Jonah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHERE TO STARE IN A STORM - March 29, 2023

For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments, Peter does the impossible: “he walked on the water to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:29 NKJV). Then Peter shifts his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall, and he sinks like a brick in a pond. Give the storm waters more attention that the Storm Walker, and get ready to do the same.

God’s call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t oblivious to the storms. We just counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments. Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus. Memorize Scripture. Sing hymns. Read biographies of great people. Ponder the testimonies of faithful Christians. Walk to the sound of his voice. Make the deliberate decision to set your hope on him. And when your attention turns away, bring it back.

Jonah 1

Running Away from God

One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”

3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.

4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering.

The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What’s this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we’re in trouble and rescue us.”

7 Then the sailors said to one another, “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Let’s draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who’s responsible for this disaster.”

So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw.

8 Then they grilled him: “Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?”

9 He told them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land.”

10 At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, “What on earth have you done!” As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God.

11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.

12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.”

13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.

14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.”

15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down.

16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.

17 Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s belly three days and nights.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Today's Scripture

Exodus 2:1–10

Moses

 A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile.

4-6 The baby’s older sister found herself a vantage point a little way off and watched to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe; her maidens strolled on the bank. She saw the basket-boat floating in the reeds and sent her maid to get it. She opened it and saw the child—a baby crying! Her heart went out to him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

7 Then his sister was before her: “Do you want me to go and get a nursing mother from the Hebrews so she can nurse the baby for you?”

8 Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Yes. Go.” The girl went and called the child’s mother.

9 Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I’ll pay you.” The woman took the child and nursed him.

10 After the child was weaned, she presented him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses (Pulled-Out), saying, “I pulled him out of the water.”

Insight

Similar to the kindness of Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:6) is the compassion of the Hebrew midwives in the previous chapter. Pharaoh had commanded Shiphrah and Puah to kill any baby boys born to the Hebrew women (1:15–16). Were there only two midwives? We don’t know, but these two are singled out for their moral courage. The midwives “feared God” and so defied Pharaoh’s vile command (v. 17). When he confronted them, they lied about it (vv. 18–19). God blessed them for their fear of Him rather than Pharaoh, and for their actions in defense of vulnerable life (v. 21). By: Tim Gustafson

God Had Other Plans

Pharaoh’s daughter . . .  named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:10

Their precise ages are unknown. One was found on the steps of a church; the other knew only that she’d been raised by nuns. Born in Poland during World War II, for nearly eighty years neither Halina nor Krystyna knew about each other. Then DNA test results revealed them to be sisters and led to a joyful reunion. It also revealed their Jewish heritage, explaining why they’d been abandoned. Evil people had marked the girls for death simply because of their identity.

Imagining a frightened mother who leaves her threatened children where they might be rescued calls to mind the story of Moses. As a Hebrew baby boy, he was marked for genocide (see Exodus 1:22). His mother strategically placed him in the Nile (2:3), giving him a chance for survival. God had a plan she couldn’t have dreamed of—to rescue His people through Moses.

The story of Moses points us to the story of Jesus. As Pharaoh had sought the murder of Hebrew boys, Herod ordered the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem (see Matthew 2:13–16).

Behind all such hatred—especially against children—is our enemy the devil. Such violence doesn’t take God by surprise. He had plans for Moses, and He has plans for you and me. And through His Son, Jesus, He’s revealed His biggest plan—to rescue and restore those who once were His enemies.

By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How do you see God’s plan at work in your life? In what ways has He rescued you?

Heavenly Father, there’s so much evil in the world. Thank You for Your rescue. Help me to trust Your perfect plan

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also be ready… —Luke 12:40

A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle— we must be spiritually real.

