Psalm 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ADOPTED BY GOD - September 23, 2022
“You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, ‘Papa! Father!'” (Galatians 4:6-7 MSG).
The natural attitude of people toward God is not like this. We do not really trust him, love him, or pursue him. But upon conversion, a supernatural change occurs. Our affection toward God begins to warm, and we turn to him. The Spirit convinces your spirit of this truth: your destiny is in the hands of a loving Father. He is a good father, who has recorded your name in the Book of Life with the blood of the Lamb. And the Spirit of God is urging you to listen as he affirms in your spirit that you are a child of God. You have been adopted into the family.

Psalm 9
I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart,
    I’m writing the book on your wonders.
I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
    I’m singing your song, High God.
3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran,
    they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.
You took over and set everything right;
    when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.
5-6 You blow the whistle on godless nations;
    you throw dirty players out of the game,
    wipe their names right off the roster.
Enemies disappear from the sidelines,
    their reputation trashed,
    their names erased from the halls of fame.
7-8 God holds the high center,
    he sees and sets the world’s mess right.
He decides what is right for us earthlings,
    gives people their just deserts.
9-10 God’s a safe-house for the battered,
    a sanctuary during bad times.
The moment you arrive, you relax;
    you’re never sorry you knocked.
11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God,
    tell his stories to everyone you meet:
How he tracks down killers
    yet keeps his eye on us,
    registers every whimper and moan.
13-14 Be kind to me, God;
    I’ve been kicked around long enough.
Once you’ve pulled me back
    from the gates of death,
I’ll write the book on Hallelujahs;
    on the corner of Main and First
    I’ll hold a street meeting;
I’ll be the song leader; we’ll fill the air
    with salvation songs.
15-16 They’re trapped, those godless countries,
    in the very snares they set,
Their feet all tangled
    in the net they spread.
They have no excuse;
    the way God works is well-known.
The shrewd machinery made by the wicked
    has maimed their own hands.
17-20 The wicked bought a one-way
    ticket to hell.
No longer will the poor be nameless—
    no more humiliation for the humble.
Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?
    Expose these grand pretensions!
Shake them up, God!
    Show them how silly they look.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 23, 2022
Today's Scripture
Matthew 6:9–13
With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Insight
In Matthew’s gospel, the Lord’s Prayer is a key part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ teaching on prayer particularly challenged the religiosity of the day because He indicted both the hypocritical religious leaders who used their worship of God as a means of drawing attention to themselves (6:5) and the pagans who used their prayers as a means of binding their gods with “babbling” incantations or heaped up words (v. 7).
Jesus offered instead an alternative that’s both intimate and submissive. The Lord’s Prayer is a quiet and private conversation between the one praying and God Himself. It doesn’t seek to toss a bridle around the Creator of the universe but positions the one praying in trusting submission to the compassionate Father. Prayer in Jesus’ teaching is an expression of trust, devoid of pride and pretense.
By: Jed Ostoich
The Story Isn’t Over
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
When British drama Line of Duty concluded, record numbers watched to see how its fight against organized crime would end. But many viewers were left disappointed when the finale implied that evil would ultimately win. “I wanted the bad guys brought to justice,” one fan said. “We needed that moral ending.”
Sociologist Peter Berger once noted that we hunger for hope and justice—hope that evil will one day be overcome and that those who caused it will be made to face their crimes. A world where the bad guys win goes against how we know the world should work. Without probably realizing it, those disappointed fans were expressing humanity’s deep longing for the world to be made right again.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus is realistic about evil. It exists not only between us, requiring forgiveness (Matthew 6:12), but on a grand scale, requiring deliverance (v. 13). This realism, however, is matched with hope. There’s a place where evil doesn’t exist—heaven—and that heavenly kingdom is coming to earth (v. 10). One day God’s justice will be complete, His “moral ending” will come, and evil will be banished for good (Revelation 21:4).
So when the real-life bad guys win and disappointment sets in, let’s remember this: until God’s will is done “on earth as it is in heaven,” there is always hope—because the story isn’t over.
By:  Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
Why do you think we hunger for hope and justice? How can praying the Lord’s Prayer help you face evil and disappointment?
Heavenly Father, may Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!
For further study, read Living Justly, Loving Mercy.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 23, 2022
The Missionary’s Goal
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him— “…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“…there they crucified Him…” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ‘up to Jerusalem.’ ”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L
Bible in a Year: Song of Solomon 1-3; Galatians 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 23, 2022
THE DANGER OF WAITING - #9315
Okay, I'm traveling. I get off the road because it's lunch time. I have a choice. My vehicle is empty, and I'm empty. Which one shall I fill up first? Well, there's a gas station on one side of the road; a restaurant on the other. Guess which one I fill up first? Yep, me. So, I went in, ordered my food. Looking out the window, I noticed that the attendant over there was changing the sign out in front. Does this sound familiar? He's posting a new gasoline price, and it's several cents higher per gallon than the price it had been a few minutes earlier. Oh, you can believe that can't you?. That was a costly choice.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Danger of Waiting."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God, James 1:15, and there's a sobering equation here. Listen to the sequence of events, "After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." This verse describes the escalation in the cost of sin. First it's a desire, you're just thinking about it. Then you begin to do it. Then you do it some more, and sin ultimately will kill everything that really matters, because when it is full grown it will give birth to death.
When I waited to fill up with gas and I waited to take care of things, it cost me more. Sin is like that. The longer you wait to deal with that sinful compromise; that dark corner in your life, the more it's going to cost you. And after you're done you say, "Well, man, why did I do that? I shouldn't do that any more; I feel so crummy when I do." Oh, it's not that you haven't thought about cleaning things up, but you're still doing it dishonestly, you're still doing it immorally, you're still doing it selfishly, bitterly. I want to urge you now, deal with it today. Why?
Well, first, because that sin will never be smaller than it is now. Every day you wait, it strengthens its grip on your heart. And it will, inevitably, follow the biblical sequence: desire will become sin, and sin will become death. It will never be easier to change than it is today. Fight it when it's the smallest it will ever be. And that is right now!
Secondly, deal with it now because it's going to be doing more and more damage. There was a prominent preacher whose sexual problems brought great embarrassment to the name of Christ. He had reportedly struggled with pornography since he had been a teenage boy. And the Devil let him get away with it for years and years. The Devil always does this. And then he waits until it will do the maximum damage to the most people, and he yanks your chain and says, "See, you were never getting away with it."
Maybe you feel like you're getting away with it right now, and all the while the Devil is just raising the price on the pump. It will cost you in your reputation, your relationships, in your distance from God, in the slavery that it creates And the worst of all, God's judgment.
The Bible says that "man is destined to die once, and after this the judgment." And when you and I stand before God with an appointment we don't know when it's scheduled, and we can't really postpone or cancel it. When we have that appointment with God, there we will stand to answer for the sin of a lifetime. Unless it has been forgiven and erased. Of course there is only one person who can do that. That would be the only person who died to pay for it. That would be God's Son, Jesus.
It is so good to know that every sin of my life has been erased from God's Book, not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus did for me by shedding His blood on the cross. And then He walked out of His grave under His own power three days later. He's alive! He waits to walk into your life and be your Savior from your sin today, and to give you the resurrection power He has so you can be free from the sin you've never been able to stop. Why don't you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website and there you can find how to begin that relationship with Him. The website's ANewStory.com.
The bill's never going to be smaller than today. Victory will never be more within your reach than it is today. The cost is going up! Take care of it before the price goes up any more.

