Mark 9:1-29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He Doesn't Remember

I was thanking the Father for His mercy. I began listing the sins He'd forgiven. "Remember the time I. . ."  I was about to thank Him for another act of mercy.  But then I stopped.  Something was wrong. The word "remember" seemed displaced, off-key. It was like a baseball game in December… It didn't fit.  Does He remember?
Then I remembered His words in Isaiah 43:25, "I am He who blots out your transgressions, and I will not remember your sins." Wow!  That's a remarkable promise. God doesn't just forgive, he forgets.  He destroys the evidence. He clears the hard drive. He doesn't remember my mistakes.
He doesn't remember! For all the things He does do, this is the one thing He refuses to do!
From God Came Near

Mark 9:1-29

Then he drove it home by saying, “This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you who are standing here are going to see it happen, see the kingdom of God arrive in full force.”
In a Light-Radiant Cloud

2-4 Six days later, three of them did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus.

5-6 Peter interrupted, “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing.

7 Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him.”

8 The next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing nothing but Jesus, only Jesus.

9-10 Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t tell a soul what you saw. After the Son of Man rises from the dead, you’re free to talk.” They puzzled over that, wondering what on earth “rising from the dead” meant.

11 Meanwhile they were asking, “Why do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?”

12-13 Jesus replied, “Elijah does come first and get everything ready for the coming of the Son of Man. They treated this Elijah like dirt, much like they will treat the Son of Man, who will, according to Scripture, suffer terribly and be kicked around contemptibly.”
There Are No Ifs

14-16 When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, “What’s going on? What’s all the commotion?”

17-18 A man out of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn’t.”

19-20 Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.

21-22 He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?”

“Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”

23 Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”

24 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”

25-27 Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!” Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, “He’s dead.” But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up.

28 After arriving back home, his disciples cornered Jesus and asked, “Why couldn’t we throw the demon out?”

29 He answered, “There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Today's Scripture
1 Corinthians 2:1–10
(NIV)

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdomm as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.a 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.n 3 I came to youo in weaknessp with great fear and trembling.q 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,r but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,s 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.t

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,u but not the wisdom of this agev or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.w 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mysteryx that has been hiddeny and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this agez understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.a 9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”b—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—b

10 these are the things God has revealedc to us by his Spirit.d

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Insight

Paul recalls having a singular purpose when he first met his Corinthian readers (1 Corinthians 2:2). Without natural eloquence, brilliance, or self-confidence, he taught about a king and conqueror who’d allowed His enemies to crucify Him. As foolish as it must have sounded, Paul wanted them to join him in accepting, honoring, and never forgetting a God willing to be lifted on a criminal’s cross (1:13, 17–25; 2:2, 8). He reminds the Corinthians of why nothing makes more sense than to love God and one another. Because Jesus didn’t remain in the grave (ch. 15), what may at first sound foolish, deserves never to be forgotten. By: Mart DeHaan

Heroes, Tyrants, and Jesus

I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2

Beethoven was angry. He’d intended to name his Third Symphony “The Bonaparte.” In an age of religious and political tyranny, he saw Napoleon as a hero of the people and champion of freedom. But when the French general declared himself emperor, the celebrated composer changed his mind. Denouncing his former hero as a rascal and tyrant, he rubbed so hard to erase Bonaparte’s name that he left a hole in the original score.

Early believers in Jesus must have been disappointed when their hopes of political reform were dashed. He’d stirred hopes of life without the tyranny of Caesar’s heavy-handed taxes and military presence. Yet, decades later, Rome still ruled the world. Jesus’ messengers were left with fears and weakness. His disciples were marked by immaturity and infighting (1 Corinthians 1:11–12; 3:1–3).

But there was a difference. Paul saw beyond what remained unchanged. His letters began, ended, and overflowed with the name of Christ. Christ resurrected. Christ with a promise to return in power. Christ in judgment of everything and everyone. First and foremost, however, Paul wanted believers in Jesus to be grounded in the meaning and implications of Him crucified (2:2; 13:1–13).

The love expressed in Jesus’ sacrifice made Him a different kind of leader. As Lord and Savior of the world, His cross changes everything. The name of Jesus will forever be known and praised above every name. By:  Mart DeHaan

Reflect & Pray

How is Jesus different from other leaders? Can you identify with Paul’s recall of his own weakness and fear? How does Jesus help you with that?

Father, please help me to see Your heart in the sacrifice of Your Son.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Personality

…that they may be one just as We are one… —John 17:22

Personality is the unique, limitless part of our life that makes us distinct from everyone else. It is too vast for us even to comprehend. An island in the sea may be just the top of a large mountain, and our personality is like that island. We don’t know the great depths of our being, therefore we cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can, but soon realize that there is really only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator.

Personality is the characteristic mark of the inner, spiritual man, just as individuality is the characteristic of the outer, natural man. Our Lord can never be described in terms of individuality and independence, but only in terms of His total Person— “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). Personality merges, and you only reach your true identity once you are merged with another person. When love or the Spirit of God come upon a person, he is transformed. He will then no longer insist on maintaining his individuality. Our Lord never referred to a person’s individuality or his isolated position, but spoke in terms of the total person— “…that they may be one just as We are one….” Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately. Jesus Christ brings freedom to your total person, and even your individuality is transformed. The transformation is brought about by love— personal devotion to Jesus. Love is the overflowing result of one person in true fellowship with another.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R

Bible in a Year: Hosea 9-11; Revelation 3

Leviticus 18 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Seeing Jesus

In John 14:9 Jesus says, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father."
Should a man see only popularity, he becomes a mirror, reflecting whatever needs to be reflected to gain acceptance.
Should a man see only power, he becomes a wolf-prowling, hunting, stalking elusive game.  There's always another world to conquer or another person to control.
Should a man see only pleasure, he becomes a carnival thrill-seeker, alive only in bright lights and titillating entertainment. Driven by passion, willing to sell his soul. Seekers of popularity, power, and pleasure. The end result is the same:  painful un-fulfillment.
Only in seeking his Maker does a man truly become a man. For in seeing his Creator man catches a glimpse of what he was intended to be. It is in seeing Jesus that man sees his Source!
From God Came Near

Leviticus 18

Sex

God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, I am God, your God. Don’t live like the people of Egypt where you used to live, and don’t live like the people of Canaan where I’m bringing you. Don’t do what they do. Obey my laws and live by my decrees. I am your God. Keep my decrees and laws: The person who obeys them lives by them. I am God.

6 “Don’t have sex with a close relative. I am God.

7 “Don’t violate your father by having sex with your mother. She is your mother. Don’t have sex with her.

8 “Don’t have sex with your father’s wife. That violates your father.

9 “Don’t have sex with your sister, whether she’s your father’s daughter or your mother’s, whether she was born in the same house or elsewhere.

10 “Don’t have sex with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. That would violate your own body.

11 “Don’t have sex with the daughter of your father’s wife born to your father. She is your sister.

12 “Don’t have sex with your father’s sister; she is your aunt, closely related to your father.

13 “Don’t have sex with your mother’s sister; she is your aunt, closely related to your mother.

14 “Don’t violate your father’s brother, your uncle, by having sex with his wife. She is your aunt.

15 “Don’t have sex with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; don’t have sex with her.

16 “Don’t have sex with your brother’s wife; that would violate your brother.

17 “Don’t have sex with both a woman and her daughter. And don’t have sex with her granddaughters either. They are her close relatives. That is wicked.

18 “Don’t marry your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sex with her while your wife is living.

19 “Don’t have sex with a woman during the time of her menstrual period when she is unclean.

20 “Don’t have sex with your neighbor’s wife and violate yourself by her.

21 “Don’t give any of your children to be burned in sacrifice to the god Molech—an act of sheer blasphemy of your God. I am God.

