Hebrews 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LET JESUS HEAL YOU

Would you like Jesus to heal you?  Then, ask Him. The four Gospels detail approximately 36 miracles and reference even more.  He changed water into wine, calmed more than one storm, restored sight to more than one blind man. Yet Jesus never grandstanded his miraculous powers. He performed miracles for two reasons–  to prove his identity and to help his people. Can you imagine the testimonies if you were a part of the crowd he fed, one of the dead he raised, or one of the sick he healed?

The church exploded like a fire on a West Texas prairie. Why? Because Jesus healed people. Why not let him heal you? You can be sure that, in the right time and in the right way, Jesus will respond.

Hebrews 1

Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!

The Son Is Higher than Angels
3-6 After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you” or “I’m his Father, he’s my Son”? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, “All angels must worship him.”

7 Regarding angels he says,

The messengers are winds,
    the servants are tongues of fire.

8-9 But he says to the Son,

You’re God, and on the throne for good;
    your rule makes everything right.
You love it when things are right;
    you hate it when things are wrong.
That is why God, your God,
    poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king,
    far above your dear companions.

10-12 And again to the Son,

You, Master, started it all, laid earth’s foundations,
    then crafted the stars in the sky.
Earth and sky will wear out, but not you;
    they become threadbare like an old coat;
You’ll fold them up like a worn-out cloak,
    and lay them away on the shelf.
But you’ll stay the same, year after year;
    you’ll never fade, you’ll never wear out.

13 And did he ever say anything like this to an angel?

Sit alongside me here on my throne
Until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.

14 Isn’t it obvious that all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation?

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, September 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Proverbs 2:1–11

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

Insight
The book of Proverbs contains general wisdom applicable to people everywhere. No one has a corner on sayings like “walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble” (Proverbs 13:20 nlt) and “Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value” (10:2). But what isn’t common to people everywhere is the attribution of everyday wisdom to the God of gods. The name of the Lord (Yahweh) is used eighty-seven times in Proverbs to give source, story, spirit, and context to the wisdom of these proverbs. The Lord of Israel’s exodus, wilderness, exile, and Messianic hope wants us to know that He’s the beginning and end of all true wisdom and knowledge (2:6). It’s the God of Solomon’s insight who can be trusted to turn even common sense into timely perspective and actions that help us while giving honor to Him (3:5–7).

Now, then Next
He holds success in store for the upright. Proverbs 2:7

I recently attended a high school graduation during which the speaker provided a needed challenge for the young adults awaiting their diplomas. He mentioned that this was a time in their lives when everyone was asking them, “What’s next?” What career would they be pursuing next? Where would they be going to school or working next? Then he said that the more important question was what were they doing now?

In the context of their faith journey, what daily decisions would they be making that would guide them to live for Jesus and not for themselves?

His words reminded me of the book of Proverbs, which makes many pointed statements about how to live—now. For instance: practicing honesty, now (11:1); choosing the right friends, now (12:26); living with integrity, now (13:6); having good judgment, now (13:15); speaking wisely, now (14:3).          

Living for God now, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, makes the decisions about what is next much easier. “The Lord gives wisdom; . . . He holds success in store for the upright, . . . he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones” (2:6–8). May God supply what we need for us to live by His guidelines now, and may He guide us into what’s next for His honor. By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray
What changes in direction do you need to make now to honor God? How can you seek God’s guidance and empowerment in doing so?

Thank You, heavenly Father, for Your guidance in my life today. Protect me and give me wisdom to live in a way that both pleases You and reveals who You are.

To learn more about the spiritual life, visit ChristianUniversity.org/SF212.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 07, 2020
Fountains of Blessings
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. —John 4:14

The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38).

We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.

Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 1-2; 1 Corinthians 16

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 07, 2020
Deadly Deafness - #8781

Jim was spending his first night as a college student. As he began to fall asleep in his dorm room, he was suddenly awakened by a frightening sound. A train whistle blew, and the train was coming right through his room. Well, at least that's how it sounded to this particular college student. It turned out that the railroad tracks were right next to his dorm. That's probably why they put freshmen there, right? Well, Jim found it pretty challenging to slip into la-la land for the night when it sounded like a train was roaring through his room. I said, "But I'll bet you eventually got used to it, didn't you?" He said, "Well, after a while, I didn't even notice the train anymore!"

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

Amazing, isn't it? What used to seem so loud to you becomes something you can eventually ignore totally. That's good if it's the sound of a train roaring by your room at night. It's bad if it's the voice of God you don't hear anymore. And the more you've been around the Word of God, the greater the danger that you may be developing the most deadly form of deafness in the world - deafness to the God you cannot afford to miss.

Our word for today from the Word of God is a sobering warning about this deadly deafness. Hebrews 3:7 says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

Every time you hear about what Jesus did for you on the cross and you do nothing about it, your heart gets a little harder. We wouldn't know that if God didn't tell us that in the Bible. This hardening of your heart is gradual - almost imperceptible - but it's very, very real and very, very dangerous. Proverbs 29:1 tells us that the one who continually ignores many warnings from God "will suddenly be destroyed - without remedy."

The Bible gives us a disturbing example of this danger in the story of Pharaoh. Moses continued to deliver a message from God to Egypt's king and he continued to disregard it. The Book of Exodus tells us that "Pharaoh hardened his heart" (Exodus 8:14; 8:32). After all the times Pharaoh heard and rejected God's message, the Bible tells us that "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart" (Exodus 9:12). He reached the point where he could not respond to God because of all the times he would not respond to God. Ultimately, Moses says, speaking on God's behalf, "I will never appear before you again" (Exodus 10:29).

Right now I'm talking to someone who has heard about Jesus many times. You've heard what He did on the cross for you. You've heard it was to pay for the sins that have cut you off from God. You've heard that He's alive. You've heard that He's inviting you to put your trust in Him. And you agree with Jesus. You like Jesus, but you've never given yourself to Jesus. Without knowing it, without meaning to, you've been hardening your heart. You're so familiar with Jesus that you're becoming immune to Jesus.

If you sense any stirring in your heart toward Him right now, there's still time. You can still believe, because God has come to draw you to His Son at least one more time; at least this time. When will it be too late to choose Jesus? Only God knows. What we do know is that today is your only guaranteed opportunity to make Jesus your own Savior from your own sin; to change your eternal destination from hell to heaven.

It starts when you tell Jesus, "I'm Yours, Lord. I believe when you were dying on that cross it was for me for my sin. I believe you're alive, and I want to begin my relationship with you. You're my only hope. I have no hope but You and what You did on the cross for me."

I'll tell you, it would be my great privilege to help you make sure that you belong to Him. That's what we do at our website. It's ANewStory.com. It could be that your new story could begin there today! I hope you'll check it out.

Remember what God says. Today if you hear His voice, grab Him while you still can. There's so much to gain when you grab Jesus. There's so much to lose if you don't.

Jeremiah 46, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  We Don’t Like to Wait

We don’t like to wait.  We’re the giddy-up generation. We frown at the person who takes eleven items to the ten-item express checkout. We drum our fingers while the microwave heats our coffee. “Come on, come on.”  We really don’t like to wait!

Look around you. Do you realize where we sit?  This planet is God’s waiting room. The young couple? Waiting to get pregnant. The guy with the briefcase?  Waiting for work. Waiting on God to give or to help.  Waiting on God to come. The land of waiting. And you? Are you in God’s waiting room?

You may be infertile or inactive, in limbo, in between jobs or in search of a house, spouse, health, or help. Here’s what you need to know. While you wait, God works! God never twiddles His thumbs. He never stops. Just because you’re idle, don’t assume God is. Trust Him.  In the right time, you’ll get through this.

From You’ll Get Through This

Jeremiah 46

You Vainly Collect Medicines

God’s Messages through the prophet Jeremiah regarding the godless nations.

