2 Kings 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOUR UNIQUENESS SHOWS WHO GOD IS

The Bible says that each person is given something to do that shows who God is!  (1 Corinthians 12:7 MSG).  When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill.  Look at your life.  What do you consistently do well?  What do you love to do?  And what do others love for you to do?

So much for the excuse, I don’t have anything to offer…or… I can’t do anything.  And enough of its arrogant opposite, I have to do everything!  Imitate the apostle Paul who said, “Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us” (2 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).

So extract your uniqueness.  “Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you!” (2 Timothy 1:6 NASB). And do so to make a big deal out of God!

Read more Cure for the Common Life

2 Kings 3

Joram son of Ahab began his rule over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He was king for twelve years. In God’s sight he was a bad king. But he wasn’t as bad as his father and mother—to his credit he destroyed the obscene Baal stone that his father had made. But he hung on to the sinful practices of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the ones that had corrupted Israel for so long. He wasn’t about to give them up.

4-7 King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. He was forced to give the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and another 100,000 rams. When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Joram set out from Samaria and prepared Israel for war. His first move was to send a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Would you join me and fight him?”

7-8 “I’m with you all the way,” said Jehoshaphat. “My troops are your troops, my horses are your horses. Which route shall we take?”

“Through the badlands of Edom.”

9 The king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom started out on what proved to be a looping detour. After seven days they had run out of water for both army and animals.

10 The king of Israel said, “Bad news! God has gotten us three kings out here to dump us into the hand of Moab.”

11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of God anywhere around through whom we can consult God?”

One of the servants of the king of Israel said, “Elisha son of Shaphat is around somewhere—the one who was Elijah’s right-hand man.”

12 Jehoshaphat said, “Good! A man we can trust!” So the three of them—the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom—went to meet him.

13 Elisha addressed the king of Israel, “What do you and I have in common? Go consult the puppet-prophets of your father and mother.”

“Never!” said the king of Israel. “It’s God who has gotten us into this fix, dumping all three of us kings into the hand of Moab.”

14-15 Elisha said, “As God-of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I stand ready to serve, if it weren’t for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I wouldn’t give you the time of day. But considering—bring me a minstrel.” (When a minstrel played, the power of God came on Elisha.)

16-19 He then said, “God’s word: Dig ditches all over this valley. Here’s what will happen—you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for God to do; he will also hand over Moab to you. You will ravage the country: Knock out its fortifications, level the key villages, clear-cut the orchards, clog the springs, and litter the cultivated fields with stones.”

20 In the morning—it was at the hour of morning sacrifice—the water had arrived, water pouring in from the west, from Edom, a flash flood filling the valley with water.

21-22 By this time everyone in Moab had heard that the kings had come up to make war against them. Everyone who was able to handle a sword was called into service and took a stand at the border. They were up and ready early in the morning when the sun rose over the water. From where the Moabites stood, the water reflecting the sun looked red, like blood.

23 “Blood! Look at the blood!” they said. “The kings must have fought each other—a bloody massacre! Go for the loot, Moab!”

24-25 When Moab entered the camp of Israel, the Israelites were up on their feet killing Moabites right and left, the Moabites running for their lives, Israelites relentless in pursuit—a slaughter. They leveled the towns, littered the cultivated fields with rocks, clogged the springs, and clear-cut the orchards. Only the capital, Kir Hareseth, was left intact, and that not for long; it too was surrounded and attacked with thrown and flung rocks.

26-27 When the king of Moab realized that he was fighting a losing battle, he took seven hundred swordsmen to hack a corridor past the king of Edom, but they didn’t make it. Then he took his son, his firstborn who would succeed him as king, and sacrificed him on the city wall. That set off furious anger against Israel. Israel pulled back and returned home.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, August 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Corinthians 4:5–7

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants[a] for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Insight
Paul’s writing style often consists of long sentences where it can be difficult to connect his initial point with his final one. In today’s passage, he writes about the blessing of God’s light shining in our hearts and states that He made that light shine (2 Corinthians 4:6). The purpose of God’s light shining is so we may see His glory in the face of Jesus. What is the light, and how does God make it shine in us? In this passage, Paul doesn’t elaborate on those specifics. In the preceding verse (v. 4), however, he says that the light is the light of the gospel. God reveals the gospel (the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus) to our hearts.

From Trash to Treasure
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

The trash man’s house sits atop a steep street in a poor Bogota neighborhood. Not one thing about it looks special. Yet the unassuming abode in Colombia’s capital is home to a free library of 25,000 books—discarded literature that Jose Alberto Gutierrez collected to share with poor children in his community.

Local kids crowd into the house during weekend “library hours.” Prowling through every room, each packed with books, the children recognize the humble home as more than Señor Jose’s house—it’s a priceless treasury.

The same is true for every follower of Christ. We’re made of humble clay—marred by cracks and easily broken. But we’re entrusted by God as a home for His empowering Spirit, who enables us to carry the good news of Christ into a hurting, broken world. It’s a big job for ordinary, fragile people.

“We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7), the apostle Paul told his congregation in the ancient city of Corinth. They were a cross section of people from across this region, so many might have been tempted to “go around preaching about [them]selves,” Paul said (v. 5 nlt).

Instead, Paul said, tell others about the priceless One living inside of us. It’s Him and His all-surpassing power that turns our ordinary lives into a priceless treasury.

By Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray
What does it mean to you that you have a treasure, the Holy Spirit, inside you? How is it comforting to know that He enables us to share the good news?

Jesus, fill up my ordinary life with the power of Your Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 02, 2019
The Teaching of Adversity

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. —John 16:33

The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.

God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Revelation 2:7). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.

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, 565 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 02, 2019
Built to Be Attached - #8495

We get our share of storms where we live, and we've got our share of trees. So, you can probably figure out the rest. After almost every storm, I make the rounds in the yard, and I get to pick up the souvenirs the storm left behind. I haul all those downed branches to my special brush pile place even if they've still got leaves on them. Look, even if I am a city boy, I know there's no use planting those branches in the ground and hoping they'll grow more leaves. In fact, those leaves they have are soon going to fall off. As soon as the branch gets separated from the tree, it starts dying.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Built to Be Attached."

Branches are built to be attached, and they start dying when they're not. Actually, believers in Jesus Christ are built to be attached to His Body which He called the church. And when they're not, they start dying.

It could be that a storm came along and you ended up disconnected from the life of the church, and you haven't really reconnected. Our word for today from the Word of God explains the importance that Jesus places on our staying connected to our spiritual family. In Hebrews 10, beginning with verse 23, He calls us to "hold unswervingly to the hope we profess." In other words, to take no detours spiritually.

Apparently, He doesn't want us to try that while being spiritual "Lone Rangers." Because He says, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." In a church family, there's accountability to other believers, not just each of us doing what we feel is right. We see the ways that others are loving; the way others are serving Jesus and it "spurs us on," like the Bible says, to do the same thing.

