silver.
Young Woman

12 The king is lying on his couch,
    enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
    lying between my breasts.
14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms
    from the vineyards of En-gedi.
Young Man

15 How beautiful you are, my darling,
    how beautiful!
    Your eyes are like doves.
Young Woman

16 You are so handsome, my love,
    pleasing beyond words!
The soft grass is our bed;
17     fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
    and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.

Footnotes:

1:1 The headings identifying the speakers are not in the original text, though the Hebrew usually gives clues by means of the gender of the person speaking.
1:7 Hebrew like a veiled woman.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 12, 2015

Read: Romans 12:14-21

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
    I will pay them back,”[a]
    says the Lord.
20 Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”[b]
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Footnotes:

12:19 Deut 32:35.
12:20 Prov 25:21-22.

INSIGHT:
When the apostle Paul instructs the Roman Christians to bless rather than curse those who persecute them, he’s not talking just about words. The biblical concept of blessing and cursing nearly always meant both words and actions. In today’s passage Paul is calling for radical acts of love, for—as Jesus showed us—true love is not just conveyed by what we say but also by what we do (John 15:13; 1 John 3:18). Dennis Moles

Of Geese and Difficult People

By Randy Kilgore

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Romans 12:18

When we first moved into our present home, I enjoyed the beauty of the geese that nest nearby. I admired the way they cared for each other and the way they moved in straight lines in the water and in majestic V-formations in the air. It was also a joy to watch them raise their young.

Then summer came, and I discovered some less beautiful truths about my feathered friends. You see, geese love to eat grass, and they don’t really care if it ruins the look of the lawn. Worse, what they leave behind makes a stroll across the yard a messy adventure.

God helps us see the beauty in even the most difficult people.
I think of these geese when I’m dealing with difficult people. Sometimes I wish I could simply shoo them out of my life. It’s then that God usually reminds me that there is beauty in even the most difficult person if we can get close enough to discover it, and the pain they’re giving out may be reflective of the pain they are feeling. The apostle Paul says in Romans, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (12:18). So I ask God to help me be patient with the “hard side” of others. This doesn’t always produce a happy outcome, but it is remarkable how often God redeems these relationships.

As we encounter difficult people, by God’s grace we can see and love them through His eyes.

By Your grace, Lord, help me to live peaceably with others. And help me to recognize when I’m the difficult person in other people’s lives and need Your intervention. Give me the will and desire to change.

Peace can come if we respond with a gentle answer.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Changed Life

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17

What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.

What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.


WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly.  Disciples Indeed, 393 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 12, 2015

Closing for Inventory - #7524

Alcoholics really need to stay away from places that are all about alcohol. Bookaholics need to stay away from bookstores. Like it's dangerous for me to spend time in a bookstore, especially a Christian bookstore.

When my son was home from college we would often enjoy going together to a bookstore. I usually headed for the books; he would head for the music. But this one time when I asked him, it suddenly dawned on me this wasn't a good time to go. This was the time that they traditionally conducted their inventory. Yeah, lousy time to go to a store you really want to be in, because they were shut down to take stock.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Closing for Inventory."

There was one man in history who was called the man after God's own heart by God. His name was David. It's this man whose personal spiritual diary is in your possession. It's called the book of Psalms. One of those is in Psalm 42; it's a real look inside David's heart. Then his question that I hope will become your question.

Our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 42 beginning at verse 1, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." Here's the question, "When can I go and meet with God?" Now what's David's frame of mind in this Psalm? Well he says in verse 3, "My tears have been my food day and night."

He later describes himself as being downcast, disturbed. In a word David is struggling. He says something's not right, but instead of sinking he knows where to turn. He says this in the Psalm, "My soul is downcast within me: therefore I will remember you." He says it's time to close the store and meet with God. Maybe it's that time for you too. It's time to close for inventory. We can only go so long without a time away from all the other voices. Life just starts spinning out of control without a periodic time of uninterrupted inventory with God.

Stores know you can't really take stock of what you got while you're still selling and servicing customers. They have to lock the doors. They have to hang out a closed sign to do it. It's the same spiritually and emotionally. It's hard to really see where you are and where God wants you to be while you're still meeting all the demands of your daily responsibilities and servicing all the customers in your life.

