Psalm 75 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DOUSED WITH THE LOVE OF GOD

“The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). Note the preposition of. The Holy Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts, not love for God. God hands a bucket of love to the Spirit and instructs, “Douse their hearts.”

There are moments when the Spirit enchants us with sweet rhapsody. You belong to the Father. Signed, sealed, and soon-to-be delivered. Been a while since you heard him whisper words of assurance? Then tell him. He’s listening to you, and he’s speaking for you. Romans 8:26 says, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness” Weak bodies, weak wills, weakened resolves. Whether we are feeble of the soul or body or both, how good to know it’s not up to us. Verse 26 of Romans 8 says, “The Spirit himself is pleading for us.”

Psalm 75

We thank you, God, we thank you—
    your Name is our favorite word;
    your mighty works are all we talk about.

2-4 You say, “I’m calling this meeting to order,
    I’m ready to set things right.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy
    And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
    I put everything in place again.
I say to the smart alecks, ‘That’s enough,’
    to the bullies, ‘Not so fast.’”

5-6 Don’t raise your fist against High God.
    Don’t raise your voice against Rock of Ages.
He’s the One from east to west;
    from desert to mountains, he’s the One.

7-8 God rules: he brings this one down to his knees,
    pulls that one up on her feet.
God has a cup in his hand,
    a bowl of wine, full to the brim.
He draws from it and pours;
    it’s drained to the dregs.
Earth’s wicked ones drink it all,
    drink it down to the last bitter drop!

9-10 And I’m telling the story of God Eternal,
    singing the praises of Jacob’s God.
The fists of the wicked
    are bloody stumps,
The arms of the righteous
    are lofty green branches.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Read: Psalm 147:1–7

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.

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

INSIGHT
The book of Psalms concludes with five hymns of praise (Psalms 146–150) that begin and end with the refrain Praise the Lord (Hebrew halelû-yah). In Psalm 147, the psalmist reminds us how much God has loved and cared for us and invites us to worship “[Yahweh] with grateful praise” (v. 7), celebrating His goodness as He draws us to Himself, heals us of our brokenness, sustains us, and strengthens us (vv. 2–3, 6). We’re also to extol His greatness and mighty power in creation (vv. 4–5) and His caring providence for His creatures (vv. 8–9). Focusing not only on His glory, but also on His grace, we’re invited to draw closer to Him, for “the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (v. 11). The psalmist affirms that it’s God alone who provides security, safety, and prosperity (vv. 13–14).

Remember to Sing -By Patricia Raybon
How good it is to sing praises to our God. Psalm 147:1

Nancy Gustafson, a retired opera singer, was devastated when she visited her mother and observed her decline from dementia. Her mom no longer recognized her and barely spoke. After several monthly visits, Nancy had an idea. She started singing to her. Her mother’s eyes lit up at the musical sounds, and she began singing too—for twenty minutes! Then Nancy’s mom laughed, joking they were “The Gustafson Family Singers!” The dramatic turnaround suggested the power of music, as some therapists conclude, to evoke lost memories. Singing “old favorites” has also been shown to boost mood, reduce falls, lessen visits to the emergency room, and decrease the need for sedative drugs.

More research is underway on a music-memory link. Yet, as the Bible reveals, the joy that comes from singing is a gift from God—and it’s real. “How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!” (Psalm 147:1).

Throughout the Scriptures, in fact, God’s people are urged to lift their voices in songs of praise to Him. “Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things” (Isaiah 12:5). “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him” (Psalm 40:3). Our singing inspires us but also those who hear it. May we all remember: our God is great and worthy of praise.

What role does singing play in your life? How can you make more time for singing songs of praise with those who are experiencing memory problems?

May I sing praises to You, God. Thank You for so often unlocking the minds of those with memory problems through the beauty and power of song.

To dig deeper, read Psalms: Ancient Prayers for Modern People at ChristianUniversity.org/OT222.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Taking the Initiative Against Despair

Rise, let us be going. —Matthew 26:46

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.

There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.” If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption.

Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ.  My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Stepped On But Still Precious - #8899

Okay, imagine I'm holding a $20 bill in my hand. I don't get to do that too often (at least it doesn't stay there), so this would be a really special moment for me. If you were sitting here with me and I offered that $20 to you, would you take it? I think you would. Now you're going to have to use your imagination to picture this, but let's say I'm now crumpling that nice $20 bill and I'm crushing it into a little wad. Can you picture that? You still want it? If you were right here, would you still take it? It's all wadded up. OK, now pretend I'm beating on this wadded up bill, and I am actually stomping on it with my foot. (I could get some exercise this way.) If I still offered to you this $20, would you still take it? It's been beat up, it's been crushed, it's been stomped on! Well, of course you would.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stepped On But Still Precious."

And that's the point, isn't it? No matter how abused and beat up that $20 is, it's still worth just as much, and so are you.

I'm telling you, there's someone listening today who's been treated like I talked about treating that currency. You feel beat up, mishandled, treated badly, you've been crushed, and you've been trampled on. And when someone's been treated like that, they begin to believe a lie that they're not worth much. If they were, why would anyone treat them like that? When you think you're worthless, you start making choices based on that; you throw yourself away, you settle for junk, you do anything to get a little love. But the truth is, you're just like that beat-up $20 bill. No matter how you've been treated, you are still just as valuable. You're still precious because no one on earth gave you your worth - God did. So no one on earth can take it away.

We've got to go to God's Book to get the real truth about your value. And when we do, we find three worth-givers that can't be taken from you. First, your worth is based on your being made in God's image. In Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image." God made you as a reflection of Himself, so don't tell me you're not worth much!

Secondly, your worth is based on your being God's one-of-a-kind masterpiece. In Psalm 139:13, David says to God, "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful." When you believe you're not worth much, you're insulting the One who designed you. From the moment that egg and sperm came together to start your life, you have been God's unique creation. If you don't believe it, look at your fingerprints. There's no one on earth like you.

But most importantly, you are infinitely valuable because God paid for you with the life of His Son! Our word for today from the Word of God, Galatians 2:20 says, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." I want to invite you to walk with me right now up a hill near Jerusalem called Skull Hill. At the top, imagine there's a blood-stained cross. That's where God's one and only Son thought you were so precious that He poured out His life for every wrong thing you have ever done. Why? Because it's the only way you could ever be forgiven of your sins. It's the only way you could ever have the love relationship with Him you were made for. It's the only way you could be with Him in heaven forever.

Those children are so right when they sing that little song "Jesus loves me, this I know." He really does! And you can never experience how much you're worth until you experience the One who gave you your worth. That's what Jesus has come to give you today. He's ready to enter your life upon your invitation to begin that love relationship. He gave His life to give that to you.