John 7:28-53 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: 
IRREVERSIBLE FORGIVENESS - September 22, 2022
 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:14 NLT).
The father-child relationship is one of assurance. In the Old Testament, God is described as father only fifteen times. In the New Testament, he is referred to as our father more than two hundred times. So what happened between the Old and New? Well, Christ happened. His death on the cross was the final payment for our sins. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12 NIV).
If you travel north or south, you’ll eventually reach the North or South Pole and change directions, but east and west have no turning points. Neither does God. His forgiveness is irreversible. Headline this truth: when God sees you, he does not see your sin.

John 7:28-53

That provoked Jesus, who was teaching in the Temple, to cry out, “Yes, you think you know me and where I’m from, but that’s not where I’m from. I didn’t set myself up in business. My true origin is in the One who sent me, and you don’t know him at all. I come from him—that’s how I know him. He sent me here.”

30-31 They were looking for a way to arrest him, but not a hand was laid on him because it wasn’t yet God’s time. Many from the crowd committed themselves in faith to him, saying, “Will the Messiah, when he comes, provide better or more convincing evidence than this?”

32-34 The Pharisees, alarmed at this seditious undertow going through the crowd, teamed up with the high priests and sent their police to arrest him. Jesus rebuffed them: “I am with you only a short time. Then I go on to the One who sent me. You will look for me, but you won’t find me. Where I am, you can’t come.”

35-36 The Jews put their heads together. “Where do you think he is going that we won’t be able to find him? Do you think he is about to travel to the Greek world to teach the Jews? What is he talking about, anyway: ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you can’t come’?”

37-39 On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

40-44 Those in the crowd who heard these words were saying, “This has to be the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah!” But others were saying, “The Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? Don’t the Scriptures tell us that the Messiah comes from David’s line and from Bethlehem, David’s village?” So there was a split in the crowd over him. Some went so far as wanting to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.

45 That’s when the Temple police reported back to the high priests and Pharisees, who demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him with you?”

46 The police answered, “Have you heard the way he talks? We’ve never heard anyone speak like this man.”

47-49 The Pharisees said, “Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don’t see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? It’s only this crowd, ignorant of God’s Law, that is taken in by him—and damned.”

50-51 Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus earlier and was both a ruler and a Pharisee, spoke up. “Does our Law decide about a man’s guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing?”

52-53 But they cut him off. “Are you also campaigning for the Galilean? Examine the evidence. See if any prophet ever comes from Galilee.”

[Then they all went home.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Today's Scripture
Romans 16:3–16
  Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked hand in hand with me in serving Jesus. They once put their lives on the line for me. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house.
Hello to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia.
6  Hello to Mary. What a worker she has turned out to be!
7  Hello to my cousins Andronicus and Junias. We once shared a jail cell. They were believers in Christ before I was. Both of them are outstanding leaders.
8  Hello to Ampliatus, my good friend in the family of God.
9  Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys.
10  Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ.
Hello to the family of Aristobulus.
11  Hello to my cousin Herodion.
Hello to those who belong to the Lord from the family of Narcissus.
12  Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master.
Hello to Persis, a dear friend and hard worker in Christ.
13  Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. She has also been a dear mother to me.
14  Hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and also to all of their families.
15  Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them.
16  Holy embraces all around! All the churches of Christ send their warmest greetings!
Insight
Paul understood that the strength and effectiveness of his ministry was the result of the efforts of many coworkers who partnered with and supported him. Concluding his letter to the Romans (ch. 16), Paul specifically named a number of individuals who’d tirelessly ministered with and to him. That many were women attests to the significant role they played in the early church. Paul showed his appreciation for more than eighty coworkers (see Colossians 4:7–18; 2 Timothy 1:15–18; Titus 3:12–14), which gives us a window into his pastoral heart.
By: K. T. Sim
People Who Need People
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

Romans 16:16
In his hall-of-fame career as a sportswriter, Dave Kindred covered hundreds of major sporting events and championships and wrote a biography of Muhammad Ali. Growing bored in retirement, he started attending girls’ basketball games at a local school. Soon he began writing stories about each game and posting them online. And when Dave’s mother and grandson died and his wife suffered a debilitating stroke, he realized the team he’d been covering provided him with a sense of community and purpose. He needed them as much as they needed him. Kindred said, “This team saved me. My life had turned dark . . . [and] they were light.”
How does a legendary journalist come to depend on a community of teenagers? The same way a legendary apostle leaned on the fellowship of those he met on his missionary journeys. Did you notice all the people Paul greeted as he closed his letter? (Romans 16:3–15). “Greet Andronicus and Junia,” he wrote, “my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me” (v. 7). “Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord” (v. 8). He mentions more than twenty-five people in all, most of whom are not mentioned in Scripture again. But Paul needed them.
Who’s in your community? The best place to begin is with your local church. Anyone there whose life has turned dark? As God leads, you can be a light that points them to Jesus. Someday they may return the favor.
By:  Mike Wittmer
Reflect & Pray
Who are the people you know you can count on? Ask God to give you that kind of friend. How can you be a friend like that?
Father, what a friend I have in Jesus! May I be that kind of friend to others.
For further study, read Who’s My Neighbor?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 22, 2022
The Missionary’s Master and Teacher
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am ….I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master… —John 13:13, 16
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— “…for One is your Teacher, the Christ…” (Matthew 23:8).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
“You call Me Teacher and Lord…”— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. “…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience…” (Hebrews 5:8). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it— a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. The Place of Help, 1005 R
Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 10-12; Galatians 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 22, 2022
ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY LIVES - #9314
Traveling with our On Eagles' Wings team of young Native Americans, we had an opportunity to make an interesting scenic stop at the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River; except the Mississippi isn't very mighty at that point. Now I've crossed the Mississippi many times - you know, over long bridges that span the "Father of Waters" at places like St. Louis and Memphis and it's impressive. But not where it begins. No, after walking this little trail through the woods, you come to this very unimpressive little stream. Actually, "stream" is probably a compliment. It's sort of an overgrown puddle at that point. I mean, you can easily wade through the shallow water. You can walk through the Mississippi without even getting very wet. That's at the headwaters. And it takes less than a minute to walk across, or through, the Mississippi. But as it flows down its 2,500-mile course to the south, something amazing happens to this humble little puddle. But who would ever guess that just standing there looking at where it comes from?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives."
The Mississippi River is actually a living example of how God loves to work. Something very big comes from something very small. Something very impressive comes from something very unimpressive. It's how He makes mighty rivers...and mighty lives.
Paul expressed these strange ways of God in 1 Corinthians 1, beginning with verse 26. It's our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong...so that no one may boast before Him." No kidding. God loves to make something great out of something, or someone, that seems small and unimpressive, because it's obvious to everyone, then, that God has to get all the glory.
The Old Testament spells out this same principle in Ecclesiastes 9:11. It says, "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong..." See, we have a God who delights in surprising the world with who He uses, what He uses for great things. Maybe you feel pretty inadequate. You say, "I don't have much to give." Maybe you feel that you're like terminally average or terminally uncool - an unlikely candidate for God to use mightily. Hey, you're His type! He loves to start big things from little churches, for example. Revelation describes seven churches, some of which are big and rich - none of which God will use. But He says to the church that has, in His words, "little strength," "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."
See, God loves to use small, unseen acts of kindness that we do to start great things. He loves to take a little seed that we sow quietly in someone's life and do a miracle through it one day. He looks for people who aren't full of themselves, who know their only real asset is their God, to be in the middle of awesome things that He wants us to do. And all these years, He's been feeding into your life the tributaries that increased the strength of your Mississippi.
You've been growing in spiritual strength and power, maybe you haven't even realized it. And now He's ready to enlarge your territory, to lead you into something really important for Him, to use you beyond your wildest dreams. Unless you just settle for being a puddle when He wants to make you a mighty river that touches many lives.
The world may look at you and see an unimpressive little pond or a little puddle. But God has great plans for you if you'll let Him take you where He wants you to go. As you go with His flow, He will take you from your humble beginning to being a mighty river for Him.

