Job 36 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  WHAT LIES AHEAD - July 20, 2021

There’s a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past!

God’s grace is greater than your sin. You thought the problem was your calendar, your marriage, your job. In reality, it’s this unresolved guilt. Don’t indulge it. Don’t drown in the bilge of your own condemnation. What you did was not good. But your God is good, and he will forgive you. He is ready to write a new chapter in your life. Say with Paul, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14 TLB).

Your salvation has nothing to do with your work and everything to do with the finished work of Christ on the cross. Rejoice in the Lord’s mercy.

Job 36

Those Who Learn from Their Suffering

Here Elihu took a deep breath, but kept going:

“Stay with me a little longer. I’ll convince you.
    There’s still more to be said on God’s side.
I learned all this firsthand from the Source;
    everything I know about justice I owe to my Maker himself.
Trust me, I’m giving you undiluted truth;
    believe me, I know these things inside and out.

5-15 “It’s true that God is all-powerful,
    but he doesn’t bully innocent people.
For the wicked, though, it’s a different story—
    he doesn’t give them the time of day,
    but champions the rights of their victims.
He never takes his eyes off the righteous;
    he honors them lavishly, promotes them endlessly.
When things go badly,
    when affliction and suffering descend,
God tells them where they’ve gone wrong,
    shows them how their pride has caused their trouble.
He forces them to heed his warning,
    tells them they must repent of their bad life.
If they obey and serve him,
    they’ll have a good, long life on easy street.
But if they disobey, they’ll be cut down in their prime
    and never know the first thing about life.
Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance,
    always blaming others for their troubles.
Living it up in sexual excesses,
    virility wasted, they die young.
But those who learn from their suffering,
    God delivers from their suffering.

Obsessed with Putting the Blame on God
16-21 “Oh, Job, don’t you see how God’s wooing you
    from the jaws of danger?
How he’s drawing you into wide-open places—
    inviting you to feast at a table laden with blessings?
And here you are laden with the guilt of the wicked,
    obsessed with putting the blame on God!
Don’t let your great riches mislead you;
    don’t think you can bribe your way out of this.
Did you plan to buy your way out of this?
    Not on your life!
And don’t think that night,
    when people sleep off their troubles,
    will bring you any relief.
Above all, don’t make things worse with more evil—
    that’s what’s behind your suffering as it is!

22-25 “Do you have any idea how powerful God is?
    Have you ever heard of a teacher like him?
Has anyone ever had to tell him what to do,
    or correct him, saying, ‘You did that all wrong!’?
Remember, then, to praise his workmanship,
    which is so often celebrated in song.
Everybody sees it;
    nobody is too far away to see it.

No One Can Escape from God
26 “Take a long, hard look. See how great he is—infinite,
    greater than anything you could ever imagine or figure out!

27-33 “He pulls water up out of the sea,
    distills it, and fills up his rain-cloud cisterns.
Then the skies open up
    and pour out soaking showers on everyone.
Does anyone have the slightest idea how this happens?
    How he arranges the clouds, how he speaks in thunder?
Just look at that lightning, his sky-filling light show
    illumining the dark depths of the sea!
These are the symbols of his sovereignty,
    his generosity, his loving care.
He hurls arrows of light,
    taking sure and accurate aim.
The High God roars in the thunder,
    angry against evil.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Read: Job 38:24–38

What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
    or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
    an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
    and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
    Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31 “Can you bind the chains[a] of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[b]
    or lead out the Bear[c] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
    Can you set up God’s[d] dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
    and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[e]
    or gives the rooster understanding?[f]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
    Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
    and the clods of earth stick together?

Footnotes
Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
Job 38:32 Or out Leo
Job 38:33 Or their
Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

INSIGHT
The structure of Job 38:1–42:6 helps readers see that we’re dealing with a specific literary unit. God’s voice dominates; Job does very little speaking (see 40:3–5; 42:1–6). In chapters 38–39, Job gets bombarded with multiple questions. The first set concerns inanimate created order (38:4–38). These scenes are stunning and cast the Almighty in the role as the grand designer of all majestic and wonderful things in this world. The next set of queries (38:39–39:30) deals with the animate created order. These creatures come into view: the lion, raven, mountain goat, wild donkey, wild ox, ostrich, horse, hawk, and eagle. God is at work in creation!

By Daniel Ryan Day
God’s Power on Display

What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Job 38:24

It was a lightning storm, and my six-year-old daughter and I were on the floor watching the dazzling display through the glass door. She kept repeating, “Wow! God is so big.” I felt the same way. It was obvious to both of us how small we were, and how powerful God must be. Lines from the book of Job flashed through my mind, “What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?” (Job 38:24).

Job needed to be reminded of God’s power (vv. 34–41). His life had fallen apart. His children were dead. He was broke. He was sick. His friends offered no empathy. His wife encouraged him to abandon his faith (2:9). Eventually, Job asked God, “Why?” (ch. 24) and He responded out of a storm (ch. 38).

God reminded Job of His control over the physical attributes of the world (ch. 38). This comforted him and he responded, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (42:5). In other words, “Now I get it, God! I see that you don’t fit into my box.”

When life falls apart, sometimes the most comforting thing we can do is to lie on the floor and watch the lightning—to be reminded that the God who created the world is big enough and loving enough to take care of us too. We may even start singing our favorite worship songs that tell of the might and greatness of our God.

When was the last time you saw God’s power on display? What went through your mind as you witnessed His bigness?

God, help me see how big You are and to stop trying to fit You into small boxes. Help me to trust that if You’re big enough to create and control lightning, You’re big enough to help me through life’s challenges.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Dependent on God’s Presence

Those who wait on the Lord…shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31

There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “…John…looking at Jesus as He walked…said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me…” (Genesis 17:1).

When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.

Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though…” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own.  Biblical Ethics, 99 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 26-28; Acts 22

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
The Hand That Won't Let Go - #9007

The events of September 11, 2001, changed a lot of things, including our definition of the word "hero." Because we saw what real heroes look like - those police and firefighters we'll never forget. The ones who went into those burning towers, knowing they might not come out alive. But there were people to rescue. Immediately, professional football and baseball players began to speak out, telling the world they aren't the heroes. The people who risk their lives to save others are. By that definition, the rescue swimmers of the United States Coast Guard more than qualify. We saw them in action after Hurricane Katrina submerged much of New Orleans. They were the men dangling from helicopters, scooping desperate people off rooftops. That was easy compared to some of their rescues, like plunging from a hovering chopper into an angry sea to save a life. There was a movie not too long ago that told the story of these heroes and portrayed how they lived out their motto, "So others may live." The seasoned veteran who is training a class of rookies shows them the depth of a rescuer's life-saving commitment. It's all about grabbing the hand of that person who's about to die and making a promise: "I won't let go." And they don't.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hand That Won't Let Go."

Those four words touch a nerve in my heart and maybe yours. "I won't let go." That's what we want. We want someone that will really never let us go, no matter what. But our lives are littered with so many who shouldn't have let go, but they did. Maybe your parents didn't hold on like you needed them to. Friends we thought would always be there aren't anymore, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, your family. It seems as if no one is really able to always be there to hold on when we're going down, even a great husband or wife. People change. People leave. People are human. People die.

