Psalm 138, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: EXHIBIT THE GLORY OF GOD - November 18, 2022

God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. Brandish him. Herald him. Magnify your maker!

Scripture says, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

So exhibit God with your uniqueness. When you magnify your Maker with your strengths, when your contribution enriches God’s reputation, your days grow suddenly sweet!

Psalm 138

Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”

    Angels listen as I sing my thanks.

I kneel in worship facing your holy temple

    and say it again: “Thank you!”

Thank you for your love,

    thank you for your faithfulness;

Most holy is your name,

    most holy is your Word.

The moment I called out, you stepped in;

    you made my life large with strength.

4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God,

    all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”

They’ll sing of what you’ve done:

    “How great the glory of God!”

And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below;

    no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

7-8 When I walk into the thick of trouble,

    keep me alive in the angry turmoil.

With one hand

    strike my foes,

With your other hand

    save me.

Finish what you started in me, God.

    Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, November 18, 2022

Today's Scripture & Insight: Acts 12:4–11

Peter Under Heavy Guard

That’s when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John’s brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.

5 All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously.

6 Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!

7-9 Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: “Hurry!” The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, “Get dressed. Put on your shoes.” Peter did it. Then, “Grab your coat and let’s get out of here.” Peter followed him, but didn’t believe it was really an angel—he thought he was dreaming.

10-11 Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze. At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way. That’s when Peter realized it was no dream. “I can’t believe it—this really happened! The Master sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s vicious little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to.”

Insight

Imprisoned by King Herod (Acts 12:1–4)—Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1)—Peter’s situation looked grim. Herod had just executed James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2). He was planning to “bring [Peter] out for public trial after the Passover” (v. 4), perhaps planning to publicly execute him then. Peter was held securely, bound by two chains, each connected to a soldier, while other soldiers stood guard (v. 6). His sudden deliverance by God’s angel was so unexpected that he appears initially to be in a daze, not sure it was really happening (vv. 9, 11). By: Monica La Rose

Thoughts and Prayers

Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5

“You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.” If you hear those words, you might wonder if the person really means it. But you never had to wonder when Edna Davis said them. Everyone in the small, one stoplight town knew of “Ms. Edna’s” yellow legal pad—page after page, lined with name after name. Early each morning the aging woman prayed out loud to God. Not everyone on her list received the answer to prayer they wanted, but several testified at her funeral that something God-sized had happened in their lives, and they credited it to the earnest prayers of Ms. Edna.

God demonstrated the power of prayer in Peter’s prison experience. After the apostle was seized by Herod’s men, thrown into prison, and then “guarded by four squads of four soldiers each” (Acts 12:4), his prospects looked bleak. But “the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (v. 5). They had Peter in their thoughts and prayers. What God did is simply miraculous! An angel appeared to Peter in prison, released him from his chains, and led him to safety beyond the prison gates (vv. 7–10).

It’s possible some may use “thoughts and prayers” without really meaning it. But our Father knows our thoughts, listens to our prayers, and acts on our behalf according to His perfect will. To be prayed for and to pray for others is no small thing when we serve the great and powerful God.

By:  John Blase

eflect & Pray

When was the last time you knew someone remembered you and prayed earnestly for you? Who is someone you can pray that way for today?

Jesus, thank You that I can bring every care to You and that You listen.

Learn more about the basics of prayer.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, November 18, 2022

Winning into Freedom

If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. —John 8:36

If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.

God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, “I can’t do that.” God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our “arguments…and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)— we have to do it. Don’t say, “Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts.” Don’t suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.

“If the Son makes you free….” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20 when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ….” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “…you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.

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

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 8-10; Hebrews 13

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, November 18, 2022

NERVOUS ABOUT ETERNITY - #9355

Class reunions are interesting. It gives you a chance to see people you haven't seen for years and they haven't seen you. And you go hoping you'll recognize them. More than that, you go hoping they'll recognize you after all these years. And usually they'll say something like, "Hey, I remember you with hair. Didn't you used to have teeth?" It's interesting these class reunions. The conversations can be pretty superficial because honestly you don't have much in common any more. Right?

But once in a while you stop impressing each other enough to get into something important. That actually happened to a doctor friend of mine at his 45th high school reunion. My doctor friend, a committed follower of Jesus, and he was catching up with a highly successful orthodontist, who is an atheist by his own description. But this atheist orthodontist said to my doctor friend, "So, would you talk to me about what you believe?" My friend was pretty surprised to hear that from this particular fellow. This man gave his reason for asking. He just said, "Frankly, I'm nervous about eternity."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nervous About Eternity."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 9:27. It actually gives us a glimpse of the beginning of eternity for all of us. "Man is destined to die once," it says "and after that to face judgment." Well this man said, "That's what I was afraid of." See, the Bible confirms we have an undeniable, uncancelable, unpostponable appointment with God for judgment.

This orthodontist was refreshingly honest. He said, "I'm nervous about eternity." Most of us know that feeling. Sometimes that nervous about eternity feeling hits when a friend dies or a coworker or a family member and for a little while we think about eternity. I've seen teenagers ask me at a funeral, "What if that was me?" Or sometimes we'll think about eternity when we've had a close call or in those quiet moments when thoughts that we usually try to bury come to center stage.

Actually, it's a pretty good idea to be nervous about eternity, because it's going to last a lot longer than these 70 years, or whatever, that we think about all the time. People everywhere seem to just know in their soul that there's something between them and God; something's wrong. We know there's this moral reckoning, this moral bill to be paid for the sin of our life. The judgment is coming and the Bible says when we feel that way we're right. Wouldn't it be great to know there was nothing to fear; that your eternity is secure?

This may be the best news you've ever heard. Romans 5:8 - "God demonstrated His love for us in this: While we were still sinners..." Okay the wall between God and us right there because we've run our life. It goes on to say, "Christ died for us." The Bible says, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Wow! See, sin is what will keep you out of heaven, and Jesus paid for that sin when He died on the cross. If you put your trust in Him and His death for you, you can trade your death penalty for eternal life.

John 5:24 says it so beautifully, "When you come to Christ you have crossed over from death to life." Wow! The old Plains Indians used to set prairie fires to burn their fields between their village and the approaching fire. They said, "The fire cannot go where the fire has already been." Why don't you go to the place where the fire of God's judgment for your sin fell on God's Son - the cross. You can claim His forgiveness there.