22 “Don’t have sex with a man as one does with a woman. That is abhorrent.

23 “Don’t have sex with an animal and violate yourself by it.

“A woman must not have sex with an animal. That is perverse.

24-28 “Don’t pollute yourself in any of these ways. This is how the nations became polluted, the ones that I am going to drive out of the land before you. Even the land itself became polluted and I punished it for its iniquities—the land vomited up its inhabitants. You must keep my decrees and laws—natives and foreigners both. You must not do any of these abhorrent things. The people who lived in this land before you arrived did all these things and polluted the land. And if you pollute it, the land will vomit you up just as it vomited up the nations that preceded you.

29-30 “Those who do any of these abhorrent things will be cut off from their people. Keep to what I tell you; don’t engage in any of the abhorrent acts that were practiced before you came. Don’t pollute yourselves with them. I am God, your God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, December 11, 2021

Today's Scripture
Deuteronomy 15:7–11
(NIV)

If anyone is poorx among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfistedy toward them. 8 Rather, be openhandedz and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts,a is near,” so that you do not show ill willb toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.c 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart;d then because of this the Lord your God will blesse you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor peoplef in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

Insight

Before the Israelites crossed to the promised land, God gave them some final commands, one of which addressed how to treat the poor. This involved forgiving debts of fellow Israelites every seven years (Deuteronomy 15:1) to prevent any of them from becoming poor (v. 4). It’s even noted that no one would be poor in the land if they faithfully obeyed God and all His commands (vv. 4–5). However, God knew that this mandate could cause bitterness to sprout if an Israelite asked for a loan when those seven years were coming to an end, for the lender would be wary knowing he would likely have a larger amount of debt to forgive. So God warned them that harboring resentment would cause them to be guilty of sin (v. 9), but He also reassured them that they’d be blessed if they gave generously (vv. 6, 10).

Visit ChristianUniversity.org/ML101 to learn more about a biblical perspective of money. By: Julie Schwab

Caring for Those in Need

I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Deuteronomy 15:11

Elvis Summers answered the door to find Smokey, a frail woman who stopped by regularly to ask for empty cans to return for cash. This money was her primary source of income. Elvis got an idea. “Could you show me where you sleep?” he asked. Smokey led him to a narrow patch of dirt about two feet wide next to a house. Moved by compassion, Summers built her a “tiny house”—a simple shelter that provided space for her to sleep safely. Summers ran with the idea. He started a GoFundMe page and teamed with local churches to provide land to build more shelters for others who were homeless.

Throughout the Bible, God’s people are reminded to care for those in need. When God spoke through Moses to prepare the Israelites to enter the promised land, He encouraged them to “be openhanded and freely lend [to the poor] whatever they need” (Deuteronomy 15:8). This passage also noted that “there will always be poor people in the land” (v. 11). We don’t have to go far to see this is true. As God compassionately called the Israelites “to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites” (v. 11), we too can find ways to help those in need.

Everyone needs food, shelter, and water. Even if we don’t have much, may God guide us to use what we do have to help others. Whether it’s sharing a sandwich or a warm winter coat, small things can make a big difference! By:  Julie Schwab

Reflect & Pray

Who do you know or have seen that may be in need of help today? What can you do to help?

Jesus, help me to find ways I can help those around me. Please give me a generous heart.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Individuality

Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…" —Matthew 16:24

ndividuality is the hard outer layer surrounding the inner spiritual life. Individuality shoves others aside, separating and isolating people. We see it as the primary characteristic of a child, and rightly so. When we confuse individuality with the spiritual life, we remain isolated. This shell of individuality is God’s created natural covering designed to protect the spiritual life. But our individuality must be yielded to God so that our spiritual life may be brought forth into fellowship with Him. Individuality counterfeits spirituality, just as lust counterfeits love. God designed human nature for Himself, but individuality corrupts that human nature for its own purposes.

The characteristics of individuality are independence and self-will. We hinder our spiritual growth more than any other way by continually asserting our individuality. If you say, “I can’t believe,” it is because your individuality is blocking the way; individuality can never believe. But our spirit cannot help believing. Watch yourself closely when the Spirit of God is at work in you. He pushes you to the limits of your individuality where a choice must be made. The choice is either to say, “I will not surrender,” or to surrender, breaking the hard shell of individuality, which allows the spiritual life to emerge. The Holy Spirit narrows it down every time to one thing (see Matthew 5:23-24). It is your individuality that refuses to “be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:24). God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot. “…let him deny himself…”— deny his independent right to himself. Then the real life-the spiritual life-is allowed the opportunity to grow.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God.  Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

Bible in a Year: Hosea 5-8; Revelation 2

Leviticus 17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Questions for Joseph - December 10, 2021

You’ll find knotholes and snapshots and “I wonders” in every chapter of the Bible about every person. But nothing stirs so many questions as does the birth of Jesus Christ. Characters appear and disappear before we can ask them anything. I’ve got some questions. I’ve got questions for Joseph.

Did you and Jesus arm wrestle? Did he ever let you win? Did you ever look up from your prayers and see Jesus listening? What ever happened to the wise men? What ever happened to you?

We don’t know. We don’t know what happened to Joseph. With the exception of a short scene with twelve-year-old Jesus in Jerusalem, he never reappears. The rest of his life is left to speculation, and we are left with our questions. But of all my questions, my first would be about Bethlehem. What was Joseph thinking while Jesus was being born?

Leviticus 17

Holy Living: Sacrifices and Blood

God spoke to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites. Tell them, This is what God commands: Any and every man who slaughters an ox or lamb or goat inside or outside the camp instead of bringing it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to offer it to God in front of The Dwelling of God—that man is considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people. This is so the Israelites will bring to God the sacrifices that they’re in the habit of sacrificing out in the open fields. They must bring them to God and the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as Peace-Offerings to God. The priest will splash the blood on the Altar of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing fragrance to God. They must no longer offer their sacrifices to goat-demons—a kind of religious orgy. This is a perpetual decree down through the generations.

8-9 “Tell them, Any Israelite or foreigner living among them who offers a Whole-Burnt-Offering or Peace-Offering but doesn’t bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to God, that person must be cut off from his people.

10-12 “If any Israelite or foreigner living among them eats blood, I will disown that person and cut him off from his people, for the life of an animal is in the blood. I have provided the blood for you to make atonement for your lives on the Altar; it is the blood, the life, that makes atonement. That’s why I tell the People of Israel, ‘Don’t eat blood.’ The same goes for the foreigner who lives among you, ‘Don’t eat blood.’

13-14 “Any and every Israelite—this also goes for the foreigners—who hunts down an animal or bird that is edible, must bleed it and cover the blood with dirt, because the life of every animal is its blood—the blood is its life. That’s why I tell the Israelites, ‘Don’t eat the blood of any animal because the life of every animal is its blood. Anyone who eats the blood must be cut off.’

15-16 “Anyone, whether native or foreigner, who eats from an animal that is found dead or mauled must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening and is then clean. If he doesn’t wash or bathe his body, he’ll be held responsible for his actions.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, December 10, 2021

Today's Scripture
2 Samuel 22:17–20
(NIV)

“He reached down from on highe and took hold of me;

he drewf me out of deep waters.

18 He rescuedg me from my powerful enemy,

from my foes, who were too strong for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

but the Lord was my support.h

20 He brought me out into a spaciousi place;

he rescuedj me because he delightedk in me.