Today, reach out to Him. He's reaching for you. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm sorry for my sin. I believe you died for my sin. I'm yours." Go to our website today. You can see for yourself what God says about your worth and a relationship with Him. That's ANewStory.com.

The life you were made for, the love you were made for, it begins when you let Jesus Christ into your life because nobody loves you like Jesus does.

Psalm 74, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NO FEAR OF FALLING

Your Father has no intention of letting you fall. You can’t see him, but he is present. He is “able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glory without fault and with unspeakable joy” (Jude 24). Drink deeply from this truth. Does God want you living in fear? No! Just the opposite. “The Spirit we received,” according to Romans 8:15-16 “does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, ‘Father.’ And the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say we are God’s children.”

What an intriguing statement. Deep within you God’s Spirit confirms with your spirit that you belong to him. Beneath the vitals of the heart, God’s Spirit whispers, “You’re mine. I bought you, and I sealed you, and no one can take you.” Isn’t that great news!

Psalm 74

You walked off and left us, and never looked back.
    God, how could you do that?
We’re your very own sheep;
    how can you stomp off in anger?

2-3 Refresh your memory of us—you bought us a long time ago.
    Your most precious tribe—you paid a good price for us!
    Your very own Mount Zion—you actually lived here once!
Come and visit the site of disaster,
    see how they’ve wrecked the sanctuary.

4-8 While your people were at worship, your enemies barged in,
    brawling and scrawling graffiti.
They set fire to the porch;
    axes swinging, they chopped up the woodwork,
Beat down the doors with sledgehammers,
    then split them into kindling.
They burned your holy place to the ground,
    violated the place of worship.
They said to themselves, “We’ll wipe them all out,”
    and burned down all the places of worship.

9-17 There’s not a sign or symbol of God in sight,
    nor anyone to speak in his name,
    no one who knows what’s going on.
How long, God, will barbarians blaspheme,
    enemies curse and get by with it?
Why don’t you do something? How long are you going
    to sit there with your hands folded in your lap?
God is my King from the very start;
    he works salvation in the womb of the earth.
With one blow you split the sea in two,
    you made mincemeat of the dragon Tannin.
You lopped off the heads of Leviathan,
    then served them up in a stew for the animals.
With your finger you opened up springs and creeks,
    and dried up the wild floodwaters.
You own the day, you own the night;
    you put stars and sun in place.
You laid out the four corners of earth,
    shaped the seasons of summer and winter.

18-21 Mark and remember, God, all the enemy
    taunts, each idiot desecration.
Don’t throw your lambs to the wolves;
    after all we’ve been through, don’t forget us.
Remember your promises;
    the city is in darkness, the countryside violent.
Don’t leave the victims to rot in the street;
    make them a choir that sings your praises.

22-23 On your feet, O God—
    stand up for yourself!
Do you hear what they’re saying about you,
    all the vile obscenities?
Don’t tune out their malicious filth,
    the brawling invective that never lets up.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Read: Isaiah 22:8–13

The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day
    to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses to strengthen the wall.
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls
    for the water of the Old Pool,
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.

12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
    to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”

INSIGHT
The reservoir built between the two walls for the water of the “Old Pool” (Isaiah 22:11) is most likely Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which can still be seen (and walked through) in Jerusalem today. Hezekiah had a tunnel dug under the old city of Jerusalem south of the Temple Mount. The tunnel connected the spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley on the east side of the city to the pool now known as the Pool of Siloam to the west. Its purpose was to bring water from that spring inside the city walls so that any besieging army wouldn’t be able to access water, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem would have water. It was a sound military strategy, and Isaiah doesn’t critique it. Instead, he critiques the priority of physical preparation over paying attention first to the spiritual. But Hezekiah later demonstrates a faith not evident in Isaiah 22 (see ch. 37).

Desperate Solutions -By Tim Gustafson
You did not . . . have regard for the One who planned it long ago. Isaiah 22:11

In the late sixteenth century, William of Orange intentionally flooded much of his nation’s land. The Dutch monarch resorted to such a drastic measure in an attempt to drive out the invading Spaniards. It didn’t work, and a vast swath of prime farmland was lost to the sea. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” they say.

In Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem turned to desperate measures when the Assyrian army threatened them. Creating a water storage system to endure the siege, the people also tore down houses to shore up the city walls. Such tactics may have been prudent, but they neglected the most important step. “You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool,” God said, “but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago” (Isaiah 22:11).

We aren’t likely to encounter a literal army outside our homes today. “The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people,” said Oswald Chambers. Yet, such “batterings” are genuine threats. Thankfully, they also bring with them God’s invitation to turn to Him first for what we need.

When life’s irritations and interruptions come, will we see them as opportunities to turn to God? Or will we seek our own desperate solutions?

What ordinary threats do you face today? What do you need to face them?

Today, loving God, I turn to You first with all of my challenges, large and small.

Download Forty Days of Praying the Word at go.odb.org/40-days.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Taking the Initiative Against Depression

Arise and eat. —1 Kings 19:5

The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive— only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things— things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus.  Facing Reality, 34 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Bad Break at the "Big Dance" - #8898

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is known for some strange reason as "The Big Dance" - March Madness. The Louisville Cardinals came out on top for the third time in their school's history that year. But the single event that defined that tournament did not happen in the championship game. No, it was two games earlier, in the elite eight game where Louisville got a very bad break - literally.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bad Break at the 'Big Dance.'"

I've never understood why theater folks tell a performer to "break a leg" just before they go on stage. It's supposed to be good luck. Well, breaking a leg at a college basketball tournament? That's really a bad idea. Their star guard, Kevin Ware, suddenly went down with a season-ending injury. Maybe you remember. He had a leg so badly broken every reporter I heard insisted on using the same word to describe it - "gruesome." The bone protruding some six inches. Networks deciding to quit showing it, it was so excruciating. Louisville's veteran coach - he's out there wiping tears from his eyes. Players were on the floor in tears next to their fallen teammate.

In the middle of it all this drama was Kevin in what must have been agonizing pain. But that's not what he was talking about as his teammates gathered around him. No, he pulled them close and he just kept spitting out the same three words: "Win the game! Win the game!"

When play resumed, Louisville went three minutes without scoring a point. Then they exploded. One player traded his jersey for one of Kevin's. The team and the crowd chanted together, "Ke-vin! Ke-vin!" And Kevin's team went on to an 85-63 blowout victory and a ticket to play in the "Final Four" and ultimately to win the national championship.

The drama of all this inspired people far beyond college basketball fans, and it actually touched my heart and inspired me in a somewhat surprising way. No, not to try to be a basketball star. That's hopeless. But to hear another broken Man giving His game-changing challenge.