2-5 The Message to Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt at the time it was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon while camped at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah:

“‘Present arms!
    March to the front!
Harness the horses!
    Up in the saddles!
Battle formation! Helmets on,
    spears sharpened, armor in place!’
But what’s this I see?
    They’re scared out of their wits!
They break ranks and run for cover.
    Their soldiers panic.
They run this way and that,
    stampeding blindly.
It’s total chaos, total confusion, danger everywhere!”
    God’s Decree.

6 “The swiftest runners won’t get away,
    the strongest soldiers won’t escape.
In the north country, along the River Euphrates,
    they’ll stagger, stumble, and fall.

7-9 “Who is this like the Nile in flood?
    like its streams torrential?
Why, it’s Egypt like the Nile in flood,
    like its streams torrential,
Saying, ‘I’ll take over the world.
    I’ll wipe out cities and peoples.’
Run, horses!
    Roll, chariots!
Advance, soldiers
    from Cush and Put with your shields,
Soldiers from Lud,
    experts with bow and arrow.

10 “But it’s not your day. It’s the Master’s, me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies—
    the day when I have it out with my enemies,
The day when Sword puts an end to my enemies,
    when Sword exacts vengeance.
I, the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    will pile them on an altar—a huge sacrifice!—
In the great north country,
    along the mighty Euphrates.

11-12 “Oh, virgin Daughter Egypt,
    climb into the mountains of Gilead, get healing balm.
You will vainly collect medicines,
    for nothing will be able to cure what ails you.
The whole world will hear your anguished cries.
    Your wails fill the earth,
As soldier falls against soldier
    and they all go down in a heap.”

Egypt’s Army Slithers Like a Snake
13 The Message that God gave to the prophet Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was on his way to attack Egypt:

14 “Tell Egypt, alert Migdol,
    post warnings in Noph and Tahpanhes:
‘Wake up! Be prepared!
    War’s coming!’

15-19 “Why will your bull-god Apis run off?
    Because God will drive him off.
Your ragtag army will fall to pieces.
    The word is passing through the ranks,
‘Let’s get out of here while we still can.
    Let’s head for home and save our skins.’
When they get home they’ll nickname Pharaoh
    ‘Big-Talk-Bad-Luck.’
As sure as I am the living God”
    —the King’s Decree, God-of-the-Angel-Armies is his name—
“A conqueror is coming: like Tabor, singular among mountains;
    like Carmel, jutting up from the sea!
So pack your bags for exile,
    you coddled daughters of Egypt,
For Memphis will soon be nothing,
    a vacant lot grown over with weeds.

20-21 “Too bad, Egypt, a beautiful sleek heifer
    attacked by a horsefly from the north!
All her hired soldiers are stationed to defend her—
    like well-fed calves they are.
But when their lives are on the line, they’ll run off,
    cowards every one.
When the going gets tough,
    they’ll take the easy way out.

22-24 “Egypt will slither and hiss like a snake
    as the enemy army comes in force.
They will rush in, swinging axes
    like lumberjacks cutting down trees.
They’ll level the country”—God’s Decree—“nothing
    and no one standing for as far as you can see.
The invaders will be a swarm of locusts,
    innumerable, past counting.
Daughter Egypt will be ravished,
    raped by vandals from the north.”

25-26 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Watch out when I visit doom on the god Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I’ll turn them over to those who are out to kill them, to Nebuchadnezzar and his military. Egypt will be set back a thousand years. Eventually people will live there again.” God’s Decree.

27-28 “But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.
    Israel, there’s no need to worry.
Look up! I’ll save you from that far country,
    I’ll get your children out of the land of exile.
Things are going to be normal again for Jacob,
    safe and secure, smooth sailing.
Yes, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.
    Depend on it, I’m on your side.
I’ll finish off all the godless nations
    among which I’ve scattered you,
But I won’t finish you off.
    I have more work left to do on you.
I’ll punish you, but fairly.
    No, I’m not finished with you yet.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, September 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Galatians 3:1–6

Faith or Works of the Law

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a] 4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c]

Insight
Writing to the believers in Galatia, a Roman province located in the western half of what is now modern-day Turkey, Paul confronted the teachings of a group known as the Judaizers. They were Jews who embraced Jesus as the Messiah but also required adherence to certain Jewish religious customs in order to be saved. This meant they pushed gentiles (non-Jewish people) to become Jews in order to follow Jesus. Chief among the requirements was circumcision.

At the Council at Jerusalem, the church leaders discussed the issue of which Jewish practices to require of gentile believers (Acts 15). By saying that “unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” (v. 1), the Judaizers were teaching a gospel of works instead of grace (Galatians 2–3; 6:15).

Failed Again
After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Galatians 3:3

Back in my sermon-making days I approached some Sunday mornings feeling like a lowly worm. During the week before, I had not been the best husband, father, or friend. I felt that before God could use me again I had to establish a track record of right living. So I vowed to get through the sermon as best I could and try to live better the coming week.

That was not the right approach. In Galatians 3 it’s said that God continually supplies us with His Spirit and works powerfully through us as a free gift—not because we’ve done anything or deserve it.

Abraham’s life demonstrates this. At times he failed as a husband. For example, he twice put Sarah’s life in jeopardy by lying to save his own skin (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18). Yet his faith “was credited to him as righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). Abraham put himself in God’s hands despite his failures, and God used him to bring salvation to the world through his lineage.

There’s no justification for behaving badly. Jesus has asked us to follow Him in obedience, and He supplies the means to do so. A hard, unrepentant heart will always hinder His purposes for us, but His ability to use us doesn’t depend on a lengthy pattern of good behavior. It’s based solely on God’s willingness to work through us as we are: saved and growing by grace. You don’t have to work for His grace—it’s free. By:  David H. Roper

Reflect & Pray
Think of those situations in which you’ve felt disqualified. How does God look at those occasions? How do you?

I’m thankful, God, that You bless me and use me in spite of my failures. Your grace is amazing!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 06, 2020
The Far-Reaching Rivers of Life
He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38

A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe…” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.

A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 148-150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

Jeremiah 45, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: Moral Absolutes

When I was nine years old, I complimented a friend’s model airplane. He said, “I stole it!”  He could tell I was stunned because he asked, “Do you think that was wrong?” When I told him I did, he answered simply, “It may be wrong for you, but it’s not wrong for me. I know the owner. He’s rich…I’m not.”

What do you say to that argument? If the majority opinion determines good and evil, what happens when the majority is wrong? A godly view of the world has something to say to my childhood thief. You may think it’s right. Society may think it’s okay. But the God who made you said, ‘You shall not steal’—and he wasn’t kidding. The hedonist’s world of no moral absolutes works fine on paper and sounds great in a college philosophy course, but in life? Paul described it best in Romans 1:21, “Their foolish minds were filled with darkness.”

From In the Grip of Grace

Jeremiah 45

God’s Piling On the Pain

This is what Jeremiah told Baruch one day in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign as he was taking dictation from the prophet:

2-3 “These are the words of God, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch. You say, ‘These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another. God is piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.’

4-5 “But God says, ‘Look around. What I’ve built I’m about to wreck, and what I’ve planted I’m about to rip up. And I’m doing it everywhere—all over the whole earth! So forget about making any big plans for yourself. Things are going to get worse before they get better. But don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive through the whole business.’”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, September 05, 2020

Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 147:1–11

Praise the Lord.[a]

How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
    and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
    his understanding has no limit.
6 The Lord sustains the humble
    but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
    make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;
    he supplies the earth with rain
    and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle
    and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
11 the Lord delights in those who fear him,
    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 147:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 20

Insight
The book of Psalms is the hymnal of the Bible, a collection of prayers and praises that express the hearts of broken people experiencing life in a broken world. In the final section of the Psalms (Psalms 145–150), however, such concerns are secondary. Here we experience pure praise to God. The Bible Knowledge Commentary has this to say about Psalm 145, which begins this section: “This psalm of David is titled ‘A psalm of praise’—the only one in the Psalter with that title. Here begins the grand doxology of the entire collection, for praise plays a greater part of Psalms 145–150 than in most of the others. The word praise occurs forty-six times in these six psalms.” Psalm 147 lies at the core of this sweeping crescendo of praise to God, using the word praise or praises six times, and starting and concluding with a dramatic hallelujah—“Praise the Lord”!