That's what my friend asked, "If you died tonight, and God asked you 'why should I let you into My heaven?', what would you tell Him?" Well, that's a good question. You could say, "Lord..." Here's the only right answer: "I trusted in the work that Your only Son did on the cross for me."

Have you ever done that? Has there ever been a day when you made personal what Jesus died on the cross for to forgive your sin? You say, "Well, I'm not sure." Make sure. The stakes are so high to not be sure you're ready for eternity. If you'll go to our website, listen, right there I've briefly explained to you how to begin this relationship. You could do it today. It's ANewStory.com. That's the site.

Once you've been to the cross, and you've taken what Jesus did there for you, you don't ever have to be nervous about eternity again.

Psalm 110, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MEDITATE ON HEAVEN’S LOVE - November 17, 2022

You’ve had enough of human love, haven’t you? Enough tabloids telling you that true love is just a diet away. Enough mornings smelling like the mistakes you made while searching for love the night before.

Don’t you need a fountain of love that won’t run dry? You’ll find one on a stone-cropped hill outside Jerusalem’s walls where Jesus hangs, cross-nailed and thorn-crowned. When you feel unloved, ascend this mount. Meditate long and hard on heaven’s love for you. Both eyes beaten shut, shoulders as raw as ground beef, lips bloody and split. Fists of hair yanked from his beard. Gasps of air escaping his lungs. As you peer into the crimsoned face of heaven’s only Son, remember this: “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Psalm 110

The word of God to my Lord:

    “Sit alongside me here on my throne

    until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.”

You were forged a strong scepter by God of Zion;

    now rule, though surrounded by enemies!

Your people will freely join you, resplendent in holy armor

    on the great day of your conquest,

Join you at the fresh break of day,

    join you with all the vigor of youth.

4-7 God gave his word and he won’t take it back:

    you’re the permanent priest, the Melchizedek priest.

The Lord stands true at your side,

    crushing kings in his terrible wrath,

Bringing judgment on the nations,

    handing out convictions wholesale,

    crushing opposition across the wide earth.

The King-Maker put his King on the throne;

    the True King rules with head held high!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Today's Scripture

1 Thessalonians 3:11–13; 4:9–12

May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.

Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don’t need me to tell you what to do. You’re God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You’re already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it.

11-12 Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.

Insight

The apostle Paul cared about the reputation of the gospel. In his letter to the Thessalonian church, he wanted to remove any obstacle that would prevent the hope of Jesus from impacting the city. He had good reason too. When the apostle first visited Thessalonica, his proclamation of the gospel caused quite the stir, which devolved into riots, shouting, and arrests (Acts 17:1–9).

In his letter to the church that grew after he left, Paul told the people to not just show love for each other but to also live quietly and mind their own business (1 Thessalonians 4:11). Why? Verse 12 says that by doing so “your daily life may win the respect of outsiders.” The apostle wanted the fledgling church to know that peace and respectability were their greatest assets in advancing the message of Jesus in the world. 

Learn more about the life of the apostle Paul.

By: Jed Ostoich

Onwards! Unswerving

[We encouraged] . . . you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

1 Thessalonians 2:12

In the poem “Rest,” the poet gently challenges our tendency to separate “leisure” time from “work,” asking, “Is not true leisure / One with true toil?” If you want to experience true leisure, instead of trying to avoid life’s duties, the author urges, “Still do thy best; Use it, not waste it,— / Else ’tis not rest. / Wouldst behold beauty / Near thee? all round? / Only hath duty / Such a sight found.”

The poet concludes that true rest and joy are both found through love and service—an idea that brings to mind Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians. After describing his calling to encourage believers “to live lives worthy of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:12), the apostle gives more specifics.

And the picture he paints of such a life is one of quiet integrity, love, and service. Paul prays that God would “make [their] love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else” (3:12). And he urges believers in Jesus to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,” to “mind your own business and work with your hands” (4:11). It’s that kind of life, quietly loving and serving in whatever ways God has enabled us, that reveals to others the beauty of a life of faith (v. 12).

Or, as the writer puts it, true joy is “loving and serving / The highest and best; / ’Tis onwards! Unswerving— / And that is true rest.”

By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How does God’s presence help you experience true joy? How are rest and service united in God’s kingdom?

Loving God, thank You that I don’t need to avoid the duties and rhythms of daily life to experience Your beauty. Help me to know the joy of a quiet life lived with You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, November 17, 2022

The Eternal Goal

By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing…I will bless you… —Genesis 22:16-17

Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.

My goal is God Himself…

At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.

“At any cost…by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.

There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, “Come,” I simply come; when He says, “Let go,” I let go; when He says, “Trust God in this matter,” I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.

God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.

’Tis because I am ordinary,

Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.

It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, “In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.”

The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our “Yes” must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, “Amen,” or, “So be it.” That promise becomes ours.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man.  Disciples Indeed, 388 L

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 5-7; Hebrews 12

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, November 17, 2022

LETTING GO OF YOUR LITTLE ONES - #9354

It's common to most every religious tradition; there's some ceremony or service where you dedicate or you commit a new child to God. In some Christian traditions, it takes the form of baptism. Others have a brief baby dedication. The last baby we dedicated was our youngest child, and that was more than a few years ago. I held the little guy in my hands. Well, times have changed. I don't pick him up anymore, I'd hurt myself seriously. He picks me up - literally sometimes. He's greeted me at the airport, picked me up off the ground and spun me around. That's my baby! A lot of things have changed. One thing never has.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Letting Go of Your Little Ones."

Well, all three of our children grew up. But the transaction that took place that day we dedicated each of them to God is one thing that is still being repeated today. We can't physically hold them in our hands anymore. But we can - we must - keep giving them over to the One who gave them to us, and their children as well. The problem is that, all too often, we actually try to keep them in our hands, don't we?

There's no more beautiful "release your child" model in all the Bible than Hannah, the woman who prayed fervently for years that God would bless her infertility with a child. God answered that prayer by giving her a boy named Samuel, who was destined to become one of the great leaders of Israel. In obedience to God, Hannah brought her young son to the temple to be trained for spiritual leadership. Part of her prayer is in 1 Samuel 1:27-28. It's our word for today from the Word of God. She says of this child for whom she waited so long: "So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given over to the Lord."

Do you know how often we moms and dads need to tell God that? How about every day for the rest of your life - no matter how old or young your children are. No matter how close to God or how far from God they are. But be careful, we're talking here about releasing our son or daughter to God, which means helping them become the person God created them to be, not trying to shape them into the person we want them to be. It means talking to God far more about your child than talking to your child about God, as important as that is.