Insight

Second Samuel 23:8–39 describes King David’s special forces of heroic soldiers who fought his battles and risked their lives for him. In addition, he had more than a million able-bodied men he could have drafted for battle (24:9). But as expressed by his song in chapter 22, it was God who deserved the credit for David’s rescues and reputation. Even as his nation’s most celebrated son, he was far from perfect. Although his last words make no mention of his mistakes (23:1–7), the biblical account does. In addition to his affair with Bathsheba (chs. 11–12), he insisted, in another thoughtless moment, on a census to assess his nation’s military strength (see 24:10). Even a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) could forget that his strength was always in his merciful God—never in the numbers. By: Mart DeHaan

Rescued from Powerful Enemies

[God] rescued me from my powerful enemy.
2 Samuel 22:18

In 2010, at the age of ninety-four, George Vujnovich was awarded the bronze star for organizing what the New York Times called “one of the greatest rescue efforts of World War II.” Vujnovich, son of Serbian immigrants to the US, had joined the US Army. When word arrived that downed American airmen were being protected by rebels in Yugoslavia, Vujnovich returned to his family’s homeland, parachuting into the forest to locate the pilots. Dividing the soldiers into small groups, he taught them how to blend in with the Serbs (wearing Serbian clothes and eating Serbian food). Then, over months, he walked each small group out one at a time to C-47 transport planes waiting at a landing strip they’d cut out of the woods. Vujnovich rescued 512 elated, joyful men.

David described the elation of being rescued by God from enemies who’d hemmed him in with no escape. God “reached down from on high and took hold of me,” David said, “he drew me out of deep waters” (2 Samuel 22:17). King Saul, enraged with jealousy, hounded David, ruthlessly seeking blood. But God had other plans. “He rescued me from my powerful enemy,” David recounted, “from my foes, who were too strong for me” (v. 18).

God rescued David from Saul. He rescued Israel from Egypt. And in Jesus, God came to rescue all of us. Jesus rescues us from sin, evil, and death. He’s greater than every powerful enemy. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

Where do you feel hemmed in, with no escape from lies you believe or sin that binds you? How do you see Jesus coming to rescue you?

All-powerful God, I need to be rescued. If You don’t help me, I’m finished. I have no escape. So I’m turning to You. Please help me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 10, 2021
The Offering of the Natural

It is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. —Galatians 4:22

Paul was not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural can be turned into the spiritual only through sacrifice. Without this a person will lead a divided life. Why did God demand that the natural must be sacrificed? God did not demand it. It is not God’s perfect will, but His permissive will. God’s perfect will was for the natural to be changed into the spiritual through obedience. Sin is what made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed.

Abraham had to offer up Ishmael before he offered up Isaac (see Genesis 21:8-14). Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). Sanctification means more than being freed from sin. It means the deliberate commitment of myself to the God of my salvation, and being willing to pay whatever it may cost.

If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will resist and defy the life of the Son of God in us and will produce continual turmoil. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves physically, morally, or mentally. We excuse ourselves by saying, “Well, I wasn’t taught to be disciplined when I was a child.” Then discipline yourself now! If you don’t, you will ruin your entire personal life for God.

God is not actively involved with our natural life as long as we continue to pamper and gratify it. But once we are willing to put it out in the desert and are determined to keep it under control, God will be with it. He will then provide wells and oases and fulfill all His promises for the natural (see Genesis 21:15-19).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.  Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R

Bible in a Year: Hosea 1-4; Revelation 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 10, 2021

You Didn't Know When You Were Born? - #9110

Birthdays have changed for me over the years. When I was little, my parents always made it a big deal with a party, and friends, and hats, and cake with candles and all the rest. Today my birthday just isn't a big "hoopla" like it used to be. Many times we have a quiet kind with cards, a couple of gifts, nice family dinner together. Actually, it was getting to the point where my wife was hesitant to put candles on my cake. Yeah, she said there were so many she was afraid it was going to like set off the smoke detectors in our house. Come on! But it is getting tougher. The observance varies from year to year, but one thing is for sure. I always know when it's my birthday. You say, "Well, congratulations! Most people do." In fact, I have to write it on a lot of forms many times a year. And then I know when I was married, too. Did you know that? Aren't you proud of me? Yeah, I can even remember that. And I'd better remember the anniversary, you know, it was always important to remember that. Yeah. See, those are important beginnings. You know when they were (or you should).

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Didn't Know When You Were Born?"

Now, when you go flying; that is in an airplane, you don't try to talk your way on board. I do a lot of flying. You don't say, "Listen, don't you think I'm good looking? Don't you think I'm a nice guy? Would you let me on board?" They'd say, "No, sir. Where is your ticket?"

Did you know it's the same thing when it comes to getting into God's heaven? One day you and I are going to stand before God and hope that we'll spend forever in that wonderful place. You got your ticket? Well, where's your ticket?

John 3:3 - basically Jesus says, "Here's the ticket." He says, "I tell you the truth. No one can see the Kingdom of God..." Whoa! That's serious. "...unless he is born again." Wait! How do you do that? If that's the only ticket to get into God's heaven, you want to make sure that you are born again. So how does that happen? When does it happen?

Our word for today from the Word of God, John 1:12 says this, "To all who received Christ, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God." In other words, to get born into His family. Now, my first birthday, I was born into the Hutchcraft family. I know when that happened. On your second birth, you get born into God's family when you place your total trust in Christ and tell him you want him to enter the control room of your life.

There's no way to do that without knowing you did it. Now, do you know when you were born into God's family? Look, you may not remember a date; a lot of people don't. But you've got to remember that you did it to know that you did. If not, you might not be in God's family.

You say, "Well, I've been around Him for years. I must have picked Him up somewhere." Well, you don't get Jesus by osmosis. "Well, I believe it all." Well, see, agreement is not commitment. "Well, I can't remember not knowing about Him." Well, that doesn't mean you've given yourself to Him any more than knowing and even loving a person for fifty years means you married them.

Like birth, there's a day when no life becomes life. Choosing Christ is a conscious choice. You know you did it. You may have Christian beliefs, a Christian pedigree, a Christian reputation, even a Christian position and not have Christ. When were you born? If you don't know, if you're not sure that there was a day you began to be in God's family, well, maybe you're not in it.

But you know what? You could consciously today receive Him and get this settled for sure. Just don't be so proud that you won't make sure. Religious pride is going to cost a lot of people heaven. If you're not sure you belong to Him, why not have a day when you make sure? Why not let this be the day? The Bible says, "Today is the day of your salvation." Reach out and say, "Jesus, beginning today, consciously I give myself to you. I am yours."

Look, this would be a good time to check out our website. A lot of people go there. You can find there how to be sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com. You let Christ in today, and your Heavenly Father will be the first to wish you "Happy Birthday!"

Mark 8:22-38 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  Why Joseph? - December 9, 2021

Jesus’ earthly father is a small-town carpenter who lives in Nazareth. Why Joseph? A major part of the answer lies in his reputation, and he gives it up for Jesus. Nazareth viewed Joseph as we might view an elder, deacon, or Bible class teacher. Now what? His fiancée is blemished, tainted; he is righteous, godly. The law says stone her. Love says forgive her. And Joseph is caught in the middle. Then comes the angel’s announcement, “She carries the Son of God in her womb.” But who would believe it?

Joseph makes his decision. “Joseph…took to him his wife, and did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (Matthew 1:24-25). He swapped his Torah studies for a pregnant fiancée and an illegitimate son and made the big decision of discipleship. He placed God’s plan ahead of his own.

Mark 8:22-38

They arrived at Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man’s eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”

24-26 He looked up. “I see men. They look like walking trees.” So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus. Jesus sent him straight home, telling him, “Don’t enter the village.”
The Messiah

27 Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, “Who do the people say I am?”

28 “Some say ‘John the Baptizer,’” they said. “Others say ‘Elijah.’ Still others say ‘one of the prophets.’”

29 He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?”

Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”

30-32 Jesus warned them to keep it quiet, not to breathe a word of it to anyone. He then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.