Years ago, there was a movie with a title that stuck with me: "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter." Our hearts are hunting for an anchor person; that one person who will grab our hand and never, never let go. No matter what changes, no matter how we look or act or change, and especially when the storm is about to do us in.

Over centuries, millions of people have grabbed the one hand that will never let go, and He never has. He's the One who made the promise recorded in Hebrews 13:5-6, which is our word for today from the Word of God, "'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we may say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" That promise is from Jesus Christ - the One who loved you enough to actually die in your place to pay for the sins that have always put God out of your reach.

A lot of people may have failed to hang on. Jesus will never fail you. He says of those who come to Him, "I will never reject them" (John 6:37). If He was ever going to turn His back on you, it would have been when He was going through your hell on the cross. But He stayed there so you could live with Him forever. He will not abandon the one He paid for with His blood. When He died for you, He proved He's got the love that won't let you go. When He walked out of His grave on that first Easter morning, He proved He's got the power to hold onto you through everything life and death can throw at you.

But you have to grab the Rescuer's hand. Has there ever been a time when you reached out to Jesus and grabbed Him as your only hope of being rescued from your sin? You could have been religious your whole life and yet never grabbed His hand for yourself. He's reaching for you today. I don't know how much longer you're going to have to take His hand. I know you have today.

If you want to experience His love for yourself, if you want to belong to Him, tell Him that, right where you are. Go to our website so you can better understand just how to begin your relationship with Him. That's ANewStory.com.

If you could hear Him talking to you right now, you'd hear Jesus saying those words that can change everything, "I won't let go."

Matthew 14:22-36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LET JESUS TAKE YOUR SINS - July 19, 2021

Denalyn and I had enjoyed a nice dinner at a local restaurant. As we received our bill, a church member spotted us and came over. After we chatted a few moments, he took our bill. “I’ll take this,” he said. Guess what? I let him do what he wanted to do. I let him take it away.

Someday we will stand before God. All of us will be present. All of us will have to give an account for our lives. Every thought, every deed, every action. Were it not for the grace of Christ, I would find this to be a very terrifying thought. Yet, according to Scripture, Jesus came to “take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). On that day, I will point to Christ. When my list of sins is produced, I will gesture toward him and say, “He took it.” Let him take yours.

Matthew 14:22-36
Walking on the Water

As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.

24-26 Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.

27 But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

28 Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”

29-30 He said, “Come ahead.”

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”

31 Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”

32-33 The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”

34-36 On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, July 19, 2021
Read: Daniel 6:10–23

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

INSIGHT
The integrity and loyalty of Daniel echo similarities in the life and story of Joseph. About eight hundred years before Daniel was chosen to be second-in-command to a Babylonian king (Daniel 6:3), Joseph was made second-in-command of all Egypt (Genesis 41:40–41). In their younger years, both had been taken from their homes and families and forced into captivity in foreign lands. Both eventually interpreted the dreams of emperors who served other gods. Through abandonment and imprisonment both are remembered for showing God’s care not only for those who knew Him, but for those who didn’t.

By Winn Collier
Firm Refusal

Daniel . . . still pray[ed] three times a day. Daniel 6:13

When the Nazis drafted Franz Jägerstätter during World War II, he completed military basic training but refused to take the required pledge of personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Authorities allowed Franz to return to his farm, but they later summoned him to active duty. After seeing Nazi ideology up close and learning of the Jewish genocide, however, Jägerstätter decided his loyalty to God meant he could never fight for the Nazis. He was arrested and sentenced to execution, leaving behind his wife and three daughters.

Over the years, many believers in Jesus—under peril of death—have offered a firm refusal when commanded to disobey God. The story of Daniel is one such story. When a royal edict threatened that anyone “who pray[ed] to any god or human being except [the king]” (Daniel 6:12) would be thrown into the lions’ den, Daniel discarded safety and remained faithful. “Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (v. 10). The prophet would bend his knee to God—and only God—no matter the cost.

Sometimes, our choice is clear. Though everyone around us implores us to go along with prevailing opinion—though our own reputation or well-being may be at risk—may we never turn from our obedience to God. Sometimes, even at great cost, all we can offer is a firm refusal.

Where are you sensing that obedience to God will require your firm refusal? What might this refusal cost you? What will you gain?

God, I know my loyalty to You will at times mean saying no to others’ expectations or demands. It may cost me dearly. Give me courage.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 19, 2021
The Submission of the Believer

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. —John 13:13

Our Lord never insists on having authority over us. He never says, “You will submit to me.” No, He leaves us perfectly free to choose— so free, in fact, that we can spit in His face or we can put Him to death, as others have done; and yet He will never say a word. But once His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly recognize His right to absolute authority over me. It is a complete and effective domination, in which I acknowledge that “You are worthy, O Lord…” (Revelation 4:11). It is simply the unworthiness within me that refuses to bow down or to submit to one who is worthy. When I meet someone who is more holy than myself, and I don’t recognize his worthiness, nor obey his instructions for me, it is a sign of my own unworthiness being revealed. God teaches us by using these people who are a little better than we are; not better intellectually, but more holy. And He continues to do so until we willingly submit. Then the whole attitude of our life is one of obedience to Him.

If our Lord insisted on our obedience, He would simply become a taskmaster and cease to have any real authority. He never insists on obedience, but when we truly see Him we will instantly obey Him. Then He is easily Lord of our life, and we live in adoration of Him from morning till night. The level of my growth in grace is revealed by the way I look at obedience. We should have a much higher view of the word obedience, rescuing it from the mire of the world. Obedience is only possible between people who are equals in their relationship to each other; like the relationship between father and son, not that between master and servant. Jesus showed this relationship by saying, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). “…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The Son was obedient as our Redeemer, because He was the Son, not in order to become God’s Son.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ.  Biblical Ethics, 111 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 23-25; Acts 21:18-40

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 19, 2021

The Rat Race and The Relationship - #9006

When we were raising our kids, a lot of the time their mother and I weren't quite sure of how we were doing. Were we giving them enough love in the ways they needed it? Were we giving them enough discipline? Were we giving them the right kind of discipline? Were we spending enough time with them? What do you do? Well, you pray! You do your best and you try to live by your priorities and then you wait to see what crop comes up years later. Now one of my particular challenges was to try to balance the extreme demands and busyness of my ministry with the kids' need for a dad, who wasn't a stranger or a visitor in their life. At one point our oldest son was reminiscing about some of his growing up, and by the way, he has a way of doing this. He really "bottom lined" it in a couple of sentences. Here's what he said: "I have two impressions of my childhood. First, my dad was busy a lot." I've got to tell you, my heart sank at that point, because I knew that was all too true. Then he said something that made me want to yell, "Thank You, Lord!" He said, "My dad was busy a lot, but secondly, my dad was with me a lot!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Rat Race and the Relationship."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 5:15-16. Two little verses that define the amazing life and the unbending priorities of Jesus, "Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and he healed all of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Now here are crowds of people pursuing Him; He's surrounded by people pulling on Him about their needs. You're not Jesus, but maybe you know that feeling as a parent, or a worker, or someone in ministry or a caregiver. Jesus' days were wall-to-wall busy - again, something you might be able to identify with. But it says, "He often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Jesus simply would not allow himself to get so busy that He neglected His time alone with His Father. Yes, there was unfinished work to do, there were people to respond to, there were needs to be met, but He refused to sacrifice the relationship for the responsibilities.