For some of us who tend to be controllers, we have to make sure we're not trying to "play God" ourselves in our child's life. Parents who truly place their son or daughter in God's hands can lay off the nagging, the manipulating, the meddling, and the criticizing. What we try to control we often end up crushing. Our job is to say to God each new day, "You gave me this child, Lord. Again, for this new day, I'm giving her, I'm giving him, back to You. I'm available for anything You want me to do to join You in what you're doing in their life, whether You ask me to speak up, or remain silent, to apologize, to forgive, to correct, to praise, to sacrifice, or even if You want me to change."

A surrendered parent is a parent at peace; a parent who knows that this treasure God has entrusted to them has this day been placed again in God's all-powerful hands. A God who knows the plans He has for that boy, for that girl - plans for good and not for evil, to give them a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). No matter how big your little ones get, remember Whose they really are.

Psalm 109 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: SAYING YES TO THE RIGHT THING - November 16, 2022

After Christ’s forty-day pause in the wilderness, the people of Capernaum tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43). He resisted the undertow of the people by anchoring to the rock of his purpose, employing his uniqueness to make a big deal out of God everywhere he could. And aren’t you glad he did?

Suppose he had heeded the crowd and set up camp in Capernaum, reasoning, “I thought the whole world was my target and the cross my destiny. But the entire town tells me to stay in Capernaum. Could all these people be wrong?” Yes they could! In defiance of the crowd, Jesus said no to good things so he could say yes to the right thing: his unique call. Praying we do the same. 

Psalm 109

 My God, don’t turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer.

    Liars are pouring out invective on me;

Their lying tongues are like a pack of dogs out to get me,

    barking their hate, nipping my heels—and for no reason!

I loved them and now they slander me—yes, me!—

    and treat my prayer like a crime;

They return my good with evil,

    they return my love with hate.

6-20 Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge;

    dispatch Satan to prosecute him.

When he’s judged, let the verdict be “Guilty,”

    and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin.

Give him a short life,

    and give his job to somebody else.

Make orphans of his children,

    dress his wife in widow’s black;

Turn his children into begging street urchins,

    evicted from their homes—homeless.

May the bank foreclose and wipe him out,

    and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean.

May there be no one around to help him out,

    no one willing to give his orphans a break.

Chop down his family tree

    so that nobody even remembers his name.

But erect a memorial to the sin of his father,

    and make sure his mother’s name is there, too—

Their sins recorded forever before God,

    but they themselves sunk in oblivion.

That’s all he deserves since he was never once kind,

    hounded the afflicted and heartbroken to their graves.

Since he loved cursing so much,

    let curses rain down;

Since he had no taste for blessing,

    let blessings flee far from him.

He dressed up in curses like a fine suit of clothes;

    he drank curses, took his baths in curses.

So give him a gift—a costume of curses;

    he can wear curses every day of the week!

That’s what they’ll get, those out to get me—

    an avalanche of just deserts from God.

21-25 Oh, God, my Lord, step in;

    work a miracle for me—you can do it!

Get me out of here—your love is so great!—

    I’m at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.

I’m fading away to nothing, passing away,

    my youth gone, old before my time.

I’m weak from hunger and can hardly stand up,

    my body a rack of skin and bones.

I’m a joke in poor taste to those who see me;

    they take one look and shake their heads.

26-29 Help me, oh help me, God, my God,

    save me through your wonderful love;

Then they’ll know that your hand is in this,

    that you, God, have been at work.

Let them curse all they want;

    you do the blessing.

Let them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up,

    followed by cheers for me, your servant.

Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame,

    discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.

30-31 My mouth’s full of great praise for God,

    I’m singing his hallelujahs surrounded by crowds,

For he’s always at hand to take the side of the needy,

    to rescue a life from the unjust judge.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Today's Scripture

Deuteronomy 4:1–9

Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land that God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. Don’t add a word to what I command you, and don’t remove a word from it. Keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you.

3-4 You saw with your own eyes what God did at Baal Peor, how God destroyed from among you every man who joined in the Baal Peor orgies. But you, the ones who held tight to God, your God, are alive and well, every one of you, today.

5-6 Pay attention: I’m teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You’ll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what’s going on, they’ll say, “What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We’ve never seen anything like it.”

7-8 Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us? And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I’m setting before you today?

9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

Insight

The book of Deuteronomy (which means “second law”) is the final book of the Pentateuch—the five books of Moses. In Judaism, these books are referred to as Torah (literally “instruction, law”). In Deuteronomy, Moses repeated the law given to Israel at Sinai. Why the repetition? The generation that had first received (and agreed to) the law at Mount Sinai had died in the wilderness during their forty years of wandering. Now, the people were preparing to enter the promised land, and Moses repeated the law for this new generation so they’d accept it for themselves before they received the land.

By: Bill Crowder

Keep Your Guard Up

Be careful, and watch yourselves closely. Deuteronomy 4:9

A man and several friends went through a ski resort gate posted with avalanche warning signs and started snowboarding. On the second trip down, someone shouted, “Avalanche!” But the man couldn’t escape and perished in the cascading snow. Some criticized him, calling him a novice. But he wasn’t; he was an “avalanche-certified backcountry guide.” One researcher said that skiers and snowboarders with the most avalanche training are more likely to give in to faulty reasoning. “[The snowboarder] died because he was lulled into letting his guard down.”

As Israel prepared to go into the promised land, God wanted His people to keep their guard up—to be careful and alert. So He commanded them to obey all His “decrees and laws” (Deuteronomy 4:1–2) and remember His past judgment on those who disobeyed (vv. 3–4). They needed to “be careful” to examine themselves and keep watch over their inner lives (v. 9). This would help them keep their guard up against spiritual dangers from without and spiritual apathy from within.

It’s easy for us to let our guard down and fall into apathy and self-deception. But God can give us strength to avoid falling in life and forgiveness by His grace when we do. By following Him and resting in His wisdom and provision, we can keep our guard up and make good decisions!

By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

When do you tend to let your spiritual guard down? What will you do to follow God’s wisdom and remain alert to dangers to your faith?

Dear God, please help me to remain alert and follow You in loving obedience.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Still Human!

…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31

In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.

We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.