If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”?  Disciples Indeed, 389 L

Bible in a Year: Judges 7-8; Luke 5:1-16

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

HOW TO OBSCURE THE GOSPEL - #9448

It's an English-speaking church. The visiting pastor was Hispanic. He spoke in Spanish, using an interpreter to help his audience understand. I've spoken through an interpreter. So, you either have to say half as much or it takes twice as long. Well. the pastor chose the latter. Yeah. It took quite a while to get through his message. And to be honest, I know some minds started to wander at times. Well, at the end of his message, the pastor surprised everybody. He spoke to them completely in English. And he made a promise - the next time he would definitely speak in English. Of course, some folks were just a little frustrated. He could have spoken in the language of the people he was talking to; he just chose to speak in his own.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Obscure The Gospel."

It doesn't matter how important your message is, how sincere it is if you deliver it in words the other person can't understand. And not all language problems are linguistic. Parents of teenagers know that. What their kids are saying may be some kind of "English," but who can understand what they mean?

More importantly, when Christians tell about Jesus in church words, how many people without Christ can understand what they're saying? That's not just a casual question. It really matters, because the message of Jesus is life-or-death information - like the directions to get out of a burning building. Every missionary to another culture knows you can't just settle for the easy thing, which would be speaking in the language you're comfortable with. You don't just transmit the Gospel, you have to translate it. It's unacceptable that people might miss Jesus because I don't put it in words they can understand.

American church folks speak a language I call Christianese. And sometimes I'm not sure we even understand what some of our words mean! But we tell people they need to be "born again," to "accept" or "receive Christ," to "become a Christian" or be "saved." And they have no idea what those words mean or they have the wrong idea. Those are Bible words, but they need to be explained in non-religious words. The same is true of important words like "sin" and "Savior" and "believe." We think we've told them about Jesus, but maybe they miss what we mean.

Thus, our word for today from the Word of God. It's a great prayer request from the Apostle Paul himself in Colossians 4:3-4. He says, "Pray for us...that God may open a door for our message...Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should" Then he also asked people to pray that "whenever I speak, words may be given me" (Ephesians 6:19). The words you use matter. Proclaiming it clearly can make the difference.

So ask the Lord to help you hear yourself using Christianese and to help you find non-religious words to explain what a person needs to know to come to Christ. For example, sin can be explained as "you running your life instead of God running it" or "hijacking your life from your Creator." In our time, a "Savior"? Well, that would be a rescuer; someone who rescues you from a deadly situation you can't get yourself out of. That's exactly what Jesus came to be for us.

What does it mean to "believe" in Jesus? Most people would say they do, but not by the Bible's definition. The Bible's meaning is similar to what a drowning person would do when a lifeguard came; what a dying person would do when the rescuer comes. You hold onto Him as if He's your only hope. When did you do that with Jesus? That's what belief means. "Whoever believes in Him (grabs Him like He's their only hope) to have eternal life."

The most urgent, the most important news in the world needs to be delivered in words that a lost person can understand - non-religious words! We can do it if we choose to do it. There's someone you know whose only hope is hearing about and understanding what Jesus did on that cross for them. Would you please put Jesus where they can reach Him.

James 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SEE JESUS IN THE STORM - March 28, 2023

“The boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary” (Matthew 14:24).

Peter and his fellow storm riders knew they were in trouble. The boat lurched and lunged like a kite in a March wind. An apt description for the stormy seasons of life, right? But then the unspeakable happened. The disciples spotted someone coming on the water. They didn’t expect Jesus to come to them this way.

Neither did we. We never expected to see him in a divorce, death, lawsuit, or jail cell. We never expected to see him in a storm. But it is in storms that he does his finest work, for it is in storms he has our keenest attention. Jesus replies to their fear with an invitation worthy of inscription on every church cornerstone and archway. He said, “Courage! I am! Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

James 5

Destroying Your Life from Within

 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.

4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

* * *

7-8 Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

9 Friends, don’t complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.

10-11 Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

12 And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don’t add words like “I swear to God” to your own words. Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can’t be used against you.

Prayer to Be Reckoned With

13-15 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.