Because I serve a Savior who was, in His words, "broken for me." For all of us. Broken body. Broken heart. Dying a death so unbearable that we actually get the word "excruciating" from it. Ex cruces - from the cross. And now Jesus pulls us close to tell us what to do with the sacrifice He made for us, "Win the game! Win the game!" He was broken so we could be healed. He took our sin so we could stop sinning. He gave His life so people with no hope of heaven could have a chance to live forever.

And not long before He left the court, here's what happened and it's in our word for today from the Word of God in John 20:20-21. "He showed them His hands and side. And then Jesus said, 'As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.'" To do what? Mark 16:15 - to "go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere" to bring the hope of heaven to people everywhere. To the people, first, who are right within your reach, the ones you see every day. They're your responsibility before God. God has made you His ambassador for Christ to them. He's placed you in their lives to tell them that it was for them Jesus gave His life.

Hear Him now, "Finish what I started. Do what I died for. Rescue those I shed my blood for." Or, in other words, "Win the game! Win the game!"

We will, Jesus. In Your Name, we will.

Revelation 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE SEAL OF THE SPIRIT

God never promises the absence of distress on your new-beginning journey, but he does promise the assuring presence of his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit invisibly, yet indispensably, serves as a rudder for the ship of your soul, keeping you afloat and on track. This is no solo journey that you’re on. The Spirit seals you. To protect a letter, you seal the envelope. Sealing declares ownership and secures contents.

When you accepted Christ, God sealed you with the Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” When hell’s interlopers come seeking you to snatch you from God, the seal turns them away. He bought you, he owns you, he protects you. God paid too high a price to leave you unguarded. You have the promise and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 4

A Door into Heaven

Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”

2-6 I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.

6-8 Prowling around the Throne were Four Animals, all eyes. Eyes to look ahead, eyes to look behind. The first Animal like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a human face, the fourth like an eagle in flight. The Four Animals were winged, each with six wings. They were all eyes, seeing around and within. And they chanted night and day, never taking a break:

Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong,
The Was, The Is, The Coming.

9-11 Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting,

Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God!
Take the glory! the honor! the power!
You created it all;
It was created because you wanted it.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Read: Romans 12:1–3

A Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

INSIGHT
The Greek word phronéo (to think, exercise the mind) gets a lot of play in Romans 12. In the original language, it’s used four times in Romans 12:3 presenting three different forms of the word. The English Standard Version offers a more literal rendering of this verse: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” This same word appears twice in Romans 12:16. This comes through more clearly in the New American Standard Version: “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind.” The transformation of our lives includes a change in the way we think.

Thinking Differently - By Winn Collier
Do not conform to the pattern of this world. Romans 12:2


During college, I spent a good chunk of a summer in Venezuela. The food was astounding, the people delightful, the weather and hospitality beautiful. Within the first day or two, however, I recognized that my views on time management weren’t shared by my new friends. If we planned to have lunch at noon, this meant anywhere between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. The same for meetings or travel: timeframes were approximations without rigid punctuality. I learned that my idea of “being on time” was far more culturally formed than I’d realized.

All of us are shaped by the cultural values that surround us, usually without us ever noticing. Paul calls this cultural force the “world” (Romans 12:2). Here, “world” doesn’t mean the physical universe, but rather refers to the ways of thinking pervading our existence. It refers to the unquestioned assumptions and guiding ideals handed to us simply because we live in a particular place and time.

Paul warns us to be vigilant to “not conform to the pattern of this world.” Instead, we must be “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” (v. 2). Rather than passively taking on the ways of thinking and believing that engulf us, we’re called to actively pursue God’s way of thinking and to learn how to understand His “good, pleasing and perfect will” (v. 2). May we learn to follow God rather than every other voice.

How would you describe the values and assumptions that surround you? What would it look like for you to not conform to the world’s ways and to instead follow Jesus’ ways?

God, I don’t even recognize my assumptions and values most of the time. Help me to live out Your truth and Your mind in it all.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative

Arise from the dead… —Ephesians 5:14

Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God. Someone may say to you, “Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the throat and throw it overboard— just do what needs to be done!” That is what we mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and says, in effect, “Get up and get going,” suddenly we find that the initiative is inspired.

We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later we realize we have no power to accomplish them. We cannot do the things we long to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead. But God comes and says to us, “Arise from the dead….” When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to “arise from the dead” and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get going.” God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, “Arise from the dead…,” we have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). As soon as the man did so, his hand was healed. But he had to take the initiative. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the power of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Tired of Searching, Ready to Find - #8897

My friend Jim was young, but already a veteran rock climber. He was going to college only a few miles from one of America's most majestic mountain peaks...and one of the most challenging and dangerous to climb. He was excited to climb another towering mountain with a longtime veteran of those slopes. The mountain is actually part of the highest peak, but it's known as Disappointment Peak. It got its name from climbers who used that approach to get to the top of that ultimate mountain top. It's a tough climb, but you're inspired by the sense you're getting closer and closer to your majestic goal. And then, after a long, hard climb, you suddenly come to this chasm; a chasm that is uncrossable and thousands of feet deep. You thought you were on your way to the goal you were shooting for. Sorry, it's Disappointment Peak.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Tired of Searching, Ready to Find."

A lot of people are climbing Disappointment Peak; a long road to what they believe will be the mountaintop they're looking for. But as many who have climbed it will tell you, it really does lead to disappointment instead of fulfillment. Of course, we're all looking for different mountaintops: the relationship that will give us the real and lasting love we want so much, or the accomplishment that will give us the importance, the significance we're hoping for, the religion or spirituality that will finally give us peace in our soul.

We're all looking for different things, but we're all looking for what will give life real meaning, love and fulfillment. Gail Sheehy became a best-selling author decades ago with her book, Passages. It described our life journeys in terms of passages from one search to another. Then later on she wrote about the generation that has shaped our culture and our values more than any other - the Baby Boomers. She said, "The search for meaning has become the universal occupation of the Second Adulthood." She said that this spiritual imperative grows stronger as we grow older. So our searching doesn't diminish; it just intensifies.

But maybe you're tired of searching. You ready to find? You tired of Disappointment Peak? You're ready to find what your soul's been looking for so long. Actually, there's only one person who can tell us what we're here for. It's the One who put us here. Of course, that's God. And in the world's best-selling book, the Bible - the only book God ever wrote - He reveals the top of the mountain we were made for...the reason He put us here.

In Colossians 1:16, our word for today from the Word of God, it simply says, speaking of Jesus Christ, that we were "created by Him and for Him." You were created by Jesus, you were created for Jesus, and you're going to have a hole in your heart until you have Jesus. He said, "He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35).