So, as the passage continues, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." In other words, the closer we get to Jesus coming back, the more important it is that we stick together, partly because it's going to get harder and harder to know the right thing and do the right thing. We can help each other with that.

Obviously, God intended for following Jesus to be a team sport. But maybe you've distanced yourself from the team and you're trying to make it a solo sport. It doesn't work that way. Jesus set up His church as the place where you can worship Him with your spiritual family, where you can serve Him, where you participate in the spiritual obediences like communion and baptism, where you get to know people that you need and with people who need you.

Maybe you've been hurt by fellow believers, you're disillusioned, maybe even embittered. But you can't just stay there. You may find a different body of believers to be a part of, but not being a part of one is just not an option for a disciple who claims to be following Christ. If your eyes have been on people, or on your wounds, on the things that are wrong with a church, well then, you will tend to directly disobey our Lord and "give up the habit of meeting together."

The church isn't perfect because it's full of spiritual caterpillars who, just like you and me, are half caterpillar and on their way to becoming butterflies. But the church is what Jesus has chosen to work through on earth. He has said, "I will build My church." You can't remain a disconnected branch, no matter how bad the storm was. The church of Jesus is your spiritual home on earth. If you've been away, you know, it's time to come home.

2 Kings 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD MADE ONE VERSION OF YOU

Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa.  Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony.  And God made one version of you!  God custom-designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment—“to each according to each one’s unique ability” (Matthew 25:15).

“The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others” (1 Corinthians 12:7).  Did the apostle Paul say, “The Spirit has given some of us. . .”? Or a few of us. . .?”  No!  “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.”

You don’t have to do everything!  You’re not God’s solution to society, you are a solution in society.  Don’t worry about the skills you don’t have.  Don’t covet the strength others do have. Just extract your uniqueness—to God’s glory!

Read more Cure for the Common Life

2 Kings 2

 Just before God took Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on a walk out of Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. God has sent me on an errand to Bethel.”

Elisha said, “Not on your life! I’m not letting you out of my sight!” So they both went to Bethel.

3 The guild of prophets at Bethel met Elisha and said, “Did you know that God is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes,” he said, “I know it. But keep it quiet.”

4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. God has sent me on an errand to Jericho.”

Elisha said, “Not on your life! I’m not letting you out of my sight!” So they both went to Jericho.

5 The guild of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said, “Did you know that God is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes,” he said, “I know it. But keep it quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. God has sent me on an errand to the Jordan.”

Elisha said, “Not on your life! I’m not letting you out of my sight!” And so the two of them went their way together.

7 Meanwhile, fifty men from the guild of prophets gathered some distance away while the two of them stood at the Jordan.

8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and hit the water with it. The river divided and the two men walked through on dry land.

9 When they reached the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I’m taken from you? Ask anything.”

Elisha said, “Your life repeated in my life. I want to be a holy man just like you.”

10 “That’s a hard one!” said Elijah. “But if you’re watching when I’m taken from you, you’ll get what you’ve asked for. But only if you’re watching.”

11-14 And so it happened. They were walking along and talking. Suddenly a chariot and horses of fire came between them and Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it all and shouted, “My father, my father! You—the chariot and cavalry of Israel!” When he could no longer see anything, he grabbed his robe and ripped it to pieces. Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him, returned to the shore of the Jordan, and stood there. He took Elijah’s cloak—all that was left of Elijah!—and hit the river with it, saying, “Now where is the God of Elijah? Where is he?”

When he struck the water, the river divided and Elisha walked through.

15 The guild of prophets from Jericho saw the whole thing from where they were standing. They said, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha!” They welcomed and honored him.

16 They then said, “We’re at your service. We have fifty reliable men here; let’s send them out to look for your master. Maybe God’s spirit has swept him off to some mountain or dropped him into a remote ravine.”

Elisha said, “No. Don’t send them.”

17 But they pestered him until he caved in: “Go ahead then. Send them.”

So they sent the fifty men off. For three days they looked, searching high and low. Nothing.

18 Finally, they returned to Elisha in Jericho. He told them, “So there—didn’t I tell you?”

19 One day the men of the city said to Elisha, “You can see for yourself, master, how well our city is located. But the water is polluted and nothing grows.”

20 He said, “Bring me a brand-new bowl and put some salt in it.” They brought it to him.

21-22 He then went to the spring, sprinkled the salt into it, and proclaimed, “God’s word: I’ve healed this water. It will no longer kill you or poison your land.” And sure enough, the water was healed—and remains so to this day, just as Elisha said.

23 Another time, Elisha was on his way to Bethel and some little kids came out from the town and taunted him, “What’s up, old baldhead! Out of our way, skinhead!”

24 Elisha turned, took one look at them, and cursed them in the name of God. Two bears charged out of the underbrush and knocked them about, ripping them limb from limb—forty-two children in all!

25 Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and then returned to Samaria.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, August 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 3:14–21

 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Insight
Ephesians 3:14–21 is an example of a biblical doxology. The word doxology comes from two Greek words: doxa (glory) and logia (saying). A doxology is a statement or saying that ascribes glory (importance, weight, significance) to God. Paul does that here in verse 20 where we read, “To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.” Notice how the word glory is found in several other New Testament doxologies. In Romans 11:33–36, God is given glory for His wisdom and the section concludes with: “To him be the glory forever!” In 1 Timothy 1:17, God is given glory for His eternal uniqueness: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.” And in Jude 1:24–25, God’s glory is seen in His protection of His children: “To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority.”

The Bulldog and the Sprinkler
I pray that you . . . may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17, 19

Most summer mornings, a delightful drama plays out in the park behind our house. It involves a sprinkler. And a bulldog. About 6:30 or so, the sprinklers come on. Shortly thereafter, Fifi the bulldog (our family’s name for her) arrives.

Fifi’s owner lets her off her leash. The bulldog sprints with all her might to the nearest sprinkler, attacking the stream of water as it douses her face. If Fifi could eat the sprinkler, I think she would. It’s a portrait of utter exuberance, of Fifi’s seemingly infinite desire to be drenched by the liquid she can never get enough of.

There are no bulldogs in the Bible, or sprinklers. Yet, in a way, Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 reminds me of Fifi. There, Paul prays that the Ephesian believers might be filled with God’s love and “have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” He prayed that we might be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (vv. 18–19).

Still today, we’re invited to experience a God whose infinite love exceeds anything we can comprehend, that we too might be drenched, saturated, and utterly satisfied by His goodness. We’re free to plunge with abandon, relish, and delight into a relationship with the One who alone can fill our hearts and lives with love, meaning, and purpose. By Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray
How does the experience of plunging into waves at a beach symbolize the immensity of God’s love for you? What barriers do you think potentially keep you from experiencing His love?

