Amos 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: In Our Place
Suppose you were to stand on a stage while a film of every secret and selfish moment of your life was projected on the screen behind you? Would you not scream for the heavens to have mercy? And would you not feel just a fraction of what Christ felt on the cross? The icy displeasure of a sin-hating God?
The Bible says Christ carried all our sins in his body. See Christ on the cross? That’s a gossiper hanging there. See Jesus? Embezzler….liar…bigot. Hold it, Max! Don’t you lump Christ with those evildoers. I didn’t. HE did. More than place his name in the same sentence, he placed himself in their place. And yours! With hands nailed open, he invited God, Treat me as you would them.  And God did. “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” (Matthew 27:46). Why did Christ scream those words? It’s simple–so you will never have to!
From Next Door Savior

Amos  3
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:

2 “You only have I chosen
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
    for all your sins.”
3 Do two walk together
    unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
    when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
    when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
    when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
    if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
    do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
    has not the Lord caused it?
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
    without revealing his plan
    to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
    who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
    who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
    and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
    see the great unrest within her
    and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
    “who store up in their fortresses
    what they have plundered and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“An enemy will overrun your land,
    pull down your strongholds
    and plunder your fortresses.”
12 This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth
    only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
    with only the head of a bed
    and a piece of fabric[i] from a couch.[j]”
13 “Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

14 “On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
    I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house
    along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
    and the mansions will be demolished,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes:

Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 28, 2016

Read: Psalm 18:1-6
For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:

1 I love you, Lord;
    you are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
    my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
    and my place of safety.
3 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and he saved me from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death entangled me;
    floods of destruction swept over me.
5 The grave[a] wrapped its ropes around me;
    death laid a trap in my path.
6 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
    yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
    my cry to him reached his ears.
Footnotes:
18:5 Hebrew Sheol

INSIGHT:
Psalm 18 seems to be a song of retrospective understanding. In many of David’s psalms we find him being pursued and hunted, first by Saul and later by Absalom. During those times of flight and danger, David sometimes questioned God’s faithfulness, love, and care—wondering why the Lord didn’t intervene on his behalf. In Psalm 18, however, we see a more reflective David. He looked back on his journey and saw continuous evidence of the presence and protection of God along the way (vv. 1–3; 16–19; 25–29; 35–36; 47–50)—even in the seasons of life where that evidence seemed scarce. Now, looking back, David affirmed what he had questioned—the faithfulness of God.

Before the Phone
By Keila Ochoa

In my distress I called to the Lord. Psalm 18:6

As a mom of young children I’m sometimes susceptible to panic. My first reaction is to call my mom on the phone and ask her what to do with my son’s allergy or my daughter’s sudden cough.

Mom is a great resource, but when I read the Psalms, I’m reminded of how often we need the kind of help that no mortal can give. In Psalm 18 David was in great danger. Afraid, close to death, and in anguish, he called on the Lord.

Jesus always hears our cries.
David could say, “I love you, Lord” because he understood God was a fortress, a rock, and a deliverer (vv. 1-2). God was his shield, his salvation, and his stronghold. Maybe we cannot understand David’s praise because we have not experienced God’s help. It may be that we reach for the phone before going to God for advice and help.

Surely God puts people in our lives to give us help and comfort. But let’s also remember to pray. God will hear us. As David sang, “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (v. 6). When we go to God, we join David’s song and enjoy Him as our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.

Next time you reach for the phone, remember also to pray.
Dear Lord, help me to remember You are my deliverer, and You always hear my cry.
Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 28, 2016
How Could Someone So Persecute Jesus!

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? —Acts 26:14

Are you determined to have your own way in living for God? We will never be free from this trap until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of “the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve His Spirit. And when we finally understand that it is Jesus we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.

Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of only one thing— a perfect oneness with the Father. And He tells us, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). All I do should be based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted.

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
Thursday, January 28, 2016
A Little Girl, A Light - and How to Help the Lost Ones - #7579

She was just seven years old; the lone survivor of a plane crash that killed her parents, her sister, and her cousin. The sheriff said "she literally fell out of the sky into a dark hole." He called her survival "a miracle."

This "miracle" survivor somehow crawled out of this upside-down wreckage of her dad's plane dressed only in shorts and a t-shirt on a winter night. Shoeless, through brambles and underbrush, this what they called "remarkable" young girl navigated two embankments, a hill, and a creek bed in the dark.

And then the light. Actually, just a single security light on a house. When she knocked on that door, a kind, grandfatherly man brought her inside. Then she was safe. One report said this: "He thinks his security light may have been a beacon." Yeah, a beacon for a little girl who had lost so much. But, thank God, she was alive.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Little Girl, A Light - and How to Help the Lost Ones."

This story got me to thinking about who I need to be for people who've lost so much, who feel alone, whose world has suddenly crashed, who need someone to be a light - a "beacon" - in an otherwise dark night.

Actually, that is what my Jesus said I should be as His follower. It's actually in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 5, beginning with verse 14, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

I've been thinking what it means to be a light for people in my personal world. It means being one person they know who is all about their need, not about my own. Who has time to listen. Who doesn't just ask the obligatory "How you doin'?" But who asks that second and third question to see if that obligatory "fine" answer they gave you is really how they're doing.

Being a light means being the one who refuses to hear or speak trash talk about anyone. Who protects a person's name when they're not in the room. Who builds a person up and never tears them down. Who says, "Thank you" and "I'm sorry" and "I was wrong."

It's always treating people, as the Bible says, "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). Not "turning off the light" by making them feel condemned or put down.