32-33 But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”

34-37 Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

38 “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, December 09, 2021

Today's Scripture
Revelation 7:9–12
(NIV)

The Great Multitude in White Robes

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,b standing before the thronec and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robesd and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,e

who sits on the throne,f

and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the eldersg and the four living creatures.h They fell down on their facesi before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen!

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor

and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!”

Insight

It’s interesting to note some differences in the description of the two crowds in Revelation 7. John heard of the first group (v. 4), while he saw the second (v. 9). The first group was numbered at 144,000 (v. 4); the second group “no one could count” (v. 9). The first crowd was of a single nationality (the tribes of Israel, vv. 4–8); the second was “from every nation” (v. 9). Bible scholar Craig Keener suggests that “the first vision portrays symbolically God’s end-time spiritual army, then this second vision is a more literal interpretation of the first” (Revelation, NIV Application Commentary). According to this view, God’s army is victorious over their enemies by dying a martyr’s death rather than by killing their enemies (see 11:7–13; 12:11; 13:7; 15:2; 21:7). Keener goes on to note that “in this, we are like our Lord.”

A Great Multitude

Before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.
Revelation 7:9

We came together for our Sunday morning church service with joy and anticipation. Although we were spatially distanced because of the coronavirus pandemic, we welcomed the opportunity to celebrate Gavin and Tijana’s wedding. Our technologically gifted Iranian friends broadcast the service to friends and family spread out geographically—including in Spain, Poland, and Serbia. This creative approach helped us overcome the constraints as we rejoiced in the covenant of marriage. God’s Spirit united us and gave us joy.

That Sunday morning with our wonderfully multinational congregation was a small taste of the glory to come when people from “every nation, tribe, people and language” will stand before God in heaven (Revelation 7:9). The beloved disciple John glimpsed this “great multitude” in a vision he recounts in the book of Revelation. There those gathered will worship God together along with the angels and elders: “Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever” (v. 12).

The union and marriage of Jesus and His international bride in the “wedding supper of the Lamb” (19:9) will be an amazing time of worship and celebration. Our experience at our Sunday church service with people from many nations points to this celebration that one day we’ll enjoy.

While we wait in hope for that joyful event, we can embrace the practice of feasting and rejoicing among God’s people. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How do you picture the wedding supper of the Lamb? How does being invited to this celebration affect your daily life?

Lamb of God, thank You for the invitation to the heavenly wedding.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 09, 2021
The Opposition of the Natural

Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. —Galatians 5:24

The natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best. Once we come to understand that natural moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle. Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes, the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh….” The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence.

The natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.

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: Daniel 11-12; Jude

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 09, 2021

Spiritual Snowmen - #9109

My theory is that inside every man there's a little boy. And when the boy dies, the man might as well. Then the kid comes out at Christmas, you know, at certain amusement parks, and when it snows. Inside most of us is this kid who looks out the window at new-fallen snow and hopes like crazy this will be one of those most glorious of winter days - a snow day! If it is, and you've got kids or grandkids, it can mean an opportunity for one of life's great creative moments - building a snowman! Or snow person, excuse me, as the case may be. Now, when you're done, there stands your personal or team masterpiece - fat, friendly, probably with a hat, a button nose, two eyes (made out of coal?). The problem is that they don't stay those handsome creatures you formed so laboriously. As the temperature rises, Snow Guy or Girl slowly becomes Soft Guy or Girl, slowly losing its shape and identity until it's more like Mush Guy and Mush Girl.

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

Sadly, what happens to snowmen seems to be happening to more and more of God's people. They're slowly going soft, melted by the heat of a culture that applies heavy pressure to compromise both Christian convictions and Christian lifestyles. And some of us are becoming so melted you can hardly tell the difference between us and the lost people around us. We watch what they watch, we wear what they wear, we talk like they talk, we do business like they do business, we bail out of marriages like they do - actually more than they do sometimes, and slowly melt away morally the Jesus-difference that is meant to draw people to a life-changing - not life-conforming - Savior.

Increasingly, we seem to be practicing our culture rather than practicing our faith; more of an echo of our culture than a choice. A culture that casually accepts the unacceptable has caused us to grow soft about what we'll watch and listen to and what we'll allow our children to let into their hearts and minds. Things we never would have considered allowing into our lives or our minds maybe only a few years ago.

We've gotten soft on something God says in the Book of Malachi that He hates. It says He hates divorce (Malachi 2:10). It doesn't say He hates divorced people. But in relatively few years, a trickle of Christians at one time ending their lifetime marriage commitment has grown to a flood. It looks increasingly as if Jesus makes little or no difference in life's most intimate, most committed relationship.

The heat has made us more and more soft on issues like the sanctity of life, whether it's standing without compromise for the life of an unborn child, or the life of a born child who's living in awful need, or the life of the elders who gave us our life. Again, where's the Jesus-difference? We can't turn soft just because the issue all of a sudden has the face of someone we know. God hasn't changed His mind.

Premarital sex - living together before you're married, business ethics - so many compromises. So much melting! Now it's time for our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 6:13, "Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then..." There it is. We can't change our minds on the things God never changes His mind on.

When we let the heat of an out-of-control, spiritually uncaring world keep melting us down, making us soft, pretty soon there's nothing left but spiritual mush. If you belong to Jesus, your life is supposed to offer a loving choice, not an echo for a lost and dying world. We have to stand our ground. Or lose the very things that make a Jesus-follower the light of their world.

Leviticus 16 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The North Pole or the Manger? - December 8, 2021

God did what we wouldn’t dare dream. He did what we couldn’t imagine. He became a man so we could trust him. He became a sacrifice so we could know him. And he defeated death so we could follow him.

It defies logic. It’s a divine insanity. Yet, it is the very impossibility of it all that makes it possible. For only God could create a plan this mad. Only a Creator beyond the fence of logic could offer such a gift of love. What man cannot do, God does.

So, when it comes to goodies and candy, cherub cheeks and red noses, go to the North Pole. But when it comes to eternity, forgiveness, purpose, and truth, go to the manger. Kneel with the shepherds. Worship the God who dared to do what man dared not dream.

Leviticus 16

The Day of Atonemen

After the death of Aaron’s two sons—they died when they came before God with strange fire—God spoke to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Holy of Holies, barging inside the curtain that’s before the Atonement-Cover on the Chest whenever he feels like it, lest he die, because I am present in the Cloud over the Atonement-Cover.

3-5 “This is the procedure for Aaron when he enters the Holy Place: He will bring a young bull for an Absolution-Offering and a ram for a Whole-Burnt-Offering; he will put on the holy linen tunic and the linen underwear, tie the linen sash around him, and put on the linen turban. These are the sacred vestments so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. Then from the Israelite community he will bring two male goats for an Absolution-Offering and a Whole-Burnt-Offering.

6-10 “Aaron will offer the bull for his own Absolution-Offering in order to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he will set the two goats before God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and cast lots over the two goats, one lot for God and the other lot for Azazel. He will offer the goat on which the lot to God falls as an Absolution-Offering. The goat on which the lot for Azazel falls will be sent out into the wilderness to Azazel to make atonement.

11-14 “Aaron will present his bull for an Absolution-Offering to make atonement for himself and his household. He will slaughter his bull for the Absolution-Offering. He will take a censer full of burning coals from the Altar before God and two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense and bring them inside the curtain and put the incense on the fire before God; the smoke of the incense will cover the Atonement-Cover which is over The Testimony so that he doesn’t die. He will take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the Atonement-Cover, then sprinkle the blood before the Atonement-Cover seven times.

15-17 “Next he will slaughter the goat designated as the Absolution-Offering for the people and bring the blood inside the curtain. He will repeat what he does with the bull’s blood, sprinkling it on and before the Atonement-Cover. In this way he will make atonement for the Holy of Holies because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites, their acts of rebellion, and all their other sins. He will do the same thing for the Tent of Meeting which dwells among the people in the midst of their uncleanness. There is to be no one in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Holy of Holies until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole community of Israel.