Now, if your life is busy, then you know how hard it is to keep your time with God. I do. Frankly, for some of us, a full life has often left our Savior squeezed right out of the day's schedule, hasn't it? The result, you well know, is a growing hollowness in your soul. It's like an unexplainable sense of aloneness, and a growing sense of distance and coldness between you and the One who loves you more than anyone else in the world. Question: Don't you miss Him? He misses you. He's been showing up every day only to find that once again you didn't have time. You see, the responsibilities have squeezed out the relationship, and that relationship with Jesus is what your faith and life are really all about. Neglect the relationship and everything starts to unravel. It's the "well" from which all of life's resources are drawn. You neglect the well and you're going to be thirsty most of the time.

Hasn't the work crowded out the worship long enough? Make a new beginning today. If Jesus, who had more to accomplish in less time than you will ever have, insisted on His time with God, how can you do any less? Tell Him you're sorry for all those days that He's been crowded out, and covenant with Jesus that beginning today your time with Him will be the highest priority of your personal schedule, the non-negotiable of your schedule. If everything but one thing has to be canceled today, your time with Him will still be there. Jesus is the only thing you absolutely have to do, not because of duty but because of love. My son brought me great joy when he told me what our life together had been like. He said, "You were busy a lot but you were with me a lot!" I hope Jesus will be able to say that about me and about you.

Job 35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Sowing Seeds

Many parents aren’t proud of their family trees. The harvest was taken, but no seed was sown. Childhood memories bring more hurt than inspiration. If such is the case, put down the family scrapbook and pick up your Bible. John 3:6 reminds us, “Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” Your parents have given you genes, but God gives you grace.

Didn’t have a good father?  Galatians 4:7 says God will be your father. Didn’t have a good role model?  Ephesians 5:1 says, “You are God’s child whom He loves, so try to be like Him.”

You cannot control the way your forefathers responded to God. But you can control the way you respond to Him. The past does not have to be your prison. Choose well and someday—generations from now—your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will thank God for the seeds you sowed!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Job 35

Elihu’s Third Speech
When God Makes Creation a Classroom

Elihu lit into Job again:

“Does this kind of thing make any sense?
    First you say, ‘I’m perfectly innocent before God.’
And then you say, ‘It doesn’t make a bit of difference
    whether I’ve sinned or not.’

4-8 “Well, I’m going to show you
    that you don’t know what you’re talking about,
    neither you nor your friends.
Look up at the sky. Take a long hard look.
    See those clouds towering above you?
If you sin, what difference could that make to God?
    No matter how much you sin, will it matter to him?
Even if you’re good, what would God get out of that?
    Do you think he’s dependent on your accomplishments?
The only ones who care whether you’re good or bad
    are your family and friends and neighbors.
    God’s not dependent on your behavior.

9-15 “When times get bad, people cry out for help.
    They cry for relief from being kicked around,
But never give God a thought when things go well,
    when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts,
When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom,
    using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.
People are arrogantly indifferent to God—
    until, of course, they’re in trouble,
    and then God is indifferent to them.
There’s nothing behind such prayers except panic;
    the Almighty pays them no mind.
So why would he notice you
    just because you say you’re tired of waiting to be heard,
Or waiting for him to get good and angry
    and do something about the world’s problems?

16 “Job, you talk sheer nonsense—
    nonstop nonsense!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Read: Hosea 14

Repentance to Bring Blessing

]Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins have been your downfall!
2 Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b]
3 Assyria cannot save us;
    we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
    to what our own hands have made,
    for in you the fatherless find compassion.”

4 “I will heal their waywardness
    and love them freely,
    for my anger has turned away from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
    he will send down his roots;
6     his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7 People will dwell again in his shade;
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I[c] to do with idols?
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
    the righteous walk in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

Footnotes
Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim

INSIGHT
The story of Hosea is remarkable! God tells His prophet to marry a promiscuous woman (Hosea 1:2–3)—one who would be repeatedly unfaithful. Why would God command this? Hosea’s sordid marriage to Gomer is a picture of the relationship between God and His unfaithful people. Israel and Judah were characterized by idolatry, a sin that included literal prostitution practiced by the cult of Baal. Gomer lives out this sin, and Hosea feels anguish similar to God’s. The disloyalty of His people resembles Gomer’s infidelity. Yet God instructs Hosea to rescue his wayward wife. Hosea buys her back from her life of prostitution (3:1–2). This is the stark and startling picture of how much God loves His people.

To learn more about the book of Hosea, visit ChristianUniversity.org/BibleVideos.

By Monica La Rose
God’s Restoring Ways

People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine. Hosea 14:7

One of the most moving songs in the musical The Greatest Showman is “From Now On.” Sung after the main character comes to some painful self-realizations about the ways he’s wounded family and friends, the song celebrates the joy of coming back home and finding that what we already have is more than enough.

The book of Hosea concludes with a similar tone—one of breathless joy and gratitude at the restoration God makes possible for those who return to Him. Much of the book, which compares the relationship between God and His people to a relationship with an unfaithful spouse, grieves Israel’s failures to love Him and live for Him.

But in chapter 14, Hosea lifts up the promise of God’s boundless love, grace, and restoration—freely available to those who return to Him heartbroken over the ways they’ve abandoned Him (vv. 1–3). “I will heal their waywardness,” God promises, “and love them freely” (v. 4). And what had seemed broken beyond repair will once more find wholeness and abundance, as God’s grace, like dew, causes His people to “blossom like a lily” and “flourish like the grain” (vv. 5–7).

When we’ve hurt others or taken for granted God’s goodness in our life, it’s easy to assume we’ve forever marred the good gifts we’ve been given. But when we humbly turn to Him, we find His love is always reaching to embrace and restore.

When have you experienced or witnessed restoration beyond what seemed possible? In what areas of your life do you need reassurance of God’s promise to heal and restore?

Loving God and Creator of Life, teach me to trust in Your goodness—not just when I’m good, but all the time.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 18, 2021
The Mystery of Believing

He said, "Who are You, Lord?" —Acts 9:5

Through the miracle of redemption, Saul of Tarsus was instantly changed from a strong-willed and forceful Pharisee into a humble and devoted bondservant of the Lord Jesus.

There is nothing miraculous or mysterious about the things we can explain. We control what we are able to explain, consequently it is only natural to seek an explanation for everything. It is not natural to obey, yet it is not necessarily sinful to disobey. There can be no real disobedience, nor any moral virtue in obedience, unless a person recognizes the higher authority of the one giving the orders. If this recognition does not exist, even the one giving the orders may view the other person’s disobedience as freedom. If one rules another by saying, “You must do this,” and, “You will do that,” he breaks the human spirit, making it unfit for God. A person is simply a slave for obeying, unless behind his obedience is the recognition of a holy God.