The "light" is the person who remembers a person's birthday, who checks on them when they're sick, who's at the hospital, the wedding, and the funeral. Who drops what I'm doing when they're hurting. Who offers to pray with - not just for - them when God is needed so much.

So I ask myself: do people around me see me as "safe"; the "go-to" person when it's dark, when it's cold and when it's lonely? Have I so lived that when they hit a wall, they'll think of me as a place to turn? I'll know it's because of the Jesus in me. Am I the light on the porch when people around me are feeling lost?

I can be that for one reason. Jesus Christ has been that for me. As a dad who didn't know what to do, when there was no money, in the cold chill of that cemetery. When I was spiritually lost with no hope of heaven, because of running my life instead of God running it, I found one beacon in my storm - a cross and an empty tomb. It is, by the way, where you will find that same light, that same help, that same forgiveness; that light inside of you.

If you have never begun a relationship with this Jesus, who changes everything with planting His love and His hope inside of you and you now can survive any storm, I would invite you to go to our website and let me walk you through there the way you can be sure you belong to Him. Go to ANewStory.com. Because Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). He's kept that promise for me every time.

If someone in my personal world is wandering in the dark today, I just pray they've seen the Light in me so I can help them find home.

Amos 1-2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  You Have to Choose

Make no mistake! Jesus saw himself as God. He leaves us with two options: accept him as God, or reject him as a megalomaniac. There is no third alternative. Oh, but we try to create one! Suppose you came across me standing on the side of the road. I can go north or south. You ask me which way I'm going. "I'm going sorth. I can't choose between north and south, so I'm going both. I'm going sorth!" "You can't do that," you reply. "You have to choose."
When it comes to Christ, you've got to do the same. Call him crazy, or crown him as king. Dismiss him as a fraud, or declare him to be God. Walk away from him, or bow before him, but don't play games with him. He is either hope or all hype. But nothing in between.
From Next Door Savior

Amos 1-2

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.

2 He said:

“The Lord roars from Zion
    and thunders from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel withers.”
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
3 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
4 I will send fire on the house of Hazael
    that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break down the gate of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,”
says the Lord.
6 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
8 I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines are dead,”
says the Sovereign Lord.
9 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.”
11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,
12 I will send fire on Teman
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”
13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah
    that will consume her fortresses
amid war cries on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,”
says the Lord.
2 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes
    the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f]
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
3 I will destroy her ruler
    and kill all her officials with him,”
says the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,[g]
    the gods[h] their ancestors followed,
5 I will send fire on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

Footnotes:
Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
Amos 1:15 Or / Molek
Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
Amos 2:4 Or by lies
Amos 2:4 Or lies


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Read: Exodus 16:11-31

Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. 14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. 15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was.

And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. 16 These are the Lord’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts[a] for each person in your tent.”

17 So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. 18 But when they measured it out,[b] everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

19 Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” 20 But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.

21 After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts[c] for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. 23 He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”

24 So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor. 25 Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord. There will be no food on the ground today. 26 You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.”

27 Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. 28 The Lord asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? 29 They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.” 30 So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.

31 The Israelites called the food manna.[d] It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.

Footnotes:
16:16 Hebrew 1 omer [2.2 liters]; also in 16:32, 33.
16:18 Hebrew measured it with an omer.
16:22 Hebrew 2 omers [4.4 liters].
16:31 Manna means “What is it?” See 16:15.

What Is It?
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” Exodus 16:15

My mother taught Sunday school for decades. One week she wanted to explain how God supplied food for the Israelites in the wilderness. To make the story come alive, she created something to represent “manna” for the kids in her class. She cut bread into small pieces and topped them with honey. Her recipe was inspired by the Bible’s description of manna that says it “tasted like wafers made with honey” (Ex. 16:31).

When the Israelites first encountered God’s bread from heaven, it appeared on the ground outside their tents like frost. “When [they] saw it, they said to each other, ‘What is it?’ ” (v. 15). The Hebrew word man means “what,” so they called it manna. They discovered they could grind it and form it into loaves or cook it in a pot (Num. 11:7-8). Whatever it was, it had a baffling arrival (Ex. 16:4,14), a unique consistency (v. 14), and a short expiration date (vv. 19-20).

Sometimes God provides for us in surprising ways, but He always meets our needs.
Sometimes God provides for us in surprising ways. This reminds us that He is not bound by our expectations, and we can’t predict what He will choose to do. While we wait, focusing on who He is rather than what we think He should do will help us find joy and satisfaction in our relationship with Him.

Dear God, please help me to freely accept Your provision and the way You choose to deliver it. Thank You for caring for me and meeting my needs.

Those who let God provide will always be satisfied.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Look Again and Think
Do not worry about your life… —Matthew 6:25

A warning which needs to be repeated is that “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches,” and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.

“I say to you, do not worry about your life….” Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing— our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, “That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink.” Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.

“Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, “What are your plans for next month— or next summer?” Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the “much more” of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them.  The Place of Help, 1032 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
The Power of Your Prayers - #7578
OK, here's a quick sports quiz: How many men on a football team? Okay, I see that hand. Eleven? Yes, that's right! If it's the home team with the support of their fans on their field, someone said there are twelve players on the team. Oh, you won't find the twelfth man anywhere on the field. It's all those noisy fans cheering for the home team and trying to demoralize the opponent. In sports, those fans are literally called the twelfth man. There's one big reason at least why teams play to have the best season record so they can play at home during the playoffs. The twelfth man is a big part of that home field advantage. Those supporters never go on the field, but their influence; it helps every man there.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Your Prayers."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 17. It's a true story out of the wilderness experiences of God's ancient people. Moses tells Joshua to go and fight the Amalekites who have ambushed them. In verse 9 he says, "I will stand on top of the hill. And as long as Moses held up his hands the Israelites were winning. But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning."