God, thank You for Your infinite and satisfying love. Please help us to know and experience the love You have for each one of us.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 01, 2019
Learning About His Ways
When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples…He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. —Matthew 11:1

He comes where He commands us to leave. If you stayed home when God told you to go because you were so concerned about your own people there, then you actually robbed them of the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. When you obeyed and left all the consequences to God, the Lord went into your city to teach, but as long as you were disobedient, you blocked His way. Watch where you begin to debate with Him and put what you call your duty into competition with His commands. If you say, “I know that He told me to go, but my duty is here,” it simply means that you do not believe that Jesus means what He says.

He teaches where He instructs us not to teach. “Master…let us make three tabernacles…” (Luke 9:33).

Are we playing the part of an amateur providence, trying to play God’s role in the lives of others? Are we so noisy in our instruction of other people that God cannot get near them? We must learn to keep our mouths shut and our spirits alert. God wants to instruct us regarding His Son, and He wants to turn our times of prayer into mounts of transfiguration. When we become certain that God is going to work in a particular way, He will never work in that way again.

He works where He sends us to wait. “…tarry…until…” (Luke 24:49). “Wait on the Lord” and He will work (Psalm 37:34). But don’t wait sulking spiritually and feeling sorry for yourself, just because you can’t see one inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our own spiritual fits of emotion to “wait patiently for Him”? (Psalm 37:7). Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to do what we are told.

These are some of the facets of His ways that we rarely recognize.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 01, 2019

Self-Inflicted Scars - #8494

I arrived at our office one morning and had a little scratch on my forehead. It was pretty obvious, and most people didn't mention it. They were really nice to me. But then there are those who - like me, unfortunately - well, they hate to miss an opportunity to "bust" someone, especially me. So, of course, I heard more than once that day, "Oh, did your wife scratch you?" My poor wife took the blame. And, of course, I kiddingly went along saying, "Oh, sometimes it's the only way to keep me in line" which people thought very believable. Now here's the truth: somehow, I just managed to scratch myself in my sleep. I'm not sure what I was dreaming about. But it was all my doing.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Self-Inflicted Scars."

It's always convenient to blame someone else for something that was really your own fault isn't it? Sometimes, we even go so far as to blame God when the scars are really self-inflicted.

It's interesting to hear God's perspective on that in our word for today from the Word of God in Proverbs 19:3. It's a fascinating verse. Listen to it: "A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord." That's so true and so ironic. How many times have you heard someone say, "How could God let this happen? How could God do this to me?" When, in fact, they were at least in part reaping the harvest of their own mistakes…of their own decisions.

Remember, the driver is to blame for where the car ends up. Many times we blame God for where we end up, when we've been doing the driving. In fact, this may be an issue in your life right now. Maybe things have gone wrong. They're a mess. You've got some scars, and you're allowing it to come between you and your God.

Could it be that your scars are, at least in part, self-inflicted? You neglected some things that you should have been taking care of. You allowed some things that are really important to slip; to be crowded out by some things that really aren't very important.

And maybe you're reaping some of the results of your own stubbornness, maybe your own refusal to do it God's way. God's been trying to lead you in a different direction. Maybe He's even been convicting you of a sinful attitude or action, some sinful relationship that you need to change, or a wrong way that you've been treating people. God's word to you might be Isaiah 48:18 - "If you only had paid attention to My commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

You know, quite often our pain is the result and the harvest of our own selfishness, our own bad choices, our own messed up priorities, our lack of integrity, maybe our hasty words, the lies we told, the things we've neglected, or the people we've neglected. This isn't a time to "rage against the Lord." No, this is the time to look in the mirror and accept the responsibility for the results of your own choices. And, for goodness sake, let this pain make its point - that God's way of getting things done is so much better.

Let today be a new beginning for you so tomorrow's harvest will be better, and not bitter. Remember, the healing of the prodigal son began when, according to the Bible, "he came to himself."

2 Kings 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CHURCH, A PLACE OF HEALING

Friends, I urge you to find a church congregation that believes in confession. Avoid a fellowship of perfect people—you probably won’t fit in. Seek one where members confess their sins and show humility, where the price of admission is simply an admission of guilt.  Healing happens in a church like this.

Jesus said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23).  1 John 1:8-10 says, “If we say we have no sin, we’re fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what’s right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.”

Scripture doesn’t say he might, could, would, or has been known to do so.  He said, he WILL cleanse us!  Oh, the sweet certainty of his words.

Read more GRACE

2 Kings 1

After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.

2 One day Ahaziah fell through the balcony railing on the rooftop of his house in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, “Am I going to recover from this accident?”

3-4 God’s angel spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: “Up on your feet! Go out and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria with this word, ‘Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron?’ Here’s a message from the God you’ve tried to bypass: ‘You’re not going to get out of that bed you’re in—you’re as good as dead already.’” Elijah delivered the message and was gone.

5 The messengers went back. The king said, “So why are you back so soon—what’s going on?”

6 They told him, “A man met us and said, ‘Turn around and go back to the king who sent you; tell him, God’s message: Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron? You needn’t bother. You’re not going to get out of that bed you’re in—you’re as good as dead already.’”

7 The king said, “Tell me more about this man who met you and said these things to you. What was he like?”

8 “Shaggy,” they said, “and wearing a leather belt.”

He said, “That has to be Elijah the Tishbite!”

9 The king sent a captain with fifty men to Elijah. Meanwhile Elijah was sitting, big as life, on top of a hill. The captain said, “O Holy Man! King’s orders: Come down!”

10 Elijah answered the captain of the fifty, “If it’s true that I’m a ‘holy man,’ lightning strike you and your fifty men!” Out of the blue lightning struck and incinerated the captain and his fifty.

11 The king sent another captain with his fifty men, “O Holy Man! King’s orders: Come down. And right now!”

12 Elijah answered, “If it’s true that I’m a ‘holy man,’ lightning strike you and your fifty men!” Immediately a divine lightning bolt struck and incinerated the captain and his fifty.

13-14 The king then sent a third captain with his fifty men. For a third time, a captain with his fifty approached Elijah. This one fell on his knees in supplication: “O Holy Man, have respect for my life and the souls of these fifty men! Twice now lightning from out of the blue has struck and incinerated captains with their fifty men; please, I beg you, respect my life!”

15 The angel of God told Elijah, “Go ahead; and don’t be afraid.” Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

16 Elijah told him, “God’s word: Because you sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron, as if there were no God in Israel to whom you could pray, you’ll never get out of that bed alive—already you’re as good as dead.”

17 And he died, exactly as God’s word spoken by Elijah had said.

Because Ahaziah had no son, his brother Joram became the next king. The succession took place in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.

18 The rest of Ahaziah’s life is recorded in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 9:13–16

 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Insight
Paul’s conversion story is recorded three times in the book of Acts (9:1–19; 22:3–21; 26:9–29). He also testified to it in 1 Corinthians 15:9–10; Galatians 1:11–17; Philippians 3:4–6; and 1 Timothy 1:12–17. As a sworn enemy of Christ, Paul was ever grateful that God would still save him, considering himself the least qualified and the most undeserving recipient of God’s mercy and grace (1 Timothy 1:13–14). God told Ananias that Paul was to be His “chosen instrument” to take the gospel to the gentiles (Acts 9:15). But Paul saw another reason that God used him: he was “a prime example of [God’s] great patience with even the worst sinners” (1 Timothy 1:16 NLT). God had us in mind when He saved Paul. If he, the worst of sinners, could be saved, then no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love.