18-19 “Then he will come out to the Altar that is before God and make atonement for it. He will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and smear it all around the four horns of the Altar. With his finger he will sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times to purify and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the Israelites.

20-22 “When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat’s head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. He will put all the sins on the goat’s head and send it off into the wilderness, led out by a man standing by and ready. The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness.

23-25 “Finally, Aaron will come into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen clothes in which he dressed to enter the Holy of Holies and leave them there. He will bathe in water in a Holy Place, put on his priestly vestments, offer the Whole-Burnt-Offering for himself and the Whole-Burnt-Offering for the people, making atonement for himself and the people, and burn the fat of the Absolution-Offering on the Altar.

26-28 “The man who takes the goat out to Azazel in the wilderness then will wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. After that he will be permitted to come back into the camp. The bull for the Absolution-Offering and the goat for the Absolution-Offering, whose blood has been taken into the Holy of Holies to make atonement, are to be taken outside the camp and burned—their hides, their meat, and their entrails. The man assigned to burn them up will then wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he is free to come back into the camp.

29-31 “This is standard practice for you, a perpetual ordinance. On the tenth day of the seventh month, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you are to enter into a solemn fast and refrain from all work, because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. In the presence of God you will be made clean of all your sins. It is a Sabbath of all Sabbaths. You must fast. It is a perpetual ordinance.

32 “The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father is to make the atonement:

He puts on the sacred linen garments;

33 He purges the Holy of Holies by making atonement;

He purges the Tent of Meeting and the Altar by making atonement;

He makes atonement for the priests and all the congregation.

34 “This is a perpetual ordinance for you: Once a year atonement is to be made for all the sins of the People of Israel.”

And Aaron did it, just as God commanded Moses.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, December 08, 2021
Today's Scripture
Ephesians 4:1–6
(NIV)

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

4 As a prisoners for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthyt of the callingu you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one anotherv in love.w 3 Make every effort to keep the unityx of the Spirit through the bond of peace.y 4 There is one bodyz and one Spirit,a just as you were called to one hope when you were calledb; 5 one Lord,c one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all,d who is over all and through all and in all.

Insight

From the humbling confinement of a Roman prison, Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers in Jesus on behalf of a Father, Son, and Spirit who’d begun to change his own heart and theirs (1:1–14; 2:1–10). In anticipation of a day in which all creation would be united under Christ (1:10), he painted word pictures of what it means to grow together into a mature body and sacred temple far bigger and better than ourselves (4:1–32). He described how much better everyday relationships can look when transformed by the crucified and resurrected Christ (5:1–6:9). Then, after having reminded them of their shared body, Spirit, Lord, faith, baptism, God, and Father (4:4–6), he urges them to resist a common enemy who wanted nothing more than to conquer and divide them (6:10–20). By: Mart DeHaan

Stay Together

Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

Dewberry Baptist Church split in the 1800s over a chicken leg. Various versions of the story exist, but the account told by a current member was that two men fought over the last drumstick at a church potluck. One man said God wanted him to have it. The other replied God didn’t care, and he really wanted it. The men became so furious that one moved a couple kilometers down the road and started Dewberry Baptist Church #2. Thankfully, the churches have settled their differences, and everyone concedes the reason for their split was ridiculous.

Jesus agrees. The night before His death Jesus prayed for His followers. May they “be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” May they “be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me” (John 17:21–23).

Paul agrees. He urges us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3–4), and these cannot be divided.

We who weep for Christ’s body broken for our sin must not tear apart His body, the church, with our anger, gossip, and cliques. Better to let ourselves be wronged than be guilty of the scandal of church division. Give the other guy the chicken leg—and some pie too! By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What have you done to contribute to the unity of your church? What else might you do?

Heavenly Father, help me do the best I can to be at peace with others. May I never separate what You’ve joined.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 08, 2021

The Impartial Power of God

By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. —Hebrews 10:14

We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. “…Christ Jesus…became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect.

No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, “But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.” God’s response, through Peter, is, “… there is no other name…by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood…” (Ephesians 1:7). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.

God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R

Bible in a Year: Daniel 8-10; 3 John

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, December 08, 2021
When Differences Don't Matter - #9108

Before September 11, before the World Trade Center, there was Oklahoma City! It's hard for me to even hear those words without thinking of the devastation that occurred there on that April 19, 1995; the day that a terrorist's bomb destroyed the Federal Building and 168 people who were in it. That day the very worst and the very best in people were displayed in Oklahoma City. It was an awful moment, but it united the community in a way like never before. There were so many people who just threw themselves into the rescue effort. There were doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, and everyday heroes, counselors, ministers, and food suppliers. That would be repeated some years later at the World Trade Center. Someone wisely pointed out that suddenly white didn't matter, black didn't matter, Methodist didn't matter, Baptist didn't matter, old, young. There was one compelling need that had incredible power to erase all the categories.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Differences Don't Matter."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 1:27-28. Do you know what will suddenly pull together people who usually stay separate? Well, look at this Oklahoma City example. It's the realization that lives are at stake; that people will die if we don't work together. Turf doesn't matter when people are dying. Labels don't matter. The eternal tragedy of people dying spiritually isn't as easy to see as the devastation of a bomb blast, but it's every bit as real and far more eternal. And the way to rescue spiritually dying people who surround us is obvious.

Here we go, Philippians 1:27, "Stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God." "I want you to fight the gospel battle," God is saying here, "as one man and in one spirit."

See, if we begin to see the people around us as Jesus sees them, we'll know that they're dying without a Savior. Now they're dying inside, and then they will spend eternity without God unless we get to them in time. And then suddenly all those differences between us Christians? They don't seem so important. All that matters is getting to the dying people.

There's only one explanation for the competition and the categories between churches and organizations in your area. We must not really believe that getting to people for Jesus is life-or-death. The situation of lost people is too desperate for us to be worrying about denomination, or trivial issues, or who gets the credit, different views of the 10% that Christians disagree on. If "lostness" is not an eternal emergency, then maybe we could afford to stay clustered in our little individual rescue units.

But a lost world just doesn't understand why we can't get together. I hear it all the time. And if we don't, we'll never get to enough people in time. So, let's start praying for the lost in groups that cross all the lines that have divided us. Let's plan together strategies to reach them out of a common broken heart for those who break the heart of Jesus.

Try an experiment. Hit yourself in the face with your five separate fingers and see how it feels. Now, pull those five fingers together in a fist. Now hit yourself in the face this time. I doubt you're going to do it. Tell me which is more powerful, separate fingers working separately or pulled together in a fist. God's people have been carrying out the work of God way too long as separate fingers. Isn't it time we pulled together and made a fist in Satan's face?

That awful day in Oklahoma City I can't imagine the rescuers focusing most of their attention on the people who were already safe and already well. Of course not! They focused everything on the dying people. I can't imagine them arguing over turf either. See, when lives are at stake - in this case for heaven and hell - the differences don't matter. Saving lives together, that's all that matters.

Leviticus 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Will Lead You Home - December 7, 2021

After worshipping Christ the child, the wise men “departed for their own country in another way” (Matthew 2:12). Matthew uses the word way in other places to suggest a direction of life. He may be telling us that the wise men went home as different men. Called by a sign. Instructed by Scripture. And directed home by God. It’s as if all the forces of heaven cooperated to guide the wise men.

God uses every possible means to communicate with you. The wonders of nature call to you. The promises and the prophecies of Scripture speak to you. God wants to help you find your way home. So when God sends signs, be faithful. Let them lead you to Scripture. As Scripture directs, be humble. Let it lead you to worship. And as you worship the Son, be grateful, because he will lead you home.