The Bible reveals that our heart is searching because we're away from the God we were made for. We were created for Him, but we've lived for ourselves, thus creating an uncrossable chasm between us and the God who made us. Uncrossable except for the cross - the cross where Jesus died to pay for our rebellion against God and make a way back to Him.

In the sentences that follow the revelation that we were "created by Him and for Him," we read that Jesus "made peace (with God) through His blood, shed on the cross." It took that sacrifice to provide a way to the God who is the love, is the meaning we've been looking for. Across that chasm between God and us is now a bridge - the cross of Jesus.

He's the end of your lifelong search. And the Savior will become your Savior the day you reach for Him and tell Him, "Jesus, you're the One I've been looking for. I've done my life my way, not Your way, and I resign. I was made by you and for you, and beginning today I'm yours."

You tired of searching? You ready to find home? Check out our website today. I think you'll find the way home. It's ANewStory.com.

You've wasted enough time on Disappointment Peak, but a climb up one more hill will take you where you want to be. It's that hill where Jesus died for you - that's where your search finally ends.

Revelation 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MORE THAN JOB EVER DREAMED

If you underline any passage in the book of Job, underline this verse: “I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you” (Job 42:5). Job sees God—and that is enough. But it isn’t enough for God. The years to come find Job with his health restored. His lap is once again full of children and grandchildren. A new beginning indeed.

If Job ever wonders why God doesn’t bring back the children he has taken away, he doesn’t ask. Maybe he knows that his children could never be happier than they are in the presence of this One he has seen so briefly. Something tells me that Job would do it all again if that’s what it would take to hear God’s voice and stand in his presence. For God gave Job more than Job ever dreamed. God gave Job himself.


Revelation 3

To Sardis

Write this to Sardis, to the Angel of the church. The One holding the Seven Spirits of God in one hand, a firm grip on the Seven Stars with the other, speaks:

“I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone-dead.

2-3 “Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there’s life in you yet. But I wouldn’t know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of God’s work has been completed. Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears—grasp it again and turn back to God.

“If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I’ll return when you least expect it, break into your life like a thief in the night.

4 “You still have a few followers of Jesus in Sardis who haven’t ruined themselves wallowing in the muck of the world’s ways. They’ll walk with me on parade! They’ve proved their worth!

5 “Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names indelible in the Book of Life. I’ll lead them up and present them by name to my Father and his Angels.

6 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

To Philadelphia
7 Write this to Philadelphia, to the Angel of the church. The Holy, the True—David’s key in his hand, opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open—speaks:

8 “I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough.

9 “And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they’re forced to acknowledge it’s you that I’ve loved.

10 “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test.

11 “I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown.

12 “I’ll make each conqueror a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, a permanent position of honor. Then I’ll write names on you, the pillars: the Name of my God, the Name of God’s City—the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven—and my new Name.

13 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

To Laodicea
14 Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says:

15-17 “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

18 “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.

19 “The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!

20-21 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!

22 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, February 15, 2021
Read: Colossians 1:15–23

The Supremacy of the Son of God
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Footnotes
Colossians 1:21 Or minds, as shown by

INSIGHT
In Colossians 1:15–23, Paul affirms the deity and the supremacy of Christ over all creation. Man is created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), but Jesus “is the image [Greek eikon] of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Eikon carries the meaning of “portrait” or “exact likeness,” which is how the New Living Translation renders it in 2 Corinthians 4:4. The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as “the exact representation of [God’s] being” (Hebrews 1:3); “the Son . . . expresses the very character of God” (nlt). The apostle John says Jesus “has made [God] known” (John 1:18); “has revealed God to us” (nlt). Jesus Himself says, “I and the Father are one. . . . Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (10:30; 14:9).

Spitting Image -By Xochitl Dixon
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

During an outing, we met a woman who had known my husband’s family since he was a child. She looked from Alan to our son, Xavier. “He’s the spitting image of his daddy,” she said. “Those eyes. That smile. Yep. Looks just like him.” As the woman delighted in acknowledging such a strong resemblance between father and son, she even noted similarities in their personalities. Still, though they are alike in many ways, my son doesn’t reflect his father perfectly.

There’s only one Son—Jesus—who reflects His Father completely. Christ is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). In Him and through Him and for Him all things were created (v. 16). “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (v. 17).

We can spend time in prayer and Bible study, discovering the Father’s character by looking at Jesus—God in the flesh. He invites us to witness His love in action by examining how He interacts with others in Scripture and in our day-to-day living. After surrendering our lives to Christ and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can grow in knowing and trusting our loving Father. He transforms us to reflect His character, so we can live for Him.

What a joy it would be if others could say we look just like Jesus!

What character trait of Jesus have you seen cultivated in your life over the last year? What trait would you like to cultivate in the coming year?

Jesus, please help me know You more as You make me more like You!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 15, 2021
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”

None of us lives to himself… —Romans 14:7

Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people? For instance, if I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers. We “sit together in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 2:6). “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it…” (1 Corinthians 12:26). If you allow physical selfishness, mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, or spiritual weakness, everyone in contact with you will suffer. But you ask, “Who is sufficient to be able to live up to such a lofty standard?” “Our sufficiency is from God…” and God alone (2 Corinthians 3:5).

“You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “…lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 15, 2021
Needless Pain - #8896

Our friends got a very unsettling phone call. Their 33-year-old son had some fairly severe mental disabilities - severe enough that years ago they made the painful decision that he required the kind of care that only a trained staff and a professional facility could provide. The call came that told them that their son just had a very serious fall, and the injuries could have been fatal. Thank God he recovered, but needless to say, the close call shook his parents who love him very much. His mom told me that from the time he was first walking as a young child, they have told him over and over again, "Slow down. Slow down, son!" She said if they had a nickel for every time they've said, "Slow down," they'd be wealthy. And the reason for his fall? You probably guessed it. He was going faster than he could safely walk. He didn't "slow down."

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

This man's mom couldn't help thinking that if her son could just get the idea of obeying what he's been told so many times, he would have a lot less pain, he'd have fewer scars, and those around him would have a lot less stress. That's got to be how God looks at you and me sometimes. He's saying, "If only you would do what I've told you over and over, you'd have a lot less pain, fewer scars, and so would the people around you."

The most needless pain in the world is the pain that comes from not obeying, especially not obeying God. In Deuteronomy 28, beginning with verse 1, our word for today from the Word of God, the Lord spells out the core issue that determines whether our life works right or doesn't work right.

God says, "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands...all these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God." Then God goes on and lists many good outcomes His people will experience in their work, their family, their battles.

A few verses later, God says, "However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands...all these curses will come upon you and overtake you." What follows then is a list of bad outcomes in their work, their family, their battles. Same arenas, same people, same issues - opposite outcomes. The only difference: whether or not God's people are doing what He said to do in the way He said to do it.