God Understands
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5

After a recent move, Mabel’s seven-year-old son, Ryan, fussed as he prepared to attend a summer camp at his new school. Mabel encouraged him, assuring him that she understood change was hard. But one morning, Ryan’s out-of-character grumpiness seemed excessive. With compassion, Mabel asked, “What’s bothering you, Son?”

Staring out of the window, Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know, Mom. I just have too many feelings.”

Mabel’s heart ached as she comforted him. Desperate for a way to help him, she shared that the move was hard for her too. She assured Ryan that God would stay close, that He knows everything, even when they couldn’t understand or voice their frustrations. “Let’s set up a visit with your friends before school starts,” she said. They made plans, grateful that God understands even when His children have “too many feelings.”

The writer of Psalm 147 experienced overwhelming emotions throughout his faith journey and recognized the benefits of praising the all-knowing Maker and Sustainer of all, the Healer of physical and emotional wounds (vv. 1–6). He praised God for the ways He provides and “delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (v. 11).

When we’re struggling to make sense of our emotions, we don’t have to feel alone or discouraged. We can rest in the unlimited understanding of our unchanging, loving God. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray
How does knowing God understands your most intimate needs help you trust Him while you process your emotions? What emotions seem most difficult for you to place into God’s mighty and merciful hands?

Sovereign God, thank You for assuring me that You understand and care about my emotional and physical needs.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, September 05, 2020
Watching With Jesus

Stay here and watch with Me. —Matthew 26:38

“Watch with Me.” Jesus was saying, in effect, “Watch with no private point of view at all, but watch solely and entirely with Me.” In the early stages of our Christian life, we do not watch with Jesus, we watch for Him. We do not watch with Him through the revealed truth of the Bible even in the circumstances of our own lives. Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself through a particular “Gethsemane” experience of our own. But we refuse to go, saying, “No, Lord, I can’t see the meaning of this, and besides, it’s very painful.” And how can we possibly watch with Someone who is so incomprehensible? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we don’t even know why He is suffering? We don’t know how to watch with Him— we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.

The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not fully understand His purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept as a result of their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest and most intimate relationship of their lives they “all…forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:4). “They” refers to the same people, but something wonderful has happened between these two events— our Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension— and the disciples have now been invaded and “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Our Lord had said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8). This meant that they learned to watch with Him the rest of their lives.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.
The Place of Help

Bible in a Year: Psalms 146-147; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

Jeremiah 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ASK GOD FOR HIS PLAN

My wife and I spent five years on a missionary team in Brazil. Our first two years felt fruitless and futile. More often than not I went home frustrated. So we asked God for another plan. We prayed and read the Epistles. We especially focused on Galatians. When I compared our gospel message with Paul’s, I saw a difference.  His was high-octane good news. Mine was soured legalism. So as a team we resolved to focus on the gospel.  I did my best to proclaim forgiveness of sins and resurrection from the dead.

We saw an immediate change. We baptized forty people in twelve months. Quite a few for a church of sixty members. God wasn’t finished with us. We just needed to put God’s plan in place! Why don’t you ask God for his plan!

Jeremiah 25

Don’t Follow the God-Fads of the Day

This is the Message given to Jeremiah for all the people of Judah. It came in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah. It was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

2 Jeremiah the prophet delivered the Message to all the people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem:

3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah right up to the present day—twenty-three years it’s been!—God’s Word has come to me, and from early each morning to late every night I’ve passed it on to you. And you haven’t listened to a word of it!

4-6 Not only that but God also sent a steady stream of prophets to you who were just as persistent as me, and you never listened. They told you, “Turn back—right now, each one of you!—from your evil way of life and bad behavior, and live in the land God gave you and your ancestors, the land he intended to give you forever. Don’t follow the god-fads of the day, taking up and worshiping these no-gods. Don’t make me angry with your god-businesses, making and selling gods—a dangerous business!

7 “You refused to listen to any of this, and now I am really angry. These god-making businesses of yours are your doom.”

8-11 The verdict of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on all this: “Because you have refused to listen to what I’ve said, I’m stepping in. I’m sending for the armies out of the north headed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant in this, and I’m setting them on this land and people and even the surrounding countries. I’m devoting the whole works to total destruction—a horror to top all the horrors in history. And I’ll banish every sound of joy—singing, laughter, marriage festivities, genial workmen, candlelit suppers. The whole landscape will be one vast wasteland. These countries will be in subjection to the king of Babylon for seventy years.

12-14 “Once the seventy years is up, I’ll punish the king of Babylon and the whole nation of Babylon for their sin. Then they’ll be the wasteland. Everything that I said I’d do to that country, I’ll do—everything that’s written in this book, everything Jeremiah preached against all the godless nations. Many nations and great kings will make slaves of the Babylonians, paying them back for everything they’ve done to others. They won’t get by with anything.” God’s Decree.

God Puts the Human Race on Trial
15-16 This is a Message that the God of Israel gave me: “Take this cup filled with the wine of my wrath that I’m handing to you. Make all the nations where I send you drink it down. They’ll drink it and get drunk, staggering in delirium because of the killing that I’m going to unleash among them.”

17-26 I took the cup from God’s hand and made them drink it, all the nations to which he sent me:

Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, along with their kings and leaders, turning them into a vast wasteland, a horror to look at, a cussword—which, in fact, they now are;

Pharaoh king of Egypt with his attendants and leaders, plus all his people and the melting pot of foreigners collected there;

All the kings of Uz;

All the kings of the Philistines from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what’s left of Ashdod;

Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;

All the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and the coastlands across the sea;

Dedan, Tema, Buz, and the nomads on the fringe of the desert;

All the kings of Arabia and the various Bedouin sheiks and chieftains wandering about in the desert;

All the kings of Zimri, Elam, and the Medes;

All the kings from the north countries near and far, one by one;

All the kingdoms on planet Earth . . .

And the king of Sheshak (that is, Babylon) will be the last to drink.

27 “Tell them, ‘These are orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Drink and get drunk and vomit. Fall on your faces and don’t get up again. You’re slated for a massacre.’

28 “If any of them refuse to take the cup from you and drink it, say to them, ‘God-of-the-Angel-Armies has ordered you to drink. So drink!

29 “‘Prepare for the worst! I’m starting off the catastrophe in the city that I claim as my own, so don’t think you are going to get out of it. No, you’re not getting out of anything. It’s the sword and nothing but the sword against everyone everywhere!’” The God-of-the-Angel-Armies’ Decree.

30-31 “Preach it all, Jeremiah. Preach the entire Message to them. Say:

“‘God roars like a lion from high heaven;
    thunder rolls out from his holy dwelling—
Ear-splitting bellows against his people,
    shouting hurrahs like workers in harvest.
The noise reverberates all over the earth;
    everyone everywhere hears it.
God makes his case against the godless nations.
    He’s about to put the human race on trial.
For the wicked the verdict is clear-cut:
    death by the sword.’” God’s Decree.

32 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Prepare for the worst! Doomsday!
    Disaster is spreading from nation to nation.
A huge storm is about to rage
    all across planet Earth.”

33 Laid end to end, those killed in God’s judgment that day will stretch from one end of the earth to the other. No tears will be shed and no burials conducted. The bodies will be left where they fall, like so much horse dung fertilizing the fields.