We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own.  Disciples Indeed, 386 R

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 3-4; Hebrews 11:20-40

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

BLACK FRIDAY BARGAIN FEVER - #9353

Get up crazy early. Stand in a long line. Spend hours in bone-chilling cold. Try to avoid being trampled by a stampeding crowd. Doesn't that sound like fun?

What a way to spend the day after Thanksgiving! Or any day for that matter. Guess what? More people than we can count, and that's what they're going to be doing on that "Black Friday" whenever it comes around. The news will be filled with countless stories of Americans doing just that. Although more and more are going online. But still, they'll hit the stores, and they're going to try to scoop up the "door-busting" bargains offered in the wee hours of Black Friday. For some people it will be more like a black and blue Friday maybe.

Now, Black Friday veterans have told me it's not just a crunch, it's a rush. It's all about recognizing these short-lived opportunities and aggressively going after them before they're gone. (I'll be sleeping.)

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Black Friday Bargain Fever."

You know that rush! Where we recognize short-lived opportunities, and go after them before they're gone. Why, that should be what it's like to tell people the Good News about Jesus. He can erase your sin. He'll love you without strings. He can guarantee you are going to heaven! It's all about recognizing the opportunities we all have regularly to bring up Jesus, and realizing that those windows of opportunity won't last long. Yeah, and going after those opportunities aggressively.

That's part of the Bible's description of how to live smart. Did you know that? It's in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 5 beginning in verse 15. Here's what it says: "Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise..." Okay, that's living smart. Here's living wise: "making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Another translation talks about "buying up the time." Just like those Black Friday shoppers, going after it with the passionate sense of urgency. It's not going to be there long. Grab it while you can.

When the bargains are gone, you lose a little money. When the Jesus-sharing opportunities are gone, it can cost the eternity of someone you care about. Because in the words of the Bible, "He that has the Son (that's Jesus, the Son of God.) has life; he that does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). If you've got Jesus, you've got life forever in heaven. It's up to you to share that life with those around you who don't have Him, who don't have that life.

Okay, so what creates a natural opportunity to talk about your relationship with Jesus? It might be something happening in your life, or in their life, or something going on in the world. Anything that would legitimately provide a natural opportunity for you to reference some difference that having Jesus has made for you.

More than anything, I think what opens natural opportunities to talk about Jesus is praying for them. You can't be around me too long without learning about the 3-open prayer based on Colossians 4:3-4. Here's what Paul says, "Pray for us, that God will open a door for our message." And then he says, "Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should."

So, you pray, "Lord, open a door." That's a natural opportunity to bring up Jesus. And then, "Lord, open their heart." "Lord, get them ready. And if you're going to get me ready to talk to them, get them ready to hear about Jesus." And then, "Lord, open my mouth." Give me the words, give me the courage, the approach.

If you start to pray that 3-open prayer, God's going to answer it. You don't have to say, "Lord, if it's Your will." It is. He wants to open a door, open their heart, and open your mouth. So, start praying that. Learn it right now: "Lord, open a door." "Lord, open their heart." "Lord, open my mouth." When you ask God for open doors, then you open your eyes to look for them. They'll be there, all over the place, because God really wants you to tell people about what His Son did for them.

It's exciting to live the adventure of discovering life-giving, life-saving opportunities. And it's costly to miss those opportunities - really costly.

John 15 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A PLEA FOR MERCY - November 15, 2022

What of those who die with no faith? My husband never prayed. My grandpa never worshiped. And so we ask, What about the one who never believed? How do we know he or she didn’t? Who among us is privy to a person’s final thoughts? Who among us knows what transpires in those final moments? Are you sure no prayer was offered? A glimpse of eternity can bend the proudest knees. Could a person stare into the yawning canyon of death without whispering a plea for mercy? And could our God, who is partial to the humble, resist it?

He couldn’t on Calvary. The confession of the thief on the cross was both a first and final one. But Christ heard it. Christ received it. Maybe you never heard your loved one confess Christ, but who’s to say Christ didn’t?

John 15

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.

17 “But remember the root command: Love one another.

Hated by the World

18-19 “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.

20 “When that happens, remember this: Servants don’t get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.

21-25 “They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don’t know the One who sent me. If I hadn’t come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse. Hate me, hate my Father—it’s all the same. If I hadn’t done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn’t be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father. Interesting—they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, ‘They hated me for no good reason.’

26-27 “When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes—the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father—he will confirm everything about me. You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Today's Scripture

Exodus 4:10–17

Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”

11-12 God said, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say.”

13 He said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!”

14-17 God got angry with Moses: “Don’t you have a brother, Aaron the Levite? He’s good with words, I know he is. He speaks very well. In fact, at this very moment he’s on his way to meet you. When he sees you he’s going to be glad. You’ll speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll be right there with you as you speak and with him as he speaks, teaching you step by step. He will speak to the people for you. He’ll act as your mouth, but you’ll decide what comes out of it. Now take this staff in your hand; you’ll use it to do the signs.”

Insight

When God called Moses to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 3:1–4:17), Moses protested, giving various excuses why he wasn’t the right candidate. He questioned his own identity (3:11); his lack of authority (v. 13); and his suitability, credibility, and acceptability (4:1). He had tried this role previously but was outrightly rejected by his own people. No longer a prince, Moses had been a fugitive and lowly shepherd for the past forty years (2:11–15). But God assured him of His personal involvement (3:14–15) and His powerful presence (vv. 16–20; 4:1–9). In Moses’ fourth excuse, he argued that he lacked the eloquence of a leader (4:10). God promised that He would empower him to speak powerfully and effectively (v. 12). Running out of excuses, Moses asked God to “please send someone else” (v. 13), unveiling the real reason behind his reluctance. He eventually accepted the assignment, and God empowered him as promised (see Acts 7:22). By: K. T. Sim

Using Your Voice

I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. Exodus 4:12

Since age eight, Lisa had struggled with a stammer and became afraid of social situations that required her to talk with people. But later in life, after speech therapy helped her overcome her challenge, Lisa decided to use her voice to help others. She began volunteering as a counselor for an emotional distress telephone hotline.

Moses had to face his concerns about speaking to help lead the Israelites out of captivity. God asked him to communicate with Pharaoh, but Moses protested because he didn’t feel confident in his speaking ability (Exodus 4:10). God challenged him, “Who gave human beings their mouths?” Then He reassured Moses saying, “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (vv. 11–12).