16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

19-20 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Today's Scripture

Philippians 4:4–8

 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Insight

Paul was “in chains for Christ” (Philippians 1:13) when he wrote to the Philippians. Because he mentioned the “palace guard” (v. 13) and “Caesar’s household” (4:22), he was probably imprisoned in Rome. Despite being in prison, Paul wrote this “joyful” letter (1:4, 25; 2:2, 29; 4:1), relentlessly encouraging the Philippian believers to “rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4). Some ten years earlier, during his second missionary journey, Paul had brought the gospel to this Roman colony, for which he was persecuted (Acts 16:11–40). Even though he was severely flogged and illegally imprisoned, Paul radiated joy and peace. For during adversity, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (v. 25). The apostle wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace” (Philippians 4:6–7 nlt). By: K. T. Sim

Stress to Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Moving ranks as one of the biggest stressors in life. We moved to our current home after I’d lived in my previous one for nearly twenty years. I’d lived alone in that first home for eight years before I got married. Then my husband moved in, along with all his things. Later, we added a child, and that meant even more stuff.

Our moving day to the new house wasn’t without incident. Five minutes before the movers arrived, I was still finishing up a book manuscript. And the new home had several sets of stairs, so it took double the time and twice as many movers as planned.    

But I wasn’t feeling stressed out by the events of that day. Then it hit me: I’d spent many hours finishing writing a book—one chock-full with Scripture and biblical concepts. By God’s grace, I’d been poring over the Bible, praying, and writing to meet my deadline. So, I believe the key was my immersion in Scripture and in prayer.

Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). When we pray—and “rejoice in” God (v. 4)—we refocus our mind from the problem to our Provider. We may be asking God to help us deal with a stressor, but we’re also connecting with Him, which can provide a peace “which transcends all understanding” (v. 7). By:  Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

What stressful situations do you need God to give you peace in today? How can praying with thanksgiving transform your mind?

Provider and Protector, I give my concerns to You. May Your peace guard my mind and heart.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Isn’t There Some Misunderstanding?

"Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "…are You going there again?" —John 11:7-8

Just because I don’t understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God’s directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.

Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn’t. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to your ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Judges 4-6; Luke 4:31-44

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

THE DAY YOU KNOW HOW LOVED YOU ARE - #9447

French beaches! You say that and most people might think about like a vacation that would be nice. Well, not when the Western world remembered a major anniversary that happened on French beaches on D-Day. I remember, for example, the 50th anniversary. For several days American media bombarded us, and we couldn't forget it. Something else happened on French beaches - the heroic battle to establish an allied beachhead in France and to push back the darkness of Hitler's madness.

I mean there's a whole generation who knew next to nothing about what might be the most significant military victory in the 20th century. And they don't know about it until there's an anniversary celebration of that event. But when we see some of the films - and we did then - boys barely out of high school storming the shore in the face of deadly German fire and many who died before they even hit the beach. We saw some of the veterans who survived. We heard their stories of buddies who are buried there. We saw the tears in the eyes of some pretty tough, old guys. And those of us who watched? Well, I think we were touched ourselves.

It was President Clinton - when the 50th anniversary took place - where he spoke that day. And he, of course, part of a generation who knew relatively little about D-Day but whose freedom was in a sense really paid for there. And on that day, the President seemed almost to choke up sometimes when he spoke; especially when he spoke in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach. He was speaking to a lot of veterans of that bloody battle, and one phrase of that speech still sticks out in my mind. Looking at those who risked everything on D-Day, those who gave everything, the President said these words, "We are the children of your sacrifice."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Day You Know How Loved You Are."

When you realize the high price paid on D-Day it's hard to remain unmoved. Did you know something similar happened 2,000 years ago on the day God's Son died on the cross? It happened to a soldier, a man in charge of the execution of Jesus Christ. We're about to hear remarkable words considering that they are coming from a hardened executioner.

In Mark 15:19, the man in charge of the execution - Listen to what he says, "And when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus heard His cry and saw how He died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God.'" This soldier was melted by the sacrifice of the Son of God. This was no ordinary man dying this criminal death. This was the only Son of God.