34-38 Wail, shepherds! Cry out for help!
    Grovel in the dirt, you masters of flocks!
Time’s up—you’re slated for the slaughterhouse,
    like a choice ram with its throat cut.
There’s no way out for the rulers,
    no escape for those shepherds.
Hear that? Rulers crying for help,
    shepherds of the flock wailing!
God is about to ravage their fine pastures.
    The peaceful sheepfolds will be silent with death,
    silenced by God’s deadly anger.
God will come out into the open
    like a lion leaping from its cover,
And the country will be torn to pieces,
    ripped and ravaged by his anger.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, September 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Colossians 4:2–6

Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Insight

The word translated “devote” in Colossians 4:2 is from the Greek word proskartereo, which has the root meaning “to be strong.” Devote yourselves to prayer means “to be strong toward, to persist in, to persevere, to endure.” The object of the verb here is prayer. Colossians 4:2 isn’t the only place in the New Testament where these two words appear together. In the book of Acts, before and after Pentecost, believers in Jesus are described as being constantly in prayer (1:14) and devoted to prayer (2:42). In 6:4, believers in Christ are urged to give attention to prayer, and in Romans 12:12 believers in Jesus are exhorted to be faithful in prayer. Believers in Jesus in Colossae had a good prayer example in their minister Epaphras: “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus . . . is always wrestling in prayer for you” (Colossians 4:12; see also 1:7).

To learn more about the practice of prayer, visit ChristianUniversity.org/SF120.

Speak Up!
Pray . . . that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.
Colossians 4:3

Brittany exclaimed to her coworker at the restaurant, “There’s that man! There’s that man!” She was referring to Melvin, who first encountered her under different circumstances. While he was tending to the lawn of his church, the Spirit prompted him to start a conversation with a woman who appeared to be a prostitute. Her reply when he invited her to church was: “Do you know what I do? They wouldn’t want me in there.” As Melvin told her about the love of Jesus and assured her of His power to change her life, tears streamed down her face. Now, some weeks later, Brittany was working in a new environment, living proof of the power of Jesus to change lives.

In the context of encouraging believers to be devoted to prayer, the apostle Paul made a twofold request: “Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:3–4).

Have you prayed for opportunities to speak boldly and clearly for Jesus? What a fitting prayer! Such prayers can lead believers, like Melvin, to speak about Him in unexpected places and to unexpected people. Speaking up for Jesus can seem uncomfortable, but the rewards—changed lives—have a way of compensating for our discomforts. By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray
When did you share the love of Jesus with someone even though it was unexpected and uncomfortable? What role does prayer play in our preparation to boldly speak up for Him?

Jesus, help me to see opportunities and step through the doors You open to speak boldly and clearly about You!

Read Pray First! The Power of Prayer in Sharing the Gospel at DiscoverySeries.org/Q0219.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 04, 2020
His!
They were Yours, You gave them to Me… —John 17:6

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, “Go” (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.

Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. “…you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, “I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.”

Be entirely His!

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….”  So Send I You, 1325 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 143-145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 04, 2020
"Becoming" Eyes - #8780

I'll never forget the day that our daughter volunteered to clean the house. Oh, it was a mess! No, no, it wasn't our house. It was the house her boyfriend and some other guys were getting ready to move into. Now the word "mess" might be an understatement. Four college guys had lived there before and they were guys who did a lot of partying and very little cleaning. So there were layers of dirt, there was trash everywhere, and there were holes in the walls. Officials from Washington were actually considering having it declared an official disaster area. Well, I saw our daughter at the end of the long day she had put in trying to clean this pigpen for the man she loved and ultimately married. She was beat, she was all sweaty, but she was satisfied. I said, "What kept you going all those hours, Honey?" She said, "Dad, it was really depressing to look at. But I guess I kept seeing what it could be."

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

I know someone who looks at people like that. He looks at you like that. Jesus has this amazing ability to look beyond whatever mess we may be right now and see what we could become with some work on His part.

Our word for today from the Word of God in John 1:42 shows us how Jesus has what I call "becoming" eyes; eyes to see what a person can become. He has just met Simon and it says, "Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter).'" And Peter, by the way, means "the rock."

Now when other people looked at Simon they just saw John's son - "There goes John's son," or just another fisherman, or a man who was unstable, brazen, and impulsive. Others looked at Simon and they didn't see a rock, they saw a flake, but Jesus looked at Simon and saw Peter the rock. That's because Jesus has "becoming" eyes. He looks at you and He sees, not so much what you are, but what you could become. That's why He knew that John, a man whose temper made people call him a "son of thunder," would one day be the great apostle of love. When people looked at Jacob, they saw only the cheat that he was, but God saw the prince that he could be and started calling him that.

Aren't you glad that when Jesus looks at you right now, He looks at you through His "becoming" eyes? Maybe you've lived most of your life not feeling very valued by people. They've picked on your handicaps, they've emphasized your failures, or they've attacked your weaknesses. So you tend to think a lot more about what you aren't than what you are. Well, I want to invite you to look at yourself through Jesus' eyes for a moment.

He's like my daughter walking into that dirty house; He sees what could be. So you say, "I don't amount to much." But Jesus says, "You shall be a person who makes a difference in the lives of others who feel like nobodies." Or maybe you look in the mirror and you see only an impatient person, while Jesus is saying, "Yes, you are impatient, but you shall be a patient person!" You may be a self-centered person, but Jesus says, "You shall be someone who puts others first." Maybe you see yourself as a victim. Jesus says, "No! You shall be a victor!"

If you belong to Jesus, you are being rebuilt. You are being remodeled by the Master Carpenter. He's done it in millions of lives for 2,000 years. You don't have to be what you've always been! Maybe this catches you on a day when you're feeling discouraged, or defeated, or small, but Jesus is still changing you! Sure, He sees the mess, but He sees beyond the mess and He wants you to.

If you've never begun a relationship with Him to make this change in you that only He can make, go to our website. You'll find out there exactly how to begin a relationship with Jesus today. Go to ANewStory.com. I hope you'll check it out.

Jesus sees the rock you can become, no matter what anyone else sees! It could be, like the song says, "all you have to offer Him is brokenness and strife, but He'll make something beautiful of your life"!

Colossians 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WILL YOU BE SOMEONE FOR ANOTHER?

When disaster strikes, the human spirit responds by reaching out to help those afflicted.  People stand in line to give blood.  Rescue teams work for endless hours. But the most essential effort is accomplished by another valiant team.  Their task?  To gird the world with prayer. For the most part, we don’t even know their names.

Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend who was sick. No one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus.  John writes, “So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:3 NCV).  Someone went to Jesus on behalf of Lazarus. And because someone went, Jesus responded!  Would you be someone for someone else?

Colossians 4

And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don’t forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master—God in heaven.

Pray for Open Doors
2-4 Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.

5-6 Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

7-9 My good friend Tychicus will tell you all about me. He’s a trusted minister and companion in the service of the Master. I’ve sent him to you so that you would know how things are with us, and so he could encourage you in your faith. And I’ve sent Onesimus with him. Onesimus is one of you, and has become such a trusted and dear brother! Together they’ll bring you up-to-date on everything that has been going on here.

10-11 Aristarchus, who is in jail here with me, sends greetings; also Mark, cousin of Barnabas (you received a letter regarding him; if he shows up, welcome him); and also Jesus, the one they call Justus. These are the only ones left from the old crowd who have stuck with me in working for God’s kingdom. Don’t think they haven’t been a big help!

12-13 Epaphras, who is one of you, says hello. What a trooper he has been! He’s been tireless in his prayers for you, praying that you’ll stand firm, mature and confident in everything God wants you to do. I’ve watched him closely, and can report on how hard he has worked for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

14 Luke, good friend and physician, and Demas both send greetings.

15 Say hello to our friends in Laodicea; also to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.

16 After this letter has been read to you, make sure it gets read also in Laodicea. And get the letter that went to Laodicea and have it read to you.