God’s response reminds us that He can work powerfully through us even in our limitations. But even when we know this in our hearts, it can be hard to live it out. Moses continued to struggle and begged God to send someone else (v. 13). So God allowed Moses’ brother Aaron to accompany him (v. 14).

Each of us has a voice that can help others. We may be afraid. We may not feel capable. We may feel we don’t have the right words.

God knows how we feel. He can provide the words and all we need to serve others and accomplish His work. By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

How might God want to use your words to help others? How does it encourage you to know that He works through us even in our fear and weaknesses?

Dear God, please show me how I can serve You with my voice today. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

“What Is That to You?”

Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 1-2; Hebrews 11:1-19

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

THE REAL YOU LIVES AT HOME - #9352

It was the day of our class elections, and I had hoped to be elected class president that day. I lost by two votes. Later, I found out that my girlfriend and my best friend had somehow gotten so busy that day, yeah, they hadn't gotten around to voting. While subsequent events actually showed what better plans God had for that year, I wasn't too happy on that election day. No, especially with two people who were pretty close to me.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Real You Lives At Home."

You know, it hurts when the people closest to you don't vote for you...especially if it's your family. Something's wrong if the people who know you best aren't on the list of people who admire you, respect you, trust you.

God seems to think it's pretty important to have your family in your corner. He makes that priority clear even when He's spelling out the job qualifications for those aspiring to spiritual leadership. In 1 Timothy 3:4-5, our word for today from the Word of God, here's what He says about spiritual leaders, "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?" In other words, if a person is having problems in his relationships at home, don't spread that infection to the church.

Now, the issue here is really larger than just church leaders. It says clearly that God places a high priority on how each of us is doing with our wife, our husband, our children, our parents. In Proverbs 14:1, God describes the difference between a wise and a foolish woman, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." A woman has incredible power to either build her family up or tear them down. Later in that same chapter, God tells us that, "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge." So, a man is either giving his loved ones a place where they feel safe - or it's another battlefield.

It may be that you have the vote of folks at work. They think you're great. Maybe you have the votes of the people who know the public you; you're charming, giving. And the folks at church may hold you in high regard, too. But none of that's what matters most. What matters is what your husband or wife thinks of you, your children, your parents. They see the real you. None of the fancy speeches or public acclaim or public image you have matters to them. They care if you are someone who puts others first or yourself first, if your actions at home measure up to your words outside the home, if you keep your promises or you break them. Your family cares if you lie or tell the truth, if you put them first or if they only get your leftovers, if they feel safe in your love ... if you build them up or you tear them down.

And those are things that really matter to God, too. If you want to see what a person is really like, see what their family thinks of them. They know you without the image, without the mask, without the nice speeches. There is no greater honor than to have your family consider you a hero. There is no greater disgrace than to have your family not believe in you. If you don't carry your home precinct, you lose. You have nothing more important to do than to be what they need you to be.

Psalm 108 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: WHEN DOUBT CREEPS IN - November 14, 2022

Doubt. He’s a nosy neighbor. He’s an obnoxious guest. He’ll pester you, he’ll irritate you, he’ll kick the stool out from under you and refuse to help you up. He doesn’t offer any solutions; he only raises questions.

Had any visits from doubt lately? If you find yourself going to church in order to be saved and not because you are saved, then you’ve been listening to him. If you find yourself doubting God could forgive you again for that, you’ve been sold some snake oil. If you are more cynical about Christians than sincere about Christ, then guess who came to dinner?

I suggest you put a lock on your gate. I suggest you post a “Do Not Enter” sign on your door. James 1:6 says, “Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind.”

Psalm 108

 I’m ready, God, so ready,

    ready from head to toe.

Ready to sing,

    ready to raise a God-song:

“Wake, soul! Wake, lute!

    Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

3-6 I’m thanking you, God, out in the streets,

    singing your praises in town and country.

The deeper your love, the higher it goes;

    every cloud’s a flag to your faithfulness.

Soar high in the skies, O God!

    Cover the whole earth with your glory!

And for the sake of the one you love so much,

    reach down and help me—answer me!

7-9 That’s when God spoke in holy splendor:

    “Brimming over with joy,

I make a present of Shechem,

    I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.

Gilead’s in my pocket,

    to say nothing of Manasseh.

Ephraim’s my hard hat,

    Judah my hammer.

Moab’s a scrub bucket—

    I mop the floor with Moab,

Spit on Edom,

    rain fireworks all over Philistia.”

10-11 Who will take me to the thick of the fight?

    Who’ll show me the road to Edom?

You aren’t giving up on us, are you, God?

    refusing to go out with our troops?

12-13 Give us help for the hard task;

    human help is worthless.

In God we’ll do our very best;

    he’ll flatten the opposition for good.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, November 14, 2022

Today's Scripture

Psalm 57

Be good to me, God—and now!

    I’ve run to you for dear life.

I’m hiding out under your wings

    until the hurricane blows over.

I call out to High God,

    the God who holds me together.

He sends orders from heaven and saves me,

    he humiliates those who kick me around.

God delivers generous love,

    he makes good on his word.

4 I find myself in a pride of lions

    who are wild for a taste of human flesh;

Their teeth are lances and arrows,

    their tongues are sharp daggers.

5 Soar high in the skies, O God!

    Cover the whole earth with your glory!

6 They booby-trapped my path;

    I thought I was dead and done for.

They dug a mantrap to catch me,

    and fell in headlong themselves.

7-8 I’m ready, God, so ready,

    ready from head to toe,

Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:

    “Wake up, soul!

Wake up, harp! wake up, lute!

    Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

9-10 I’m thanking you, God, out loud in the streets,

    singing your praises in town and country.

The deeper your love, the higher it goes;

    every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness.

11 Soar high in the skies, O God!

    Cover the whole earth with your glory!

Insight

The scribal heading to this psalm connects the prayer with David’s experience hiding from Saul in a cave, something that happened two different times—first in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1–2) and later in a cave in the desert of En Gedi (24:1–13). The dominant tone of Psalm 57 is one of deep trust, even though it’s set in a context of great danger (v. 6). This trust is rooted in the psalmist’s belief in the power of “God Most High” (v. 2). The title “God Most High” points to God’s glory and rule over all the nations and peoples of the world (47:2). Being anchored in His glory and confident that He’ll act (57:3) allows the psalmist to find refuge in Him and to even rejoice in the midst of danger (vv. 7–8).