Many people begin coming to God once they stop being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart— Jesus Christ, not religion. But “Woe is me” if after seeing Him I still will not obey (Isaiah 6:5 , also see Isaiah 6:1). Jesus will never insist that I obey, but if I don’t,I have already begun to sign the death certificate of the Son of God in my soul. When I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and say, “I will not obey,” He will never insist. But when I do this, I am backing away from the recreating power of His redemption. It makes no difference to God’s grace what an abomination I am, if I will only come to the light. But “Woe is me” if I refuse the light (see John 3:19-21).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13).  Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 20-22; Acts 21:1-17

Job 34 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: You Have a Choice

Early in the reign of King Josiah he made a brave choice. II Kings 22:2 tells us, "He lived as his ancestor David had lived, and he did not stop doing what was right." He flipped through his family scrapbook until he found an ancestor worthy of emulation.  He found David and resolved, "I'm going to be like him."
The principle?  We can't choose our parents, but we can choose our mentors. And since Josiah chose David, who had chosen God, things began to happen. Josiah broke up the idols. He broke down the altars. He was out to make a statement:  What my fathers taught, I don't teach. What they embraced, I reject. Josiah had found the God of David and made Him his own. God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. You have a choice in the path you take. Choose well!
From When God Whispers Your Name

Job 34

It’s Impossible for God to Do Evil

 Elihu continued:

“So, my fine friends—listen to me,
    and see what you think of this.
Isn’t it just common sense—
    as common as the sense of taste—
To put our heads together
    and figure out what’s going on here?

5-9 “We’ve all heard Job say, ‘I’m in the right,
    but God won’t give me a fair trial.
When I defend myself, I’m called a liar to my face.
    I’ve done nothing wrong, and I get punished anyway.’
Have you ever heard anything to beat this?
    Does nothing faze this man Job?
Do you think he’s spent too much time in bad company,
    hanging out with the wrong crowd,
So that now he’s parroting their line:
    ‘It doesn’t pay to try to please God’?

10-15 “You’re veterans in dealing with these matters;
    certainly we’re of one mind on this.
It’s impossible for God to do anything evil;
    no way can the Mighty One do wrong.
He makes us pay for exactly what we’ve done—no more, no less.
    Our chickens always come home to roost.
It’s impossible for God to do anything wicked,
    for the Mighty One to subvert justice.
He’s the one who runs the earth!
    He cradles the whole world in his hand!
If he decided to hold his breath,
    every man, woman, and child would die for lack of air.

God Is Working Behind the Scenes
16-20 “So, Job, use your head;
    this is all pretty obvious.
Can someone who hates order, keep order?
    Do you dare condemn the righteous, mighty God?
Doesn’t God always tell it like it is,
    exposing corrupt rulers as scoundrels and criminals?
Does he play favorites with the rich and famous and slight the poor?
    Isn’t he equally responsible to everybody?
Don’t people who deserve it die without notice?
    Don’t wicked rulers tumble to their doom?
When the so-called great ones are wiped out,
    we know God is working behind the scenes.

21-28 “He has his eyes on every man and woman.
    He doesn’t miss a trick.
There is no night dark enough, no shadow deep enough,
    to hide those who do evil.
God doesn’t need to gather any more evidence;
    their sin is an open-and-shut case.
He deposes the so-called high and mighty without asking questions,
    and replaces them at once with others.
Nobody gets by with anything; overnight,
    judgment is signed, sealed, and delivered.
He punishes the wicked for their wickedness
    out in the open where everyone can see it,
Because they quit following him,
    no longer even thought about him or his ways.
Their apostasy was announced by the cry of the poor;
    the cry of the afflicted got God’s attention.

Because You Refuse to Live on God’s Terms
29-30 “If God is silent, what’s that to you?
    If he turns his face away, what can you do about it?
But whether silent or hidden, he’s there, ruling,
    so that those who hate God won’t take over
    and ruin people’s lives.

31-33 “So why don’t you simply confess to God?
    Say, ‘I sinned, but I’ll sin no more.
Teach me to see what I still don’t see.
    Whatever evil I’ve done, I’ll do it no more.’
Just because you refuse to live on God’s terms,
    do you think he should start living on yours?
You choose. I can’t do it for you.
    Tell me what you decide.

34-37 “All right-thinking people say—
    and the wise who have listened to me concur—
‘Job is an ignoramus.
    He talks utter nonsense.’
Job, you need to be pushed to the wall and called to account
    for wickedly talking back to God the way you have.
You’ve compounded your original sin
    by rebelling against God’s discipline,
Defiantly shaking your fist at God,
    piling up indictments against the Almighty One.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Read: Acts 10:23–28

Peter at Cornelius’s House
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

INSIGHT
Cornelius was a commander (centurion) of one hundred soldiers stationed at the maritime city of Caesarea Maritima, also the residence of Pilate the governor. Despite the Jews’ hatred of the Roman army, the New Testament presents centurions rather positively (see Luke 7:1–5; 23:47; Acts 23:17–23). Twice, Cornelius is described as a “God-fearing” man (Acts 10:2, 22). A “God-fearer” (13:26; 17:4) was a term used by Jews to describe gentiles who worshiped Israel’s God and followed the ethics of the Old Testament laws, but weren’t full converts to Judaism because they hadn’t been circumcised or didn’t fully subscribe to Judaism’s rituals and traditions. Philip the evangelist had earlier brought the gospel to Caesarea (8:40; 21:8), but now God was beginning a far greater work among the gentiles. Cornelius and those gathered at his house became the first gentile believers to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (10:24, 44–46). Scholars call this episode the “Gentile Pentecost.”

By Arthur Jackson
Prejudice and Forgiveness

I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism. Acts 10:34

After hearing a message about correcting injustice, a church member approached the pastor weeping, asking for forgiveness and confessing that he hadn’t voted in favor of calling the black minister to be pastor of their church because of his own prejudice. “I really need you to forgive me. I don’t want the junk of prejudice and racism spilling over into my kids’ lives. I didn’t vote for you, and I was wrong.” His tears and confession were met with the tears and forgiveness of the minister. A week later, the entire church rejoiced upon hearing the man’s testimony of how God had worked in his heart.

Even Peter, a disciple of Jesus and a chief leader in the early church, had to be corrected because of his ill-conceived notions about non-Jewish people. Eating and drinking with gentiles (who were considered unclean), was a violation of social and religious protocol. Peter said, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile” (Acts 10:28). It took nothing less than the supernatural activity of God (vv. 9–23) to convince him that he “should not call anyone impure or unclean” (v. 28).

Through the preaching of Scripture, the conviction of the Spirit, and life experiences, God continues to work in human hearts to correct our misguided perspectives about others. He helps us to see that “God does not show favoritism” (v. 34).

What experiences or people has God used to help you see that He doesn’t show favoritism? What are the things in your life that may have blinded you to His acceptance of all people?

Dear God, search my heart and show me where I need to change.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 17, 2021
The Miracle of Belief

My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom… —1 Corinthians 2:4

Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.

Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “…as though God were pleading through us…” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.