Leviticus 15

Bodily Discharges

God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When a man has a discharge from his genitals, the discharge is unclean. Whether it comes from a seepage or an obstruction he is unclean. He is unclean all the days his body has a seepage or an obstruction.

4-7 “Every bed on which he lies is ritually unclean, everything on which he sits is unclean. If someone touches his bed or sits on anything he’s sat on, or touches the man with the discharge, he has to wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening.

8-11 “If the man with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person has to wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening. Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides is unclean. Whoever touches anything that has been under him becomes unclean until evening. Anyone who carries such an object must wash his clothes and bathe with water; he remains unclean until evening. If the one with the discharge touches someone without first rinsing his hands with water, the one touched must wash his clothes and bathe with water; he remains unclean until evening.

12 “If a pottery container is touched by someone with a discharge, you must break it; a wooden article is to be rinsed in water.

13-15 “When a person with a discharge is cleansed from it, he is to count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe in running water. Then he is clean. On the eighth day he is to take two doves or two pigeons and come before God at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. The priest then offers one as an Absolution-Offering and one as a Whole-Burnt-Offering and makes atonement for him in the presence of God because of his discharge.

16-18 “When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his entire body in water; he remains unclean until evening. Every piece of clothing and everything made of leather which gets semen on it must be washed with water; it remains unclean until evening. When a man sleeps with a woman and has an emission of semen, both are to wash in water; they remain unclean until evening.

19-23 “When a woman has a discharge of blood, the impurity of her menstrual period lasts seven days. Anyone who touches her is unclean until evening. Everything on which she lies or sits during her period is unclean. Anyone who touches her bed or anything on which she sits must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening.

24 “If a man sleeps with her and her menstrual blood gets on him, he is unclean for seven days and every bed on which he lies becomes unclean.

25-27 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, but not at the time of her monthly period, or has a discharge that continues beyond the time of her period, she is unclean the same as during the time of her period. Every bed on which she lies during the time of the discharge and everything on which she sits becomes unclean the same as in her monthly period. Anyone who touches these things becomes unclean and must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening.

28-30 “When she is cleansed from her discharge, she is to count off seven days; then she is clean. On the eighth day she is to take two doves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest will offer one for an Absolution-Offering and the other for a Whole-Burnt-Offering. The priest will make atonement for her in the presence of God because of the discharge that made her unclean.

31 “You are responsible for keeping the People of Israel separate from that which makes them ritually unclean, lest they die in their unclean condition by defiling my Dwelling which is among them.

32-33 “These are the procedures to follow for a man with a discharge or an emission of semen that makes him unclean, and for a woman in her menstrual period—any man or woman with a discharge and also for a man who sleeps with a woman who is unclean.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, December 07, 2021

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 7:10–17
(NIV)

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,z whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.a”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.b”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!c Is it not enoughd to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patiencee of my Godf also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give youc a sign:g The virgind h will conceive and give birth to a son,i ande will call him Immanuel.f j 15 He will be eating curdsk and honeyl when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knowsm enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,n the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.o 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke awayp from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.

Insight

The “Immanuel” prophecy of Isaiah 7 has long challenged scholars. In its immediate context, Isaiah 7 spoke to the Southern Kingdom of Judah as they were being threatened by an alliance of neighboring nations. In response to that danger, God sent Isaiah to remind Ahaz (Judah’s king) that God Himself was their safety and security (vv. 5–9). In that declaration, however, Isaiah presented the prophecy that has been seen for centuries as an anticipation of the coming of Jesus—the true and ultimate manifestation of Immanuel (“God with us”). This seems to be an example of an Old Testament figure (like David in Psalm 22) who is speaking into the story of his own day and time, but whose words are used by God to speak of a greater story—the story of Christ. It’s a small part of what makes the inspired Scriptures such a marvel. By: Bill Crowder

The Perfect Name

The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14

On a hot and humid day one August, my wife gave birth to our second son. But he remained nameless as we struggled to settle on a given name. After spending many hours in ice cream shops and taking long car rides, we still couldn’t decide. He was simply “Baby Williams” for three days before finally being named Micah.

Choosing the right name can be a little frustrating. Well, unless you’re God, who came up with the perfect name for the One who would change things forever. Through the prophet Isaiah, God directed King Ahaz to ask Him “for a sign” to strengthen his faith (Isaiah 7:10–11). Though the king refused to ask for a sign, God gave him one anyway: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (v. 14). God named the child, and He would be a sign of hope to people going through despair. The name stuck and Matthew breathed new meaning into it when he wrote the narrative of Jesus’ birth (Matthew 1:23). Jesus would be “Immanuel.” He wouldn’t just be a representative of God, but He would be God in the flesh, coming to rescue His people from the despair of sin.

God gave us a sign. The sign is a Son. The Son’s name is Immanuel—God with us. It’s a name that reflects His presence and love. Today, He invites us to embrace Immanuel and know that He’s with us. By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What keeps you from believing that God can breathe new life into your dark times and desperate circumstances? How will you embrace Jesus as Immanuel this week?

Heavenly Father, thank You for Immanuel—Jesus, Your Son. May I rejoice in His presence and love today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 07, 2021
Repentance

Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… —2 Corinthians 7:10

Conviction of sin is best described in the words:

My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.

Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.

The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

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

Bible in a Year: Daniel 5-7; 2 John

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, December 07, 2021

The Pregnant Pause - #9107

It was a perfect winter scene: father and son sledding down a hill, on a beautiful new snowfall, together on one sled. My son was laughing as we reached the bottom. We'd had a great run down the hill, and suddenly I shook up that happy little feeling. I just suddenly shouted, "Jump!" and he did. He rolled right off the sled. I did too. He didn't ask why, he just jumped.

When he looked back, he saw why I had told him to jump. I had seen that sled bearing down on us, right behind us, full of kids, out of control, and it plowed right into our sled. Had I left my son where he was, those sled runners might well have sliced right into him at high speed. Oh, he didn't understand my command, but he did it before he understood. You know, that's a good idea for all us kids.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Pregnant Pause."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 1 - I'll begin at verse 18, as we look a little bit into the Christmas Story. "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream."

That's a familiar story and here's what's happening. God starts something in Joseph's life, but He explains it later. Did you notice that? He starts this whole process of letting Joseph be the one who will raise God's Son on earth. But it starts with a seeming disaster! Joseph's fiancé is mysteriously pregnant. Joseph's heart's got to be broken. His world's caving in and God hasn't explained it. He started it, but He explained it later.

In between, God watches to see if Joseph will obey before he understands, and he does. You see, it was within Joseph's rights to divorce Mary and say, "I had nothing to do with this" and to publicly disgrace her, and in so doing he'd be protecting his own reputation. But instead, he chooses to act unselfishly, to act responsibly even though he's hurting.

See, God is up to a greater good. Now, Joseph's good would be, "I just want to get married to my Jewish girlfriend. Why does all this have to happen?" God initiates this much greater good, but He remains silent and then He later interprets it. And Joseph faces (pardon the expression) a pregnant pause in God's work.

Now, right now what would you consider good? Well, maybe it's up for grabs...that relationship. You say, "Why can't I have it?" Your health, the money, the job, why don't your plans work, why aren't your prayers getting answered? Remember, God is the God of the greater good, and God often has to shake your world like He did Joseph's in order to bring about His greater good. You'll see that someday, but can you quote Romans 8:28 in the present tense before you see where it's going? "All things are working together for good." Will you work before you can see the good? Will you do it before you can see the good?