The Bible says there were two men here who held up Moses' hands when he couldn't. And because of the symbolism of his upraised hands and what it really meant, which we'll look at in just a minute, it says here, "Joshua overcame the Amalekite army." What was this that was going on as Moses held up his hands? He explained it. He says, "Hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord."

That's what Moses was doing on the hill. He was fervently praying for God's warriors, and probably against the enemies of God's children. Moses was interceding on the hill. He was standing between God and God's warriors, bringing their need and their battle into the very Throne Room of Almighty God. Moses was like the twelfth man in football. He never set foot on the battlefield, but what he was doing was helping every person in the battle.

For me, this might be the most revealing passage in all the Bible as to what's actually going on when we are fervently praying for someone and praying against what the enemy is trying to do in their lives. Literally, when we are faithfully interceding for someone, they win. When we stop praying, they stop winning.

Which leads me to ask if you are the faithful prayer warrior for the members of your family, for some servants of God that He's laid on your heart, for your pastor, your church leaders? So often people will say, "Well, I guess all I can do is pray." What? All I can do is go into the very Throne Room of Almighty God and pray down His unbeatable power. All I can do is pray? There is no more powerful, no more decisive position you can play on God's team than being a prayer warrior.

And anyone can play that position anywhere: close by, far away, from a hospital bed, a nursing home, a prison cell, a room alone. Time after time I have been in situations where God's power seemed to suddenly flood in at that moment, overruling my weakness, overruling Satan's opposition, overruling impossible obstacles, discouragement, and I have seen miraculous results.

I've been on dark reservations where the battle is so intense with supernatural forces with a team of young Native Americans - our On Eagles' Wings team. And I've often said, "Lord, those people who said they'd pray for us; have them pray now." And we have seen incredible break-throughs. I know what's happening in those moments. I'm living the answers to somebody's prayers somewhere. Those people who promised to pray for us are making all the difference and actually deciding the outcome.

As you support God's home team from the stands of prayer, get excited about the decisive position you're playing. The victories are ultimately not just won by the warriors on the field, but by that prayer warrior on the hill.

Acts 15:22-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Religious Midway

Ever feel like you are walking through a religious midway? The Torah sends you to Moses. The Koran sends you to Muhammad. Buddhists invite you to meditate and spiritists to levitate. The agnostic believes no one can know. Step right up-try my witchcraft. Psst! Over here. Interested in some new age channels? Oh the voices! And we pray, Father, help me out! Please modulate one and relegate the others.
If that's your prayer, then Luke 9 is your chapter-the day God isolated the authoritative voice of history and declared, Listen to Him! On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was praying with Peter, John and James. And his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming. And a voice came out of the clouds saying, "This is my beloved son, listen to Him!"  Hear Jesus amidst all the other voices.
From Next Door Savior

Acts 15:22-41

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

Greetings.

24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. [34] [a] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Footnotes:
Acts 15:34 Some manuscripts include here But Silas decided to remain there.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion         

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Read: Job 23:1-12

Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
Then Job spoke again:

2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one,
    and I try hard not to groan aloud.
3 If only I knew where to find God,
    I would go to his court.
4 I would lay out my case
    and present my arguments.
5 Then I would listen to his reply
    and understand what he says to me.
6 Would he use his great power to argue with me?
    No, he would give me a fair hearing.
7 Honest people can reason with him,
    so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.
8 I go east, but he is not there.
    I go west, but I cannot find him.
9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
    I look to the south, but he is concealed.
10 “But he knows where I am going.
    And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
11 For I have stayed on God’s paths;
    I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from his commands,
    but have treasured his words more than daily food.

INSIGHT:
The date and author of the book of Job is unknown. Some scholars suggest that Job lived at about the same time as Abraham and that Moses is the author. When Job’s three friends heard about his sufferings (Job 1–2), they offered an explanation. Over three rounds of debate (Job 4–14; 15–21; 22–27) they argued with Job that suffering is always a result of sin (4:7–9; 8:4–7). Rejecting their explanations, Job sought to find an answer directly from God (23:1–5). At a time when Job needed Him most, God was seemingly absent (vv. 8–9). Yet despite the silence and lack of answers, Job entrusted himself to God’s ways and drew strength from God’s Word (vv. 10–12).

When Questions Remain
By David McCasland
He knows the way that I take. Job 23:10

On October 31, 2014, an experimental spacecraft broke apart during a test flight and crashed into the Mojave Desert. The copilot died while the pilot miraculously survived. Investigators soon determined what had happened, but not why. The title of a newspaper article about the crash began with the words “Questions remain.”

Throughout life we may experience sorrows for which there are no adequate explanations. Some are catastrophic events with far-reaching effects while others are personal, private tragedies that alter our individual lives and families. We want to know why, but we seem to find more questions than answers. Yet even as we struggle with “Why?” God extends His unfailing love to us.

When Job lost his children and his wealth in a single day (Job 1:13-19), he sank into an angry depression and resisted any attempted explanations by his friends. Yet he held out hope that someday there would be an answer from God. Even in the darkness Job could say, “[God] knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (23:10).

Oswald Chambers said, “There will come one day a personal and direct touch from God when every tear and perplexity, every oppression and distress, every suffering and pain, and wrong and injustice will have a complete and ample and overwhelming explanation.”