“And I, if I am lifted up…, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ.  The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 18-19; Acts 20:17-38

Matthew 14:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:GRACE CALMS THE SOUL - July 16, 2021

I can bear witness to the power of God’s grace. I could take you to the church, to the section of seats in the church. I might be able to find the very seat in which I was sitting when this grace found me. I was a twenty-year-old college sophomore, living with a concrete block of guilt that had made a mess out of my life.

But then I heard a preacher describe the divine grace that is greater than sin. At the end of the message he asked if anyone would like to come forward and receive this grace. Iron chains couldn’t have held me back. Truth be told, chains had held me back, but mercy snapped the guilt chains and set me free.

I know this truth firsthand: guilt frenzies the soul; grace calms it. The benefit of being a great sinner is dependence upon a great grace!


Matthew 14:1-21

The Death of John

At about this time, Herod, the regional ruler, heard what was being said about Jesus. He said to his servants, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead. That’s why he’s able to work miracles!”

3-5 Herod had arrested John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison to placate Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid because so many people revered John as a prophet of God.

6-12 But at his birthday celebration, he got his chance. Herodias’s daughter provided the entertainment, dancing for the guests. She swept Herod away. In his drunken enthusiasm, he promised her on oath anything she wanted. Already coached by her mother, she was ready: “Give me, served up on a platter, the head of John the Baptizer.” That sobered the king up fast. Unwilling to lose face with his guests, he did it—ordered John’s head cut off and presented to the girl on a platter. She in turn gave it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples got the body, gave it a reverent burial, and reported to Jesus.

Supper for Five Thousand
13-14 When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.

15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”

16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”

17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.

18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, July 16, 2021

Read: Psalm 43

Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
    deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

INSIGHT
Psalm 43 is an intimate prayer from one experiencing the difficulties of life to a God who can intervene. It’s important to notice the progression of thought to better understand the petition of the prayer.

In verse 1, the author establishes his need for help and proclaims his innocence in the face of his persecution: “vindicate” implies the author is being wrongly attacked. The psalmist then moves on to acknowledge that he’s come to God yet feels abandoned by Him. This suggests that both the persecution by the “deceitful and wicked” (v. 1) as well as the prayers for deliverance and perceived inaction by God have been ongoing. In verse 3, the psalmist once again asks God to intervene. It suggests that when the request is fulfilled, the psalmist will be able to go and offer his praise (v. 4). To end his prayer, the writer reminds himself that he’ll continue to hope and trust in God (v. 5).

By Lisa Samra
Navigating the Storms of Life
Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me. Psalm 43:3

On July 16, 1999, the small plane piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr. crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Investigators determined the cause of the accident to be a common error known as spatial disorientation. This phenomenon occurs when, due to poor visibility, pilots become disoriented and forget to rely on their instruments to help them successfully reach their destination.

As we navigate life, there are often times when life gets so overwhelming we feel disoriented. A cancer diagnosis, the death of a loved one, a job loss, a betrayal by a friend—life’s unexpected tragedies can easily leave us feeling lost and confused.

When we find ourselves in these kinds of situations, we might try offering the prayer of Psalm 43. In this psalm, the psalmist is overwhelmed and feeling lost because he feels surrounded by evil and injustice. In despair, the psalmist pleads with God to provide His sure guidance to help him safely navigate through the situation to his desired destination, God’s presence (vv. 3–4). In God’s presence the psalmist knows he’ll find renewed hope and joy.  

What are the tools the psalmist requests for guidance? The light of truth and the assurance of God’s presence by His Holy Spirit.

When you’re feeling disoriented and lost, God’s faithful guidance through His Spirit and loving presence can comfort you and light your way.

What disorienting circumstances are you experiencing? How might you ask God to help guide you today?

Heavenly Father, thank You that You’ve not left me alone in the challenging and disorienting circumstances of life. Please help me to rely on You to guide my steps today.

To learn how to help people who are in pain, visit ChristianUniversity.org/CC205.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 16, 2021
The Concept of Divine Control

…how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11

Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.

Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, “My heavenly Father knows all about this!” This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?

Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 16-17; Acts 20:1-16

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 16, 2021
A Father You Can Count On - #9005

They called it the "perfect storm." The remains of a hurricane combined with some storm fronts over New England to create a weather monster. The movie, The Perfect Storm, tells the story of one fishing crew's heroic but unsuccessful battle to survive that storm. Author Peter Hiett tells of another battle for survival that took place to the south, just off the New Jersey shore. John had taken his six-year-old daughter sailing that same day, but he didn't check the weather report. Six miles out, he found himself suddenly in trouble as a major storm seemed to come from nowhere. It wasn't long before their boat capsized, and John and his daughter were in the water and their life preservers were swept out to sea with their boat.

Now, John knew he couldn't possibly swim the six miles to shore and hold on to his little girl. Back home, in the family swimming pool, little Mary had learned to float on her back, and that's what her dad told her to do until he could get back. He said, "Mary, you float on your back and I'll swim to shore. And I'll be back for you." Three hours later, the Coast Guard found John, and they started looking with him for his little girl, amid twenty-to thirty-foot swells. Miraculously, their spotlight found her. She'd been floating for nearly five hours. Later, the rescuers asked her, "How did you do that, Mary?" And her answer was amazing. She said, "My daddy said I could float on my back as long as I wanted to, and that he would come back for me. My daddy always does what he says."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Father You Can Count On."

For one little girl, faith in her father helped her to survive one of the storms of the century. See, that's what you and I need, too, to make it through the storms that could sink us. We need a "daddy" who always does what he says. For someone listening today, the word "father" just carries a lot of hurt and disappointment. And no earthly father, no matter how good he is, can always do what he says.

Every dad dies someday - except one. He's the God who made you; the God who has asked us to call Him our "Heavenly Father." He's not the father you had here on earth; He's the Father we all wished we had and so much more. He's the Father your heart has been looking for your whole life.

And here's what the Bible says about this God who wants to bring you into His family so He can be your Father. It's our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 6, beginning with verse 18. It says, "It is impossible for God to lie...We who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." This anchor hope is actually a personal relationship with the God of the universe through what His Son did on the cross for us. Jesus poured out His life as your substitute, to pay your death penalty for every wrong thing you've ever done. So your sins could be forgiven and so you could belong to God forever.

And He's the Father who always does what He says. Here's what He promised to those who accept the gift His Son died to give us: "'I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18). You need Him. You were made for Him. And He wants you so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son to remove what stood between you and Him.

It's your move now, to reach out to God in faith and say, "God, I've been running my own life, and that's wrong. I'm ready to live Your way now, and I believe Jesus is my only hope of having my sins forgiven because He died for me. So, Lord, I'm Yours."

That's how you begin your personal relationship with the Father that you were made by and made for. We're here to help you do that if you'll take a few moments and just check out our website - ANewStory.com.

There's a father who will not abandon you, and who will never, never stop loving you.

Job 33, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE FERTILE SOIL OF GRACE - July 15, 2021

What kind of person does unresolved guilt create? An anxious one, forever hiding, running, denying, pretending. As one man admitted, “I was always living a lie for fear someone might see me for who I really was and think less of me. I hid behind my super spirituality but this lie was exhausting and anxiety producing.”