17 And, oh, yes, tell Archippus, “Do your best in the job you received from the Master. Do your very best.”

18 I’m signing off in my own handwriting—Paul. Remember to pray for me in this jail. Grace be with you.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, September 03, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 49:14–19

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate
    and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
    and those who devoured you will be far away.

Insight
The prophet Isaiah’s name means “Salvation is of the Lord,” which summarizes his emphasis in the book on prophecies about Christ. Isaiah also portrays God as the God of comfort. We see this theme particularly throughout the later chapters of Isaiah (chs. 40–66). In today’s passage (49:14–19), we see God’s assurance that He won’t forget or abandon His people (Israel and the church). In 43:1–2, God says He walks with us through our trials and gives us this assurance: “I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” In 44:21–24, God declares, “I will not forget you” and reminds us He “formed [us] in the womb.” In 46:4, He promises, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.” And finally, in 66:13, He assures us, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”

Irrational Fears
I will not forget you! Isaiah 49:15

It makes no logical sense, but when my parents died within a three-month period, I feared they would forget me. Of course they were no longer on earth, but that left me with a large uncertainty. I was a young, unmarried adult and wondered how to navigate life without them. Feeling really single and alone, I sought God.

One morning I told Him about my irrational fear and the sadness it brought (even though He knew it already). The Scripture passage that came from the devotional I read that day was Isaiah 49: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast . . . ? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God reassured His people through Isaiah that He had not forgotten them and later promised to restore them to Himself through sending His Son Jesus. But the words ministered to my heart too. It’s rare for a mother or a father to forget their child, yet it’s possible. But God? No way. “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands,” He said.

God’s answer to me could have brought more fear. But the peace He gave because of His own remembrance of me was exactly what I needed. It was the start of discovering that God is even closer than a parent or anyone else, and He knows the way to help us with everything—even our irrational fears. By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray
What fears do you face? How might you seek God’s help to address them?

Father, my emotions and fears can be overwhelming and controlling. Thank You for being kind by helping me with them.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 03, 2020
Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction
He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. —2 Samuel 23:16

What has been like “water from the well of Bethlehem” to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing (2 Samuel 23:16)? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out “to the Lord.” You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.

How can I pour out “to the Lord” natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out “to the Lord.” Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as “rivers of living water” all around me (John 7:38). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out “to the Lord.”

If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything “to the Lord,” other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed

Bible in a Year: Psalms 140-142; 1 Corinthians 14:1-20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 03, 2020
No Such Thing As a Secret - #8779

A friend of mine was commenting on what was then some recent news stories, and there was something very shocking and very violent and seemingly unexplainable that had happened within a family. It was an ugly story really. He concluded with a comment that was based on an old country song he knew, "No one knows what goes on behind closed doors." Actually, that's not true.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Such Thing As a Secret."

It's a fact that there are plenty of secrets behind closed doors. No one on earth probably knows the real you like the people you live with. They see you unmasked and unedited. There's some ugly stuff behind some of our closed doors. Then there are the things we do when no one seems to be watching or hearing; our secrets. I'm reminded of old commercials that advertised a resort city that said, "What you do here stays here."

Well, I've got some bad news for anyone who thinks their secrets are safe behind closed doors. Actually, I'll let the Bible give you the news. It's recorded in Romans 2:16. It's our word for today from the Word of God. The Bible talks about "...the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ." Guess what? Someone has been watching; someone has been listening. Someone knows everything that happens behind your closed doors. What you do there won't stay there. You'll meet it on Judgment Day - standing before the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He will, the Bible says, "bring to light what is hidden in darkness" (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Maybe you feel relieved that you haven't been caught. Wrong. If God knows, you're caught, and He does know. The Bible says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is...laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." All the dark secrets of our life will be "outed" and we will face the penalty for them. The Bible makes that penalty clear: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That's death as in eternal separation from God and from His love.

Without a way to remove all the sins of my life from God's records, I have no hope of ever knowing God, of avoiding hell, and of ever living in His heaven. The Bible makes it clear there's no religion, no human goodness that can erase our sins. Amazingly, it was the very God we rebelled against who reached out to give us a way to belong to Him. A way that cost Him the most precious thing He had - His one and only Son. In God's own words, "He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). In other words, Jesus had all the guilt and all the hell of our sin and shame dumped on Him when He died on the cross; including the darkest secrets of your life and mine.

When He hung on that cross, He said, "Father, forgive them." I think He was thinking of us. God says, "Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sin through His name" (Acts 10:43). That could be you today if you'll acknowledge your sin - even the hidden sin - and grab Jesus like He's the only One who can rescue you spiritually.

Boy, I'll tell you, if you do that, imagine going to bed tonight knowing that you are clean and forgiven, knowing every sin has been erased from God's book forever. Knowing you're right with God. Knowing you're ready to meet Him whenever that time comes. You want this? You want to begin your relationship with Jesus that changes everything? Tell Him that. This is a faith transaction between you and the man who literally died for your sin.

I think our website might help you at a point like this, because we've loaded it up with the information you need in order to be sure you belong to Jesus Christ. A lot of people have found some help and encouragement there. I think you could too. Here's the address: ANewStory.com. Just go there today. I hope you check it out.

You're on the edge of something that you may have thought could never happen - a clean slate and a brand new beginning.

Jeremiah 36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ARE YOU READY TO MARCH?

Think about the Christian you want to be. What qualities do you want to have? More compassion? More conviction? More courage? What attitudes do you want to discontinue? Greed? Guilt? Endless negativity? You see, with God’s help you can. You can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. Indeed, the person God made you to be. You can live “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

To inherit your inheritance is God’s vision for your life. Imagine the thought: you as you were intended. It’s a life that is yours for the taking. Now, expect to be challenged. The enemy will not go down without a fight. But God’s promises outweigh personal problems. Victory becomes—dare we imagine—a way of life. Isn’t it time for you to change your mailing address from the wilderness to the Promised Land? Are you ready to march?

Jeremiah 36

Reading God’s Message

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah received this Message from God:

2 “Get a scroll and write down everything I’ve told you regarding Israel and Judah and all the other nations from the time I first started speaking to you in Josiah’s reign right up to the present day.

3 “Maybe the community of Judah will finally get it, finally understand the catastrophe that I’m planning for them, turn back from their bad lives, and let me forgive their perversity and sin.”

4 So Jeremiah called in Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote down on a scroll everything that God had said to him.

5-6 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I’m blacklisted. I can’t go into God’s Temple, so you’ll have to go in my place. Go into the Temple and read everything you’ve written at my dictation. Wait for a day of fasting when everyone is there to hear you. And make sure that all the people who come from the Judean villages hear you.

7 “Maybe, just maybe, they’ll start praying and God will hear their prayers. Maybe they’ll turn back from their bad lives. This is no light matter. God has certainly let them know how angry he is!”

8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. In the Temple of God he read the Message of God from the scroll.

9 It came about in December of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah that all the people of Jerusalem, along with all the people from the Judean villages, were there in Jerusalem to observe a fast to God.

10 Baruch took the scroll to the Temple and read out publicly the words of Jeremiah. He read from the meeting room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary of state, which was in the upper court right next to the New Gate of God’s Temple. Everyone could hear him.

11-12 The moment Micaiah the son of Gemariah heard what was being read from the scroll—God’s Message!—he went straight to the palace and to the chambers of the secretary of state where all the government officials were holding a meeting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other government officials.

13 Micaiah reported everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll as the officials listened.

14 Immediately they dispatched Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Semaiah, son of Cushi, to Baruch, ordering him, “Take the scroll that you have read to the people and bring it here.” So Baruch went and retrieved the scroll.