Today, as we face life’s unanswered questions, we can find help and hope in God’s love and promises.

For more on this topic, read Why Doesn’t God Answer Me? on discoveryseries.org/hp112

When we face unanswered questions, we find help and hope in God’s love.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Look Again and Consecrate

If God so clothes the grass of the field…, will He not much more clothe you…? —Matthew 6:30

A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field…” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed “the cares of this world” to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the “much more” of our heavenly Father.

“Look at the birds of the air…” (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your “feathers” too.

“Consider the lilies of the field…” (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the “much more” He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
How Your Blind Spot Makes You Crash - #7577

When you drive in the New York area, hold on tight. Take changing lanes for example. That's a well developed art form; three or four lanes at a pop. There it goes! Now, the danger zone in changing lanes is what they call your blind spot; that one area in your rear vision that you can't see in any of your mirrors. It's pretty critical. Actually the words "blind spot" took on new meaning for my wife and me a few years ago. See, she had a blind spot. It finally cleared up, but she had vision problems. The doctor believed it was a temporary blind spot. He injected some dye to see how much of her vision was blocked. And I was surprised as he showed us the results. He said, "Now, here's the blind spot that we all have." And I said, "I do?" Right around the optic nerve there are more rods and cones to produce a visual image. So guess what? We all have a blind spot.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Your Blind Spot Makes You Crash."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the wise book of Proverbs 15:12. It's pretty practical stuff. It says, "A mocker resents correction. He will not consult the wise." Verse 5 of that same chapter says, "Whoever heeds correction shows prudence."

This is mentioned three times in the same chapter, so it's got to be important. Verse 32 says, "He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding." It's pretty clear what God is saying here, "Wise people know how to accept correction." They know how to respond to criticism.

You need people around you who confront you, who challenge you, even the ones who criticize you. Why? Because you have a blind spot. Everybody's got a blind spot. We all have weaknesses we can't see. There are hurtful ways we treat people, things we say, ways we act when we're busy or when we're tired. Maybe we're changing lanes and we don't see anything behind us, or maybe even ahead of us.

Often some or our most entrenched sins are often sins we can't see very well. We're so used to doing things a certain way we'll never see some sin without the help of someone else. I'm going to tell you, I've not always welcomed how they tried to help me sometimes. See, God doesn't want our blind spot to remain there. He knows well that the blind spot could make you crash, so he puts two-legged mirrors in our life. You might have some of those.

Those are the people who love us enough, or maybe even dislike us enough to tell us the hard truth about ourselves. If you're mirroring, are you living like a mirror? Sometimes a parent is your mirror, your child might be your mirror. Even your grandchild could be God's mirror in your life. Or maybe your mirror is a friend.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens the countenance of his friend." Sometimes, though, that sharpening of our countenance doesn't come from somebody we perceive as a friend. It might be somebody who is one of those aggravating maybe even highly critical people in our life. But what they speak may be the truth. The measure of truth is in the words, not the one who said it, the truth that is there. And it may be that they're 10% right and 90% wrong. Take that 10% as a gift from God to help you stay on course.

If you're going to be a good mirror for other people by showing them their blind spots, then would you be sure you show them their strong points too. Tell them what's right with them first. People need to know their strengths. People need to know what's good about them as well as what's bad. Make sure there's praise as well as constructive criticism that says, "I love you enough to tell you the truth."

If our physical vision is faulty, there might be a blind spot that could make you crash. Because God loves you so much, He's not going to leave that blind spot there; sometimes coming from someone who loves us, sometimes coming from a very unwelcome source. But consider, "Where is the truth in what they're saying?" And take it for what it is...a gift from God to help you avoid the crash.

Acts 15:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Gets Into Things

God gets into things! Red seas. Big fish. Lions' dens and furnaces. Bankrupt businesses and jail cells. Look and you'll find what everyone from Moses to Martha discovered. God in the middle of our storms.
A young woman missed her station on the subway. By the time she realized her mistake, she didn't know what to do. She prayed for some sign of God's presence. This was no hour or place to be passing through a rough neighborhood alone. At that moment the doors opened and a disheveled man plopped down next to her. God? Are you near? She prayed. The man pulled out a harmonica and played, "Be Thou My Vision"-her mothers' favorite hymn. The song was enough to convince her Christ was there, in the midst of it all. And you? Look closer. He's there. Right in the middle of it all!
From Next Door Savior

Acts 15:1-21
The Council at Jerusalem

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon[a] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16 “‘After this I will return
    and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
    and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
    even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’[b]—
18     things known from long ago.[c]
19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Footnotes:
Acts 15:14 Greek Simeon, a variant of Simon; that is, Peter
Acts 15:17 Amos 9:11,12 (see Septuagint)
Acts 15:18 Some manuscripts things’— / 18 the Lord’s work is known to him from long ago

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 25, 2016

Read: James 3:1-12

The Power of the Tongue

My Christian brothers, not many of you should become teachers. If we do wrong, it will be held against us more than other people who are not teachers. 2 We all make many mistakes. If anyone does not make a mistake with his tongue by saying the wrong things, he is a perfect man. It shows he is able to make his body do what he wants it to do. 3 We make a horse go wherever we want it to go by a small bit in its mouth. We turn its whole body by this. 4 Sailing ships are driven by strong winds. But a small rudder turns a large ship whatever way the man at the wheel wants the ship to go.