There must be those times when you hang out the closed sign and just say, "I'm all yours, God." Spend some extended time with your Lord. "When can I go and meet with God?" It might be a day; it might be a couple of days or once in awhile a longer period of time. You just take you, your bible and a big notepad to write down what comes to you while you're listening to the Lord and you can expect Him to fill that pad. He loves when we come to Him with an empty piece of paper.

This is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your spouse; taking over their responsibilities so they can close for inventory. It's a gift to you too. You get a better husband or wife out of the deal. A son or daughter can offer extra help so their mom or dad could spend this time. A church or a ministry is wise to allow, even to encourage their leaders to stop all the business and running the church machine, and take time out for inventory.

When you do go meet with God, open up every corner of you to His search light. Deal with wrong actions, wrong attitudes that have developed. Stand back with Him and get the big picture again. Then ask Him to help you see each of the key people in your life as He sees them - through His eyes.

So how long has it been since you closed for inventory? God has so much He wants to show you and you need to hear His voice so much. You'll come out of that seeking time really ready for business again. But first you have to be still and know that He is God.

Acts 5:22-42 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Extreme Prayer

My friend Greg Pruett's most significant contribution might be in the area of "extreme prayer." In 2008 he assumed the role as president of Pioneer Bible Translators. The recession had sucked dollars out of the economy and confidence out of the public. Resources were few, and donors were disappearing.
Greg knew of only one response: prayer. He says, "That's when I began to learn not to pray about my strategies, but to make prayer the strategy." He wrote a half-page letter to his teammates worldwide, calling them to prayer. He urged them to stand before God's throne with specific and bold requests. They did and the results were astounding.
Maybe God and prayer are all you have too. Respond in prayer-honest, continual, and audacious prayer.
From Glory Days

Acts 5:22-42

But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, 23 “The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”

24 When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. 25 Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”

26 The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them. 27 Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. 28 “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.[a] 31 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. 32 We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them. 34 But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while. 35 Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! 36 Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. 37 After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

38 “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

40 The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.

41 The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.[b] 42 And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”

Footnotes:

5:30 Greek on a tree.
5:41 Greek for the name.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Read: Daniel 6:10-23

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions?”

“Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.”

13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”

14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament.

15 In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.”

16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.

19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.

INSIGHT:
The name Daniel means “God is my judge,” and Daniel lived a life that expressed that truth. He lived in captivity to the Babylonians, but his heart was surrendered to God. Bill Crowder

Crumbs of Time By Keila Ochoa

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel 6:10

A friend was coming to town. He is a very busy man and his schedule was tight, but after a difficult day in important meetings, he managed to see my family for half an hour for a quick and late dinner. We enjoyed his visit, but I remember looking at my plate and thinking, “We only got the crumbs of his time.”

Then I remembered how many times God gets the crumbs of my time—sometimes just the last minutes before I fall asleep.

Daniel was a busy man. He held a high government position in the ancient kingdom of Babylon, and I’m sure he had a full schedule. However, he had developed the habit of spending time with God—praying three times a day, praising God, and thanking Him. This routine helped him develop a strong faith that did not waver when he faced persecution (Dan. 6).

God desires a relationship with us. In the morning we can invite Him into our day, and then we can praise Him and ask Him for His help throughout the day. At other times we can treasure some time alone with Him and reflect on His faithfulness. As we spend time with God in prayer and in His Word, we grow in our relationship with Him and learn to become more and more like Him. As time with God becomes a priority, we enjoy His company more and more.

Dear Father, I want to have an intimate relationship with You. I invite You to be part of my entire day—from the time I awake until I go to sleep.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 11, 2015

He said, "Take now your son…" —Genesis 22:2

God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning…and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.

Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Virgin Treasure - #7523

When I was in high school - a long time ago - it seemed like girls had to explain if they weren't a virgin. Now they have to explain if they are. Our culture sees virginity as sort of an oddity. Curious. Nice - sort of. Maybe slightly unnatural. A cable news network once posed this question to their viewers: "Why are we so obsessed with virginity?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Virgin Treasure."

One of the more recent forays into virgin territory was triggered by an HBO interview with Olympian Lolo Jones. She's won gold medals at the World Indoor Championship twice and has been regarded as one of the best hurdlers in the world. But it was a Twitter mention of being a virgin that started the buzz and made this interview news. After all, she's attractive...she's a star athlete...she's fit - and hasn't had sex? What?