15 The officials told him, “Sit down. Read it to us, please.” Baruch read it.

16 When they had heard it all, they were upset. They talked it over. “We’ve got to tell the king all this.”

17 They asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?”

18 Baruch said, “That’s right. Every word right from his own mouth. And I wrote it down, word for word, with pen and ink.”

19 The government officials told Baruch, “You need to get out of here. Go into hiding, you and Jeremiah. Don’t let anyone know where you are!”

20-21 The officials went to the court of the palace to report to the king, having put the scroll for safekeeping in the office of Elishama the secretary of state. The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He brought it from the office of Elishama the secretary. Jehudi then read it to the king and the officials who were in the king’s service.

22-23 It was December. The king was sitting in his winter quarters in front of a charcoal fire. After Jehudi would read three or four columns, the king would cut them off the scroll with his pocketknife and throw them in the fire. He continued in this way until the entire scroll had been burned up in the fire.

24-26 Neither the king nor any of his officials showed the slightest twinge of conscience as they listened to the messages read. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah tried to convince the king not to burn the scroll, but he brushed them off. He just plowed ahead and ordered Prince Jerahameel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Jeremiah the prophet and his secretary Baruch. But God had hidden them away.

27-28 After the king had burned the scroll that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, Jeremiah received this Message from God: “Get another blank scroll and do it all over again. Write out everything that was in that first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up.

29 “And send this personal message to Jehoiakim king of Judah: ‘God says, You had the gall to burn this scroll and then the nerve to say, “What kind of nonsense is this written here—that the king of Babylon will come and destroy this land and kill everything in it?”

30-31 “‘Well, do you want to know what God says about Jehoiakim king of Judah? This: No descendant of his will ever rule from David’s throne. His corpse will be thrown in the street and left unburied, exposed to the hot sun and the freezing night. I will punish him and his children and the officials in his government for their blatant sin. I’ll let loose on them and everyone in Jerusalem the doomsday disaster of which I warned them but they spit at.’”

32 So Jeremiah went and got another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, his secretary. At Jeremiah’s dictation he again wrote down everything that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. There were also generous additions, but of the same kind of thing.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, September 02, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 18:1–6, 16–19

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield[b] and the horn[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Insight
The introduction to Psalm 18 tells us David wrote it “when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” At fifty verses, it’s the first lengthy psalm in the Bible. Interestingly, it also occurs (with variations) in 2 Samuel 22. Here David expresses his overwhelming gratitude for God’s hand in defeating his many enemies. Yet a reading of the entire psalm reveals it to be messianic; that is, the song points to Christ. In Romans 15:9 the apostle Paul quotes Psalm 18:49 as referring to Jesus: “I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.” We might dismiss this statement as being solely about David, but Psalm 18:50 says, “[God] shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.” Such a promise can be literally fulfilled only by Jesus Himself.

The Whispering Gallery
In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. Psalm 18:6

In the towering dome of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, visitors can climb 259 steps to access The Whispering Gallery. There you can whisper and be heard by another person anywhere along the circular walkway, even across the enormous abyss nearly one hundred feet away. Engineers explain this anomaly as a result of the spherical shape of the dome and the low intensity sound waves of a whisper.

How we long to be confident that God hears our agonized whispers! The Psalms are filled with testimonies that He hears us—our cries, prayers, and whispers. David writes, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help” (Psalm 18:6). Over and over again, he and other psalmists plead, “Hear my prayer” (4:1), my voice (5:3), my groans (102:20). Sometimes the expression is more of a whispered, “Hear me” (77:1), where the “heart meditated and [the] spirit asked” (77:6).

In answer to these pleas, the psalmists—like David in Psalm 18:6—reveal that God is listening: “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” Since the actual temple wasn’t yet built, might David have been referring to God listening in His heavenly dwelling?

From His very own “whispering gallery” in the dome of the heavens above the earth, God bends to our deepest murmurs, even our whispers . . . and listens. By:  Elisa Morgan

Reflect & Pray
What do you long to whisper to God today? How can you know that He hears?

Dear God, give me courage to whisper to You today, trusting You to hear and respond.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 02, 2020
A Life of Pure and Holy Sacrifice

He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow… —John 7:38

Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.

When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask…of very costly oil…and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “…there were some who…said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” (Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “…wherever this gospel is preached…what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?

“He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 02, 2020
Heroes On the Beach - #8778

My children always braced themselves when we were on a vacation and I'd say, "Hey, it's time for one of Dad's adventures!" See, my adventures don't have a great history. I remember one morning I promised them a great adventure. We were going up to Cadillac Mountain in Maine to see the first place, supposedly, where you can see the sun rise on the East Coast. So, I woke them in our campground about 3:00 a.m. We drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain to watch the clouds rise. Yeah...no sun!

Then there was the time we were climbing the sand dunes at Cape Cod, and I said, "You know, we're gonna go up this sand dune and then we'll be able to see the ocean." So we climbed to the top of the sand dune, and there it was - another sand dune. And we went on through the afternoon to another sand dune, etc.

Well, there's one adventure we did have together that we all enjoyed! It was a demonstration of the United States Life-Saving Service. That's what it was actually called before it became the United States Coast Guard, and what they used to do was rescue people from ships that were in trouble. We were actually on the outer banks of North Carolina; that little barrier reef where the shoals stick out eight miles into the ocean, and where the ships used to hug the shoreline to stay close to the lighthouses, and where it is called "the graveyard of the Atlantic." Ten thousand ships have gone down off the outer banks.

That's where the Life-Saving Service operated, and that's where we saw a demonstration in full uniform of how they used to work. Here was a life-saving station set well back so it wouldn't be hurt by the storm. But, when there was a ship that had gone aground and was breaking up, the life-saving unit of eight men would run out to the beach, fire a line from a cannon to the sinking ship. Then they built a pulley system on the beach, they'd anchor it in the sand, and bring people from the ship. Sometimes that wouldn't work, so they had to run right into the surf. One of those heroes brought back ten people, one at a time, out of a pounding storm, carrying them on his back. The United States Life-Saving Service was a spawning ground for heroes. And as I watched them, I knew we still need heroes like that.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Heroes On the Beach."

Our word for today from the Word of God, Philippians 2:5, beginning there. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

If I may put together that scripture with my experience with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, Jesus left the safety of the station in heaven and ran into the surf to rescue us. Now, He says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Him."

Today we have some pretty impressive Life-Saving Stations, churches that are full of programs, good teaching, inspiring music, and they're really caring for the needs of the life-saving crew. And that's you and me. But you have to leave the station to save lives. They don't come to the door of a Life-Saving Station, knock on the door and say, "Hello! I'm drowning. Can you help me?" You have to go where they are and take the risks to do it. The Life-Saving Station is a great place to get rescuers ready. It's a great place to bring them after they've been rescued. But you've got to save them in the middle of the storm. Too many of our churches have forgotten that they're not just there for the rescuers; they're there to go out after the dying.

Maybe all your friends are Christian friends. Maybe all your free time is spent in Christian places, and yet you're surrounded by people whose lives are breaking apart like those ships did long ago, and who will die without Christ; who will spend eternity without Christ unless there is a Rescuer. And they won't come to the Life-Saving Station probably. You have to go where they are and bring them back like Jesus did.

God needs heroes on the beach today, running into the storm, taking risks like He did to rescue the perishing. My brother, my sister, It's time to get out of the station and run into the surf for the rescue.

Jeremiah 35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD WON’T LET GO

You know, many Christians think they’re saved, hope they’re saved. But still they doubt, wondering, “Am I really saved?” Our behavior gives us reason to wonder. We’re strong one day, weak the next. Devoted one hour, flagging the next. Believing, then unbelieving.

Conventional wisdom draws a line through the middle of these fluctuations. Perform above this line and enjoy God’s acceptance. But dip below it and expect a pink slip from heaven. And salvation then becomes a matter of timing. You just hope you’ll die on an upswing.  Jesus’ language couldn’t be stronger. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages…and no one is able to snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28 AMP). God doesn’t let go, and He won’t let go of you.