Who We Are
This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name. Acts 9:15

I’ll never forget the time I took my future wife to meet my family. With a twinkle in their eyes, my two elder siblings asked her, “What exactly do you see in this guy?” She smiled and assured them that by God’s grace I had grown to be the man she loved.

I loved that clever reply because it also reflects how, in Christ, the Lord sees more than our past. In Acts 9, He directed Ananias to heal Saul, a known persecutor of the church whom God had blinded. Ananias was incredulous at receiving this mission, stating that Saul had been rounding up believers in Jesus for persecution and even execution. God told Ananias not to focus on who Saul had been but on who he had become: an evangelist who would bring the good news to all the known world, including to the gentiles (those who weren’t Jews) and to kings (v. 15). Ananias saw Saul the Pharisee and persecutor, but God saw Paul the apostle and evangelist.

We can sometimes view ourselves only as we have been—with all of our failures and shortcomings. But God sees us as new creations, not who we were but who we are in Jesus and who we’re becoming through the power of the Holy Spirit. O God, teach us to view ourselves and others in this way! By Peter Chin

Reflect & Pray
How can you begin to better view yourself and others in light of who you are in Christ today? How does it encourage you to know God isn’t through growing and refining you?

Heavenly Father, help me to find my full identity in You. Allow me to humbly see others through Your eyes of grace!


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Becoming Entirely His
Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:4

Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.

Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.

We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work….” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 31, 2019

A Loving Knockout Punch - #8493

Why would a teenage girl go swimming in the ocean at night? Nobody knows. Well, we do know she was in serious trouble by the time the rescuers finally rescued her. It was nighttime; there were no lifeguards on duty. We were at Ocean City, New Jersey, and the only people who could help her were people who ran from the boardwalk, stripped off their shoes and some of their clothes to try to get in there and help her. Now, one person had the presence of mind to bring a life preserver. The girl who was drowning refused it. She actually fought off the rescuers who were battling this strong undertow, and then you heard this strange cry out there, "Hit her!" Sounds cruel but they thought that was the only way to save her. And they hit her. She did go under; she ended up unconscious. They grabbed her. They brought her in and finally rescued her. When I heard "Hit her!" I remembered what my friend Jim had told me. He was a lifeguard on the Pacific Coast for a couple of years and he described what he called a hard rescue. He said, "Ron, if they keep fighting a rescue, we go to our last resort. We knock them out." Wow!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Loving Knockout Punch."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 1. I'll begin reading at verse 8 from the writings of the Apostle Paul. It said, "We do not want you to be uninformed about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia." Okay, now see if any of these words apply to you: "hardship," "We were under great pressure." Does that sound familiar to you at all? "Far beyond our ability to endure, so we despaired" Maybe that's where you are. He says, "we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." Maybe this sounds somewhat like a recent chapter in your life and there could be several reasons.

If you're a child of God, there might be a very major reason for the crushing pressure you felt, and that's to cure your self-reliance by making self-reliance useless. Powerless moments are the moments when we finally do what we should have been doing all along. We surrender to our Lord. Like that drowning girl, we still want to get there on our own. But we're drowning. We often can't be rescued until God gives us a loving knockout punch. It might be that the Holy Spirit has often knocked on your door and said, "Hey, I can drive. I will drive." You say, "I can handle it by myself." You've never surrendered maybe to the one who died for you.

Maybe there's never been a first time when you've given yourself to Him. Or maybe there's an area of your life you really want to keep control of. Well, God will hit you pretty hard sometimes. He loves you too much to let you go down. It's still your choice. Look, if you've never grabbed Jesus to be your personal Savior, your Rescuer from your sin and its penalty, would you do that right now? That's why you have gone through all this. It's to focus your attention on the Rescuer, who came all the way from heaven to a cross to rescue you.

Just tell him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." And you know what? I would suggest as soon as you can to get to our website. Because it is for you at a moment like this. That's why that website is there. It's called ANewStory.com. You'll find what you need to know there - to know you've been forgiven and you belong to Jesus and you're going to heaven when you die.

If you know Him personally, but you have drifted from what was once a childlike dependency to this self-powered life, He's still officially Lord - right? But at least in this one area, you're splashing and you're struggling and you're grasping to keep yourself afloat. "Listen," He's saying, "if you'll finally let go, I can do more than you could ever do with that part of your life."

Jesus has seen you struggle. He's come close to you to save you - even today through this little visit. He may have even knocked you out, not to drown you but to bring you home. And the pain you're feeling, it just could be God's loving knockout punch.

Acts 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NEED A SPIRITUAL MRI?

What would an X-ray—an MRI—of your soul reveal?  Regrets over teenage relationships? Remorse over a poor choice?  You become moody, cranky…angry or irritable.  That’s understandable if you have shame lodged in your soul.

Interested in an extraction?  Confess!  Request a spiritual  MRI.  Psalm 139: 23-24 is just that:

“Search me, O God and know my heart;
try me, and know my anxieties;
see if there’s any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

We need a grace-based confession.  God, I’ve done what You say is wrong.  Would you wash away my guilt and make me clean again?  No chant, no candle needed.  Just a prayer of honest confession.  Try it.

Read more GRACE

Acts 14

1-3 When they got to Iconium they went, as they always did, to the meeting place of the Jews and gave their message. The Message convinced both Jews and non-Jews—and not just a few, either. But the unbelieving Jews worked up a whispering campaign against Paul and Barnabas, sowing mistrust and suspicion in the minds of the people in the street. The two apostles were there a long time, speaking freely, openly, and confidently as they presented the clear evidence of God’s gifts, God corroborating their work with miracles and wonders.

4-7 But then there was a split in public opinion, some siding with the Jews, some with the apostles. One day, learning that both the Jews and non-Jews had been organized by their leaders to beat them up, they escaped as best they could to the next towns—Lyconia, Lystra, Derbe, and that neighborhood—but then were right back at it again, getting out the Message.

8-10 There was a man in Lystra who couldn’t walk. He sat there, crippled since the day of his birth. He heard Paul talking, and Paul, looking him in the eye, saw that he was ripe for God’s work, ready to believe. So he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Up on your feet!” The man was up in a flash—jumped up and walked around as if he’d been walking all his life.

11-13 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out in their Lyconian dialect, “The gods have come down! These men are gods!” They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes” (since Paul did most of the speaking). The priest of the local Zeus shrine got up a parade—bulls and banners and people lined right up to the gates, ready for the ritual of sacrifice.