She said, "It's just something, a gift that I want to give to my husband." That's a young woman who understands making sacrifices and working hard to get to a prize. Oh, and she understands the hurdles between her and that finish line. "Please understand" she said, "this journey has been hard. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college. I've been tempted. I've had guys tell me ‘if you have sex, it will help you run faster.'" Really?

One gutsy woman - with a seriously tested but uncompromised conviction - again, unintentionally, put virginity back in the national conversation. As did NFL quarterback Tim Tebow some time ago when he revealed he is saving sex for one person - his wife. A pro football quarterback? Come on! Lots of head-scratching; a lot of snickers.

The good news for Lolo and Tim and every man or woman who guards their virginity as a treasure not to be violated is this: you've got God on your side. That's God, as in the Inventor of sex; the Designer of human sexuality, of man, of woman. Oh, yeah, the culture's changed. But you can't change the Creator's plan for His creation.

Jesus said this about sex: "At the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate" (Mark 10:6-9). One man with one woman in a lifetime covenant before God. That's how sex was designed to be. Anything else is settling for a twisted or discounted version of the beauty and the fulfillment God planned for us.

God really cares what we do with His incredible love gift called sex. In Hebrews 13:4, our Word for today from the Word of God, He says, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure. For God will judge...all the sexually immoral." See, God's put a fence around sex. It's called marriage and He'll judge those who violate it. I didn't say that. God did.

My friend Mel has the most amazing vegetable garden I've ever seen and he's got a fence around it. "He doesn't want people to enjoy it, I know." That's not why. He wants to keep it a garden. The fence is there to keep out the things that would ruin it. That's why God put a fence around sex called marriage. It's not there to deprive us of something good or fun. It's there to protect us from ruining something beautiful. A garden is where beautiful things grow if it's kept safe.

The "you're a virgin?" reactions Lolo Jones received as a public person? They're not unique to her. Every person who refuses to bow their knee to the culture's pressure to be "normal," as in sexually active, knows the drill. It's like you're weird or something. It makes me think of the valuable baseball card collection my son built as a boy. The best ones - the ones worth investing in - were those that were hard to find. They were rare. Oh, you could buy a ton of what they called "commons" - the cards there are plenty of - you could get those for cheap. But the rare ones? Valuable!

A virgin isn't weird. They're increasingly rare. And the less there are of them, the more valuable they become. And to all the "Lolos" and "Tims" who still cherish their irreplaceable gift of purity, just know that the finish line - and God's gold medal - are worth the sacrifice and worth the wait.

One of the most powerful words in God's vocabulary is the word "forgiven" because it carries with it the promise that we can be clean and new. It's why Jesus died on the cross. And if you're thinking about what you wish you hadn't done, this is your day when that can be erased from God's Book forever if you're ready to embrace the new beginning Jesus gives at His cross.

Tell Him today you want to belong to Him. And text us that let us help you begin that relationship at 442-244-WORD. This is the day for your "new beginning."

Proverbs 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Relationship with God

Our relationship with God is exactly that- a relationship. His invitation in Psalm 27:8 is simple. Come and talk with me, O my people. And our response? Lord, I'm coming! We abide with him and he abides with us.
Psalm 119:105 says in everything, His word is a "lamp unto our feet." It's not a spotlight into the future, but He gives enough light to take the next step.
Our "Glory Days" are such because we learn to hear God's voice telling us to turn this way or that way. Isaiah speaks of it in chapter 30, verse 21. "Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go." Wait until God speaks before you act. Be patient and monitor your impulse. If you feel a check in your heart, heed it and ask God again. Consult God in everything!
From Glory Days

Proverbs 31

Sayings of King Lemuel

The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
    Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
3 Do not spend your strength[c] on women,
    your vigor on those who ruin kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
    it is not for kings to drink wine,
    not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
    and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
    wine for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.
8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [d]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Footnotes:

Proverbs 31:3 Or wealth
Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Read: 1 Peter 3:13-17
Suffering for Doing Good

Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.[a] Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

Footnotes:

3:16 Some English translations put this sentence in verse 15.