By: Monica La Rose

The Love of God

Great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psalm 57:10

In 1917, Frederick Lehman, a California businessman beset by financial setbacks, wrote the lyrics to the hymn, “The Love of God.” His inspiration led him quickly to pen the first two stanzas, but he got stuck on the third. He recalled a poem that had been discovered years earlier, written on the walls of a prison. A prisoner had scratched it there into the stone, expressing a deep awareness of God’s love. The poem happened to be in the same meter as Lehman’s hymn. He made it his third stanza.  

There are times when we face difficult setbacks as did Lehman and the poet in the prison cell. In times of despair, we do well to echo the psalmist David’s words and “take refuge in the shadow of [God’s] wings” (Psalm 57:1). It’s okay to “cry out to God” with our troubles (v. 2), to speak to Him of our current ordeal and the fears we have when “in the midst of lions” (v. 4). We’re soon reminded of the reality of God’s provision in times past, and join David who says, “I will sing and make music. . . . I will awaken the dawn” (vv. 7–8).

“The love of God is greater far,” this hymn proclaims, adding “it goes beyond the highest star.” It’s precisely in our time of greatest need when we’re to embrace how great God’s love really is—indeed “reaching to the heavens” (v. 10).

By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

What are the difficulties you face today? How has God provided for you in times past?

Loving God, I am facing difficult matters, but I am reminded of Your love for me and Your provision throughout my life. Thank You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, November 14, 2022

Discovering Divine Design

As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… —Genesis 24:27

We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “…the Lord led me…” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.

Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Lamentations 3-5; Hebrews 10:19-39

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, November 14, 2022

DEADLY NEGLECT - #9351

Our friend, Ruthie, loved crossword puzzles, and she hates bridges. So when she's riding with us and there's a bridge, she knows what to do. She covers her face with her crossword puzzle book until it's over. I've teased Ruthie about this a lot. But then two bridges in a week collapsed in different parts of the U. S., and I was wondering if I should buy a crossword puzzle book. Oh wait - I'm driving.

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

It really isn't funny. One minute you're on the bridge. The next minute you and your car are in the icy water below. Thankfully, no one died on those bridges. One was in Washington State, the other one was in Missouri. But when that Interstate bridge in Minneapolis caved in some years ago, it cost 13 people their lives.

I'm not excited to hear that one in nine U. S. bridges is "functionally obsolete" or "structurally inadequate." Fact is, bridges that aren't properly maintained and repaired are in danger of going down, whether it's a bridge between cities or a bridge between people. And all too often I have been guilty of neglecting some very important bridges. Maybe it was to my wife, my children, my coworkers, my friends.

Oh, there was a day when I put a lot into building that bridge. I wanted to be connected to their heart. I've never made a decision that I didn't care about that, anymore than I made a decision to let weeds grow in my garden. All you have to do to weaken a bridge is nothing. It's called neglect.

It's not that we reject people we love, we just neglect them. We get too busy for them. We fail to repair the things that break. We forget to hug them, to set aside time for them, to listen to them. In short, we take them for granted.

In our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 27:23-24, God says, "Be sure that you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds...for a crown is not secure for all generations." Basically, if you want it to be there tomorrow, take care of it today.

See, relationships, like bridges, collapse when they're not cared for. Oh, the final cave-in may come suddenly, but there's really nothing sudden about it. There's a slow, almost imperceptible deterioration. Now, one day it's gone. That's why the Bible says to "be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry" (James 1:19). When you stop having time to listen, you start feeling the strain, the tension, the distance. Then comes that jolt that jars the bridge and exposes the damage neglect has done. And everything comes apart and the bridge collapses.

Is it over? Not necessarily. See, bridges can be rebuilt stronger than ever at a price. Doing whatever it takes, changing whatever you have to change, and spending whatever it costs to rebuild that bridge. But it's worth it to recover all you've lost on the other side.

The collapse of a relationship? It's a wakeup call to look where we haven't looked before - up. Because what I can't fix, God can: broken relationships, broken families, broken hearts. He promises, "I will give you back what you lost to the stripping locusts" (Joel 2:25 NLT). And "bestow...a crown of beauty instead of ashes" (Isaiah 61:3).

Sadly, though, when we reach up for God, we realize how far we are from Him, and there's a reason. The Bible says, "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). We've done life "my way" instead of His way, and we've left this yawning chasm between us and our only Hope. We need Him, but there's no bridge.

Oh, we try to build a bridge to God. That's what every religion on the planet is. But they all fall short, because no religion can pay the death penalty that sin demands. All our bridges to God fail to reach the other side. But that's why God did what only He could do. He built a bridge from heaven to us. God's Son, pouring out His life to save yours and mine by paying our death penalty. The Bible says, "He gave Himself for our sins to rescue us" (Galatians 1:3).

So the Bridge is open today. God's waiting on the other side for you with open arms. But you have to cross that Bridge; you've got to belong to the God who made you. If you've never experienced His love, start today. Reach out, open your heart to Him. Tell Him, "I'm yours."

Go to our website. We've got the information there that will help you cross over. That's ANewStory.com. Because the bridge God has built will get you home safely.

Psalm 103, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He Will Heal You

Are you waiting for Jesus to heal you?  Take hope from Jesus' response to the blind man in Mark 10:45-47.

"Have mercy on us, O Lord!" the blind man cried. Everyone else kept going. Jesus froze. Something caught his attention. Interrupted his journey. Raising his hand to stop the people, lifting a finger to his lips for them to be quiet. What was it? What did Jesus hear?

A prayer. An unembellished appeal for help floating on winds of faith and landing against his ear. Jesus heard the words and stopped. He still does. And he still asks, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

Before amen-comes the power of a simple prayer! And Jesus' heart went out to the blind men. He touched their eyes. Jesus moved in where others had stepped away. He healed them. At the gateway to heaven, God's children will once again be whole!

From Before Amen

Psalm 103

 O my soul, bless God.

    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!

O my soul, bless God,

    don’t forget a single blessing!

3-5     He forgives your sins—every one.

    He heals your diseases—every one.

    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!

    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.

    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.

    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

6-18 God makes everything come out right;

    he puts victims back on their feet.

He showed Moses how he went about his work,

    opened up his plans to all Israel.

God is sheer mercy and grace;

    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,

    nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,

    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

As high as heaven is over the earth,

    so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset,

    he has separated us from our sins.

As parents feel for their children,

    God feels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out,

    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.

Men and women don’t live very long;

    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,

But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,

    leaving nothing to show they were here.