Psalm 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: SEALED WITH THE SPIRIT - September 21, 2022
To whom does the Trinity entrust your protection? You “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13 ESV). We have been once-and-for-all-time sealed by the Spirit for redemption.
Seal. You know the verb. You twist a jar to seal the pickles; you notarize the contract to seal the deal. Sealing declares ownership and secures contents. Sealing says, “This is mine, and this is protected.”
When you accepted Christ, God sealed you with the Spirit. He cocooned you, assuring your safekeeping. Satan might woo you, discourage you, and, for a time, influence you. But he cannot have you. Christ “has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30 NLT).
Psalm 8
God, brilliant Lord,
    yours is a household name.
2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
    toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
    and silence atheist babble.
3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
    your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
    Why take a second look our way?
5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
    bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,
    even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
    whales singing in the ocean deeps.
9 God, brilliant Lord,
    your name echoes around the world.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Today's Scripture
John 7:37–39
On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)
Insight
In the law of Moses, God commanded every adult male Jew to come to the temple in Jerusalem to observe three annual harvest festivals or feasts (see Exodus 23:14–17; Deuteronomy 16:1–17): the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover [Pesach]), the Feast of Harvest (or Weeks [Shavuot] or Pentecost), and the Feast of Ingathering (or Tabernacles [Sukkoth] or Booths). In John 7, Jesus came to the temple to observe the Feast of the Tabernacles (vv. 2, 37). The Jews celebrated this weeklong festival to commemorate God’s provision during their forty-year journey in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:33–44). The lighting of giant menorahs in the temple courtyard reminded them of the pillar of fire that had guided them (Exodus 13:21–22), and a water-pouring ritual reminded them of the water from the rock which quenched their thirst (17:6; Numbers 20:8–11). Against this background, Jesus offered “rivers of living water” (John 7:38) and proclaimed, “I am the light of the world” (8:12).
By: K. T. Sim
Living Water
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

John 7:37
The cut flowers came from Ecuador. By the time they arrived at my house, they were droopy and road-weary. Instructions said revive them with a cool drink of refreshing water. Before that, however, the flower stems had to be trimmed so they could drink the water more easily. But would they survive?
The next morning, I discovered my answer. The Ecuadorian bouquet was a glorious sight, featuring flowers I’d never seen before. Fresh water made all the difference—a reminder of what Jesus said about water and what it means to believers.
When Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink of water—implying He’d drink from what she fetched from the well—He changed her life. She was surprised by His request. Jews looked down on Samaritans. But Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). Later, in the temple, He cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (7:37). Among those who believed in Him, “rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (vv. 38–39).
God’s refreshing Spirit revives us today when we’re life-weary. He’s the Living Water, dwelling in our souls with holy refreshment. May we drink deeply today.
By:  Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What areas of your life feel parched and dry? What may be preventing you from asking Jesus to give you this living water?
Loving God, when life leaves me road-weary and thirsty, thank You for the gift of Your Spirit, the living water, who dwells in every believer.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose
Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant… —Isaiah 49:5
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in John 3:16— “For God so loved the world….”
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 7-9; 2 Corinthians 13

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
YOUR MISSION LIVES DEPEND ON - #9313
I got this wonderful letter from Mark, who was a teenager in one of my Campus Life Clubs a looong time ago. He was reflecting on those high school years and his summer job as a lifeguard. I'll just quote from his letter. He said, "Lots of city folk who couldn't swim came out to our beach, and we went in many, many times for them. I was paranoid that I'd lose someone on my watch and we never did." Then he went on to describe another nearby beach as a place where "suburban trained swimmers go. They did lose a child when no one else was looking."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Mission Lives Depend On."
There was a reason Mark wrote to me about his lifeguard experiences. He put it in the context of how hard it was to get the folks in his church involved in being spiritual rescuers for the lost and dying people in their own world. Pouring out his heart, my friend said, "I can't think in terms of not reaching my neighbors, my co-workers, and the people I run into for Jesus."
My friend understands something a lot of us forget all too easily - that every believer in Jesus Christ is God's lifeguard on their stretch of beach. And just like the lifeguard job, the stakes of doing it or not doing it are life-or-death.
Our word for today from the Word of God, which makes it crystal clear, in Ezekiel 33:6 God says, "If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood." God reinforces the seriousness of our assignment again in verse 8, "When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood."
If the watchman of the city knows the people of the city are in mortal danger and does nothing about it, isn't the watchman accountable for their blood? If the lifeguard knows that someone is in danger of drowning and does nothing about it, he's accountable. If you know someone who's in eternal danger because they don't really understand what Jesus did on the cross for them, you're accountable for their blood.
When Jesus sees the people in your neighborhood, where you work, where you go to school, where you exercise, the club, He sees them through a rescuer's eye, which sees dying people. And He does whatever it takes to give them a chance to live. Would you ask Jesus to help you see what He sees when He looks at the people around you? This stretch of beach is up to you. He's given you an eternal responsibility for the people there. If they go down forever, will it be like my lifeguard friend said, "because no one was looking"?
Would you pray daily for a natural way to tell those dear people about your Jesus? I suggest what I call the 3-open prayer. "Lord, open a door." That means the Lord will give you a natural opportunity to bring up the difference Jesus makes in your life. "Lord, open a door." And then, "Lord, open their heart." Get them ready to hear what you're asking me to tell them. And then, "Lord, open my mouth." Give me the words. Give me the approach. Give me the tone that I need. Give me the courage to say it.
Get closer to them so you're in a position to rescue them. You can't rescue them from a distance. Love them as Jesus would. Then tell them about His love.
The price of failure, the price of looking away, the price of your fear could be a life that Jesus died to save. Somebody has got to tell them, and God's assigned you. Don't let anyone be lost on your watch because no one was watching, or because no one went in to save them.

Psalm 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE HOLY SPIRIT PRAYS FOR YOU - September 20, 2022
Right now, at this moment, the Spirit of the living God is talking to the rest of the Trinity about you. The eternal, ever-creating Spirit is speaking on your behalf. Help is here! The greatest force, the only true force, in the universe is your ally, your advocate. “[He] keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good” (Romans 8:28 MSG).
You may be stuck in a dark place with no visible exit. If so, please hear this. When we are in times of weakness, it is all hands on deck as the Trinity works to bring about what is good for us. We do not know how to pray. That is okay. The Spirit knows. And he prays for you.