See, God has started His greater good, but right now it's just shaking up your world. Oh, He'll explain it. He'll fulfill it in the future. But now, in between, obey before you understand - like a boy jumping off a sled before his Dad told him why. Joseph discovered that the apparent disaster is actually clearing the way for a mighty work of God. You've just got to obey in the meantime.

So, remember, you're in the loving hands of the God of the greater good, which is often preceded by that pregnant pause.

Mark 8:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God’s Messages - December 6, 2021

“We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). You know, people see signs of God every day. Sunsets that steal the breath. Newborns that bring tears. But do all who see the signs draw near to God? No.

The wise men, however, understood the purpose of the sign, and they followed it to Jerusalem, where they heard about the scripture. The prophecy told them where to find Christ. It is interesting to note that the star reappeared after they learned about the prophecy. The star “came and stood shining right over the place where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9). It is as if the sign and Word worked together to bring the wise men to Jesus. The ultimate aim of all God’s messages, both miraculous and written, is to shed the light of heaven on Jesus.

Mark 8:1-21

A Meal for Four Thousand

 At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, “This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they’ll faint along the way—some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples responded, “What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?”

5 He asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they said.

6-10 So Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. After giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He pronounced a blessing over the fish and told his disciples to hand them out as well. The crowd ate its fill. Seven sacks of leftovers were collected. There were well over four thousand at the meal. Then he sent them home. He himself went straight to the boat with his disciples and set out for Dalmanoutha.

11-12 When they arrived, the Pharisees came out and started in on him, badgering him to prove himself, pushing him up against the wall. Provoked, he said, “Why does this generation clamor for miraculous guarantees? If I have anything to say about it, you’ll not get so much as a hint of a guarantee.”
Contaminating Yeast

13-15 He then left them, got back in the boat, and headed for the other side. But the disciples forgot to pack a lunch. Except for a single loaf of bread, there wasn’t a crumb in the boat. Jesus warned, “Be very careful. Keep a sharp eye out for the contaminating yeast of Pharisees and the followers of Herod.”

16-19 Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, “Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”

They said, “Twelve.”

20 “And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?”

“Seven.”

21 He said, “Do you still not get it?”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, December 06, 2021
Today's Scripture
2 Corinthians 9:6–15
(NIV)

Generosity Encouraged

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.e 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,f not reluctantly or under compulsion,g for God loves a cheerful giver.h 8 And God is ablei to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need,j you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their giftsk to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”a l

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for foodm will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.n 11 You will be enrichedo in every way so that you can be generousp on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.q

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needsr of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.s 13 Because of the servicet by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise Godu for the obedience that accompanies your confessionv of the gospel of Christ,w and for your generosityx in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to Gody for his indescribable gift!

Insight

Second Corinthians 9:6–15 encourages giving by noting its benefits. However, the idea of “sow[ing] generously” in order to “reap generously” (v. 6) isn’t meant to inspire giving with the intention of having God bless us for our own gain. Instead, the objective is that when God blesses us for giving, rather than hoarding what we receive for ourselves, we in turn give more, so that our “generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (v. 11). When we choose to give, we’re to do so cheerfully (v. 7), for a cheerful giver reflects the generous heart of God. By: Julie Schwab

Cheerful Giver

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7

Nicholas, who was born in the third century, had no idea that centuries after his death he would be known as Santa Claus. He was just a man who loved God and genuinely cared for people and who was known for giving cheerfully of his own possessions and doing kind deeds. The story is told that after learning of a family who was in great financial distress, Nicholas came to their home at night and threw a bag of gold through an open window, which landed in a shoe or stocking warming by the fireplace.

Long before Nicholas, the apostle Paul urged the believers in Corinth to be cheerful givers. He wrote to them about the great financial needs of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem and encouraged them to give generously. Paul explained to them the benefits and blessings that come to those who give of their possessions. He reminded them that “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6).  As a result of their cheerful generosity, they would be “enriched in every way” (v. 11), and God would be honored.

Father, would You help us to be cheerful givers not only during this Christmas season but all year long? Thank You for Your incredible generosity in giving us Your “indescribable gift,” Your Son, Jesus (v. 15). By:  Estera Pirosca Escobar

Reflect & Pray

Where do you see a need you could help with this week? How could you give generously of your time or resources?

Thank You, giving God, for encouraging me to be generous because in Your economy, generosity will bring the giver and the receiver abundant blessings

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 06, 2021
“My Rainbow in the Cloud”

I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. —Genesis 9:13

It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.

Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God— a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22).

When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

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

Bible in a Year: Daniel 3-4; 1 John 5

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 06, 2021

Your Work and Your Worth - #9106

It starts when you're very little. People lean over to you and they say, "What are you going to be when you grow up?" Now, have you ever heard a little child say, "Well, I'm going to be generous, healthy, helpful, and Godly"? No, the answer is always an occupation. You go to school to get ready for that occupation; you talk about your grades when somebody asks how you're doing. Who are you? You go to college and you get your job. Then you retire, and now who am I? I'm not working any more. What are you going to be when you grow up?

I had a young woman who has an excellent legal career tell me, "Ron, I drive home in my beautiful car with my nice fat paycheck and I say, "What's it all for?" You know, there's a devastating lie that cripples millions of us, and that leaves us disillusioned, burned out, and terribly deceived. Maybe you've bought into it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Work and Your Worth."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God is about our work and it's in Ecclesiastes 2. I'll begin reading with verse 10. Solomon is reflecting on his working life and he said, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor." Okay, he says, "I got some good things; I was able to do some nice things because of what I earned from working. Yet he says this, "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had totally achieved, everything was meaningless...a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained."

Like that young woman said, "What's it all for?" Then in verse 21 he says, "A man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief, even at night his mind does not rest. This, too, is meaningless."

Solomon had achieved all his career objectives, but he discovered this startling truth: A person's work is not his worth. Now, our society lies to us about that. We believe we are what we do. Executives are sent on retreats sometimes for self-discovery. And I'm told that in their small groups the first night they're asked to answer this question, "Who am I?" without mentioning their company, their career, or their position. They don't know what to say! Take away what I do and I don't know who I am.

There are people who are neglecting God, family, health, and other people because they think their worth is their work. Well, in God's economy, unemployed people are just as valuable as employed people. No job can give you real worth. You are a created masterpiece. Actually, work and the sweat of our brow is part of the curse of the fall.

Your worth is in your identity in Jesus Christ. Listen to these great words from Colossians 2:10, "You are complete in Him." You got Jesus; you've got all you were ever meant to be. Once you're free from the bondage of having to prove your worth, guess what? You get better in your work.

It's time to dig down deep into where our identity was supposed to be; being God's workmanship, the Bible says; paid for by the blood of God's Son, who thought you were worth dying for. Maybe your whole life's been running on a gerbil wheel, trying to be somebody, trying to be accepted, trying to get some sense of being worth something. And you find the One you were made by, made for, and who died for you, you know you are somebody.

Maybe this is your time to discover where your worth really comes from - Who it comes from. Open up your heart to Jesus and say, "Jesus, you died for me. I'm Yours." We'd love to help you know how to begin that relationship and end this endless search for worth that ends in His arms. Go to our website. It's ANewStory.com.

And realize when you've got Jesus, you are complete in Him.

Leviticus 14 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God is!

Look around you! Rather than shocking the globe with an occasional demonstration of deity, God has opted to display his power daily. Proverbially. Pounding waves.  Prism-cast colors. Birth, death, life.  We’re surrounded by miracles. God is throwing testimonies at us like fireworks, each one exploding, “God is!  God is!”

The Psalmist marveled at such holy handiwork. “Where can I go from your Spirit?” he questioned with delight. “Where can I go from your presence? (Psalm 139:7).

We wonder, with so many miraculous testimonies around us, how we could escape God.  But somehow we do. We live in an art gallery of divine creativity, and yet are content to gaze only at the carpet.