5 The tongue is also a small part of the body, but it can speak big things. See how a very small fire can set many trees on fire. 6 The tongue is a fire. It is full of wrong. It poisons the whole body. The tongue sets our whole lives on fire with a fire that comes from hell. 7 Men can make all kinds of animals and birds and fish and snakes do what they want them to do. 8 But no man can make his tongue say what he wants it to say. It is sinful and does not rest. It is full of poison that kills. 9 With our tongue we give thanks to our Father in heaven. And with our tongue we speak bad words against men who are made like God. 10 Giving thanks and speaking bad words come from the same mouth. My Christian brothers, this is not right! 11 Does a well of water give good water and bad water from the same place? 12 Can a fig tree give olives or can a grape-vine give figs? A well does not give both good water and bad water.

INSIGHT:
Marion Stroud went to be with the Lord on August 8, 2015. Since 2014 she has been writing devotional articles for Our Daily Bread that have touched the lives of readers around the world. Marion worked as a cross-cultural trainer for Media Associates International, helping writers produce books for their own culture. She has been a role model for writers for many years and is missed by hundreds of friends.

Careless Words
By Marion Stroud

The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. James 3:5

My daughter has had a lot of ill health recently, and her husband has been wonderfully caring and supportive. “You have a real treasure there!” I said.

“You didn’t think that when I first knew him,” she said with a grin.

She was quite right. When Icilda and Philip got engaged, I was concerned. They were such different personalities. We have a large and noisy family, and Philip is more reserved. And I had shared my misgivings with my daughter quite bluntly.

I was horrified to realize that the critical things I said so casually 15 years ago had stayed in her memory and could possibly have destroyed a relationship that has proved to be so right and happy. It reminded me how much we need to guard what we say to others. So many of us are quick to point out what we consider to be weaknesses in family, friends, or work colleagues, or to focus on their mistakes rather than their successes. “The tongue is a small part of the body,” says James (3:5), yet the words it shapes can either destroy relationships or bring peace and harmony to a situation in the workplace, the church, or the family.

Perhaps we should make David’s prayer our own as we start each day: “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3).

Father, please curb my careless speech and put a guard on my tongue today and every day.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11 nkjv

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 25, 2016
Leave Room for God

When it pleased God… —Galatians 1:15

As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him— to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “…when it pleased God….”

Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 25, 2016

How Your Rough Times Can Help You Help Others - #7576

I was in Georgia when a friend said to me, "Do you know which team is one of the best football teams in our state?" When I said I didn't know, he said, "The Georgia School for the Deaf." I've got to tell you that kind of caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting a school for the deaf to be like football champions. He said, "Man, we played them when I was in high school and you always had to get up for that game. They were always the toughest."

I began to think, how could you play football if you can't hear the signals being called? You can't hear the plays being called. How would you play football? He said, "Well, they bring their band to every game and the signals are called through the drum beats, and they feel the signals through their face." Well, I couldn't do that. But they can. They've got radar I don't have because they face a challenge I haven't faced.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Your Rough Times Can Help You Help Others."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in 2 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 3. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of compassion, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also should the comfort of Christ overflow."

Verse 3 here talks about this beautiful side of God. He's the God of all comfort. He's the God of compassion; the healing hugs of God, who brings what only He can bring us; a supernatural comfort deep inside of us where no human being can go. I hope you've experienced that.

There's a comfort cycle here. It says that we're supposed to comfort with the comfort we got from Him. This word comforting is really the Greek word that means "called alongside of to help." It's saying God comes alongside to encourage us so that we then can do that for others. The comfort isn't just for us to get comfortable. It's to fill us up with love and support that we pass on to others.

How does this happen? Well, you go through a deep valley. Maybe you lose someone, you have a season alone, some lingering illness, maybe a financial disaster, or you're abandoned, you're betrayed, and it hurts. But God does something beautiful with that hurt. He turns it into sensitivity; into radar for people who are hurting in that same area.

Joni Eareckson Toda was paralyzed as a teenager in a dive that day, and it was a terrible tragedy. But the worst thing that ever happened to her has given her a worldwide ministry. She knows how disabled and wounded people feel.

My friend, Jean, was abused as a girl. She's got a wonderful ministry to abused girls. My friend, Don, was raised in a broken home. He has an incredible ability to work with kids from troubled backgrounds. When you open up your hurt and your wounds to the God of all comfort, He can use you in ways you never dreamed.

When life's trouble hits you, it can be a tool either for Satan or for God. You dwell on the pain, you dwell on the people who hurt you or on yourself, and you're going to start a downward cycle of depression. That might be where you are right now.

But if you surrender to Jesus all the pain, all those people who hurt you, all the questions, you're on your way to turning a loss into a victory like those football players at the Georgia School for the Deaf. They have special sensitivity because of their loss, because of their handicap. You can too.

It might be that you're going through so many of life's troubles, so much of life's pain without the Great Comforter, without the God of all compassion because you don't have a relationship with Him. You might have a religion, but you don't know Him personally.

I tell you that Jesus came here to walk the most painful road anyone has ever walked, to die on a brutal cross to pay for the sin that keeps us from God, so the wall could come down between you and Him this very day. And all His resources are yours to walk through the pain and the storm. Our website will show you how to get started with Him - AnewStory.com.

God can give you radar from your rough times; radar that will make you the one who can be Jesus' person for another hurting person.

Jonah 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Power of a Seed

Want to see a miracle? Take a small seed, put it under several inches of dirt. Give it light, water, and fertilizer. It doesn’t matter that the ground is a zillion times the weight of the seed. The seed will push it back! Never underestimate the power of a seed.

James, the epistle writer, wasn’t a farmer.  But he knew the power of a seed sown in fertile soil. “Those who are peacemakers,” he said, “will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18).