Psalm 7
 God! God! I am running to you for dear life;
    the chase is wild.
If they catch me, I’m finished:
    ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,
    dragged into the forest and left
    unlooked for, unremembered.
3-5 God, if I’ve done what they say—
    betrayed my friends,
    ripped off my enemies—
If my hands are really that dirty,
    let them get me, walk all over me,
    leave me flat on my face in the dirt.
6-8 Stand up, God; pit your holy fury
    against my furious enemies.
Wake up, God. My accusers have packed
    the courtroom; it’s judgment time.
Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,
    throw out the false charges against me.
I’m ready, confident in your verdict:
    “Innocent.”
9-11 Close the book on Evil, God,
    but publish your mandate for us.
You get us ready for life:
    you probe for our soft spots,
    you knock off our rough edges.
And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:
    made right, kept right.
God in solemn honor does things right,
    but his nerves are sandpapered raw.
11-13 Nobody gets by with anything.
    God is already in action—
Sword honed on his whetstone,
    bow strung, arrow on the string,
Lethal weapons in hand,
    each arrow a flaming missile.
14 Look at that guy!
    He had sex with sin,
    he’s pregnant with evil.
Oh, look! He’s having
    the baby—a Lie-Baby!
15-16 See that man shoveling day after day,
    digging, then concealing, his man-trap
    down that lonely stretch of road?
Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,
    legs waving in the breeze.
That’s what happens:
    mischief backfires;
    violence boomerangs.
17 I’m thanking God, who makes things right.
I’m singing the fame of heaven-high God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Today's Scripture
Numbers 20:1–12
Camp Kadesh
1  20 In the first month, the entire company of the People of Israel arrived in the Wilderness of Zin. The people stayed in Kadesh.
Miriam died there, and she was buried.
2–5  There was no water there for the community, so they ganged up on Moses and Aaron. They attacked Moses: “We wish we’d died when the rest of our brothers died before God. Why did you haul this congregation of God out here into this wilderness to die, people and cattle alike? And why did you take us out of Egypt in the first place, dragging us into this miserable country? No grain, no figs, no grapevines, no pomegranates—and now not even any water!”
6  Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God.
7–8  God spoke to Moses: “Take the staff. Assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to that rock that’s right in front of them and it will give water. You will bring water out of the rock for them; congregation and cattle will both drink.”
9–10  Moses took the staff away from God’s presence, as commanded. He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: “Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?”
11  With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock—once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank.
12  God said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t trust me, didn’t treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren’t going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them.”
Insight
It’s sometimes debated why Moses was judged so harshly when frustration against the Israelites after decades of their frequent rebellion is understandable (Numbers 20:10–20). One interpretation is that Moses’ words (“must we bring you water” v. 10) seemed to take the credit for the miracle himself, almost like pagan magicians might portray themselves as having godlike powers. Another interpretation is that his question was rhetorical, implying he didn’t believe God could or would provide water from a rock. Yet what we know is that God said Moses failed to “trust in [Him] enough to honor [Him] as holy in the sight of the Israelites” (v. 12).
By: Monica La Rose
Reckless Decisions
Because you did not trust in me . . . , you will not bring this community into the land.

Numbers 20:12
As a teen, I was driving way too fast trying to follow my friend to his home after a high school basketball practice. It was raining hard, and I was having a hard time keeping up with his car. Suddenly, my wipers cleared the watery windshield only to reveal my friend’s sedan stopped in front of me! I slammed on the brakes, slid off the street, and struck a large tree. My car was destroyed. Later I awoke in the comatose ward of a local hospital. While by God’s grace I survived, my reckless ways had proved to be very costly.
Moses made a reckless decision that cost him greatly. His poor choice, however, involved a lack of water—not too much of it (as in my case). The Israelites were without water in the Desert of Zin, and “the people gathered in opposition to Moses” (Numbers 20:2). God told the frazzled leader to speak to a rock and it would “pour out its water” (v. 8). Instead, he “struck the rock twice” (v. 11). God said, “Because you did not trust in me . . . , you will not [enter the promised land]” (v. 12).
When we make reckless decisions, we pay the consequences. “Desire without knowledge is not good—how much more will hasty feet miss the way!” (Proverbs 19:2). May we prayerfully, carefully seek God’s wisdom and guidance in the choices and decisions we make today.
By:  ???
Reflect & Pray
What regrettable decisions have you made based on impulse? Why is it vital to slow down and prayerfully seek God’s wisdom before reacting?
Jesus, please help me to follow Your wise instruction as Your Spirit leads me.
For further study, read Making Decisions God’s Way.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
The Divine Commandment of Life
…be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. —Matthew 5:48
Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7), even those toward whom we have no affection.
The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. “…be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are “perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.
Biblical Psychology
Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 4-6; 2 Corinthians 12

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
A TREASURE CALLED "FAITHFUL" - #9312
Our grandsons experienced an unforgettable vacation when Mom and Dad took them out West to see the Tetons, Big Sky country, and Yellowstone National Park. God made sure they got plenty of memories; the herd of buffalo that basically surrounded their vehicle, the moose that was right by the side of the road, that elk that posed patiently for all the pictures anyone wanted to take. But as impressive as all that was, nothing impressed them so much as this water that kept shooting high out of the ground. You guessed it - that amazing geyser known as Old Faithful. In fact, our older guy told his mom, "I want a geyser." We're working on that. That geyser! That really is something to see. This tower of water and steam, exploding out of the ground, high into the air, and always at the same time intervals. Well, of course, it's Old Faithful.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Treasure Called 'Faithful.'"
Our grandson said he wanted an Old Faithful of his own. Well, so does God. He's looking for some "old faithfuls" He can count on. The Bible makes it clear that a lot of the things we do don't really impress God much, if at all. But there is one trait that gets His attention and triggers His blessing. It is faithfulness. Like a certain geyser, always being there, always doing what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it. To all of us who know someone like that, (Maybe you're thinking of someone.) those folks are the anchors of our life. To God, they are the folks He loves to reward.
God expresses what He values in a man or woman in our word for today from the Word of God. It's not flashiness. It's not friendliness. It's faithfulness. In 1 Corinthians 4:2, He says plainly: "It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." Notice, He doesn't say you have to be successful - faithful. A friend of mine said, "Ron, I think I've figured out your job description: stay pure and show up." That pretty much says it. Keep pure and keep showing up. Paul put it this way in his final challenge to his son in the faith, Timothy, "Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship...discharge all the duties of your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5).
See, faithfulness is so valuable because it's so rare. Today people stick with a responsibility or a commitment as long as it feels good, as long as it's fun, until the novelty wears off, or so long as I'm being treated right or appreciated. But our Lord modeled something much more noble - seeing your job through, even when everyone deserts you, even when you want out, even when the world's against you, even when they nail you to a cross. He is faithfulness. That's why He wants faithfulness. The Book of Revelation says that when He makes His glorious appearance at His Second Coming, He will be the rider on the white horse who "is called Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:12).
I hope that's what they call you. Or they will start to call you as you move from being one who's in and out of commitments to becoming one of God's "Old Faithfuls." However small your assignment, however tired you may feel, however unappreciated you are - by people that is, stay faithful.
What an honor to be a man or woman about whom Almighty God can say, "I can count on her. I can count on him." He is looking for warriors who will continue to stay at their post, whose commitments He and others can depend on, who will finish what they started. If that's hard for you, remember that faithfulness is part of what the Bible describes as "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22). You can actually ask God to produce His faithfulness in you!
And up ahead, there stands your Lord Jesus at the finish line, and listen to what He's going to reward. It's not success. He's telling His champions, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Oh, live for that, warrior!