The next time you hear a baby laugh, take note as His Majesty whispers ever so gently, “I’m here!”

 From God Came Near/page 84/85

Leviticus 14

 God spoke to Moses: “These are the instructions for the infected person at the time of his cleansing. First, bring him to the priest. The priest will take him outside the camp and make an examination; if the infected person has been healed of the serious skin disease, the priest will order two live, clean birds, some cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop to be brought for the one to be cleansed. The priest will order him to kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. The priest will then take the live bird with the cedar wood, the scarlet thread, and the hyssop and dip them in the blood of the dead bird over fresh water and then sprinkle the person being cleansed from the serious skin disease seven times and pronounce him clean. Finally, he will release the live bird in the open field. The cleansed person, after washing his clothes, shaving off all his hair, and bathing with water, is clean. Afterwards he may again enter the camp, but he has to live outside his tent for seven days. On the seventh day, he must shave off all his hair—from his head, beard, eyebrows, all of it. He then must wash his clothes and bathe all over with water. He will be clean.

10-18 “The next day, the eighth day, he will bring two lambs without defect and a yearling ewe without defect, along with roughly six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. The priest who pronounces him clean will place him and the materials for his offerings in the presence of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest will take one of the lambs and present it and the pint of oil as a Compensation-Offering and lift them up as a Wave-Offering before God. He will slaughter the lamb in the place where the Absolution-Offering and the Whole-Burnt-Offering are slaughtered, in the Holy Place, because like the Absolution-Offering, the Compensation-Offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. The priest will now take some of the blood of the Compensation-Offering and put it on the right earlobe of the man being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Following that he will take some oil and pour it into the palm of his left hand and then with the finger of his right hand sprinkle oil seven times before God. The priest will put some of the remaining oil on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, placing it on top of the blood of the Compensation-Offering. He will put the rest of the oil on the head of the man being cleansed and make atonement for him before God.

19-20 “Finally the priest will sacrifice the Absolution-Offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness, slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering and offer it with the Grain-Offering on the Altar. He has made atonement for him. He is clean.

21-22 “If he is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he will bring one male lamb as a Compensation-Offering to be offered as a Wave-Offering to make atonement for him, and with it a couple of quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for a Grain-Offering, a pint of oil, and two doves or pigeons which he can afford, one for an Absolution-Offering and the other for a Whole-Burnt-Offering.

23-29 “On the eighth day he will bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the presence of God. The priest will take the lamb for the Compensation-Offering together with the pint of oil and wave them before God as a Wave-Offering. He will slaughter the lamb for the Compensation-Offering, take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest will pour some of the oil into the palm of his left hand, and with his right finger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before God. He will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the same places he put the blood of the Compensation-Offering, on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest will take what is left of the oil in his palm and put it on the head of the one to be cleansed, making atonement for him before God.

30-31 “At the last, he will sacrifice the doves or pigeons which are within his means, one as an Absolution-Offering and the other as a Whole-Burnt-Offering along with the Grain-Offering. Following this procedure the priest will make atonement for the one to be cleansed before God.”

32 These are the instructions to be followed for anyone who has a serious skin disease and cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing.

* * *

33-42 God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I’m giving to you as a possession, and I put a serious fungus in a house in the land of your possession, the householder is to go and tell the priest, ‘I have some kind of fungus in my house.’ The priest is to order the house vacated until he can come to examine the fungus, so that nothing in the house is declared unclean. When the priest comes and examines the house, if the fungus on the walls of the house has greenish or rusty swelling that appears to go deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest is to walk out the door and shut the house up for seven days. On the seventh day he is to come back and conduct another examination; if the fungus has spread in the walls of the house, he is to order that the stones affected by the fungus be torn out and thrown in a garbage dump outside the city. He is to make sure the entire inside of the house is scraped and the plaster that is removed be taken away to the garbage dump outside the city. Then he is to replace the stones and replaster the house.

43-47 “If the fungus breaks out again in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and plastered, the priest is to come and conduct an examination; if the fungus has spread, it is a malignant fungus. The house is unclean. The house has to be demolished—its stones, wood, and plaster are to be removed to the garbage dump outside the city. Anyone who enters the house while it is closed up is unclean until evening. Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes.

48-53 “But if when the priest comes and conducts his examination, he finds that the fungus has not spread after the house has been replastered, the priest is to declare that the house is clean; the fungus is cured. He then is to purify the house by taking two birds, some cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop. He will slaughter one bird over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet thread, and the living bird, dip them in the blood of the killed bird and the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times, cleansing the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet thread. Last of all, he will let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field. He has made atonement for the house; the house is clean.

54-57 “These are the procedures to be followed for every kind of serious skin disease or itch, for mildew or fungus on clothing or in a house, and for a swelling or blister or shiny spot in order to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. These are the procedures regarding infectious skin diseases and mildew and fungus.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, December 05, 2021

Today's Scripture
Psalm 78:1–8
(NIV

 My people, hear my teaching;j

listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth with a parable;k

I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3 things we have heard and known,

things our ancestors have told us.l

4 We will not hide them from their descendants;m

we will tell the next generationn

the praiseworthy deedso of the Lord,

his power, and the wondersp he has done.

5 He decreed statutesq for Jacobr

and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born,s

and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forgett his deeds

but would keep his commands.u

8 They would not be like their ancestorsv—

a stubbornw and rebelliousx generation,

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Insight

The opening verses of Psalm 78 identify it as a wisdom psalm. The psalmist invites hearers to listen to his wise teaching, described as “hidden things” (v. 2). However, they’re nevertheless “heard and known” (v. 3) due to both God’s revelation and the people’s ancestors passing down that revelation to their children.

The psalm as a whole urges its hearers to be faithful in passing on wisdom, recounting Israel’s story (vv. 5–7) as “a parable” (v. 2) applicable to all. Each generation has a responsibility to pass on both the story of God’s revelation and mighty acts of redemption as well as the ways in which their ancestors failed to trust and follow God faithfully (v. 8). Through the lens of Israel’s story, God’s people can grow in wisdom and trust and “in turn . . . tell their children” (v. 6) so that they may also “put their trust in God” (v. 7).  By: Monica La Rose

Illustrating Scripture

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.
Psalm 78:4

Decorative blue and white ceramic tiles commonly found in Dutch households were originally made in the city of Delft. They often depict familiar scenes of the Netherlands: beautiful landscapes, ubiquitous windmills, and people working and playing.

In the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens wrote in his book A Christmas Carol how these tiles were used to illustrate the Scriptures. He described an old fireplace built by a Dutchman paved with these quaint Delft tiles: “There were Cains and Abels, Pharaohs’ daughters, Queens of Sheba, . . . [and] Apostles putting off to sea.” Many households used these tiles as a teaching tool as the family gathered around the warmth of a fire and shared the stories of the Bible. They learned about God’s character—His justice, compassion, and mercy.

The truths of the Bible continue to be relevant today. Psalm 78 encourages us to teach the “hidden lessons from our past—stories we’ve heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us” (vv. 2–3 nlt). It goes on to instruct us to “tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done” and “they in turn [can] tell their children” (vv. 4, 6).

With God’s help, we can find creative and effective ways to illustrate the truths of Scripture to each generation as we strive to give God the full honor and praise He deserves. By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

What ways have you found effective in illustrating the truths of the Bible to someone who’s new to Scripture? Who needs to know about the “praiseworthy deeds of the Lord”?

Loving God, show me ways to illustrate what I’ve learned from Scripture so others may know of Your wonders.

Learn more about the central meaning of the Bible.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 05, 2021
 
“The Temple of the Holy Spirit”

…only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. —Genesis 41:40

I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.

Paul said, “I beseech you…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

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: Daniel 1-2; 1 John 4