Unresolved guilt will turn you into a miserable, weary, angry, fretful mess. In a psalm David wrote after his affair with Bathsheba, the king said: “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (Psalm 32:3-4 NLT).

As Paul told Titus, God’s grace is the fertile soil out of which courage sprouts! “God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation is available for everyone!” (Titus 2:11-14 MSG)

Job 33

“So please, Job, hear me out,
    honor me by listening to me.
What I’m about to say
    has been carefully thought out.
I have no ulterior motives in this;
    I’m speaking honestly from my heart.
The Spirit of God made me what I am,
    the breath of God Almighty gave me life!

God Always Answers, One Way or Another
5-7 “And if you think you can prove me wrong, do it.
    Lay out your arguments. Stand up for yourself!
Look, I’m human—no better than you;
    we’re both made of the same kind of mud.
So let’s work this through together;
    don’t let my aggressiveness overwhelm you.

8-11 “Here’s what you said.
    I heard you say it with my own ears.
You said, ‘I’m pure—I’ve done nothing wrong.
    Believe me, I’m clean—my conscience is clear.
But God keeps picking on me;
    he treats me like I’m his enemy.
He’s thrown me in jail;
    he keeps me under constant surveillance.’

12-14 “But let me tell you, Job, you’re wrong, dead wrong!
    God is far greater than any human.
So how dare you haul him into court,
    and then complain that he won’t answer your charges?
God always answers, one way or another,
    even when people don’t recognize his presence.

15-18 “In a dream, for instance, a vision at night,
    when men and women are deep in sleep,
    fast asleep in their beds—
God opens their ears
    and impresses them with warnings
To turn them back from something bad they’re planning,
    from some reckless choice,
And keep them from an early grave,
    from the river of no return.

19-22 “Or, God might get their attention through pain,
    by throwing them on a bed of suffering,
So they can’t stand the sight of food,
    have no appetite for their favorite treats.
They lose weight, wasting away to nothing,
    reduced to a bag of bones.
They hang on the cliff-edge of death,
    knowing the next breath may be their last.

23-25 “But even then an angel could come,
    a champion—there are thousands of them!—
    to take up your cause,
A messenger who would mercifully intervene,
    canceling the death sentence with the words:
    ‘I’ve come up with the ransom!’
Before you know it, you’re healed,
    the very picture of health!

26-28 “Or, you may fall on your knees and pray—to God’s delight!
    You’ll see God’s smile and celebrate,
    finding yourself set right with God.
You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet,
    testifying, ‘I messed up my life—
    and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it.
But God stepped in and saved me from certain death.
    I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!’

29-30 “This is the way God works.
    Over and over again
He pulls our souls back from certain destruction
    so we’ll see the light—and live in the light!

31-33 “Keep listening, Job.
    Don’t interrupt—I’m not finished yet.
But if you think of anything I should know, tell me.
    There’s nothing I’d like better than to see your name cleared.
Meanwhile, keep listening. Don’t distract me with interruptions.
    I’m going to teach you the basics of wisdom.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, July 15, 2021

Read: Luke 11:5–13

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[b] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Footnotes
Luke 11:8 Or yet to preserve his good name
Luke 11:11 Some manuscripts for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for

INSIGHT
Some believers in Christ struggle with the apparent promises of Luke 11:9–10. It seems that Jesus is offering a blank check that we present to God in prayer, assuming He must grant our requests. Christ’s words, however, may be a hyperbole—an extreme exaggeration to prove a point. Jesus clarifies the point He’s making when He describes the heart of His Father (vv. 11–13). The heavenly Father loves us deeply and desires the very best for us—which must be defined by Him and not by us. This means that when we go to God in prayer, we can be assured His responses will always be trustworthy.

By Sheridan Voysey
Confident Prayer

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Luke 11:11

Having tried for years to have a child, Richard and Susan were elated when Susan became pregnant. Her health problems, however, posed a risk to the baby, and so Richard lay awake each night praying for his wife and child. One night, Richard sensed he didn’t need to pray so hard, that God had promised to take care of things. But a week later Susan miscarried. Richard was devastated. He wondered, Had they lost the baby because he hadn’t prayed hard enough?

On first reading, we might think today’s parable suggests so. In the story, a neighbor (sometimes thought to represent God) only gets out of bed to help the friend because of the friend’s annoying persistence (Luke 11:5–8). Read this way, the parable suggests that God will give us what we need only if we badger Him. And if we don’t pray hard enough, maybe God won’t help us.

But biblical commentators like Klyne Snodgrass believe this misunderstands the parable—its real point being that if neighbors might help us for selfish reasons, how much more will our unselfish Father. We can therefore ask confidently (vv. 9–10), knowing that God is greater than flawed human beings (vv. 11–13). He isn’t the neighbor in the parable, but the opposite of him.

“I don’t know why you lost your baby,” I told Richard, “but I know it wasn’t because you didn’t pray ‘hard’ enough. God isn’t like that.”

If the neighbor in the parable represents God, what does it suggest God is like? If verses 11–13 clarify the parable, what then is God like?

Father, today I bring You my needs and the needs of others, confident that You’ll hear and answer, and grateful that it’s Your goodness and not my words that count.

Read about the power of prayer at DiscoverySeries.org/Q0740.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 15, 2021
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians… —Romans 1:14

Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.

I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage

Bible in a Year: Psalms 13-15; Acts 19:21-41

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Everything On a Promise - #9004

It's pretty amusing to look back at your wedding pictures. At least it is for me. I can't believe my wife married that kid in the tuxedo, but I'm sure glad she did! That hour in that church began what has been a lot of years of wonderful love and partnership. I remember standing up at the front of that church feeling like a penguin in my tuxedo. The bridesmaids marched down the aisle and they looked so beautiful, but I didn't want to spend my life with any of them. Nope! The organ trumpeted the beginning of the bridal march and there stood my queen! A few minutes later, at the altar, that wonderful woman made some very special promises to me about her love, her commitment, her loyalty, and the permanence of our relationship. And I did the same to her. I had no idea what the future would hold, but I made a life-changing choice that day. I decided to base everything on a promise.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Everything On a Promise."

Many years that I never could have imagined - the valleys and the mountaintops following that wedding. But I have never regretted basing everything on my wife's promise to me that day. Now there is such a promise in God's Book and you have to decide whether or not you will live your life believing that He will keep this promise. Your decision about this promise will literally affect hundreds of decisions you're going to make for the rest of your life.

It's our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Samuel 2:30, "Those who honor Me, I will honor." In other words, you will never ultimately lose if you choose to do it "God's" way. It could be that right now you're facing choices that aren't easy. There seems to be a lot to gain, just, if you would compromise a little. Just step outside the way your lord has taught you to handle it. Maybe it's a relationship you really want, that you really need or you feel you could benefit from, but it's with someone who doesn't care about Jesus. It's what the Bible calls an unequal yoking. Maybe the temptation is a compromise in your integrity that might help you get the job, or keep the job, or advance in the job, or a situation where it seems justifiable to sue a brother, which the Bible forbids. Could it be that you're facing a choice that looks profitable but it would hurt your family, or maybe a very enticing sexual situation, or maybe it's a chance to get even!