John 7:1-27, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: PRAYERS OF A WEARY SOUL - September 19, 2022
There is often a gap between what we want from life and what we get in life. And during such times of weakness “we do not know what to pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26 NKJV). What should the cancer patient request? Healing or deliverance into heaven? For what should the father of the prodigal pray? God’s patience for his son or a pigpen for his son? For what should the persecuted prisoner ask? Release from captivity or endurance in captivity?
We do not know how to pray as we ought. What if our prayers are too sparse to deserve an audience with God? What if he turns us away? Does heaven hear the enfeebled prayers of a weary soul? Thanks to our heavenly helper the answer is yes. “The Spirit himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26 NIV).

John 7:1-27
Later Jesus was going about his business in Galilee. He didn’t want to travel in Judea because the Jews there were looking for a chance to kill him. It was near the time of Tabernacles, a feast observed annually by the Jews.
3-5 His brothers said, “Why don’t you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you’re serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world.” His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn’t believe in him either.
6-8 Jesus came back at them, “Don’t pressure me. This isn’t my time. It’s your time—it’s always your time; you have nothing to lose. The world has nothing against you, but it’s up in arms against me. It’s against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions. You go ahead, go up to the Feast. Don’t wait for me. I’m not ready. It’s not the right time for me.”
9-11 He said this and stayed on in Galilee. But later, after his family had gone up to the Feast, he also went. But he kept out of the way, careful not to draw attention to himself. The Jews were already out looking for him, asking around, “Where is that man?”
12-13 There was a lot of contentious talk about him circulating through the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” But others said, “Not so. He’s selling snake oil.” This kind of talk went on in guarded whispers because of the intimidating Jewish leaders.
Could It Be the Messiah?
14-15 With the Feast already half over, Jesus showed up in the Temple, teaching. The Jews were impressed, but puzzled: “How does he know so much without being schooled?”
16-19 Jesus said, “I didn’t make this up. What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality. It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The crowd said, “You’re crazy! Who’s trying to kill you? You’re demon-possessed.”
21-24 Jesus said, “I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you’re still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I’m up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it’s the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? Don’t be hypercritical; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.”
25-27 That’s when some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the one they were out to kill? And here he is out in the open, saying whatever he pleases, and no one is stopping him. Could it be that the rulers know that he is, in fact, the Messiah? And yet we know where this man came from. The Messiah is going to come out of nowhere. Nobody is going to know where he comes from.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 19, 2022
Today's Scripture
Isaiah 55:6–13
Turn to the Lord and pray to him,
now that he is near.
7 Let the wicked leave their way of life
and change their way of thinking.
Let them turn to the Lord, our God;
he is merciful and quick to forgive.
8 “My thoughts,” says the Lord, “are not like yours,
and my ways are different from yours.
9 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.
10* “My word is like the snow and the rain
that come down from the sky to water the earth.
They make the crops grow
and provide seed for sowing and food to eat.
11 So also will be the word that I speak—
it will not fail to do what I plan for it;
it will do everything I send it to do.
12 “You will leave Babylon with joy;
you will be led out of the city in peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into singing,
and the trees will shout for joy.
13 Cypress trees will grow where now there are briars;
myrtle trees will come up in place of thorns.
This will be a sign that will last for ever,
a reminder of what I, the Lord, have done.”
Insight
Reading the prophetic books can be challenging, because we must pay close attention to know who’s speaking. In Isaiah 55:1–5, God speaks; verses 6–7 mark a switch to Isaiah as the speaker. The prophet urges his listeners to heed God’s message. What’s that message? God invites everyone who is needy to “come, buy and eat!” (v. 1) and to “give ear and come to me” (v. 3). Isaiah reinforces this message by imploring the people to “seek the Lord while he may be found” (v. 6). This requires repentance: “Let the wicked forsake their ways,” including even “their thoughts” (v. 7). Left to ourselves, neither our actions nor our thoughts can please God (v. 8). For that, we need “the Holy One of Israel” (v. 5)—Jesus Himself.
By: Tim Gustafson
Imaginative Faith
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you.

Isaiah 55:12
“Look, Papa! Those trees are waving at God!” As we watched young birches bending in the wind before an oncoming storm, my grandson’s excited observation made me smile. It also made me ask myself, Do I have that kind of imaginative faith?
Reflecting on the story of Moses and the burning bush, the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote that “Earth’s crammed with heaven, / And every common bush afire with God; / But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.” God’s handiwork is evident all around us in the wonders of what He has made, and one day, when the earth is made new, we’ll see it like never before.
God tells us about this day when He proclaims through the prophet Isaiah, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12). Singing mountains? Clapping trees? Why not? Paul noted that “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
Jesus once spoke of stones crying out (Luke 19:40), and His words echo Isaiah’s prophecy about what lies ahead for those who come to Him for salvation. When we look to Him with faith that imagines what only God can do, we'll see His wonders continue forever!
By:  James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What do you imagine the new earth will be like in God’s forever kingdom? How will you serve Him with imagination today?
Loving God, I praise You that no one is more creative than You are! I look forward to seeing the wonder of all that You are and all that You can do!
For further study, read All Creation Sings.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 19, 2022
Are You Going on With Jesus?
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. —Luke 22:28
It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child.  Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 1-3; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 19, 2022
LOOKING CHRISTIAN, REALLY NOT - #9311
I had to stop at a convenience store on Halloween night. I was not "trick or treating." I was just trying to pay for the gas I put in my car. That's when I saw this interesting sign they had posted; it was a sign I had never seen anywhere else. It simply said, "Please remove your mask before you enter." I wasn't wearing one. But for one unhappy moment, I did remember what they used to tell me in school long after Halloween, "Hey, Ron, Halloween's over! Take off your mask." I wasn't wearing one then either. But the sign was no joke. Obviously, they didn't want someone to try to pull off a Halloween heist, wearing a mask that would conceal their identity from the security cameras. Honestly, I didn't see anyone in the store that night with a mask.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking Christian, Really Not."
I can almost imagine a sign like that one at the store, being displayed at the entrance to the Throne Room of Almighty God. And that's what we enter when we pray. Can you imagine a sign there, "Please remove your mask before you enter"? See, God isn't impressed by our religious words or our religious image. He doesn't want to hear a recitation of the same tired old prayer script that we often repeat without thinking. He insists that we come as we really are - totally unmasked. The real God can only help the real you.
The futility of pretending or masquerading before God is abundantly clear in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Hebrews 4, beginning with verse 13. It says: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." So it's useless to come before God pretending we feel how we're "supposed" to feel instead of how we really do feel. It's a waste of time to come with our rationalizations, our cover-ups. We are laid bare before Him.
There's no point in putting on a tie when you're spiritually and emotionally naked before Him. Tell it all. Let it go. Be real with Him. He won't love you less. He already knows what's behind the mask that you show everybody else. You won't shock Him. You won't surprise Him, but God operates on an invitation basis. He comes into a part of your life when you open it up to Him. So He's asking you to check your mask at the door of His Throne Room and come, as the hymn says, "Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me."
This passage goes on to tell us that "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin. Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." So, come in with your burdens and leave with His grace, which is always greater than the burdens. But come honestly.
Maybe you've prayed many times, acting as if you really belong to God, as if He's really your Father, when in fact, you've never really put all your trust in His Son, Jesus. You've never trusted Jesus to be your personal rescuer from the death penalty for your sins. You've never turned your back on the sin that killed Jesus and said, "Jesus, You're my only hope of having my sins forgiven." So while everyone around you may think you really know Him, even though you may have fooled them and maybe even yourself, for years, Jesus knows there's never been that moment of personal surrender to Him.
He may be in your head, but not in your heart. This very day; this is the only day you're sure you'll have, you need to "remove your mask before entering." All that Christianity, that religion, leave it at the door and let God know you're just in desperate need of His Son to be your Savior. I'd love to help you with that. Just go to our website. It's ANewStory.com.
When you come to God honestly, and you admit your need, you can begin your relationship with Him. Well, you know what? You will enter His presence lost. But you'll leave there found, and you will finally know that you belong to Jesus for real.