That is still true today. And it just might explain some of the struggle and the pain that you've been going through - needless pain. Because there's something or some things that you're just not doing God's way; with your money, with your family, in your relationships, your love life, what you're doing with your life. Maybe you're harboring resentment and disobeying your Lord's command to forgive. Or maybe you're just going down a sinful road, hanging onto some sinful choices, trying to justify them all the way. But bottom line, you're disobeying God. And things are not going to work until you turn from your way and surrender to doing it God's way.

You know what's the right thing to do. And now Jesus is saying to you, as He said to His disciples in John 13:17, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." So much pain, so much grief, so much stress just because you're not obeying your Lord who bought you with His blood. Relief isn't going to come when your circumstances change. No, relief will come when you change.

Zechariah 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Come to Me

Invitations are special.
         "You're invited to a gala celebrating the grand opening of. . ."
         "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request your presence at the wedding of their daughter. . ."
To be invited is to be honored-to be held in high esteem! The most incredible invitations aren't found in envelopes, but rather, they are found in the Bible. God invited Eve to marry Adam, the animals to enter the ark, and Mary to give birth to His son.
"Come," he invited, "Come to me all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)."
"Come," he would say.  God is the King who invites us to come, who prepares the palace, sets the table, and invites his subjects to come in. His invitation for you, however, is not just for a meal, it's for life!
From And the Angels Were Silent

Zechariah 14

The Day Is Coming

Note well: God’s Judgment Day is on the way:
    “Plunder will be piled high and handed out.
I’m bringing all the godless nations
    to war against Jerusalem—
Houses plundered,
    women raped,
Half the city taken into exile,
    the other half left behind.”

3-5 But then God will march out against the godless nations and fight—a great war! That’s the Day he’ll take his stand on the Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem from the east. The Mount of Olives will be split right down the middle, from east to west, leaving a wide valley. Half the mountain will shift north, the other half south. Then you will run for your lives down the valley, your escape route that will take you all the way to Azal. You’ll run for your lives, just as you ran on the day of the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Then my God will arrive and all the holy angels with him.

6-7 What a Day that will be! No more cold nights—in fact, no more nights! The Day is coming—the timing is God’s—when it will be continuous day. Every evening will be a fresh morning.

8 What a Day that will be! Fresh flowing rivers out of Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea, half to the western sea, flowing year-round, summer and winter!

9 God will be king over all the earth, one God and only one. What a Day that will be!

* * *

10-11 The land will stretch out spaciously around Jerusalem—to Geba in the north and Rimmon in the south, with Jerusalem towering at the center, and the commanding city gates—Gate of Benjamin to First Gate to Corner Gate to Hananel Tower to the Royal Winery—ringing the city full of people. Never again will Jerusalem be totally destroyed. From now on it will be a safe city.

12-14 But this is what will happen to all who fought against Jerusalem: God will visit them with a terrible plague. People’s flesh will rot off their bones while they are walking around; their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues in their mouths; people will be dying on their feet! Mass hysteria when that happens—total panic! Fellow soldiers fighting and killing each other—holy terror! And then Judah will jump into the fray!

14-15 Treasures from all the nations will be piled high—gold, silver, the latest fashions. The plague will also hit the animals—horses, mules, camels, donkeys. Everything alive in the military camps will be hit by the plague.

* * *

16-19 All the survivors from the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem will travel to Jerusalem every year to worship the King, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and celebrate the Feast of Booths. If any of these survivors fail to make the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the King, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, there will be no rain. If the Egyptians don’t make the pilgrimage and worship, there will be no rain for them. Every nation that does not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths will be hit with the plague. Egypt and any other nation that does not make pilgrimage to celebrate the Feast of Booths gets punished.

20-21 On that Day, the Big Day, all the horses’ harness bells will be inscribed “Holy to God.” The cooking pots in the Temple of God will be as sacred as chalices and plates on the altar. In fact, all the pots and pans in all the kitchens of Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to God-of-the-Angel-Armies. People who come to worship, preparing meals and sacrifices, will use them. On that Big Day there will be no buying or selling in the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Read: Psalm 34:1–10

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Footnotes
Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 34:1 In Hebrew texts 34:1-22 is numbered 34:2-23.

INSIGHT
Psalms 34, 37, and 73 deal with what was known in Old Testament times as the law or principle of retribution. At that time, the Scriptures were incomplete and the people of God had limited understanding of the afterlife. As a result, they wrestled with issues of justice and equity and how they would ultimately be realized. Not understanding life after death, they sought to reconcile the seeming inequities of life with the principle of retribution, which taught that in this life the righteous are blessed according to their righteousness and the wicked are cursed according to their wickedness. However, Psalm 73 makes it clear that Asaph felt that the principle wasn’t working, for the wicked seemed to flourish while the righteous suffered. Only in Jesus would this problem ultimately be reconciled. He bore the sins of the world on Himself, making possible an eternal home of true justice and equity.

Sending Out an SOS -By Alyson Kieda
I sought the Lord, and he answered me. Psalm 34:4

When the hut of a settler in a mountainous region of Alaska caught fire, the settler was left without adequate shelter and with few provisions in the coldest state in the US—in the middle of a frigid winter. Three weeks later, the man was finally rescued when an aircraft flew over and spied the large SOS he had stamped out in the snow and darkened with soot.

The psalmist David was certainly in dire straits. He was being pursued by jealous King Saul who sought to kill him. And so he fled to the city of Gath, where he pretended to be insane in order to preserve his life (see 1 Samuel 21). Out of those events emerged Psalm 34, where David cried out in prayer to God and found peace (vv. 4, 6). God heard his pleas and delivered him.

Are you in a desperate situation and crying out for help? Be assured that God still hears and responds to our desperate prayers today. As with David, He’s attentive to our distress calls and takes away our fears (v. 4)—and sometimes even saves us “out of [our] troubles” (v. 6).

Scripture invites us to “cast [our] cares on the Lord and he will sustain [us]” (Psalm 55:22). When we turn our difficult circumstances over to God, we can trust that He’ll provide the help we need. We’re secure in His capable hands.

When have you felt peace after crying out to God? When has He rescued you from a desperate situation?

Loving Father, thank You for hearing my prayers and bringing comfort, peace—whatever I need most. And thank You especially for rescuing me from my sin.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 14, 2021
The Discipline of Hearing

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. —Matthew 10:27

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into “the shadow of His hand” until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). “Whatever I tell you in the dark…” — pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood— darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.