14-15 When Barnabas and Paul finally realized what was going on, they stopped them. Waving their arms, they interrupted the parade, calling out, “What do you think you’re doing! We’re not gods! We are men just like you, and we’re here to bring you the Message, to persuade you to abandon these silly god-superstitions and embrace God himself, the living God. We don’t make God; he makes us, and all of this—sky, earth, sea, and everything in them.

16-18 “In the generations before us, God let all the different nations go their own way. But even then he didn’t leave them without a clue, for he made a good creation, poured down rain and gave bumper crops. When your bellies were full and your hearts happy, there was evidence of good beyond your doing.” Talking fast and hard like this, they prevented them from carrying out the sacrifice that would have honored them as gods—but just barely.

19-20 Then some Jews from Antioch and Iconium caught up with them and turned the fickle crowd against them. They beat Paul unconscious, dragged him outside the town and left him for dead. But as the disciples gathered around him, he came to and got up. He went back into town and the next day left with Barnabas for Derbe.

21-22 After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: “Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times.”

23-26 Paul and Barnabas handpicked leaders in each church. After praying—their prayers intensified by fasting—they presented these new leaders to the Master to whom they had entrusted their lives. Working their way back through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia and preached in Perga. Finally, they made it to Attalia and caught a ship back to Antioch, where it had all started—launched by God’s grace and now safely home by God’s grace. A good piece of work.

27-28 On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in. Then they settled down for a long, leisurely visit with the disciples.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 85
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

Lord, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.

4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
    but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way.

Insight
Psalm 85 begins with a reference to Jacob (v. 1). Some translations say “Israel,” since the songwriter is referring not just to the nation’s ancestral father but to his descendants as well. The psalmist’s word choice of “Jacob” is worth noting. When God’s people realized that once again they were in need of mercy, they often referred to themselves as “the house of Jacob.” As humbling as it was, the family likeness was the point. It was common knowledge that Jacob seemed to be destined to be remembered as an incurable liar and schemer until God changed his heart and renamed him Israel.

From the beginning, God Himself had taught His people to think of Him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:15; Acts 7:32). This was a way of reminding them that—then and now—their only hope was in a God good enough to forgive and change them.


Ready for Restoration
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Psalm 85:6

While stationed in Germany in the army I purchased a brand-new 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. The car was a beauty! The dark green exterior complemented the brown leatherette interior. But as the years took their toll, stuff began to happen, including an accident that ruined the running board and destroyed one of the doors. With more imagination, I could have thought, “My classic car was a perfect candidate for restoration!” And with more money, I could have pulled it off. But that didn’t happen.

Thankfully the God of perfect vision and unlimited resources doesn’t give up so easily on battered and broken people. Psalm 85 describes people who were perfect candidates for restoration and the God who is able to restore. The setting is likely after the Israelites had returned from seventy years of exile (their punishment for rebellion against God). Looking back, they were able to see His favor—including His forgiveness (vv. 1–3). They were motivated to ask God for His help (vv. 4–7) and to expect good things from Him (vv. 8–13).

Who among us doesn’t occasionally feel battered, bruised, broken? And sometimes it’s because of something we’ve done to ourselves. But because the Lord is the God of restoration and forgiveness, those who humbly come to Him are never without hope. With open arms He welcomes those who turn to Him; and those who do, find safety in His arms. By Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray
Are there signs in your life that restoration is in order? What’s your response to the God of restoration?

Lord, help me not to ignore the signs that restoration is needed in my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
The Teaching of Disillusionment
Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25

Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.

Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ. Approved Unto God, 4 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
The Wound is the Battle - #8492

If an American soldier gets wounded in combat these days, his chances for recovery just got a whole lot better than they've ever been because of the beads. Yeah. It's actually a new technology that's being used to treat wounds - combat wounds. These dissolvable beads are applied to the wound and I guess they go deeper than any previous cleansing agents have ever gone. In fact, they can even penetrate bone. One of the doctors who helped develop this new treatment made a pretty interesting observation about the battle to head off infection in a soldier's wound. Here's what he said, "The wound is the battle; the infection is the war."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wound is the Battle."

If you can win the battle by cleansing the wound right away, then you can win the war by heading off the infection. It's a strategy more of us should be using to prevent the kind of spiritual infection that poisons your joy, your peace, and your closeness to God. The wound is any point in your life where sin has been able to get in - it's that first detour from what you know is right. The infection is the widespread loss of spiritual health and power that damages so much that we care about, and it can be prevented by a prompt cleansing - a cleansing that goes deep...and there is such a cleansing.

God talks about it in 1 John 1:7-9. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It could be the very thing you need right now to heal your heart and restore you to the spiritual health that you once enjoyed. God says, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Man, what a promise this is! Total cleansing and total restoring if you confess that sin, which means calling it what God calls it.

You might say, "Well, not after what I've done. You don't know how awful it is." No, but God knows. And He's the One who said, "The blood of Jesus...purifies us from all sin." That includes whatever you've done, no matter how deep and no matter how frequent the sin. The cleansing agent is "the blood of Jesus" it says. The blood that He shed on the cross as the payment for every wrong thing we have ever done. Because, in the Bible's words, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). What no ritual can do, no religion could do, no church, Jesus can do because the shedding of His blood paid for every sin.

But to head off spiritual infection, you need to treat that sin-wound promptly. Don't let your sins pile up, unconfessed, uncleansed. As soon as you realize you've blown it, deal with it immediately, call it sin and then bring it to the cross of Jesus. And just because you've fallen down doesn't mean you have to stay down and start some cycle of repeated sin. I know Satan may be telling you, "Hey, you blew it, man! It's over." That's a lie. Jesus died so you could get forgiven, get right up, and keep on walking! This very day you may need to bring some of your recent junk under the blood of Jesus which, remember, "purifies us from all sin."

And look, maybe you've never given your life to this One who gave His life for you and for your sin. Let this be the day that you trust Him to be your Rescuer, your Savior from your sin - the only One who can forgive it because He's the only One who paid for it. Tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

You want to begin a relationship with Him? What you need to know about beginning that is at our website. And it's well named - ANewStory.com. I hope you'll check that out. Maybe your new beginning starts there.

Jesus paid the ultimate price so the wound of our sin need never become an eternally fatal infection. Today, you could experience that wonderful feeling of being clean and going to bed tonight forgiven.

1 Kings 22 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FREEDOM IN CONFESSION

Confession!  It’s a word that conjures up many images—some not so positive!  Confession isn’t telling God what he doesn’t know.  That’s impossible.  It’s not pointing fingers at others without pointing any at me.  That may feel good, but it doesn’t promote healing.

Confession is a radical reliance on grace— a trust in God’s goodness.  The truth is, confessors find freedom that deniers of sin do not!  Scripture says, “If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.”

Tell God what you did.  Again, it’s not that he doesn’t already know, but the two of you need to agree! Then let the pure water of his grace flow over your mistakes!

Read more GRACE

1 Kings 22

 They enjoyed three years of peace—no fighting between Aram and Israel. In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah had a meeting with the king of Israel. Israel’s king remarked to his aides, “Do you realize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we’re sitting around on our hands instead of taking it back from the king of Aram?”