INSIGHT:
First Peter was written to those who were being persecuted because of their faith in Christ. In 1 Peter 2:11-25, echoing Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5:10-16, Peter encourages the believers to live holy lives and to do good works so that those who don’t believe might be won to the Lord. In today’s passage he encourages followers of Christ to remain faithful, to continue to “revere Christ as Lord,” and to be ready to share the gospel when the opportunity presents itself (3:14-16). Paul makes similar calls to godly living in his other letters (Rom. 13:12-14; Phil. 2:14-16; Col. 4:5-6; 1 Thess. 4:9-12; Titus 2:7-8). Sim Kay Tee

Gentle Lights
By Poh Fang Chia

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Wang Xiaoying (pronounced Shao-ying) lives in a rural area of China’s Yunnan province. Due to health problems, her husband couldn’t find work in the fields, causing hardship for the family. Her mother-in-law attributed the trouble to Xiaoying’s faith in God. So she mistreated Xiaoying and urged her to go back to the traditional religion of her ancestors.

But because Xiaoying’s husband had observed her transformed life, he said, “Mother, it isn’t enough for Xiaoying alone to believe in God; we too should put our faith in God!” Because of the noticeable change in his wife, he is now considering the good news of Jesus.

People will watch our walk before listening to our talk. The best witness combines good behavior with appropriate words, reflecting the difference Christ makes in our lives.

This was the apostle Peter’s instruction to the first-century believers, and to us, on how we can introduce Jesus to a hostile world. He challenged his readers to be “eager to do good” (1 Peter 3:13), to live obediently in Christ, to have a good conscience, and to be prepared to explain to others why we have such hope (v. 15). If we do this, we have no reason to fear or be ashamed when people mistreat or slander us because of our beliefs.

Whatever our situation, let’s shine for Jesus where we are. He can provide the grace we need to reach even those who don’t agree with us.

Lord, we tend to react defensively when people shun us or attack us for our faith. Give us Your courage to offer wise and gentle responses when we are mistreated.

The more we live like Jesus, the more others will be drawn to Him.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

…fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ… —1 Thessalonians 3:2

After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.

I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Wildfire Headed Our Way - #7522

There was a miracle in the wildfire that night on an Indian reservation where we have many dear friends. We watched the news with growing concern last summer - and with intensifying prayer - as the path of that fire's destruction grew steadily. We learned that some of our kind of unofficial "family" there had their church and some loved ones in a town that was surrounded by the flames. And they told us about the miracle.

The flames were sweeping straight toward their sister's home, along with her in-laws' house next door. But the fire stopped. It burned through the narrow yard between the two homes and right up to the homes. But the cell phone pictures told the story - two houses, standing untouched in a circle of charred ground and trees.

And the fire won't come back there because the fire can't go where the fire has already been.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wildfire Headed Our Way."

That's something Indian people counted on for centuries as wildfires would sweep across the prairie. And this is a technique familiar to modern firefighters. They would intentionally burn the area around their village so the approaching flames didn't have any fuel; they couldn't reach them.

Praying on the phone with our reservation friends made me think about that life-saving strategy. And the hill - Skull Hill. That's what they called it back then. A garbage dump where they nailed people to a cross. Where they nailed Jesus to a cross. Actually, where He let them nail Him to a cross, because He said, "The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep…No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down…" (John 10:11, 18). He made the tree He died on. He made the men who nailed Him there.

It was on that hill that the fire of divine judgment fell on the only Son of God so it would never come to me or you, or a whole world of sinners like us. Our final destiny is pretty clear when you read the Bible. "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

I have to admit it, it is a judgment I deserve. I have, along with all of my fellow humans, essentially said to my Creator, "You run the universe, God, and I'll run me, thank You." In essence, attempting to dethrone God and enthrone me. How dare I?

But Jesus' unspeakable sacrifice on Skull Hill is the game-changer. Romans 5:8-10, our Word for today from the Word of God, says, "God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners . . . And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation."

I have chosen to place all my hopes for now and forever in what Jesus did on that cross; to stand at the one place where the judgment of God will never come. By that cross where Jesus took my hell and your hell so we would never have to. Romans 8:1, "There is no condemnation to those who belong to Christ Jesus."

The question is, "Have you ever taken your stand by that cross and stepped into that circle where the fire - the judgment of God - has already fallen? Have you ever said, "Jesus, I now see that what was on that cross was for me." You can know all about Him. You could have been around a religion that's all about Jesus your whole life and still have never actually gone to that cross and said, "Jesus, for me. You're doing it for me, and it's my sin You died for and it's my sin that needs forgiving. Jesus, I want you to be my Savior, my Rescuer from my sin - my personal Savior."