After every time of darkness, we should experience a mixture of delight and humiliation. If there is only delight, I question whether we have really heard God at all. We should experience delight for having heard God speak, but mostly humiliation for having taken so long to hear Him! Then we will exclaim, “How slow I have been to listen and understand what God has been telling me!” And yet God has been saying it for days and even weeks. But once you hear Him, He gives you the gift of humiliation, which brings a softness of heart— a gift that will always cause you to listen to God now.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him.  The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26

Zechariah 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God's Eternal Plan

When our oldest daughter was two, I lost her in a department store. I panicked! All of a sudden only one thing mattered-I had to find Jenna. Shopping was forgotten. The list of things I came to get was unimportant. I yelled her name. What people thought didn't matter. Every ounce of energy had one goal: to find my lost child. I did, by the way.  She was hiding behind some jackets.
No price is too high for a parent to pay to redeem his child. No energy is too great.  No effort too demanding. A parent will go to any length to find his or her own. So will God. Mark it down. God's greatest creation is not the flung stars or the gorged canyons.  It's his eternal plan to reach his children. Heaven and earth know no greater passion than God's personal passion for you and your return!
From And the Angels Were Silent

Zechariah 13

Washing Away Sins

 “On the Big Day, a fountain will be opened for the family of David and all the leaders of Jerusalem for washing away their sins, for scrubbing their stained and soiled lives clean.

2-3 “On the Big Day”—this is God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaking—“I will wipe out the store-bought gods, erase their names from memory. People will forget they ever heard of them. And I’ll get rid of the prophets who polluted the air with their diseased words. If anyone dares persist in spreading diseased, polluting words, his very own parents will step in and say, ‘That’s it! You’re finished! Your lies about God put everyone in danger,’ and then they’ll stab him to death in the very act of prophesying lies about God—his own parents, mind you!

4-6 “On the Big Day, the lying prophets will be publicly exposed and humiliated. Then they’ll wish they’d never swindled people with their ‘visions.’ No more masquerading in prophet clothes. But they’ll deny they’ve even heard of such things: ‘Me, a prophet? Not me. I’m a farmer—grew up on the farm.’ And if someone says, ‘And so where did you get that black eye?’ they’ll say, ‘I ran into a door at a friend’s house.’

* * *

7-9 “Sword, get moving against my shepherd,
    against my close associate!”
        Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“Kill the shepherd! Scatter the sheep!
    The back of my hand against even the lambs!
All across the country”—God’s Decree—
    “two-thirds will be devastated
    and one-third survive.
I’ll deliver the surviving third to the refinery fires.
    I’ll refine them as silver is refined,
    test them for purity as gold is tested.
Then they’ll pray to me by name
    and I’ll answer them personally.
I’ll say, ‘That’s my people.’
    They’ll say, ‘God—my God!’”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, February 13, 2021
Read: Isaiah 43:14–21

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
    and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[a]
    in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator, your King.”

16 This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
    the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise.

INSIGHT
The first half of the book of Isaiah (chs. 1–39) predominantly focuses on God’s judgment of Israel, which was fulfilled by Assyria and then Babylon. In the second half (chs. 40–66), the book explores more fully God’s promised hope and restoration.

Isaiah 43:14–21 compares the coming restoration of God’s people in exile to their past deliverance from Egypt. However, although these verses show the parallels between this coming deliverance and the exodus (such as “making a way in the wilderness” v. 19), it also instructs the Israelites to “forget the former things” (v. 18). The “new thing” (v. 19) that God would do for them would be even more extraordinary than the first exodus.

To learn more about the book of Isaiah, visit ChristianUniversity.org/OT510.

Something New - By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
See, I am doing a new thing! . . . I am making . . . streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

Farming is difficult in areas that lack fresh water. To help solve this problem, the Seawater Greenhouse company has created something new: “cooling houses” in Somaliland, Africa, and other countries with similar climates. Cooling houses use solar pumps to drizzle saltwater over walls made of corrugated cardboard. As the water moves down each panel, it leaves its salt behind. Much of the remaining fresh water evaporates inside the structure, which becomes a humid place where fruit and vegetable crops can flourish.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised to do a “new thing” as He provided “streams in the wasteland” for ancient Israel (Isaiah 43:19). This new thing contrasted with the old thing He had done to rescue His people from the Egyptian army. Remember the Red Sea account? God wanted His people to recall the past but not let it overshadow His current involvement in their lives (v. 18). He said, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness” (v. 19).

While looking to the past can bolster our faith in God’s provision, living in the past can blind us to all the fresh work of God’s Spirit today. We can ask God to show us how He’s currently moving—helping, remaking, and sustaining His people. May this awareness prompt us to partner with Him to meet the needs of others, both near and far.

What new thing is God doing in your life? How is He using you to touch others’ lives and help make the world a better place?

Dear God, I praise You as the living One who constantly does new things. Help me to trust You to meet my changing needs.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 13, 2021
The Devotion of Hearing

Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." —1 Samuel 3:10

Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends…” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.

The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?


WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come.  Shade of His Hand, 1226 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

Revelation 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NOW I HAVE SEEN YOU

Consider the words Job said to God: “I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you (Job 42:5).

You can use the book of Job as evidence that God gives us questions and no answers. But to do so, you need to cut out the rest of the book of Job, for that’s not how Job heard it. All his life Job had been a good man. All his life he had believed in God, but in the storm Job saw God.

He saw hope, lover, destroyer, giver, taker, dreamer, deliverer. Job saw the tender anger of a God whose unending love is often received with a peculiar mistrust. Job stood as a blade of grass against the consuming fire of God’s splendor. Job’s demands melted like wax as God pulled back the curtain and heaven’s light fell uneclipsed across the earth.

Revelation 2

To Ephesus

Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights’ circle, speaks:

2-3 “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.

4-5 “But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? A Lucifer fall!

“Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.

6 “You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too.

7 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.”

To Smyrna
8 Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:

9 “I can see your pain and poverty—constant pain, dire poverty—but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan’s crowd.

10 “Fear nothing in the things you’re about to suffer—but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing—ten days. It won’t last forever.

“Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.

11 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death.”

To Pergamum
12 Write this to Pergamum, to the Angel of the church. The One with the sharp-biting sword draws from the sheath of his mouth—out come the sword words:

13 “I see where you live, right under the shadow of Satan’s throne. But you continue boldly in my Name; you never once denied my Name, even when the pressure was worst, when they martyred Antipas, my witness who stayed faithful to me on Satan’s turf.

14-15 “But why do you indulge that Balaam crowd? Don’t you remember that Balaam was an enemy agent, seducing Balak and sabotaging Israel’s holy pilgrimage by throwing unholy parties? And why do you put up with the Nicolaitans, who do the same thing?

16 “Enough! Don’t give in to them; I’ll be with you soon. I’m fed up and about to cut them to pieces with my sword-sharp words.

17 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’ll give the sacred manna to every conqueror; I’ll also give a clear, smooth stone inscribed with your new name, your secret new name.”