4-5 He turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “Will you join me in fighting for Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat said, “You bet. I’m with you all the way—my troops are your troops, my horses are your horses.” He then continued, “But before you do anything, ask God for guidance.”

6 The king of Israel got the prophets together—all four hundred of them—and put the question to them: “Should I attack Ramoth Gilead? Or should I hold back?”

“Go for it,” they said. “God will hand it over to the king.”

7 But Jehoshaphat dragged his heels: “Is there still another prophet of God around here we can consult?”

8 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “As a matter of fact, there is still one such man. But I hate him. He never preaches anything good to me, only doom, doom, doom—Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king shouldn’t talk about a prophet like that,” said Jehoshaphat.

9 So the king of Israel ordered one of his men, “On the double! Get Micaiah son of Imlah.”

10-12 Meanwhile, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat were seated on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes, resplendent in front of the Samaria city gates. All the prophets were staging a prophecy-performance for their benefit. Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had even made a set of iron horns, and brandishing them called out, “God’s word! With these horns you’ll gore Aram until there’s nothing left of him!” All the prophets chimed in, “Yes! Go for Ramoth Gilead! An easy victory! God’s gift to the king!”

13 The messenger who went to get Micaiah said, “The prophets have all said Yes to the king. Make it unanimous—vote Yes!”

14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as God lives, what God says, I’ll say.”

15 With Micaiah before him, the king asked him, “So Micaiah—do we attack Ramoth Gilead, or do we hold back?”

“Go ahead,” he said. “An easy victory. God’s gift to the king.”

16 “Not so fast,” said the king. “How many times have I made you promise under oath to tell me the truth and nothing but the truth?”

17 “All right,” said Micaiah, “since you insist.

I saw all of Israel scattered over the hills,
    sheep with no shepherd.
Then God spoke: ‘These poor people
    have no one to tell them what to do.
Let them go home and do
    the best they can for themselves.’”

18 Then the king of Israel turned to Jehoshaphat, “See! What did I tell you? He never has a good word for me from God, only doom.”

19-23 Micaiah kept on: “I’m not done yet; listen to God’s word:

I saw God enthroned,
    and all the angel armies of heaven
Standing at attention
    ranged on his right and his left.
And God said, ‘How can we seduce Ahab
    into attacking Ramoth Gilead?’
Some said this,
    and some said that.
Then a bold angel stepped out,
    stood before God, and said,
‘I’ll seduce him.’
    ‘And how will you do it?’ said God.
‘Easy,’ said the angel,
    ‘I’ll get all the prophets to lie.’
‘That should do it,’ said God.
    ‘On your way—seduce him!’

“And that’s what has happened. God filled the mouths of your puppet prophets with seductive lies. God has pronounced your doom.”

24 Just then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came up and punched Micaiah in the nose, saying, “Since when did the Spirit of God leave me and take up with you?”

25 Micaiah said, “You’ll know soon enough; you’ll know it when you’re frantically and futilely looking for a place to hide.”

26-27 The king of Israel had heard enough: “Get Micaiah out of here! Turn him over to Amon the city magistrate and to Joash the king’s son with this message, ‘King’s orders: Lock him up in jail; keep him on bread and water until I’m back in one piece.’”

28 Micaiah said, “If you ever get back in one piece, I’m no prophet of God.”

He added,“When it happens, O people, remember where you heard it!”

29-30 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Wear my kingly robe; I’m going into battle disguised.” So the king of Israel entered the battle in disguise.

31 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders (there were thirty-two of them): “Don’t bother with anyone, whether small or great; go after the king of Israel and him only.”

32-33 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they said, “There he is! The king of Israel!” and took after him. Jehoshaphat yelled out, and the chariot commanders realized they had the wrong man—it wasn’t the king of Israel after all. They let him go.

34 Just then someone, without aiming, shot an arrow randomly into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his armor. The king told his charioteer, “Turn back! Get me out of here—I’m wounded.”

35-37 All day the fighting continued, hot and heavy. Propped up in his chariot, the king watched from the sidelines. He died that evening. Blood from his wound pooled in the chariot. As the sun went down, shouts reverberated through the ranks, “Abandon camp! Head for home! The king is dead!”

37-38 The king was brought to Samaria and there they buried him. They washed down the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the town whores bathed, and the dogs lapped up the blood, just as God’s word had said.

39-40 The rest of Ahab’s life—everything he did, the ivory palace he built, the towns he founded, and the defense system he built up—is all written up in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. He was buried in the family cemetery and his son Ahaziah was the next king.

41-44 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king and he ruled for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. He continued the kind of life characteristic of his father Asa—no detours, no dead ends—pleasing God with his life. But he failed to get rid of the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines. People continued to pray and worship at these idolatrous shrines. And he kept on good terms with the king of Israel.

45-46 The rest of Jehoshaphat’s life, his achievements and his battles, is all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Also, he got rid of the sacred prostitutes left over from the days of his father Asa.

47 Edom was kingless during his reign; a deputy was in charge.

48-49 Jehoshaphat built ocean-going ships to sail to Ophir for gold. But they never made it; they shipwrecked at Ezion Geber. During that time Ahaziah son of Ahab proposed a joint shipping venture, but Jehoshaphat wouldn’t go in with him.

50 Then Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the family cemetery in the City of David his ancestor. Jehoram his son was the next king.

51-53 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He ruled Israel for two years. As far as God was concerned, he lived an evil life, reproducing the bad life of his father and mother, repeating the pattern set down by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin. Worshiping at the Baal shrines, he made God, the God of Israel, angry, oh, so angry. If anything, he was worse than his father.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, July 29, 2019

Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 7:10–27

And behold, the woman meets him,
    dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[a]
11 She is loud and wayward;
    her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
    and at every corner she lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with bold face she says to him,
14 “I had to offer sacrifices,[b]
    and today I have paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with coverings,
    colored linens from Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
    aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast[c]
23     till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24 And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

Insight
Most of the book of Proverbs is attributed to King Solomon. Chapters 5–7 emphasize the seriousness of sexual sin and conclude with a visual of someone being lured into temptation “like an ox going to slaughter” (7:22). This graphic image illustrates the idea of being unaware of the deadly fate to come, which is why Solomon warns that the home of the adulterous woman is “a highway to the grave” (vv. 24–27).By: Julie Schwab

All for Nothing
Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death. Proverbs 7:27

Heroin addiction is poignantly tragic. Users build tolerance, so larger hits are required for the same high. Soon the dosage they seek is more than enough to kill them. When addicts hear someone has died from an exceptionally strong batch, their first thought may not be fear but “Where can I get that?”

C. S. Lewis warned of this downward spiral in Screwtape Letters, his imaginative look at a demon’s explanation of the art of temptation. Start with some pleasure—if possible one of God’s good pleasures—and offer it in a way God has forbidden. Once the person bites, give less of it while enticing him to want more. Provide “an ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure,” until finally we “get the man’s soul and give him nothing in return.”