If you've never done that, let this be the day that you trade a death sentence for eternal life, and God's condemnation for God's forgiveness. If you want to begin a relationship with Him and experience His love for yourself, go to our website ANewStory.com or text us at 442-244-WORD.

His cross is the only safe place from the fire, because the fire will not come where the fire has already been.

Proverbs 30 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Consult God in Everything

How bold are your prayers? Boldness in prayer is an uncomfortable thought for many. We think of humbling ourselves before God or having a chat with God. But agonizing before God…or storming heaven with our prayers…or pounding on the door of the Most High…or wrestling with God? Isn't such prayer irreverent and presumptuous? It would be had God not invited us to pray as such.
The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 4:16, "So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need." Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that "Satan masquerades himself as an angel of light." He's crafty, so it is essential that we consult God in everything! Is this opportunity from you, God? Are you in this venture, God? Acknowledge Him, heed Him, and ask Him. He will guide you.
From Glory Days

Proverbs 30
The Sayings of Agur

The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.[a]

I am weary, O God;
    I am weary and worn out, O God.[b]
2 I am too stupid to be human,
    and I lack common sense.
3 I have not mastered human wisdom,
    nor do I know the Holy One.
4 Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
    Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
    Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
    Tell me if you know!
5 Every word of God proves true.
    He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
    or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
7 O God, I beg two favors from you;
    let me have them before I die.
8 First, help me never to tell a lie.
    Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
    Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
    And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
10 Never slander a worker to the employer,
    or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11 Some people curse their father
    and do not thank their mother.
12 They are pure in their own eyes,
    but they are filthy and unwashed.
13 They look proudly around,
    casting disdainful glances.
14 They have teeth like swords
    and fangs like knives.
They devour the poor from the earth
    and the needy from among humanity.
15 The leech has two suckers
    that cry out, “More, more!”[c]
There are three things that are never satisfied—
    no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave,[d]
    the barren womb,
    the thirsty desert,
    the blazing fire.
17 The eye that mocks a father
    and despises a mother’s instructions
will be plucked out by ravens of the valley
    and eaten by vultures.
18 There are three things that amaze me—
    no, four things that I don’t understand:
19 how an eagle glides through the sky,
    how a snake slithers on a rock,
    how a ship navigates the ocean,
    how a man loves a woman.
20 An adulterous woman consumes a man,
    then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”
21 There are three things that make the earth tremble—
    no, four it cannot endure:
22 a slave who becomes a king,
    an overbearing fool who prospers,
23     a bitter woman who finally gets a husband,
    a servant girl who supplants her mistress.
24 There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
25 Ants—they aren’t strong,
    but they store up food all summer.
26 Hyraxes[e]—they aren’t powerful,
    but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts—they have no king,
    but they march in formation.
28 Lizards—they are easy to catch,
    but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things that walk with stately stride—
    no, four that strut about:
30 the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,
31     the strutting rooster,
    the male goat,
    a king as he leads his army.
32 If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil,
    cover your mouth in shame.
33 As the beating of cream yields butter
    and striking the nose causes bleeding,
    so stirring up anger causes quarrels.
Footnotes:
30:1a Or son of Jakeh from Massa; or son of Jakeh, an oracle.
30:1b The Hebrew can also be translated The man declares this to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and to Ucal.
30:15 Hebrew two daughters who cry out, “Give, give!”
30:16 Hebrew Sheol.
30:26 Or Coneys, or Rock badgers.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 09, 2015

Read: Psalm 107:23–32

Some went off to sea in ships,
    plying the trade routes of the world.
24 They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,
    his impressive works on the deepest seas.
25 He spoke, and the winds rose,
    stirring up the waves.
26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens
    and plunged again to the depths;
    the sailors cringed in terror.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards
    and were at their wits’ end.
28 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
29 He calmed the storm to a whisper
    and stilled the waves.
30 What a blessing was that stillness
    as he brought them safely into harbor!
31 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation
    and before the leaders of the nation.