Psalm 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: How Much Do We Owe?
How do I deal with the debt I owe to God? Deny it? My conscience won't let me. Find worse sins in others? God won't fall for that. Try to pay it off? I could, but we don't know the cost of sin. We don't even know how much we owe. What do we do?
Listen to Paul's answer in what one scholar says is possibly the single most important paragraph ever written. Romans 3:24-25 says, "All need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God gave him as a way to forgive sin through faith in the blood of Jesus."
Simply put. The cost of your sins is more than you can pay. The gift of your God is more than you can imagine. We are made right with God, by grace, through faith!
From In the Grip of Grace

Psalm 6
Please, God, no more yelling,
    no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change;
    I’m so starved for affection.
2-3 Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue,
    beaten up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take
    for you to let up?
4-5 Break in, God, and break up this fight;
    if you love me at all, get me out of here.
I’m no good to you dead, am I?
    I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!
6-7 I’m tired of all this—so tired. My bed
    has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
    My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes;
    nearly blind, I squint and grope.
8-9 Get out of here, you Devil’s crew:
    at last God has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted,
    my prayers are answered.
10 Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 18, 2022
Today's Scripture
Mark 10:13–16
The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.
Insight
The account in Mark 10:13–16 of bringing children to Jesus appears in all three Synoptic Gospels (see also Matthew 19:13–15; Luke 18:15–17). Matthew and Mark give the setting as the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan. Jesus had left Galilee in the north where He’d been teaching His disciples. In Judea to the south, crowds “came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them” (Mark 10:1). Sometime later, as Christ again taught the disciples, people brought their little children to Him for blessing and prayer (Matthew 19:13; Mark 10:13). The disciples considered this an unwanted interruption, but Jesus didn’t. As Scripture shows, He loved and valued children and issued a harsh warning against misleading them (Matthew 18:6). He used this “interruption” as another teaching opportunity: we’re to receive the kingdom of God as a little child with trusting simplicity and unassuming humility (Mark 10:15).
By: Alyson Kieda
Learning and Loving
He took the children in his arms . . . and blessed them.

Mark 10:16
At a primary school in Greenock, Scotland, three teachers on maternity leave brought their babies to school every two weeks to interact with schoolchildren. Playtime with babies teaches children empathy, or care and feeling for others. Often, the most receptive are the students who are “a little challenging,” as one teacher put it. “It’s often [schoolchildren] who interact more on a one-to-one level.” They learn “how much hard work it is to take care of a child,” and “more about each other’s feelings as well.”
Learning from an infant to care about others isn’t a new idea to believers in Jesus. We know the One who came as the baby Jesus. His birth changed everything we understand about caring relationships. The first to learn of Christ’s birth were shepherds, a humble profession involving care of weak and vulnerable sheep. Later, when children were brought to Jesus, He corrected disciples who thought children unworthy. “Let the little children come to me,” he said, “and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14).
Jesus “took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them” (v. 16). In our own lives, as His sometimes “challenging” children, we could be considered unworthy too. Instead, as the One who came as a child, Christ accepts us with His love—thereby teaching us the caring power of loving babies and all people.
By:  Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What do you enjoy about spending time with children? What is Jesus teaching you today about how to love and care for others?
Our caring God, when I forget to show empathy for others, help me to care as You would.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 18, 2022
We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. —Hebrews 4:15
Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) He “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matthew 4:1) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation “without sin,” and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you.  My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R
Bible in a Year: Proverbs 30-31; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

Psalm 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Achievement of God
How can God punish the sin and love the sinner? Ponder the achievement of God. He doesn't condone our sin, nor does he compromise his standard. He doesn't ignore our rebellion, nor does he relax his demands. Rather than dismiss our sin, he assumes our sin and, incredibly, sentences himself. God's holiness is honored. Our sin is punished. And we are redeemed.
Hebrews 10:14 explains, "With one sacrifice he made perfect forever those who are being made holy." God does what we cannot do, so we can be what we dare not dream…perfect before him. He canceled our debt. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. It was and is an unspeakable gift of grace!
From In the Grip of Grace

Psalm 5
Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
    Can you make sense of these ramblings,
    my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.
4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
    or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
    you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
    Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.
7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
    it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
    prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
    to get me safely through enemy lines.
9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
    their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
    their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.
11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
    when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
    Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
    for decking us out in delight.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Today's Scripture
Psalm 18:1–3, 16–19
I love you, God—
you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.
3  I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
Insight
We know the occasion of the writing of Psalm 18 because its superscription reads: “Of David . . . when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” C.H. Spurgeon sees this psalm as David looking back on his life (likely because Psalm 18 and the song in 2 Samuel 22 are virtually identical). However, the song also looks forward in that it points to the coming Messiah. We see this in verse 2, as David refers to God as “my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.” Several New Testament passages point out that this rock is Christ (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6–8). And in Psalm 18:49, David says, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations,” foreshadowing the time when Jesus would build His church from not only Israel but all nations (Ephesians 3:4–6).
By: Tim Gustafson
Deep-Water Rescue
He drew me out of deep waters. Psalm 18:16
A record rainfall more than tripled what was forecasted in Waverly, Tennessee, in August 2021. In the wake of the powerful storm, twenty people lost their lives and hundreds of homes were destroyed. Had it not been for the compassion and skill of helicopter pilot Joel Boyers, the loss of human life would’ve been even greater.
The pilot took flight in response to a phone call from a woman who was concerned about her loved ones. In addition to seeing houses on fire and cars in trees, Boyers noted, “It was nothing but [muddy], raging water below me.” The pilot, however, bravely proceeded to rescue twelve people from the roofs of their homes.
More often than not in life, the swirling floods we face aren’t literal—but oh, how real! In days of uncertainty and instability, we can feel overwhelmed, unsafe—“in over our heads” mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But we don’t need to despair.
In Psalm 18, we read how David’s enemies were many and mighty, but his God was greater. How great? So great and powerful (v. 1) that he used multiple metaphors (v. 2) to describe Him. God was mighty enough to rescue from deep waters and strong enemies (vv. 16–17). How great? Great enough for us to call upon Him in the name of Jesus, regardless of the volume and depth of the "waters" surrounding us in life (v. 3).  
By:  Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
What deep waters are you facing that compel you to call upon God? What keeps you from calling on Him?
Strong, saving, rescuing God, in the midst of my distress, when life’s waters are raging, grant me the faith to see You and cleave to You in every storm.
For further study, read Clinging to Hope in the Storm.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Is There Good in Temptation?
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man… —1 Corinthians 10:13
The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.
A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.
Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.
Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else— what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations— He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you.  My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R
Bible in a Year: Proverbs 27-29; 2 Corinthians 10

Psalm 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:THE GROANS OF THE HEART - September 16, 2022
“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…” (Romans 8:26 NIV).
The groans of the heart. You have heard them. You have made them. They are the vernacular of pain, the chosen tongue of despair. And when prayers won’t come, these will have to do. Yet these raw appeals find their way into the presence of God the Father because they are entrusted into the care of the Holy Spirit.
We’re accustomed to the Holy Spirit’s mighty deeds. Fire falling on Peter, doors opening for Paul. Because of the Spirit, Ezekiel saw dead bones rise, and Moses saw the Red Sea open. Yet of equal import is this: the Spirit curates and translates the incoherent prayers of the weak until they are heard in the tribunal of heaven.