Proverbs 7 illustrates this devastating cycle with the temptation of sexual sin. Sex is God’s good gift, but when we seek its enjoyment outside of marriage we’re “like an ox going to the slaughter” (v. 22). People stronger than us have destroyed themselves by pursuing highs that are harmful, so “pay attention” and “do not let your heart turn to [wrongful] ways” (vv. 24–25). Sin can be alluring and addicting, but it always ends in death (v. 27). By avoiding—in God’s strength—the temptation to sin, we can find true joy and fulfillment in Him.By Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray
When and where do you face temptations? How can you seek God’s wisdom and help in turning from them?

Holy Spirit, I know that I am powerless in myself to resist temptation. I need You. Help me. For more on overcoming addiction, see When We Just Can't Stop at discoveryseries.org/cb961.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 29, 2019
Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?
Behold, He is coming with clouds… —Revelation 1:7

In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.

It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?

There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.

“…they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus …” (Mark 9:8; also see verses 2–7).

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
Monday, July 29, 2019
The Voice That Says "Gentle" - #8491

When our grandson was 18 months old, I called him a member of the Lewis and Clark Junior Cadets. In other words, he loved to explore! He moved faster than you can blink. He was into everything and, of course, he had one basic maneuver - grab! Now, that's a little guy's way of exploring something new. The problem is some things are fragile - a concept, of course, beyond the comprehension of a toddler. But Mom did a great job of protecting what was breakable while not discouraging that explorer spirit. She taught him one word - "gentle." So when she saw the junior explorer closing in on something fragile, she simply said that important word, "Gentle. Gentle." And suddenly he slowed down and he touched his target carefully and softly. Say it with me now, "gentle." That's right.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Voice That Says 'Gentle.'"

Our grandson didn't really want to hurt anything. He didn't realize how damaging his rough treatment can be. Of course, we don't either. We don't realize how much damage we're doing with our rough treatment of other people. We need a voice giving us that quiet reminder, "Gentle. Treat him gentle. Treat her gentle."

You can hear that voice in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Ephesians 4:29-32. Measure your treatment of your family by these verses - your treatment of your co-workers, your neighbors, your friends, and the people you encounter in your daily rounds. See if it fits. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up...And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God..." Woah! Now, how do you grieve the Holy Spirit? How do you make God cry? Apparently, it's by verbally

tearing down someone that He's trying to build.

God tells us to have zero tolerance for the kind of talk that damages people. He says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander...Be kind and compassionate to one another..." Look, many times we have no idea of how much damage our careless words are doing - the angry words, the critical words, the harsh words, those sarcastic words, those backstabbing words. But God knows how deep the wounds of your words are going, and that's why He grieves over them.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 that "the tongue has the power of life and death" and in Proverbs 12:18 it says, "reckless words pierce like a sword." I wonder how many times, even in recent weeks, words of yours or mine have sliced right through someone. We've probably forgotten what we said and how we said it. They may never forget it.

But down inside your soul there's that voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit, who like our daughter with our grandson, knows how damaging our words can be. And the Holy Spirit is trying to whisper, "Gentle. Please be gentle with him. Be gentle with her." That's why the Bible says, "The fruit of the Spirit is...gentleness" (Galatians 5:23).

Maybe it's time to apologize to the Lord for the times you've ignored that voice, or maybe you've just drowned it out with your own. Maybe it's time to apologize to someone you've wounded with your harshness. And maybe it's time to say, "You know, Lord, I've done enough damage. I'm really sorry. Please teach me to treat people like You did when You were here. I want to learn how to be - gentle."

1 Kings 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Forgiveness is Not Excusing

It's one thing to give grace to friends, but to give grace to those who give us grief? Most of us find it hard to forgive. Leave your enemies in God's hands. You are not endorsing their misbehavior when you do. You can hate what someone did without letting hatred consume you. Forgiveness is not excusing. Give grace, but if need be, keep your distance. You can forgive the abusive husband without living with him. Be quick to give mercy to the immoral pastor, but be slow to give him a pulpit.
Society can dispense grace and prison terms at the same time. To forgive is to move on, not to think about the offense anymore. You don't excuse him, endorse her, or embrace them. You just route your thoughts about them through heaven. In Romans 12:19 God says, "I will take care of it!" Let Him!
From Facing Your Giants

1 Kings 21

And then, to top it off, came this: Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel that bordered the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. One day Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so I can use it as a kitchen garden; it’s right next to my house—so convenient. In exchange I’ll give you a far better vineyard, or if you’d prefer I’ll pay you money for it.”

3-4 But Naboth told Ahab, “Not on your life! So help me God, I’d never sell the family farm to you!” Ahab went home in a black mood, sulking over Naboth the Jezreelite’s words, “I’ll never turn over my family inheritance to you.” He went to bed, stuffed his face in his pillow, and refused to eat.

5 Jezebel his wife came to him. She said, “What’s going on? Why are you so out of sorts and refusing to eat?”

6 He told her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite. I said, ‘Give me your vineyard—I’ll pay you for it or, if you’d rather, I’ll give you another vineyard in exchange.’ And he said, ‘I’ll never give you my vineyard.’”

7 Jezebel said, “Is this any way for a king of Israel to act? Aren’t you the boss? On your feet! Eat! Cheer up! I’ll take care of this; I’ll get the vineyard of this Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”

8-10 She wrote letters over Ahab’s signature, stamped them with his official seal, and sent them to the elders in Naboth’s city and to the civic leaders. She wrote “Call for a fast day and put Naboth at the head table. Then seat a couple of stool pigeons across from him who, in front of everybody will say, ‘You! You blasphemed God and the king!’ Then they’ll throw him out and stone him to death.”

11-14 And they did it. The men of the city—the elders and civic leaders—followed Jezebel’s instructions that she wrote in the letters sent to them. They called for a fast day and seated Naboth at the head table. Then they brought in two stool pigeons and seated them opposite Naboth. In front of everybody the two degenerates accused him, “He blasphemed God and the king!” The company threw him out in the street, stoned him mercilessly, and he died.

15 When Jezebel got word that Naboth had been stoned to death, she told Ahab, “Go for it, Ahab—take the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for your own, the vineyard he refused to sell you. Naboth is no more; Naboth is dead.”

16 The minute Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he set out for the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite and claimed it for his own.

17-19 Then God stepped in and spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, “On your feet; go down and confront Ahab of Samaria, king of Israel. You’ll find him in the vineyard of Naboth; he’s gone there to claim it as his own. Say this to him: ‘God’s word: What’s going on here? First murder, then theft?’ Then tell him, ‘God’s verdict: The very spot where the dogs lapped up Naboth’s blood, they’ll lap up your blood—that’s right, your blood.’”

20-22 Ahab answered Elijah, “My enemy! So, you’ve run me down!”