INSIGHT:
Today’s psalm reminds us that God can indeed guide us to safe havens in the midst of life’s storms and trials. However, this psalm also reminds us that the same God who calms the storm and points the way to our “desired haven” (v. 30) is the God who sometimes stirs up the oceans in our lives. It is God who “stirred up a tempest” (v. 25) that caused the sailors to melt with fear and reel and stagger (vv. 26,27). Then “they cried out to the Lord . . . and he brought them out of their distress” (v. 28). The God who stirs the seas wants us to turn to Him for help. J.R. Hudberg

Charity Island
By Dennis Fisher
The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.
Nahum 1:7

Charity Island is the largest island in Saginaw Bay in the Michigan waters of Lake Huron. For many years the island has provided a lighthouse for navigational aid and a safe harbor for those sailing these waters. The island received its name because sailors believed it was there “through the charity of God.”

Sometimes in life we have to navigate through seas of troubling circumstances. Like those sailors we need guidance and a place of safety; we might wish for our own Charity Island. The psalmist understood that God is the one who can bring tranquility to troubled waters and guide us to safe harbors. He wrote, “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven” (Ps. 107:29-30).

While no one asks for the storms of life, they can multiply our appreciation for the guidance and refuge God provides. He offers the light of His Spirit and His Word to guide us. It is the safe harbor of His love that we long for. He alone can be our ultimate “Charity Island.”

Father, help me to seek Your light to guide me through the storms of life.

Share your story of how the Lord has been your light in the comments section below.

The living God will always be our shelter.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 09, 2015
Sacred Service

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ… —Colossians 1:24

The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.

When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 09, 2015

The Story You Must Tell - #7521

It was shocking and it came on the day my Dad went to heaven. I flew in; I couldn't make it back in time before he took his last breath. But we'd had some great conversations before he died. And that was the day that my Mother made an announcement. She said, "You have a brother." What? Yeah, here I'm a grown man with children of my own. Now, I knew I'd had a baby brother who died when he was six months old, and that's how all of us came to know Jesus as a result of the tragedy that went into our family through that. But that was the day I learned about a brother I never knew about for all those years. Now, there's some complicated circumstances that would explain why I didn't know. But the fact is, my Dad and my Mom had never told me about this brother by another mother. Since then I've had a chance to meet the brother I never knew about, and wow, what a blessing and it's so enriched both of our lives, along with our wives as well. But it was a story I'd never heard. It was a story I wish I'd heard. It was a story that changed my life. But it was a story that I almost never heard.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Story You Must Tell."

You have a story! You have a story to tell that literally lives depend on; that can change lives forever. But you can't sit on it! Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 28. What an exciting chapter! This is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The angel has just appeared to these crest-fallen women who think the body of their Savior was stolen. He said, "He is not here; he has risen!" Now listen to these words, "Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead…' So, the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples."

Now, what good is a story, especially if it's good news and you don't tell it? Well, this is the good news about a death-conquering, life-changing Savior who crushed death that morning. The greatest fear we all have. The story you've got to tell is the story you probably know so well if you've been around Christian things very long.

You know about Jesus dying on the cross to carry the wrath of God upon Him for all of our sin, to set us free, to make it possible for us to be free and clean and forgiven and heaven-bound. And He's powerful enough to walk out of His grave under His own power. Here's the greatest love a person can experience; a love that would die for you. The greatest power a person can experience; a power that can conquer death. Wow! Don't you want to tell that story to someone? You know it; they don't.

We're living in a post Christian world; people around us probably aren't going to go to a religious meeting to hear a religious speaker talk on a religious subject in a religious place. They may be surrounded by Christian resources, and TV and radio, etc. But they don't know about all that. They have yet to find out that what Jesus did on the cross was for them. The only way they're going to know that is if you tell them the story you know so well.

They desperately need to hear about that. They desperately need to hear about a Jesus who is alive, who changes people, who does things that no one else can do and saves lives. It may be old hat to you about the sin and Christ dying for sin. But it's life-saving news for somebody that you know. The words of the angel on that resurrection morning were, "You've come and seen. Now, go and tell." That's Jesus' command to you. You must go and tell.

And you have a Hope Story. You are living proof that Jesus is alive, because He has done things in your life that no one else could have done. He has fixed what no one else could fix. He is changing what no one else could change. He is providing hope where nothing else could. You have a Hope Story, and that story of what Jesus did on the cross and how Jesus has changed you may be the difference between life and death and heaven and hell for somebody in your world.

Would you tell them the story you know? Give them the good news! You have a life-changing story to tell. But what good is a story if you don't tell it?