Jeremiah 35

Meeting in God’s Temple

The Message that Jeremiah received from God ten years earlier, during the time of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Israel:

2 “Go visit the Recabite community. Invite them to meet with you in one of the rooms in God’s Temple. And serve them wine.”

3-4 So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, along with all his brothers and sons—the whole community of the Recabites as it turned out—and brought them to God’s Temple and to the meeting room of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. It was next to the meeting room of the Temple officials and just over the apartment of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who was in charge of Temple affairs.

5 Then I set out chalices and pitchers of wine for the Recabites and said, “A toast! Drink up!”

6-7 But they wouldn’t do it. “We don’t drink wine,” they said. “Our ancestor Jonadab son of Recab commanded us, ‘You are not to drink wine, you or your children, ever. Neither shall you build houses or settle down, planting fields and gardens and vineyards. Don’t own property. Live in tents as nomads so that you will live well and prosper in a wandering life.’

8-10 “And we’ve done it, done everything Jonadab son of Recab commanded. We and our wives, our sons and daughters, drink no wine at all. We don’t build houses. We don’t have vineyards or fields or gardens. We live in tents as nomads. We’ve listened to our ancestor Jonadab and we’ve done everything he commanded us.

11 “But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded our land, we said, ‘Let’s go to Jerusalem and get out of the path of the Chaldean and Aramean armies, find ourselves a safe place.’ That’s why we’re living in Jerusalem right now.”

Why Won’t You Learn Your Lesson?
12-15 Then Jeremiah received this Message from God: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, wants you to go tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem that I say, ‘Why won’t you learn your lesson and do what I tell you?’ God’s Decree. ‘The commands of Jonadab son of Recab to his sons have been carried out to the letter. He told them not to drink wine, and they haven’t touched a drop to this very day. They honored and obeyed their ancestor’s command. But look at you! I have gone to a lot of trouble to get your attention, and you’ve ignored me. I sent prophet after prophet to you, all of them my servants, to tell you from early morning to late at night to change your life, make a clean break with your evil past and do what is right, to not take up with every Tom, Dick, and Harry of a god that comes down the pike, but settle down and be faithful in this country I gave your ancestors.

15-16 “‘And what do I get from you? Deaf ears. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab carried out to the letter what their ancestor commanded them, but this people ignores me.’

17 “So here’s what is going to happen. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘I will bring calamity down on the heads of the people of Judah and Jerusalem—the very calamity I warned you was coming—because you turned a deaf ear when I spoke, turned your backs when I called.’”

18-19 Then, turning to the Recabite community, Jeremiah said, “And this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says to you: Because you have done what Jonadab your ancestor told you, obeyed his commands and followed through on his instructions, receive this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: There will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab at my service! Always!’”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, September 01, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

1 Corinthians 12:14–26 (NIV)

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Insight
In 1 Corinthians 12:14–26, Paul uses the imagery of the human body as a picture of the family of believers, the church. In Ephesians 1:22–23, the apostle again uses the body to portray the church, but this time with an important addition. Jesus Himself is the Head of that body. The illustration that works so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 12 takes on added clarity with the reminder that the body works, moves, and functions under the leadership and guidance of the Head.

Suffering Together
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. 1 Corinthians 12:26

In 2013, seventy-year-old James McConnell, a British Royal Marine veteran, died. McConnell had no family, and staff from his nursing home feared no one would attend his funeral. A man tapped to officiate McConnell’s memorial service posted a Facebook message: “In this day and age it is tragic enough that anyone has to leave this world with no one to mourn their passing, but this man was family. . . . If you can make it to the graveside . . . to pay your respects to a former brother in arms, then please try to be there.” Two hundred Royal Marines packed the pews!

These British compatriots exhibited a biblical truth: we’re tied to one another. “The body is not made up of one part, but of many,” Paul says (1 Corinthians 12:14). We’re not isolated. Just the opposite: we’re bound in Jesus. Scripture reveals organic interconnection: “If one member suffers, all the members suffer” (v. 26 nasb). As believers in Jesus, members of God’s new family, we move toward one another into the pain, into the sorrow, into those murky places where we would fear to go alone. But thankfully we do not go alone.

Perhaps the worst part of suffering is when we feel we’re drowning in the dark all by ourselves. God, however, creates a new community that suffers together. A new community where no one should be left in the dark. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray
When have you felt most alone? How does God’s grace, kindness, and friendship help you deal with loneliness?

Is it true, God? Have You really placed me in a new community that knows and loves me in my suffering? Help me to believe this.

To learn more about suffering, visit ChristianUniversity.org/CA211.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 01, 2020
Destined To Be Holy
…it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 01, 2020
Getting Out of the Valley - #8777

My friend Andy used to pastor in West Virginia. The little town they lived in was situated in this long, narrow valley - actually a pretty dark valley, according to Andy. The sun didn't rise high enough to shine on that town until like mid-morning, so it was actually dark for quite a while each day. My friend said that the town itself was kind of a (well, in his words) a dingy, dirty place. It's the kind of a place where you often battle feeling down emotionally. But Andy used to love to go up on the mountain, he said, because it overlooked the valley, and from up there, he said the view was beautiful. Even the town looked really nice from up there!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Getting Out of the Valley."

When you can get above the valley, that panoramic view makes everything look different. If you're spending some time in your own valley right now, that might be something you need to remember. And there's a simple six-letter word that represents that view from the mountain that changes how everything looks.

It's found in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 8 beginning in verse 1. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care about them?"

Did you catch the word that changes the view? Praise; focusing on the size of your God instead of the size of your problems. Reminding yourself of the great things God is to you and the great things He has done for you, and celebrating who is really in charge in what's going on in your life right now. Praise actually has the power to "silence the foe and the avenger." If that refers to Satan, you need to know that Satan can't stand to be around you when you're praising your Lord. And praise takes away the negative attitudes and the discouragement that our enemy loves to exploit.

Discouragement and depression, they themselves are "foes" and "avengers" in our lives. And the darkness of the valley often causes us to succumb to our dark side, to emotional paralysis, or to giving up, until we make the choice to climb up on that mountain that takes us above all that - Praise Mountain. You may not feel like praising God, you probably don't. That's when you need to praise God the most. It's a conscious choice - not an emotion. It's a choice to begin saying and singing God's praises instead of your complaints.

Start celebrating the many ways God has worked over the months and the years. Look at the progress you've made - at how far you've come, not just how far you still have to go. Thank God for the things that didn't happen that could have happened. Praise Him for places you can see Him working in just the last 24 hours in spite of your difficulties. Start talking up the qualities that you love about your Lord, the qualities that you're counting on right now to get you through.

The problem is that we become focused on the sad situation right in front of us as if that's our whole life. It's only a small dot on a big canvas. Stand back and look at that big canvas and see the glorious things God has done in your life, many of which we can miss when we're all focused on the one thing we're battling right now. Every day look for God-sightings! They're everywhere if you look for them.

When you're in the valley and you're looking only at what's right in front of you, you're just going to get overwhelmed and discouraged. But as you start to look at your valley from the mountain of praising God, everything is going to look different. And you can have that awesome view anytime you choose to go there.

Jeremiah 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE STORY OF JESUS

The story of Jesus reads a bit like a scrapbook. Headline clippings, Jesus’ favorite stories and lesson outlines, Luke’s snapshot of Jesus riding in Peter’s boat. Matthew took the group photo when the seventy followers met for a party after the first mission trip. John pasted a wedding napkin from Cana in the book as well as a funeral program from Bethany. There are so many other things Jesus did. In fact, in his gospel John says, “If they were all written down, each of them…I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books” (John 21:25 The Message).