To Thyatira
18 Write this to Thyatira, to the Angel of the church. God’s Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this:

19 “I see everything you’re doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.

20-23 “But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. I’m about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I’ll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don’t impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you.

24-25 “The rest of you Thyatirans, who have nothing to do with this outrage, who scorn this playing around with the Devil that gets paraded as profundity, be assured I’ll not make life any harder for you than it already is. Hold on to the truth you have until I get there.

26-28 “Here’s the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You’ll rule the nations, your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you—and with it, the Morning Star!

29 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, February 12, 2021
Read: Revelation 19:1–9

Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall

After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2     for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
    who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

3 And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

“Amen, Hallelujah!”

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants,
you who fear him,
    both great and small!”

6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

INSIGHT
Who is the “great prostitute” who’s condemned in Revelation 19:2? It’s clear from Revelation 17:1–6, 15–16 that the prostitute is Babylon. However, this naturally raises the question: what is Babylon? Babylon is the world system that has “corrupted the earth” and killed God’s true servants (19:2). It’s a way of life—both cultural and political—at war with scriptural principles, with God-fearing people, and with God Himself. Not to be missed in the chapter is the contrast between the “great prostitute” and the true bride of Christ—the church. It’s this “bride” that’s the target of so much persecution. Revelation 19 celebrates the final judgment of the world system that opposes God.

A Joyful Celebration - By Anne Cetas
The wedding of the Lamb has come. Revelation 19:7

My friend Sharon passed away one year prior to the death of my friend Dave’s teenage daughter Melissa. They both had been tragically killed in car accidents. One night both Sharon and Melissa were in my dream. They giggled and talked as they hung streamers in a large banquet hall and ignored me when I stepped into the room. A long table with white tablecloths had been set with golden plates and goblets. I asked if I could help decorate, but they didn’t seem to hear me and kept working.

But then Sharon said, “This party is Melissa’s wedding reception.”

“Who’s the groom?” I asked.

Neither responded but smiled and looked at each other knowingly. Finally, it dawned on me—it’s Jesus!

“Jesus is the groom,” I whispered as I woke up.

My dream brings to mind the joyful celebration believers in Jesus will share together when He returns. It’s portrayed in Revelation as a lavish feast called “the wedding supper of the Lamb” (19:9). John the Baptist, who prepared people for the first coming of Christ, had called Him “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He also referred to Jesus as “the bridegroom” and to himself as the “friend” (like the best man) who waited for Him (3:29).

On that banquet day and for all eternity we will enjoy unbroken fellowship with Jesus, our groom, and with Sharon and Melissa and all of God’s people.

What does Jesus’ invitation to come to Him for forgiveness and eternal life mean to you? Who could you tell your story to?

I look forward to that day of celebration and seeing You, Jesus. Come quickly.

Read more about Christ’s ultimate triumph in this study of Revelation: ChristianUniversity.org/NT228.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 12, 2021
Are You Listening to God?

They said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." —Exodus 20:19

We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.

“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”

Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 12, 2021
Looking For a Love You'll Never Find - #8895

Our son had just finished his first day of high school and he thought he had found the "happy hunting ground." For girls, that is. He regaled his sister, then a junior in high school, with stories about all the incredible girls he'd seen that day. The more he talked, the more disgusted she became. Finally, she just blurted out, "You are so superficial!" To which he immediately replied, "Well, of course. I'm a freshman! We're into superficial!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking For a Love You'll Never Find."

Most of us aren't into superficial. We've experienced enough superficial in our relationships for a lifetime. Now we just want something real. But there's more superficial and less real than ever.

A Newsweek writer said "The greatest challenge of this century is going to be to avoid becoming a faceless society." She went on to describe our modern online relationships with acquaintances or friends that we've never really met, or who may not be at all like the person they say they are. We're more connected to more people than ever before, but in many ways, we're more lonely than we've ever been.

Anna Quindlen, the Newsweek columnist, tells about a memoir entitled "The Autobiography of a Face," in which the author describes her childhood after cancer left her with much of her lower jaw gone or distorted. The author said there was one night of the year when she felt the happiest and the most free: Halloween, when she could wear a mask. Quindlen says, "This is the age of the mask." Our superficial world has become a place where, in her words, so many are "looking for something more, someone who will see them across a field of restaurant tables, really see them...looking for that one face in the crowd. Maybe everyone is."

Once there was a woman with an incurable medical problem who was desperate for someone who would care - someone who could cure her. With her money and her medical options all used up, she pushed her way through a crushing crowd to get to a man called Jesus. In faith, she touched the hem of His robe, sure that Jesus would never know in the middle of so many people pressing on Him. But He said, "I know power has gone out from Me." The Bible says she found out that "she could not go unnoticed" by Jesus (Luke 8:43-48). Neither can you. Jesus is the face in the crowd who offers you the authentic love you've been looking for your whole life.

1 Samuel 16:7, our word for today from the Word of God tells us that "man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." Jesus doesn't care about the superficial stuff that's so important to everyone else. He cares about your heart. And because He's God, He knows all the hurt, the darkness, the sin that's there. And He loves you. How can you know that? He's offered living proof - actually, dying proof. The Bible says, "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

We didn't care about Him, but He died for us - for the sin that separates us from Him. That's how much He loves you. That's how much He desires to have a relationship with you. His love is the only one you can never lose, because it's not based on your performance. It's based on His promise, "I will never leave you." (Hebrews 13:5). The One who knows you best loves you most!

He doesn't force His love on you. You have to choose it; respond to it. In the Bible's words, "We love Him because He loved us first" (1 John 4:19). Your relationship with Him begins as an act of total trust in the One who loved you enough to die for you. When you say, "Jesus, I'm done running my life. You run it from now on. You're my only hope of being forgiven. I'm yours beginning today."

You want that? Let me encourage you to go to our website today. You'll see an explanation there how to be sure you belong to Him. That website is ANewStory.com.

No one on earth has the love to fill that hole in your heart. It's a God-shaped hole, and only He's big enough to fill it. You don't have to do anything to impress Him or to get Him to love you. He already does. Jesus...He's the end of your search.

Zechariah 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S QUESTIONS

Listen to the question God asked Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much” (Job 38:4). One question would have been enough for Job, but it isn’t enough for God. Questions rush forth. They splatter in the chambers of Job’s heart with a wildness and a beauty and a terror that leaves every Job who has ever lived drenched and speechless, watching the Master redefine who’s who in the universe.

God’s questions to Job aren’t intended to teach; they are intended to stun. They aren’t intended to stir the mind; they are intended to bend his knees. “I owe no one anything,” God declares in the crescendo of the wind. “Everything under the heaven is mine” (Job 41:11). Job couldn’t argue. God owed no one anything. No explanations, no excuses. Which makes the fact that he gave us everything even more astounding.