Whatever the tempting choice, it seems to offer something very appealing: money, love, recognition, personal satisfaction, advancement - but it will not honor God. You know it's "out of bounds" for someone, like you, who's been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, someone who belongs to Him. So it all comes down to the promise doesn't it? "If you honor God, He will honor you" in ways you could never dream. Maybe not immediately, but it will be worth the wait.

No one who has ever "risked it all" in honoring God, has ever been a loser for it, so settle this thing right now. Will you today, will you every day, base everything on a promise made by your all-loving, all-powerful God? On my wedding day, I chose to build my life on a promise and it has led to so much treasure! The promise that matters ultimately rests on the character of a God who has never broken a promise (no matter how many people may have broken their promises to you) and His promise is literally worth basing everything on! Read it again, "They that honor Me, I will honor."

Job 32 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: REJOICE IN THE LORD’S MERCY - July 14, 2021

Guilt sucks the life out of our souls. Grace restores it.

No one had more reason to feel the burden of guilt than did the apostle Paul. He had orchestrated the deaths of Christians—an ancient version of a terrorist. Yet, Paul gave his guilt to Jesus. Period. He surrendered it to Jesus. As a result he could write, “I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (Philippians 3:13-14 TLB).

What would the apostle say to the guilt-ridden? Simply this: “Rejoice in the Lord’s mercy. Trust in his ability to forgive. Cast yourself upon the grace of Christ and Christ alone!”

Job 32

Elihu Speaks
God’s Spirit Makes Wisdom Possible

 Job’s three friends now fell silent. They were talked out, stymied because Job wouldn’t budge an inch—wouldn’t admit to an ounce of guilt. Then Elihu lost his temper. (Elihu was the son of Barakel the Buzite from the clan of Ram.) He blazed out in anger against Job for pitting his righteousness against God’s. He was also angry with the three friends because they had neither come up with an answer nor proved Job wrong. Elihu had waited with Job while they spoke because they were all older than he. But when he saw that the three other men had exhausted their arguments, he exploded with pent-up anger.

6-10 This is what Elihu, son of Barakel the Buzite, said:

“I’m a young man,
    and you are all old and experienced.
That’s why I kept quiet
    and held back from joining the discussion.
I kept thinking, ‘Experience will tell.
    The longer you live, the wiser you become.’
But I see I was wrong—it’s God’s Spirit in a person,
    the breath of the Almighty One, that makes wise human insight possible.
The experts have no corner on wisdom;
    getting old doesn’t guarantee good sense.
So I’ve decided to speak up. Listen well!
    I’m going to tell you exactly what I think.

11-14 “I hung on your words while you spoke,
    listened carefully to your arguments.
While you searched for the right words,
    I was all ears.
And now what have you proved? Nothing.
    Nothing you say has even touched Job.
And don’t excuse yourselves by saying, ‘We’ve done our best.
    Now it’s up to God to talk sense into him.’
Job has yet to contend with me.
    And rest assured, I won’t be using your arguments!

15-22 “Do you three have nothing else to say?
    Of course you don’t! You’re total frauds!
Why should I wait any longer,
    now that you’re stopped dead in your tracks?
I’m ready to speak my piece. That’s right!
    It’s my turn—and it’s about time!
I’ve got a lot to say,
    and I’m bursting to say it.
The pressure has built up, like lava beneath the earth.
    I’m a volcano ready to blow.
I have to speak—I have no choice.
    I have to say what’s on my heart,
And I’m going to say it straight—
    the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I was never any good at bootlicking;
    my Maker would make short work of me if I started in now!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Read: James 1:19–27

Listening and Doing
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

INSIGHT
Writing to believers in Jesus who were “scattered among the nations” (James 1:1), James offers practical instruction on what a life lived for Christ looks like. He covers attitudes, such as favoritism and love of money (2:1–12; 5:1–6); and actions, such as giving to the needy and patience in suffering (2:14–26; 5:7–11).

In today’s reading, James 1:19–27, the author puts together a bit of an encouragement sandwich. In verses 19–21 and 26–27, he gives specific examples of how to live righteously: keep one’s temper in check; keep a rein on one’s tongue; take care of the needy. The meat of the sandwich is in the middle section (vv. 22–25), where James explains that the ritual of hearing (or reading) Scripture isn’t enough to lead to the righteousness that God desires. We need to obey what it tells us to do.

By Anne Cetas
Listen and Learn

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19

On one side of the street a homeowner displays in his yard a giant blow-up bald eagle draped in a US flag. A big truck sits in the driveway. Its side window features a painted flag and the back bumper is covered with patriotic stickers. Directly across the street in a neighbor’s yard are signs that highlight the slogans for current social justice issues in the news.

Are the people in these homes feuding or friends? we might wonder. Is it possible that both families are believers in Jesus? God calls us to live out the words of James 1:19: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Too often we stubbornly hold on to our opinions and aren’t willing to consider what others are thinking. Matthew Henry’s Commentary has this to say: “We should be swift to hear reason and truth on all sides, and be slow to speak . . . and, when we do speak, there should be nothing of wrath.”

Someone has said, “Learning requires listening.” The practical words from God in the book of James can only be accomplished if we’re filled with God’s loving Spirit and choose to respect others. He’s willing to help us make changes in our hearts and attitudes. Are we open to listen and learn?

How does God want you to put James 1 into practice? Whom might you need to listen to and hear?

You know me, God. I can be opinionated sometimes. Help me to be quick to listen and slow to speak.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile

I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39

This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.

The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.

Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 10-12; Acts 19:1-20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
When the Quarterback's A Referee! - #9003

For me to think about it, it's just unbelievable the cultural phenomenon the Super Bowl has become in America and other parts of the world. It's like the whole country stops for this extravaganza surrounding the professional football championship game. More avocados are consumed on that day than any other day of the year, for example, in a guacamole dip at Super Bowl parties. Commercial time sells for millions of dollars for just 30 seconds. Big city water departments have reported major drops in water pressure, citywide, during commercials - as Americans take a simultaneous bathroom break. Even a lot of churches that have Sunday night services have decided they can't compete with the Super Bowl. A lot of them have chosen to have outreaches in the form of Super Bowl parties at their church. Our local TV news covered one church where they were doing that. Looking at the crowd, it was hard to distinguish which one was the pastor. Oh no wait, he was the one dressed in a black and white striped shirt - the pastor was the referee! How appropriate.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When The Quarterback's A Referee!"

It's okay for a spiritual leader to be a referee for a day. It's not okay for it to take up most of his life. But sadly, many people in spiritual leadership spend as much time refereeing the complaints and conflicts of their people as they do preparing to teach the Word of God and leading the work of God. Something's wrong in this picture.

That's what the Apostle Paul is trying to tell the believers in Corinth in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 1, beginning with verse 10. As I read these words, see if they describe in any way any group of believers you're a part of. "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no division among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you...One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas;' another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?"

These people had gotten their eyes off Jesus and they were focusing on issues and personalities. When God's people do that, the Body of Christ, which has already been broken enough, is broken again. For in our world today, we are His Body. Someone has wisely said that Christians are the only soldiers who form their firing squads in a circle! Can you imagine any army turning their guns on each other, rather than focusing them on their common enemy? We do it all the time! And pastors and other spiritual leaders have to abandon quarterbacking God's team and waste precious time being a referee instead!