Psalm 4
When I call, give me answers. God, take my side!
Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;
Now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me!
2 You rabble—how long do I put up with your scorn?
How long will you lust after lies?
How long will you live crazed by illusion?
3 Look at this: look
Who got picked by God!
He listens the split second I call to him.
4-5 Complain if you must, but don’t lash out.
Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.
Build your case before God and wait for his verdict.
6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.
“More, more.”
I have God’s more-than-enough,
More joy in one ordinary day
7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees.
At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.
5 1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
    Can you make sense of these ramblings,
    my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.
4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
    or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
    you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
    Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.
7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
    it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
    prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
    to get me safely through enemy lines.
9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
    their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
    their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.
11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
    when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
    Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
    for decking us out in delight.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 16, 2022
Today's Scripture
Revelation 11:15–18
The Last Trumpet Sounds
15–18  The seventh Angel trumpeted. A crescendo of voices in Heaven sang out,
The kingdom of the world is now
the Kingdom of our God and his Messiah!
He will rule forever and ever!
The Twenty-four Elders seated before God on their thrones fell to their knees, worshiped, and sang,
We thank you, O God, Sovereign-Strong,
Who Is and Who Was.
You took your great power
and took over—reigned!
The angry nations now
get a taste of your anger.
The time has come to judge the dead,
to reward your servants, all prophets and saints,
Reward small and great who fear your Name,
and destroy the destroyers of earth.
Insight
While the apostle John was exiled on Patmos, God showed him through a vision His end-time program for the world, specifically His righteous wrath being poured out on all creation in three cycles of judgments—the seven-sealed scroll (chs. 6, 8), the seven trumpets (chs. 8–9, 11), and the seven bowls (ch. 16). In Hebrew numerology, the number seven speaks of totality, completion, and perfection. The number seven is used more than fifty times in the book of Revelation (see 1:4, 12; 5:1, 6; 8:2; 15:7). The trumpet judgments, the second cycle of divine judgments (chs. 8–9, 11), culminate in resounding praise in heaven when the seventh trumpet is sounded (11:15–18). In the Bible, the trumpet is sounded to rally God’s people for worship or for war (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 10:5–10; Joshua 6:16; Judges 3:27). Elsewhere, Paul said that the resurrection of the dead would be preceded by the blast of the trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
By: K. T. Sim
Hallelujah!
He will reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 11:15
Astonishingly, it took Handel only twenty-four days to write the orchestral music for the Messiah oratorio—today perhaps the world’s most famous musical composition, one performed thousands of times every year around the world. The magnificent work reaches its climax nearly two hours after it begins with the most famous part of the oratorio, the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
As the trumpets and timpani announce the beginning of the chorus, voices layer on top of each other as the choir sings the words of Revelation 11:15: “And he shall reign for ever and ever.” It's a triumphant declaration of the hope of eternity in heaven with Jesus.
Many of the words in Messiah come from the book of Revelation, the apostle John’s account of a vision he had near the end of his life describing events culminating with the return of Christ. In Revelation, John returned again and again to the theme of the return of the resurrected Jesus to earth—when there would be great rejoicing with the sound of choirs (19:1–8). The world will rejoice because Jesus will have defeated the powers of darkness and death and established a kingdom of peace.
One day, all the people of heaven will sing together in a magnificent choir proclaiming the majesty of Jesus and the blessing of His forever reign (7:9). Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.
By:  Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
How does the return of Jesus to reign over the earth provide you with hope now? What songs encourage you with reminders of the majesty of Jesus?
Come quickly, Jesus, to establish Your reign over the earth.
Learn more about understanding the book of Revelation.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 16, 2022
Praying to God in Secret
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place… —Matthew 6:6
The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.
“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions…” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.
“Everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “…you will ask what you desire…” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child.  Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Bible in a Year: Proverbs 25-26; 2 Corinthians 9

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 16, 2022
YOUR PRAYER DECIDES IT - #9310
When I worked with our championship high school football team, I was there for a lot of timeouts called by the coach. And I know how important they were. He told the players what they were doing wrong, what they needed to do more of, and how to play against the other team and their weaknesses. It was a strategy for winning, actually. When you watch sports on TV, they usually run commercials during the timeout. A timeout may not be very exciting to watch, but what happens during a timeout can determine the outcome of the game.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Prayer Decides It."
We're busy playing the game. We lose our perspective because we can only see things from the position we're playing. But the Coach, of course, he can see it all. It's worth it to stop the game for a little while to get the perspective of the one who's got the big picture. So, if you're a child of God, that timeout is called prayer. And we can't win without it, but we sure try.
There is probably no more dramatic Biblical example of prayer as a non-negotiable than the story in Daniel 6, beginning with verse 10. It's our word for today from the Word of God. Daniel has so won the confidence of the Persian king, Darius - the most powerful man in the world at that time - that he is placed in a top position in the Persian government. And the word is out that he is about to be promoted as basically second-in-command to the king. He has some jealous associates, who try everything to slander Daniel and find some way to discredit him with the king. But he has so much integrity, they can't even find anything to accuse him of. But knowing Daniel is a man of prayer, they set him up by convincing the king to issue a decree that anyone who prays to anyone but him, the king, would be executed.
Daniel's response is utterly amazing. It says, "When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. These men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help." Even when Daniel knows it may cost him his life, he will not miss his timeout with his God. He will let nothing preempt his praying. Wow! We are pretty pitiful by comparison! We let almost anything preempt our praying; we're too busy, we're too tired, we're too wounded, or we're too distracted.
When we don't pray our way through our day, we start to make more and more mistakes, we start fighting battles that aren't ours to fight, we start stressing out, and we start taking detours from the great plan of God. Prayer can't just be a compartment in your life where you pray in sort of prayer meetings, pray at the beginning of your day and the end of your day. Can you imagine a sports team only having a timeout with their coach at the beginning and the end of the game? You need what only He can give you throughout your day.
So pray before you take that call. Pray before you make that call. Pray before you write that email, send that text. Pray before you start your journey. Pray before you answer. Pray before you make that commitment, Pray before you make that purchase, or before you ask someone for a date or accept that date. Pray through your day before you face your day.
And then all through your day whisper a prayer to heaven for what's in front of you at that moment. It may only be, "Lord, give me Your wisdom" or "Lord, give me Your strength" or just "Help, Lord!" But it opens up all of heaven and all that heaven has for the moment you're facing. Get used to getting in touch with heaven all day long. Checking in regularly with your Coach could make all the difference in the final score.