God’s love, though, is ever and always,

    eternally present to all who fear him,

Making everything right for them and their children

    as they follow his Covenant ways

    and remember to do whatever he said.

19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;

    he rules over us all. He’s the King!

So bless God, you angels,

    ready and able to fly at his bidding,

    quick to hear and do what he says.

Bless God, all you armies of angels,

    alert to respond to whatever he wills.

Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—

    everything and everyone made by God.

And you, O my soul, bless God!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Today's Scripture Colossians 3:12–17

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Insight

In Colossians 3, Paul reminded his readers of their status as a people chosen by God (v. 12). Because we’re chosen, we have certain obligations that are relational in nature. Since we have a reconciled relationship to God, to whom we were once enemies (1:21), we’re to be in healthy relationship to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, Paul instructed us to put on the virtues listed as we would put on literal garments (3:12–14). The characteristics he shared are critical to establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Our restored relationship to God should lead us to extend compassion, kindness, and patience to our fellow believers. This, however, means that we’ll necessarily need to “bear with each other” when conflicts and misunderstandings arise (v. 13). We can’t put on these virtues without love, “which binds them all together in perfect unity” (v. 14). By: Tim Gustafson

Small Kindnesses

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Amanda works as a visiting nurse who rotates among several nursing homes—often bringing her eleven-year-old daughter Ruby to work. For something to do, Ruby began asking residents, “If you could have any three things, what would you want?” and recording their answers in her notebook. Surprisingly, many of their wishes were for little things—Vienna sausages, chocolate pie, cheese, avocados. So Ruby set up a GoFundMe to help her provide for their simple wishes. And when she delivers the goodies, she doles out hugs. She says, “It lifts you. It really does.” 

When we show compassion and kindness like Ruby’s, we reflect our God who “is gracious and compassionate . . . and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8). That’s why the apostle Paul urged us, as God’s people, to “clothe [our]selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Because God has shown great compassion to us, we naturally long to share His compassion with others. And as we do so intentionally, we “clothe” ourselves in it.

Paul goes on to tell us: “over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (v. 14). And he reminds us that we are to “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 17), remembering that all good things come from God. When we’re kind to others, our spirits are lifted.

By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When have you been the benefactor of someone’s kindness? How can you show kindness to another?

Jesus, thank You for showing me overflowing, unlimited kindness. Help me to find joy in doing kind acts for others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Faith or Experience?

…the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Both nations and individuals have tried Christianity and abandoned it, because it has been found too difficult; but no man has ever gone through the crisis of deliberately making Jesus Lord and found Him to be a failure. The Love of God—The Making of a Christian, 680 R

Bible in a Year: Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18

Psalm 101, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  Your God-Given Prayer Strength

Before you say amen-comes the power of a simple prayer! A prayer that says, "Father I need your power in my life. I face impossible circumstances and am desperate for a miracle. Would you show me your power in my life today? God, for those who have a small view of you, help them to find comfort in the knowledge of how mighty and enormous you actually are. Thank you for sending your Son. It's in the all-powerful name of Jesus that I pray, amen."

Here's my invitation to you today! Release that prayer wimp self-image you have and discover confidence in your God-given prayer strength. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com-take the brief Prayer Strengths Assessment. It'll not only encourage you-it'll give you a simple building block for your growth in prayer!

Before Amen

Psalm 101

My theme song is God’s love and justice,

    and I’m singing it right to you, God.

I’m finding my way down the road of right living,

    but how long before you show up?

I’m doing the very best I can,

    and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.

I refuse to take a second look

    at corrupting people and degrading things.

I reject made-in-Canaan gods,

    stay clear of contamination.

The crooked in heart keep their distance;

    I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.

I put a gag on the gossip

    who bad-mouths his neighbor;

I can’t stand

    arrogance.

But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—

    they’re the ones I want working with me;

Men and women on the straight and narrow—

    these are the ones I want at my side.

But no one who traffics in lies

    gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.

I’ve rounded up all the wicked like cattle

    and herded them right out of the country.

I purged God’s city

    of all who make a business of evil.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Today's Scripture

Genesis 45:3–11

 Joseph spoke to his brothers: “I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word. They were speechless—they couldn’t believe what they were hearing and seeing.

4-8 “Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.

9-11 “Hurry back to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: I’m master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I’ll give you a place to live in Goshen where you’ll be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I’ll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I’ll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you—you won’t want for a thing.’

Insight

Joseph was betrayed by his jealous brothers, sold into slavery, unjustly imprisoned, and forgotten by the people he helped. But God was with him and made him the second most powerful man in Egypt (Genesis 41:39–40; Acts 7:9–10). When reconciling with his estranged brothers, Joseph acknowledged God’s sovereign plans in his life (Genesis 45:5–7). He later affirmed again that God ultimately overrules human sin for His glory and our good (50:20). The apostle Paul also acknowledged God’s sovereignty: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). By: K. T. Sim

Both Are True

It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 

Genesis 45:5

After three decades, Feng Lulu was reunited with her birth family. As a toddler, she was kidnapped while playing outside her house, but through the help of All-China Women’s Federation, she was finally located. Because she was so young when she was abducted, Feng Lulu doesn’t remember it. She grew up believing she’d been sold because her parents couldn’t afford to keep her, so learning the truth surfaced many questions and emotions.

When Joseph was reunited with his brothers, it’s likely he experienced some complex emotions. He’d been sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt as a young man. Despite a series of painful twists and turns, God propelled Joseph to a position of authority. When his brothers came to Egypt to buy food during a famine, they—unwittingly—sought it from him.

Joseph acknowledged that God redeemed their wrongdoing, saying He used it to “save [their] lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7). Yet Joseph didn't redefine their hurtful actions toward him—he described them accurately as “selling [him]” (v. 5).

We sometimes try to put an overly positive spin on difficult situations, focusing on the good God brings from them without acknowledging the emotional struggle. Let’s take care not to redefine a wrong as being good simply because God redeemed it: we can look for Him to bring good from it while still recognizing the pain wrongdoing causes. Both are true.

By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

When have you experienced hardship as a result of another’s wrongdoing? How have you seen God bring good from it?

Father God, thank You for lovingly tending to my wounds.  

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, November 12, 2022

The Changed Life

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17

What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.