Personal egos, personal agendas, control freaks, soapbox issues, turf fights - these are tools of our enemy to divide us and to make the work of God into the pitiful and powerless facsimile that is a work of man. As a result, there are tons of discouraged pastors and leaders who are being dragged into battles that don't really matter much and away from the battles that really do. Paul's call in Philippians 1:27 is that we conduct ourselves "in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ." As long as a group of believers is focused on the Lord and on the lost, they're going to be playing as a winning team. When we forget that we're surrounded by spiritually dying people and that we have a life-or-death mission to rescue them, we take our eye off the ball and we start bickering over trivial pursuits. Rescue unites people around a mission where turf and trivia just don't matter!

No spiritual leader should spend his time as a referee. There's too much ground to gain, and he's God's quarterback. And no team that wears Jesus' colors should waste their time in struggles with each other. We have a Savior to follow together and a sea of dying people around us to rescue. Let's fight for them and not with each other!

Matthew 13:31-58, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MY GOD IS SOVEREIGN - July 13, 2021

Many years ago I spent a week visiting the interior of Brazil with a longtime missionary pilot. Wilbur and Orville had a sturdier aircraft. I could not get comfortable. I kept thinking the plane was going to crash in the jungle, and I’d be gobbled up by piranhas. I kept shifting around, looking down, and gripping my seat—as if that would help. Finally, the pilot had enough of my squirming. He looked over at me and shouted over the airplane noise, “We won’t face anything that I can’t handle. You might as well trust me to fly the plane.”

Is God saying the same to you? Examine the truths which sustain your belief in God. Make sure one of them is etched with the words: “My God is sovereign!” Then, be anxious for nothing.


Matthew 13:31-58

Another story. “God’s kingdom is like an acorn that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge oak tree, and eagles build nests in it.”

33 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises.”

34-35 All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy:

I will open my mouth and tell stories;
I will bring out into the open
    things hidden since the world’s first day.

The Curtain of History
36 Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, “Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field.”

37-39 So he explained. “The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels.

40-43 “The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?

44 “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.

45-46 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for exquisite pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.

47-50 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That’s how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won’t do any good.”

51 Jesus asked, “Are you starting to get a handle on all this?”

They answered, “Yes.”

52 He said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.”

53-57 When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He stole the show, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise, get such ability?” But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “We’ve known him since he was a kid; he’s the carpenter’s son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?” They got all bent out of shape.

58 But Jesus said, “A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family.” He didn’t do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Read: Nehemiah 1:5–11

Then I said:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king.

INSIGHT
The prayer of Nehemiah about the state of affairs of the Israelites who’d returned to their homeland (Nehemiah 1:5–11) rehearses the circumstances that both led to Israel’s exile and their return to the promised land (vv. 8–11). God’s faithfulness to His promises were the key to both events—He promised exile if Israel broke faithfulness with Him and return to the land if they repented and came back to Him. The Israelites had returned to their homeland, but the city gates and walls were still in ruins. After rehearsal of these events, Nehemiah asks God to grant him favor as he presents his case to the king (v. 11).

By Tim Gustafson
Longing for God

Even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen. Nehemiah 1:9


When Conner and Sarah Smith moved five miles up the road, their cat S’mores expressed his displeasure by running away. One day Sarah saw a current photo of their old farmhouse on social media. There was S’mores in the picture!

Happily, the Smiths went to retrieve him. S’mores ran away again. Guess where he went? This time, the family that had purchased their house agreed to keep S’mores too. The Smiths couldn’t stop the inevitable; S’mores would always return “home.”

Nehemiah served in a prestigious position in the king’s court in Susa, but his heart was elsewhere. He had just heard news of the sad condition of “the city where my ancestors are buried” (Nehemiah 2:3). And so he prayed, “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, . . . ‘if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name’ ” (1:8–9).

Home is where the heart is, they say. In Nehemiah’s case, longing for home was more than being tied to the land. It was communion with God that he most desired. Jerusalem was “the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”

The dissatisfaction we sense deep down is actually a longing for God. We’re yearning to be home with Him.

What’s your idea of home and why? In what ways do you sense yourself longing for God?

Father, help me understand that only You can satisfy my longings. Help me be at home with You, no matter where I am.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
The Price of the Vision

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1

Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?

My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.

Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”

Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 7-9; Acts 18


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
How to Start a Fire - #9002

One sure way to get our whole family together in one room at one time was to turn down the heat a little on a cold night and then build a fire in the fireplace. Slowly but surely, the kids' rooms upstairs would empty out as they made their way downstairs and said, "Man, it's cold up there, Dad! You've got a fire in here?" Always worked. We all loved those fires. Building a good one involved several key steps, of course. First, you roll some newspapers into logs and put them into the fireplace. Then those little sticks that burn easily; they're the kindling, of course. Then the logs stacked alternately on the kindling, leaving plenty of room, of course, for air to circulate around the wood. It looked nice, but it wasn't a fire yet. There was a missing ingredient. It took that match to make it a fire. But a match all alone did not a fire make.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Start a Fire."

Before the match lit up the fireplace, I always had to do all the things needed to get the fire ready. That's what it takes for a spiritual fire to start,as well. The kind of fire that may be what your church, your ministry, or your life desperately needs right now.

We can learn a lot about our part in bringing down fire from God in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in 1 Kings 18, beginning with verse 32. God's prophet Elijah has challenged 450 leaders of Baal worship to a spiritual duel on Mt. Carmel. Whose God could answer from heaven and consume by fire a sacrifice on the altar? That true God would be the one Israel would worship.

In spite of every spiritual contortion the Baal Gang could go through, their sacrifice sat untouched on the altar. The Bible says Elijah took the following steps: "He built an altar in the name of the Lord. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed. Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord - he is God! The Lord - he is God!'" Elijah got things ready for a fire that only God could send; trusting God to do what only He could do.

That is so often God's modus operandi in sending us the miracle that is our only hope. Abraham has to move from his home in order to found a new people in a new land. Noah has to build a boat before there's any need for that boat. Moses has to take the step of faith by choosing to go with a nation of slaves instead of staying with a nation of masters in order to see the miracles of the Exodus. You get things ready by steps of faith and obedience that God calls you to do. Then He sends the fire. Our approach is like this: "Do something, God, and I'll get moving." God's approach: "No. You start moving, and I'll do something."

Billy Graham has often told the story of a visit to Yosemite National Park where visitors gathered in the valley beneath Inspiration Point, and this fire blazed at the top of the mountain. The U.S. Park Service put on this amazing demonstration years ago. The voice boomed across the valley, "Let the fire fall!" And it did! A ball of fire, Billy described, cascading down the mountain in this blazing Niagara!

Often in recent days, I'm praying, "Lord, let the fire fall" on our ministry, on those I love, on spiritually important meetings or conversations. I want the fire of heaven to come down and do the life-giving, amazing things that only God can do. But He's got something He's wanting me to do, and you, to get ready for the fire.