John 6:41-71, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HOIST THE SAIL - September 15, 2022
“‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6 NASB).
Jesus invites us to hoist the sail. Rowboat Christianity exhausts and frustrates. Those who attempt it are left depleted and desperate at the attempt. Those who let the Spirit do the work, find fresh power. Life still has storms, but they are not left to face the fury on their own.
The work of salvation is done. Can I urge you, if you have not done so already, to believe on him whom God has sent? Trust Jesus to do the work that only he can do. Rely upon the Holy Spirit to quicken with you a new spirit, a new creation. Come to him in the light of a new day, in the power of a new you.\

John 6:41-71
At this, because he said, “I am the Bread that came down from heaven,” the Jews started arguing over him: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father? Don’t we know his mother? How can he now say, ‘I came down out of heaven’ and expect anyone to believe him?”
43-46 Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End. This is what the prophets meant when they wrote, ‘And then they will all be personally taught by God.’ Anyone who has spent any time at all listening to the Father, really listening and therefore learning, comes to me to be taught personally—to see it with his own eyes, hear it with his own ears, from me, since I have it firsthand from the Father. No one has seen the Father except the One who has his Being alongside the Father—and you can see me.
47-51 “I’m telling you the most solemn and sober truth now: Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. I am the Bread—living Bread!—who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live—and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”
52 At this, the Jews started fighting among themselves: “How can this man serve up his flesh for a meal?”
53-58 But Jesus didn’t give an inch. “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live always.”
59 He said these things while teaching in the meeting place in Capernaum.
Too Tough to Swallow
60 Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.”
61-65 Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, “Does this rattle you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.” (Jesus knew from the start that some weren’t going to risk themselves with him. He knew also who would betray him.) He went on to say, “This is why I told you earlier that no one is capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father.”
66-67 After this, many of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: “Do you also want to leave?”
68-69 Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.”
70-71 Jesus responded, “Haven’t I handpicked you, the Twelve? Still, one of you is a devil!” He was referring to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. This man—one from the Twelve!—was even then getting ready to betray him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 133
A song by David for going up to worship. 
1  See how good and pleasant it is 
when brothers and sisters live together in harmony! 
2  It is like fine, scented oil on the head, 
running down the beard—down Aaron’s beard— 
running over the collar of his robes. 
3  It is like dew on ?Mount? Hermon, 
dew which comes down on Zion’s mountains. 
That is where the Lord promised 
the blessing of eternal life. 
Insight
Psalm 133 is part of a collection of psalms called “Songs of Ascent” (Psalms 120–134) that were intended to be sung by Israelite pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the three high feast times of the year (Passover, Firstfruits, and Tabernacles). They bear this name because in Israel one always ascends, or goes up, to Jerusalem (both metaphorically and literally) to worship and celebrate God. In Psalm 133, this sense of ascent or going up is answered by blessings coming down. Verses 2–3 describe oil running down from Aaron’s head and beard at his anointing as Israel’s first high priest and dew coming down from Mount Hermon. The headwaters of the Jordan River, the sole fresh-water source for Israel, are at the base of Mount Hermon. The final of three blessings is “life forevermore,” which comes down from God Himself.
By: Bill Crowder
Where I Belong
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1
At the end of a meal to mark Passover, a traditional Jewish holiday that celebrates and remembers the greatness of God’s saving work, church members expressed their joy by dancing together in a circle. Barry stood back, watching with a huge smile. He remarked how much he loved these occasions, saying, “This is my family now. This is my community. I’ve found somewhere where I know I can love and be loved . . . where I belong.”
In his childhood, Barry suffered cruel emotional and physical abuse, robbing him of his joy. But his local church welcomed him and introduced him to Jesus. Finding their unity and joy infectious, he began following Christ and felt loved and accepted.
In Psalm 133, King David used powerful images to illustrate the far-reaching effects of the “good and pleasant” unity of God’s people. He said it’s like someone who is anointed with precious oil, the liquid running down over their collar (v. 2). This anointing was common in the ancient world, sometimes as a greeting when one entered a home. David also compared this unity to the dew that falls on the mountain bringing life and blessing (v. 3).
Oil releases a fragrance that fills a room and dew brings moisture to dry places. Unity too has good and pleasant effects such as welcoming those who are alone. Let’s seek to be united in Christ so that God can bring about good through us.
By:  Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
When have you seen unity at work in your community? How could you reach out to someone you don’t know at your church?
Jesus, help me to show Your love, not only to those I find easy to accept but also to those I find challenging.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 15, 2022
What To Renounce
We have renounced the hidden things of shame…  —2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life— the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind— renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
“…not walking in craftiness…” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way— the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way— the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others— God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest— your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L
Bible in a Year: Proverbs 22-24; 2 Corinthians 8

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 15, 2022
NO MAN IS SUPERMAN - #9309
One Saturday morning years ago my son called me into the living room to see what was coming on television. I knew it was Saturday morning, and I thought, "Oh, great! The Smurfs! That's not my idea of a Saturday morning." Well, when I saw what it was, I dropped what I was doing, I sat down and I watched the whole thing. It was the original episode of my favorite boyhood television show, The Adventures of Superman.
Yes, he's back! Yes, there he was again, "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." Ah, yes! And as it concluded, I felt a touch of sadness. Because I remembered what eventually happened to Superman; I mean the actor who played him in that series. He took his own life. You see, he was type cast. Everyone expected him to still play Superman, and he couldn't be Superman for the rest of his life. No man can.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Man is Superman."
You know, it was kind of a Superman syndrome that every American male grows up with. Not that he has to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but almost. See, if you're a modern, macho male, you're supposed to show no pain, no weakness, no tears, no tenderness. You're always playing a Superman role that says, "Hey, I'm fine. I can handle it, man. I've got everything under control." Then one day all the feelings that you've denied explode.
There's an Old Testament superman, and 2 Kings 5 gives us our word for today from the Word of God that describes Naaman, a commander of the Syrian army. It says, "He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." See, underneath his cape, so to speak, there was this fatal flaw. He was dying, but he was determined to still be in control. He knows that there's a man, a prophet named Elijah, in Israel who can cure him. But he tries to keep control as long as he can. He tries to use politics to get cured; he tries to use money to buy a cure. Finally, he's told to bathe in the Jordan River; the dirty, muddy, stinking Jordan River; take off all his clothes, all his medals, all his Superman stuff, and be humble and weak.
Well, he'd almost rather be dead than weak. He says, "'Aren't the rivers of Damascus (where he was from) better than any waters of Israel?' So he went off in a rage. Naaman's servants went out to him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, "Wash and be cleansed!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy."
See, there was no healing for Superman Naaman until he was willing to quit being Superman, and the same is true for you and me. Maybe you're a guy trying to be so strong, so together, so in charge, but you're dying inside. Would you take off your big letter "S" and your cape? Open up to God. Open up to a friend. Open up to your wife. Open up to your children, to a counselor. Be courageous enough to face your real feelings. That's not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of strength.
You've gone too long being a wounded man who has no place to bleed. You can't always be Superman! You were never meant to be. When you admit you're weak, you've never been stronger. And maybe it is that guy pride that's kept you from opening up your life to the God who became a man - Jesus, who caused the guys who followed Him to say, "This is the one cause I can lay down my life for. He's worth it all!" They found in Him the freedom to be who they really were.
Would you today be willing to say, "Lord, I was never meant to control my life. I can't any longer. I am yours. You died for me. I know you love me. You're powerful enough to walk out of your grave. I surrender my life to You." Man, when you've done that, you've made your way into true manhood.
Go to our website today. Check it out for yourself. There's the information you need - ANewStory.com. There you can meet the ultimate man, Jesus, who makes you and me into the man we were meant to be.