How good are you at sowing seeds of peace? Jesus modeled peace through acts of love, washing the feet of men he knew would betray him, and honoring the sinful woman whom society had scorned.

Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heart-deep in a person’s life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens!

From The Applause of Heaven

Jonah 4

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Mercy

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

4 The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”

“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[e] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Footnotes:
4:11 Hebrew people who don’t know their right hand from their left.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 24, 2016

Read: John 15:1-5

Jesus, the True Vine

 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

INSIGHT:
John 15 forms the middle section of Jesus’s Upper Room Discourse—His final extended teaching time with His disciples before going to the cross. He focuses on our deep dependence upon Him by using the comparison of a vine and its branches (vv. 1–8). Then He describes His great love for us that should result in our love for one another (vv. 9–17), our identification with Him as opposed to this world (vv. 18–25), and the reassuring ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives (vv. 26–27). These words not only form strategic preparation for His disciples ahead of His suffering and death, they also speak of His ongoing love for and commitment to all His children.

Honoring God
By Lawrence Darmani

[Jesus said,] “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. John 15:5

The church service was still in progress, and we had some visitors there that morning. The speaker was only halfway through his sermon when I noticed one of our visitors walking out. I was curious and concerned, so I walked out to talk with her.

“You’re leaving so soon,” I said, approaching her. “Is there a problem I can help with?” She was frank and forthright. “Yes,” she said, “my problem is that sermon! I don’t accept what the preacher is saying.”  He had said that no matter what we accomplish in life, the credit and praise belong to God. “At least,” the woman moaned, “I deserve some credit for my achievements!”

Jesus is the one who helps us accomplish everything.
I explained to her what the pastor meant. People do deserve recognition and appreciation for what they do. Yet even our gifts and talents are from God, so He gets the glory. Even Jesus, the Son of God, said, “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19). He told His followers, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (15:5).

We acknowledge the Lord as the one who helps us to accomplish everything.

Lord, let me not forget to acknowledge You for all that You do for me and enable me to do.

God’s children do His will for His glory.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 24, 2016

God’s Overpowering Purpose

I have appeared to you for this purpose… —Acts 26:16

The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go…” (John 15:16).

When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision” — not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ. Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “…to make you a minister and a witness….” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God. Biblical Ethics, 125 R

Jonah 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Special Date

A quiet time with God is very similar to a special date. Denalyn and I like to go to the same restaurants over and over again. When we’re there we remember special moments we’ve shared before. Our hearts open up. We talk to each other. We listen, we laugh, and sometimes we cry. I love those times!

So does God. A quiet time with God is very similar to a special date. Here are some tools to help you keep your date with Him special. Select a slot in your schedule and claim it for God. Take as much time as you need. Your time with God should last long enough for you to say what you want and for God to say what he wants.

Bring an open Bible—God’s Word, his love letter to you. Bring a listening heart and listen to the lover of your soul. Make sure your date with God is on the calendar, and do everything in your power to keep it special!

From Max on Life

Jonah 3

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”

3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.[d] 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

Footnotes:
3:3 Hebrew a great city to God, of three days’ journey.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 23, 2016

Read: Proverbs 22:1-16

Choose a good reputation over great riches;
    being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.
2 The rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord made them both.
3 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
    The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
4 True humility and fear of the Lord
    lead to riches, honor, and long life.
5 Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road;
    whoever values life will avoid it.
6 Direct your children onto the right path,
    and when they are older, they will not leave it.
7 Just as the rich rule the poor,
    so the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster,
    and their reign of terror will come to an end.[a]
9 Blessed are those who are generous,
    because they feed the poor.
10 Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too.
    Quarrels and insults will disappear.
11 Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech
    will have the king as a friend.
12 The Lord preserves those with knowledge,
    but he ruins the plans of the treacherous.
13 The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there!
    If I go outside, I might be killed!”
14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap;
    those who make the Lord angry will fall into it.
15 A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness,
    but physical discipline will drive it far away.
16 A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor
    or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.
Footnotes:
22:8 The Greek version includes an additional proverb: God blesses a man who gives cheerfully, / but his worthless deeds will come to an end. Compare 2 Cor 9:7.

INSIGHT:
The book of Proverbs is structured as a life manual from a father to his son (Prov. 1:8; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1; 7:1). The proverbs are not prophecies or promises, but are short pithy statements that express truths about human behavior. Parents are encouraged to teach God’s Word to their children (22:6) and to discipline them (v. 15).

Lessons for Little Ones
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Start children off on the way they should go. Proverbs 22:6

When my daughter described a problem she was having in the school lunchroom, I immediately wondered how I could fix the issue for her. But then another thought occurred. Maybe God had allowed the problem so she could see Him at work and get to know Him better. Instead of running to the rescue, I decided to pray with her. The trouble cleared up without any help from me!

This situation showed my little one that God cares for her, that He listens when she prays, and that He answers prayers. The Bible says there’s something significant about learning these lessons early in life. If we “start children off on the way they should go, . . .when they are old they will not turn from it” (Prov. 22:6). When we start kids off with an awareness of Jesus and His power, we are giving them a place to return to if they wander and a foundation for spiritual growth throughout their lives.

Consider how you might foster faith in a child. Point out God’s design in nature, tell a story about how He has helped you, or invite a little one to thank God with you when things go right. God can work through you to tell of His goodness throughout all generations.

Dear God, I pray that You will raise up believers in the next generation. Show me how I can encourage young people to trust in You.