“Yes, I’ve found you out,” said Elijah. “And because you’ve bought into the business of evil, defying God. ‘I will most certainly bring doom upon you, make mincemeat of your descendants, kill off every sorry male wretch who’s even remotely connected with the name Ahab. And I’ll bring down on you the same fate that fell on Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah—you’ve made me that angry by making Israel sin.’”

23-24 As for Jezebel, God said, “Dogs will fight over the flesh of Jezebel all over Jezreel. Anyone tainted by Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by stray dogs; corpses in the country will be eaten by carrion crows.”

25-26 Ahab, pushed by his wife Jezebel and in open defiance of God, set an all-time record in making big business of evil. He indulged in outrageous obscenities in the world of idols, copying the Amorites whom God had earlier kicked out of Israelite territory.

27 When Ahab heard what Elijah had to say, he ripped his clothes to shreds, dressed in penitential rough burlap, and fasted. He even slept in coarse burlap pajamas. He tiptoed around, quiet as a mouse.

28-29 Then God spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: “Do you see how penitently submissive Ahab has become to me? Because of his repentance I’ll not bring the doom during his lifetime; Ahab’s son, though, will get it.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Hebrews 6:9–12

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Insight
The author of Hebrews is widely debated. Among those proposed are Barnabas and Paul. Our anonymous author often encourages his readers (most likely Jewish Christians) to endure and remain faithful. Today’s passage from Hebrews exhorts readers not to be “lazy” but to diligently work (6:11–12). The English Standard Version renders the word lazy as “sluggish” or “dull,” which seems to better fit the passage’s theme: to encourage perseverance, despite persecution, until “the very end.” In order to persevere, Christians cannot afford to grow “sluggish” in their faith. They need to diligently stand strong and keep serving others (vv. 10-11). In order to help them along in their pursuit, they’re encouraged to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (v. 12).

Plodding for God
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end. Hebrews 6:11

Those raised in the English village with William Carey (1761–1834) probably thought he wouldn’t accomplish much, but today he’s known as the father of modern missions. Born to parents who were weavers, he became a not-too-successful teacher and cobbler while teaching himself Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. After many years, he realized his dream of becoming a missionary to India. But he faced hardship, including his child’s death, his wife’s mental-health problems, and for many years the lack of response from those he served.

What kept him serving amid difficulties as he translated the entire Bible into six languages and parts of it into twenty-nine others? “I can plod,” he said. “I can persevere in any definite pursuit.” He committed to serving God no matter what trials he encountered.

This continued devotion to Christ is what the writer to the Hebrews counseled. He called for those reading his letter to not “become lazy” (Hebrews 6:12), but to “show this same diligence to the very end” (v. 11) as they sought to honor God. He reassured them that God “will not forget your work and the love you have shown” (v. 10).

During William Carey’s later years, he reflected on how God consistently supplied his needs. “He has never failed in His promise, so I cannot fail in my service to Him.” May God also empower us to serve Him day by day. By Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray
How has God helped you to keep on going in your service for Him? In what way can you help someone else in their struggles?

Lord God, help me to follow You—when I face challenges and enjoy good times. May I know the assurance that You are always with me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 28, 2019
God’s Purpose or Mine?
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side… —Mark 6:45

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

Acts 13:26-52, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Give Grace

Forgiveness is not foolishness. Forgiveness, at its core, is choosing to see your offender with different eyes. By the way, how can we grace-recipients do anything less? Dare we ask God for grace when we refuse to give it? This is a huge issue in Scripture! Jesus was tough on sinners who refused to forgive other sinners. Remember his story in Matthew 18, about the servant freshly forgiven a debt of millions who refused to forgive a debt equal to a few dollars? He stirred the wrath of God. "You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt. Shouldn't you have mercy just as I had mercy on you?" (Matthew 18:32).
In the final sum, we give grace because we've been given grace. And we've been given grace so we can freely give it. See your enemies as God's child and revenge as God's job.
From Facing Your Giants

Acts 13:26-52 The Message (MSG)
26-29 “Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn’t recognize who he was and condemned him to death. They couldn’t find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway. They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea they were following to the letter the script of the prophets, even though those same prophets are read every Sabbath in their meeting places.

29-31 “After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.

32-35 “And we’re here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm:

My Son! My very own Son!
Today I celebrate you!

“When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That’s why Isaiah said, ‘I’ll give to all of you David’s guaranteed blessings.’ So also the psalmist’s prayer: ‘You’ll never let your Holy One see death’s rot and decay.’

36-39 “David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.

40-41 “Don’t take this lightly. You don’t want the prophet’s sermon to describe you:

Watch out, cynics;
Look hard—watch your world fall to pieces.
I’m doing something right before your eyes
That you won’t believe, though it’s staring you in the face.”

42-43 When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they’d started, this living in and by God’s grace.

44-45 When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.

46-47 But Paul and Barnabas didn’t back down. Standing their ground they said, “It was required that God’s Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you’ve made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we’re on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said,

I’ve set you up
    as light to all nations.
You’ll proclaim salvation
    to the four winds and seven seas!”

48-49 When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God’s Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.

50-52 Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 16:21–28

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord![a] This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance[b] to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[c] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Insight
Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) is a critical turning point in Christ’s life, for “from that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things” and “be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (v. 21). Before this, Jesus spoke cryptically of His death and resurrection (12:40; John 2:19; 3:14; 6:51), but afterward He “spoke plainly” about it (Mark 8:32). Jesus referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” (Matthew 16:27–28), a Messianic title used often in connection with His humiliation and suffering (Daniel 7:13–14; Matthew 20:18; 26:2, 64).

In-Service Training
On this rock I will build my church. Matthew 16:18

A manager at a company in Brazil requested a written report from the custodians in her building. Each day she wanted to know who cleaned each room, which rooms were left untouched, and how much time employees spent in each room. The first “daily” report arrived a week later, partially completed.

When the manager looked into the matter, she discovered most of the cleaning employees couldn’t read. She could have fired them, but instead she arranged for them to have literacy lessons. Within five months, everyone was reading at a basic level and continued in their jobs.

God often uses our struggles as opportunities to equip us to continue working for Him. Peter’s life was marked by inexperience and mistakes. His faith faltered as he tried to walk on water. He wasn’t sure if Jesus should pay the temple tax (Matthew 17:24–27). He even rejected Christ’s prophecy about the crucifixion and resurrection (16:21–23). Through each issue Jesus taught Peter more about who He was—the promised Messiah (v. 16). Peter listened and learned what he needed to know to help found the early church (v. 18).

If you’re discouraged by some failure today, remember that Jesus may use it to teach you and lead you forward in your service for Him. He continued to work with Peter despite his shortcomings, and He can use us to continue to build His kingdom until He returns. By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray
How has God used challenges in your life to lead and equip you to serve Him? What past failure do you need to release to Him today?

Lord, I believe You can use any experience to teach me more about who You are. Take my failures and use them for Your glory.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 27, 2019
The Way to Knowledge
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine… —John 7:17

The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.

No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.

When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First…go….” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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