Zechariah 12

Home Again in Jerusalem

War Bulletin:

God’s Message concerning Israel, God’s Decree—the very God who threw the skies into space, set earth on a firm foundation, and breathed his own life into men and women: “Watch for this: I’m about to turn Jerusalem into a cup of strong drink that will have the people who have set siege to Judah and Jerusalem staggering in a drunken stupor.

3 “On the Big Day, I’ll turn Jerusalem into a huge stone blocking the way for everyone. All who try to lift it will rupture themselves. All the pagan nations will come together and try to get rid of it.

4-5 “On the Big Day”—this is God speaking—“I’ll throw all the war horses into a crazed panic, and their riders along with them. But I’ll keep my eye on Judah, watching out for her at the same time that I make the enemy horses go blind. The families of Judah will then realize, ‘Why, our leaders are strong and able through God-of-the-Angel-Armies, their personal God.’

6 “On the Big Day, I’ll turn the families of Judah into something like a burning match in a tinder-dry forest, like a fiercely flaming torch in a barn full of hay. They’ll burn up everything and everyone in sight—people to the right, people to the left—while Jerusalem fills up with people moving in and making themselves at home—home again in Jerusalem.

7-8 “I, God, will begin by restoring the common households of Judah so that the glory of David’s family and the leaders in Jerusalem won’t overshadow the ordinary people in Judah. On the Big Day, I’ll look after everyone who lives in Jerusalem so that the lowliest, weakest person will be as glorious as David and the family of David itself will be godlike, like the Angel of God leading the people.

9 “On the Big Day, I’ll make a clean sweep of all the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem.

10-14 “Next I’ll deal with the family of David and those who live in Jerusalem. I’ll pour a spirit of grace and prayer over them. They’ll then be able to recognize me as the One they so grievously wounded—that piercing spear-thrust! And they’ll weep—oh, how they’ll weep! Deep mourning as of a parent grieving the loss of the firstborn child. The lamentation in Jerusalem that day will be massive, as famous as the lamentation over Hadad-Rimmon on the fields of Megiddo:

    Everyone will weep and grieve,
        the land and everyone in it:
    The family of David off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    The family of Nathan off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    The family of Levi off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    The family of Shimei off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    And all the rest of the families off by themselves
        and their women off by themselves.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Read: Psalm 37:1–7

Of David.

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

INSIGHT
After Psalm 37’s opening exhortation not to be upset by the short-lived vitality and success of those who ignore God (vv. 1–2), a series of commands follow that call for faithful dependence on Him (vv. 3–8). The remainder of the psalm describes the conduct of two kinds of people (the righteous and the wicked), who follow two different paths and end up at two different places (vv. 9–11, 20). In various ways, the wicked harass and prey upon the righteous (vv. 12–15, 32). But the righteous aren’t alone. God—in whom they trust and delight and upon whom they wait—protects them, making them safe and secure (vv. 16–17, 23–26, 32–33). The conclusion speaks powerfully to those who place their faith in God. “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them . . . because they take refuge in him” (vv. 39–40).

By Leslie Koh

The Ticking Watch

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7


A group of workers were cutting ice out of a frozen lake and storing it in an icehouse when one of them realized he’d lost his watch in the windowless building. He and his friends searched for it in vain.

After they gave up, a young boy who’d seen them exit went into the building. Soon, he emerged with the watch. Asked how he’d found it, he replied: “I just sat down and kept quiet, and soon I could hear it ticking.”

The Bible talks much about the value of being still. And no wonder, for God sometimes speaks in a whisper (1 Kings 19:12). In the busyness of life, it can be hard to hear Him. But if we stop rushing about and spend some quiet time with Him and the Scriptures, we may hear His gentle voice in our thoughts.

Psalm 37:1–7 assures us that we can trust God to rescue us from the “wicked schemes” of evil people, give us refuge, and help us stay faithful. But how can we do this when turmoil is all around us?

Verse 7 suggests: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” We could start by learning to keep silent for a few minutes after prayer. Or by quietly reading the Bible and letting the words soak into our hearts. And then, perhaps, we’ll hear His wisdom speaking to us, quiet and steady as a ticking watch.

How can you be still before God each day? What will help you stay silent and listen?

Loving God, grant me the patience and discipline to stay still for a while each day, that I might hear Your gentle whisper in my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3

Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).

Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature— the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.

“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26:1-25

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Uninterrupted Service - #8894

Sure, I guess you could become way too dependent on cell phones. But when you travel a lot like I do, there are times when your cell phone is your only link and you really need to communicate. Unfortunately, many of those moments find me in the middle of one of those black holes where you're nowhere near a cell tower. Like trying to find a cell site in great stretches of the Western United States, or try it in the middle of a remote Indian reservation, for example. That's why I get such a chuckle out of a cell phone commercial they had for a while. Remember that guy in the woods talking on his cell phone and saying, "Can you hear me now?" Then he's in a swamp or something and he says, "Can you hear me now?" Finally, he's on top of some mountain, "Can you hear me now?" I wish I had a dollar for every time I've asked that question.

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

That question takes on a far deeper significance when you're in one of those times when you're feeling away from God, and it's God who you're asking, "Can you hear me now?" The valley might be pretty deep, "Lord, can You hear me now?" The wilderness could be lonely and very long, "Lord, can You hear me now?" The guilt and the shame maybe is haunting you constantly, "Lord, can you hear me now?"

And He answers unequivocally in Psalm 139, beginning with verse 7, our word for today from the Word of God: "Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,' even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You."

Well, there it is. No matter where you are, no matter how deep in, no matter how cold inside, no matter how far down, or how far away you feel, the answer to "Can You hear me now, Lord?" is always a resounding "Yes!" He's always there for you, in the depths of your depression, in the hardness of your rebellion, in the coldness of your feelings, in the roller coaster of your emotions He's there! If you feel far from God, remember, He hasn't moved! And if you're running from God, hoping somehow to escape Him, realize that's the ultimate Mission Impossible. He will always run faster than you can.

And if it seems you're having a hard time getting through to God, consider one thing that creates a serious communication breakdown. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." That means there's a sin you're loving more than Him, a sin you are stubbornly hanging onto. That's serious trouble in the line. But He's still listening for you to say, "God, I'm so sorry for hurting You. I'm sorry for defying You. Forgive me. Change me." Maybe He's been waiting a long time to hear those words from you.

If your feelings are telling you that your Lord can't be reached from where you are now, your feelings are lying to you. It is one of the greatest treasures of belonging to Jesus that you can never again be somewhere that God cannot hear you. And you know what? He loves to hear your voice. Call on Him today...like now.