We influence future generations by living for Christ today.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Transformed by Beholding

We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image… —2 Corinthians 3:18

The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.

The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord….”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment.
The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption

Jonah 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Christ-Our Substitute

The first man, Adam, was challenged to remain sinless in a sinless world. Christ, on the other hand, was challenged to remain sinless in a sin-ridden world. Christ dared the devil to climb into the ring. See what you can do to me. And Satan did.  The Son of Heaven was tempted but never failed, struck but never struck down. He succeeded where Adam failed.
Romans 5:18 explains, "Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it." You and I are no match for Satan. Jesus knows this. So He put on our flesh. He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. He was victorious for us. Trust his Word! Hang in there!
From Next Door Savior

Jonah 2

Jonah’s Prayer

Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2 1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
    swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
    to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
    turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
    will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Footnotes:
Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 22, 2016

Read: Romans 7:15-25

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[b] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Footnotes:
7:18 Greek my flesh; also in 7:25.
7:23 Greek law; also in 7:23b.

INSIGHT:
There is an interesting element in this passage from the apostle Paul. We often focus on the difference between law and grace. But Paul highlights two different laws in this passage. It is not that the Mosaic law is bad and grace is good. Instead, Paul says that he delights in God’s law but is held captive by the law of sin. God’s law is something to delight in; the sin that is revealed through that law is something to be set free from.

A Prisoner No More
By Randy Kilgore

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

A middle-aged man approached me after I led a workshop at his place of employment and asked this question: “I’ve been a Christian nearly my whole life, but I’m constantly disappointed in myself. Why is it that I always seem to keep doing the things I wish I didn’t do and never seem to do the things I know I should? Isn’t God getting tired of me?” Two men standing next to me also seemed eager to hear the response.

That’s a common struggle that even the apostle Paul experienced. “I do not understand what I do,” he said, “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom. 7:15). But here’s some good news: We don’t have to stay in that trap of discouragement. To paraphrase Paul as he writes in Romans 8, the key is to stop focusing on the law and start focusing on Jesus. We can’t do anything about our sinfulness in our own strength. The answer is not “try harder to be good at keeping the rules.” Instead, we must focus on the One who shows us mercy and cooperate with the Spirit who changes us.

Focus on the One who shows us mercy & cooperate with the Spirit who changes us.
When we focus on the law, we are constantly reminded that we’ll never be good enough to deserve God’s grace. But when we focus on Jesus, we become more like Him.

I sometimes get caught in the cycle of trying harder to be good, failing, getting discouraged, and giving up. Help me, Lord, to depend on Your grace and to draw near to You so that You can change my heart.

Focus on Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 22, 2016


Am I Looking To God?

Look to Me, and be saved… —Isaiah 45:22

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved….” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me….”

Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved….” Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.

Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me….” Salvation is yours the moment you look.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand.  Not Knowing Whither, 888 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 22, 2016
Avoiding God's Spankings - #7575

My friend, Jack, has a short list of people he totally respects. At the top if his list? His Dad. He told me once, "Don't think that meant that I always did what he said when I was a kid. In fact, the usual script was like this. Dad told me to do something or not to do something, and because I'm stubborn, I'd go ahead and I'd do what I wanted. After which my Dad would spank me. And then I would end up doing it Dad's way."

I began to think, "You know, Jack, the story always ends the same way. You end up doing what your Father said anyway." So he concluded, "Either you do it when he says it, or you do it after you get spanked. But either way, you do it." So he said, "Here's where my scientific mind sets in. Why not skip the middle steps where you get spanked and just do what he says." I do have some brilliant friends!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Avoiding God's Spankings."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 12:9-11. Here's what God says, "We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace to all those who have been trained by it."

Now, the day you put your personal trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior from your sin, you are born into the royal family of God. And God becomes that always loving, always fair, always there-for-you Father that your heart has been hungry for. His love for us is expressed in His gifts to us, care for us, His leadership, and through His discipline. When we're out-of-line, God in His love spanks us. Notice it says here that He does it "For our good." It isn't fun when God spanks you, but it helps shape you into the person He redeemed you to be and you end up with the peace that comes from making no-regrets decisions because of what you learned from the discipline.

Now, about Jack's brilliant conclusion: When you know your Father is going to spank you if you stubbornly do it your way, and you're probably going to end up obeying him in the end, why not skip the spanking? Why not do what your Father is telling you to do now without the painful persuasion?

You may not have considered what's happening to you right now as a spanking from your Heavenly Father. But that might be the reason, especially if you've been resisting Him in some area of your life. It's not just a matter of God having His way. It's that any way but His road is a road to disappointment, regrets and scars, aborted happiness.

So He's bringing some discipline into your life to get your attention and to change your direction. If that's the case, you miss the point of the pain and just keep going your own way you know what's going to happen. God isn't going to give up. He loves you too much for that. He'll just turn up the heat, escalating the pain until you obey your Father.

The ultimate outcome will probably be the same no matter how you respond to the spanking. You'll ultimately submit to God's way sooner or later, after a little pain or a lot of pain.

You know, pain and hurt and dark valleys have been God's tool across the ages to get the attention of some of us who have never really considered making God the God of our life – Jesus, the Savior for our sin, our personal Savior. And it may be that right now He's been knocking on the door of your heart. You know some people who know Jesus. You're all religious. You've got all this Christian stuff, but you've never really given yourself to Jesus; the man who gave His life for your sin, who walked out of His grave under His own power so He could walk into your life.

Today, the reason for the hurt is so He can come in and begin to forgive and heal and make you a brand new person. If you're going to get the pain, get the point. And the point very well being, coming to Jesus Christ. I'd love to help you do that if you go to our website today ANewStory.com.