What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 51-52; Hebrews 9

John 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HELP AT THE RIGHT TIME - November 11, 2022

When we traveled with our young daughters, I carried our plane tickets in my briefcase. When it came time to board, I’d stand between the attendant and the child. As each daughter passed, I placed a ticket in her hand. She, in turn, gave the ticket to the attendant. Each one received the ticket in the nick of time.

What I did for my daughters God does for you. He places himself between you and the need. And, at the right time, he gives you the ticket. Wasn’t this the promise he gave his disciples? “When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit” (Mark 11:13 NCV).

God leads us. He will do the right thing at the right time!

John 14

The Road

 “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”

6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”

9-10 “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.

11-14 “Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.

The Spirit of Truth

15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”

23-24 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.

25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.

“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, November 11, 2022

Today's Scripture

Mark 7:14–23

 Jesus called the crowd together again and said, “Listen now, all of you—take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it’s what you vomit—that’s the real pollution.”

17 When he was back home after being with the crowd, his disciples said, “We don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”

18-19 Jesus said, “Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you see that what you swallow can’t contaminate you? It doesn’t enter your heart but your stomach, works its way through the intestines, and is finally flushed.” (That took care of dietary quibbling; Jesus was saying that all foods are fit to eat.)

20-23 He went on: “It’s what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution.”

Insight

In Mark 7:13–17, we encounter three groups of people. In verse 13, Jesus directed a pointed message at a narrow subset of people—the teachers of the law. Christ plainly saw the gigantic loopholes these experts had created through which they could violate the spirit of God’s law and said, “You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.” Having established His case, Jesus turned to the crowd and said within hearing of the teachers of the law, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles them” (v. 15). Beginning with verse 17, Christ’s disciples approached Him privately and asked about His teaching. He reiterated His point that what goes into the stomach isn’t what defiles a person. Mark then notes parenthetically, “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean” (v. 19).

By: Tim Gustafson

The Source

Create in me a pure heart, O God. Psalm 51:10

It was 1854, and something was killing thousands of people in London. It must be the bad air, people thought. And indeed, as unseasonable heat baked the sewage-fouled River Thames, the smell grew so bad it became known as “The Great Stink.”

But the worst problem wasn’t the air. Research by Dr. John Snow would show that contaminated water was the cause of the cholera epidemic.

We humans have long been aware of another crisis—one that stinks to high heaven. We live in a broken world—and we’re prone to misidentify the source of this problem, treating symptoms instead. Wise social programs and policies do some good, but they’re powerless to stop the root cause of society’s ills—our sinful hearts!

When Jesus said, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them,” He wasn’t referring to physical diseases (Mark 7:15). Rather, He was diagnosing the spiritual condition of every one of us. “It is what comes out of a person that defiles them,” He said (v. 15), listing a litany of evils lurking inside us (vv. 21–22).

“Surely I was sinful at birth,” David wrote (Psalm 51:5). His lament is one we can all voice. We’re broken from the beginning. That’s why David prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (v. 10). Every day, we need that new heart, created by Jesus through His Spirit.

Instead of treating the symptoms, we must let Jesus purify the source.

By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

In what ways might you be treating symptoms instead of letting Jesus clean up the source? How can you share the good news of what Jesus did for you?

Heavenly Father, guard my heart and help me be attentive to Your Spirit within me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, November 11, 2022

The Supreme Climb

He said, "Take now your son…" —Genesis 22:2

God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning…and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.

Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, November 11, 2022

THE DANGER OF YOUR "HIGHS" - #9350

Our little granddaughter, when she was little, oh what a Mickey Mouse fan! So I got her a big helium Mickey balloon. It had gone through three pretty distinct phases. First, Mickey was totally flat and folded up into a little square. Then the lady at the store gave him a shot of helium that made Mickey big and flying high. In fact, without a string to tie him down, he'd fly away and be in Bolivia. I know from past experience, though, that there's another phase. Yeah, his flying high days can't last forever. One day we knew we were going to find him all soft, mushy, and (you can picture it can't you, right?) slowly shriveling up on the floor.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Danger of Your 'Highs.'"

The life and times of a helium balloon aren't all that different from the life and times of folks like you and me. We start out flat, we open our lives to Jesus Christ, He enlarges our life, gives us some victorious seasons where we're flying high, and then often overnight, we've gone flat and we've hit the ground. It doesn't have to be that way.

If you know that cycle all too well, you need to see how the cycle worked in the life of one of God's great servants in the Bible. Elijah was one of the most powerful of God's ancient prophets. And he was flying high in God that day on Mount Carmel when he single-handedly challenged 450 prophets of the idol Baal to a spiritual showdown. It was sort of a spiritual "Gunfight at the O. K. Corral." Elijah's challenge is to see whose God will consume with fire from heaven the sacrifice that's just been laid on the altar.

Our word for today from the Word of God begins with 1 Kings 18:37 as Elijah prays in front of this army of false prophets: "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again." The entire prayer is only 60 words, but Elijah mentions God 9 times in those 60 words. On Mt. Carmel, it is clearly all about the Lord God. And the fire falls, consuming the sacrifice and causing everybody to cry, "The Lord! He is God!"

Now fast forward to the next chapter. The king has threatened Elijah's life and in fear he runs to the desert. He sits under a tree, and in the Bible's words, "prayed that he might die." What? "'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' ... I have been very zealous for the Lord God ... I am the only one left'" (1 Kings 19:4-5, 10). On Mt. Carmel, it was all about God. In the desert, it was all about me. And that's the difference between flying high and falling flat. During the victory time, it's all about the Lord. But often in the aftermath of a victory, something happens that makes it suddenly all about me, and we crash.

Jesus said the devil is a thief who comes "to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). And every time God does something good in your life, the devil is there with some cheap shot he wants to use to rob you of the joy of what God has done. He is the joy robber! Don't fall for it.

It's like you've just won the Super Bowl, you're walking off the field, and your defeated opponent says, "I'll make you pay for this." And he gives you a bloody nose. Yes, he hurt you a little, but he can't change the outcome. You still won, and nothing he can do can change the victory. So when that joy-robber comes in after the victory and tries to get you all focused on yourself, you tell him, "I know who this is, and I'm not falling for it! We won, and you can't change it!"

Life won't always be "flying high" moments like Elijah's Mt. Carmel, but you can be consistently joyful and hopeful and positive, even when some of the air goes out. Because - and the Bible says - "the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10), not the joy of your circumstances. It's your Lord who inflates you with His joy, His victory, so you don't have to lie deflated in a corner ever again!