Who was this man? Jesus Christ. No question matters more. Consider reading the entire story, from the Bethlehem manger to the vacated tomb. And keep in mind that the final entries of the story are yet to come, including the snapshot of you and your Savior at heaven’s gateway.

Jeremiah 20

Life’s Been Nothing but Trouble and Tears

The priest Pashur son of Immer was the senior priest in God’s Temple. He heard Jeremiah preach this sermon. He whipped Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate of God’s Temple. The next day Pashur came and let him go. Jeremiah told him, “God has a new name for you: not Pashur but Danger-Everywhere, because God says, ‘You’re a danger to yourself and everyone around you. All your friends are going to get killed in battle while you stand there and watch. What’s more, I’m turning all of Judah over to the king of Babylon to do whatever he likes with them—haul them off into exile, kill them at whim. Everything worth anything in this city, property and possessions along with everything in the royal treasury—I’m handing it all over to the enemy. They’ll rummage through it and take what they want back to Babylon.

6 “‘And you, Pashur, you and everyone in your family will be taken prisoner into exile—that’s right, exile in Babylon. You’ll die and be buried there, you and all your cronies to whom you preached your lies.’”

7-10 You pushed me into this, God, and I let you do it.
    You were too much for me.
And now I’m a public joke.
    They all poke fun at me.
Every time I open my mouth
    I’m shouting, “Murder!” or “Rape!”
And all I get for my God-warnings
    are insults and contempt.
But if I say, “Forget it!
    No more God-Messages from me!”
The words are fire in my belly,
    a burning in my bones.
I’m worn out trying to hold it in.
    I can’t do it any longer!
Then I hear whispering behind my back:
    “There goes old ‘Danger-Everywhere.’ Shut him up! Report him!”
Old friends watch, hoping I’ll fall flat on my face:
    “One misstep and we’ll have him. We’ll get rid of him for good!”

11 But God, a most fierce warrior, is at my side.
    Those who are after me will be sent sprawling—
Slapstick buffoons falling all over themselves,
    a spectacle of humiliation no one will ever forget.

12 Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, no one fools you.
    You see through everyone, everything.
I want to see you pay them back for what they’ve done.
    I rest my case with you.

13 Sing to God! All praise to God!
    He saves the weak from the grip of the wicked.

14-18 Curse the day
    I was born!
The day my mother bore me—
    a curse on it, I say!
And curse the man who delivered
    the news to my father:
“You’ve got a new baby—a boy baby!”
    (How happy it made him.)
Let that birth notice be blacked out,
    deleted from the records,
And the man who brought it haunted to his death
    with the bad news he brought.
He should have killed me before I was born,
    with that womb as my tomb,
My mother pregnant for the rest of her life
    with a baby dead in her womb.
Why, oh why, did I ever leave that womb?
    Life’s been nothing but trouble and tears,
    and what’s coming is more of the same.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, August 31, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

1 Samuel 3:1–10

The Lord Calls Samuel

 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Insight
In the early chapters of 1 Samuel, the author is adept at using contrast to highlight the difference between the sons of Eli and Samuel. First Samuel 2:12 notes that “Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord” and “they slept with the women who served” as worship attendants (v. 22). Samuel, on the other hand, “continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people” (v. 26). While Eli’s sons didn’t listen to their father’s rebuke (v. 25), Samuel’s response to the Lord was, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (3:10).

The Servant Hears
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10

Had the wireless radio been on, they would have known the Titanic was sinking. Cyril Evans, the radio operator of another ship, had tried to relay a message to Jack Phillips, the radio operator on the Titanic—letting him know they had encountered an ice field. But Phillips was busy relaying passengers’ messages and rudely told Evans to be quiet. So Evans reluctantly turned off his radio and went to bed. Ten minutes later, the Titanic struck an iceberg. Their distress signals went unanswered because no one was listening.

In 1 Samuel we read that the priests of Israel were corrupt and had lost their spiritual sight and hearing as the nation drifted into danger. “The word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Samuel 3:1). Yet God wouldn’t give up on His people. He began to speak to a young boy named Samuel who was being raised in the priest’s household. Samuel’s name means “the Lord hears”—a memorial to God’s answering his mother’s prayer. But Samuel would need to learn how to hear God.

“Speak, for your servant is listening” (v. 10). It’s the servant who hears. May we also choose to listen to and obey what God has revealed in the Scriptures. Let’s submit our lives to Him and take the posture of humble servants—those who have their “radios” turned on. By:  Glenn Packiam

Reflect & Pray
Why is it vital for you to obey what God has revealed in Scripture? How can you stay “tuned in” to His voice?

Dear Jesus, thank You for being a speaking God. Thank You for the Scriptures that help me follow You in obedience. Speak, Your servant is listening.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 31, 2020
“My Joy…Your Joy”

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. —John 15:11

What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2). “I delight to do Your will, O my God…” (Psalm 40:8). Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?

Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our circumstances. Jesus said, “…the cares of this world,…choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in our cares. All that God has done for us is merely the threshold— He wants us to come to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim who Jesus is.

Have the right relationship with God, finding your joy there, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Be a fountain through which Jesus can pour His “living water.” Stop being hypocritical and proud, aware only of yourself, and live “your life…hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;…  The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 132-134; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 31, 2020
Fingers and Fists - #8776

It's one of those classic "Peanuts" cartoons. Charlie Brown is sitting there, peacefully watching TV. Lucy comes up and tells him to change channels. Charlie Brown says, "What gives you the right to just order me to change channels?" Lucy holds up her hand with her fingers spread apart and answers, "These five little things: one, two, three, four, five. Alone they're not much" - and then as she pulls her fingers together in a fist - "but together, they are something terrible to behold." Then Lucy asks, "So what channel are you going to watch?" Poor ol' Charlie Brown looks down at his fingers and asks pitifully, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"

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

I wonder if Jesus ever looks at us, His followers, and asks that same question, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?" He knows that when we function like separate fingers, we're not much. But when we put our separate fingers together and make a fist, we're "something terrible to behold" - especially to the forces of darkness and the enemies of Jesus.

That's why Jesus prayed for us to get together in our word for today from the Word of God - it's in John 17:23. As Jesus pours out His heart to the Father on behalf of His followers, our Lord prays, "May they be brought together to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me." Jesus knows that if His followers can work together instead of separately, it will be living proof to a broken world of the power and the authenticity of Jesus. I guess we can assume the opposite is true as well. If we can't get our act together as the people of Jesus, the world has every reason to question the reality of what we believe. And believe me, they do.

When the Apostle Paul calls on Philippian Christians to "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ," he defines it: "standing in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel." You see, anything else is unworthy of Jesus. Then he says this oneness between God's people will be "a sign (to those who oppose you) that they will be destroyed" (Philippians 1:27-28). The enemy knows he is no match for the people of Christ fighting him as one powerful fist.

So, obviously, the Devil loves to keep us apart. And we're going right along with this devilish strategy to dilute the impact of the forces of God. There are racial walls between us. Often Christians of one color don't even know the name of one Christian of another color, even though we might just be a short physical distance apart. We've let denominational walls develop, insisting on emphasizing the 10% that divides us rather than the 90% that unites us. We are so determined to stress our distinctives - the things that make us "us" - that we let them separate us from people we will share heaven with forever.

We let worship styles come between us, music styles, religious competition, the competition for finances, spiritual pride, critical spirits. And too many Christian families have let walls develop - again, by emphasizing the things that divide them rather than the things that unite them.

If you're living in a divided situation, would you be a part of the answer to your Savior's impassioned prayer that we work together? Be the one who brings people together - at least to pray together. Walls start to come down in prayer meetings. Help people raise their eyes to the common mission we all have, to rescue the dying people all around us. That goal is so big it makes the army forget its differences and to come together to accomplish our life-or-death mission on this planet!

We've been separate fingers long enough! Let's pull those fingers together and make a fist in Satan's face!