Why not eliminate any more pain. Why not do what God says to do now, because it's the road you were made for anyway. Is it really worth all this pain?

Jonah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  DTP's

When you see the successful, are you jealous? When you see others struggle, are you pompous? Do you assume the worst about the future? If so, you suffer from what I call D-T-P's-destructive thought patterns! Oh to be DTP-free. No energy lost, no time wasted. A lifetime of healthy and holy thoughts would render anyone a joyful genius. But where would you find such an individual?
Blame DTP's on sin. It messes with our minds. So, God changes us by changing our mind…by considering the glory of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." To behold him is to become like him!
From Next Door Savior

Jonah 1
Jonah Runs from the Lord

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 8 “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”

9 Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

10 The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”

12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”

15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

17 [a]Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Footnotes:
1:17 Verse 1:17 is numbered 2:1 in Hebrew text.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 21, 2016

Read: Luke 15:11-24
Parable of the Lost Son

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

Footnotes:
15:21 Some manuscripts add Please take me on as a hired servant.

Welcome Home!
By James Banks

While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.  Luke 15:20

When we were going through a particularly challenging time with our son, a friend pulled me aside after a church meeting. “I want you to know that I pray for you and your son every day,” he said. Then he added: “I feel so guilty.”

“Why?” I asked. “Because I’ve never had to deal with prodigal children,” he said. “My kids pretty much played by the rules. But it wasn’t because of anything I did or didn’t do. Kids,” he shrugged, “make their own choices.”

I wanted to hug him. His compassion was a reminder, a gift from God, communicating to me the Father’s understanding for my struggle with my son.

No one understands the struggle with prodigals better than our heavenly Father. The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is our story and God’s. Jesus told it on behalf of all sinners who so desperately need to come home to their Creator and discover the warmth of a loving relationship with Him.

Jesus is God in the flesh seeing us in the distance and looking on us with compassion. He is God running to us and throwing His arms around us. He is heaven’s kiss welcoming the repentant sinner home (v. 20).

God hasn’t just left the porch light on for us. He’s out on the front porch watching, waiting, calling us home.

We ask again today, Lord, that our prodigals would come home.

James Banks is author of Prayers for Prodigals by Discovery House.

Our loved ones may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons—but they are helpless against our prayers. J. Sidlow Baxter

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 21, 2016

Thus says the Lord: "I remember…the kindness of your youth…" —Jeremiah 2:2

Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?

God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember…the love of your betrothal…” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?

As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance…” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Seeing is never believing: we interpret what we see in the light of what we believe. Faith is confidence in God before you see God emerging; therefore the nature of faith is that it must be tried.  He Shall Glorify Me, 494 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 21, 2016

When Everything's Looking Dark - #7574

When I had lunch with my friends George and Linda, they told me that the view had really improved at their house. They told me that everything in their backyard had looked so dirty and so dingy for a long time - until the other day. They did something that totally changed the view. They cleaned the big window that looks out on the yard. See, when you're looking through a dirty window, everything looks dirty.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You¬ today about "When Everything's Looking Dark."

Now the Apostle Paul was writing from a very depressing location when he wrote our word for today from the Word of God. He was actually in prison for doing something right. He was a victim of injustice. He was surrounded by gloom, he was isolated from the people who cared about him and honestly he was very uncertain about the future. So what was the view for him - Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" How can he be so positive? How can he be so joyful?

Verse 6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God." Paul said when you bring your situation to God with thanksgiving, you're focusing on the good things that God has done. Then verse 7 says, "And the peace of God..." In other words, as a result of that, "The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." And then verse 8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

In other words Paul is saying train your brain not to dwell on the negatives but on the noble stuff, the true stuff, the right, the pure, the lovely, the things that are worthy of praise. He's telling us that life looks much brighter when you're looking out a clean window. But unfortunately, too often life looks dark and depressing, and discouraging, overwhelming to us.

That happened to George and Linda. That's how we ended up talking about their backyard window. They said there has been tension between them and some of their family members. They left their church because of some of the disillusioning things there; but now they're actively working on removing those sources of tension between them and between their family members and they're returning to their church, but this time with a new attitude. I said, "Hey, you cleaned your window". And they said, "What?" I said, "When you are looking through a dirty window everything looks dirty." Then they smiled at each other and said, "We just did that last week. We cleaned our back window and what a difference it's made."

They also cleaned the dirty window on their heart and they started to focus on positives, on solutions, on healing, and everything suddenly looked different. Maybe it's time for you to do some window cleaning. Maybe you've allowed some bitterness or resentment to creep into your heart. Maybe what you have been through has caused you to slip into thinking about yourself most of the time and into that awful swamp called self-pity. Or you focused a lot of your thinking on a person or some people who have wronged you or hurt you.

The fact is the view has become stressful, it's become discouraging, un-motivating, and it really isn't the stuff in the yard that's causing it. It's the attitude through which you are viewing things. It's your dirty window. Why don't you start back by what the Bible describes as the Rejoice Mode? It starts when you bring your situation to Jesus, and your attitude. It's your attitude that's dragging you down more than your situation. I guess it's the "rejoice choice" isn't it?

Each new day begin by listing to your Heavenly Father things for which you are thankful. There will always be plenty of them if you look for your God-sightings. And then start loading up your heart with music and scripture and conversation and people that will fill your tank with positive fuel. You may not be able to change what's in the yard, but you can change how you're looking at it. Haven't you been looking out the dirty window long enough?