This soldier had seen a lot of death, so what moved him? Crucifixion was nothing new to him. Let's stand for a moment and listen to what he heard Jesus saying at that cross. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Well, he'd heard everything from a cross: curses, and screams, complaining, but he had never heard the word "forgive." And Jesus was forgiving those responsible for His death. That centurion must have been thinking, "He's forgiving me." He was forgiving you and me too, because it was our sin that put Jesus there.

Then he heard Jesus say, "Today you will be with Me in paradise." And here he realized that this was a man who cares about the person who needs Him, even in His own darkest hour. And he said, "This Jesus must have the power to take people to heaven." He does, including you. And then he heard Jesus cry, "It is finished!" He didn't lose! He won as He died. Mission accomplished! The death penalty for our sin fully paid in that moment; the hell we deserve can be traded for the heaven we don't deserve if we put our trust in this One and only Savior. We're the children of His sacrifice.

If you know Jesus personally, you should have one objective with the people around you who don't know Him. And that is to bring them to this cross. And if you're not sure you know Christ, God's bringing you to the foot of His Son's cross right now. Will you put all your trust in Him, or are you going to ignore this love and this sacrifice?

Are you ready to begin a relationship with Him? That's what our website's all about. Would you please go there? It's ANewStory.com. How can you say "no" to the One who loves you so very much?

2 Kings 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: COUNT TO EIGHT - March 27, 2023

Jesus’ heart was heavied by the news of the murder of John the Baptist, so he took the disciples on a retreat. But then came the crowd, a multitude of misery and sickness bringing nothing but requests. Jesus treated them with kindness. The disciples didn’t share his compassion. Jesus simply issued an assignment to them: “You give them something to eat.” So the disciples tallied their resources. “We only have five loaves and two fish” (Matthew 14:17 NKJV).

How do you suppose Jesus felt about the basket examination? Do you think he was hoping someone might count to eight? “Well, let’s see. We have five loaves, two fish, and…Jesus!” You see, standing next to the disciples was the solution to their problems…but they did not go to him. They stopped at seven and worried. Don’t do likewise. Count to eight. Better still, count on Christ.

2 Kings 14

Amaziah of Judah

In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin. She was from Jerusalem.

3-4 He lived the way God wanted and did the right thing. But he didn’t come up to the standards of his ancestor David; instead he lived pretty much as his father Joash had; the local sex-and-religion shrines continued to stay in business with people frequenting them.

5-6 When he had the affairs of the kingdom well in hand, he executed the palace guard that had assassinated his father the king. But he didn’t kill the sons of the assassins. He was obedient to what God commanded, written in the Word revealed to Moses, that parents shouldn’t be executed for their children’s sins, nor children for those of their parents. We each pay personally for our sins.

7 Amaziah roundly defeated Edom in the Valley of Salt to the tune of ten thousand dead. In another battle he took The Rock and renamed it Joktheel, the name it still bears.

8 One day Amaziah sent envoys to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, challenging him to a fight: “Come and meet with me—dare you. Let’s have it out face-to-face!”

9-10 Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah, “One day a thistle in Lebanon sent word to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But then a wild animal of Lebanon passed by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it. Just because you’ve defeated Edom in battle, you now think you’re a big shot. Go ahead and be proud, but stay home. Why press your luck? Why bring defeat on yourself and Judah?”

11 Amaziah wouldn’t take No for an answer. So Jehoash king of Israel gave in and agreed to a battle between him and Amaziah king of Judah. They met at Beth Shemesh, a town of Judah.

12 Judah was thoroughly beaten by Israel—all their soldiers ran home in defeat.

13-14 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. But Jehoash didn’t stop there; he went on to attack Jerusalem. He demolished the wall of Jerusalem all the way from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a stretch of about six hundred feet. He looted the gold, silver, and furnishings—anything he found that was worth taking—from both the palace and The Temple of God. And, for good measure, he took hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

15-16 The rest of the life and times of Jehoash, his significant accomplishments and the fight with Amaziah king of Judah, are all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria in the cemetery of the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became the next king.

17-18 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah continued as king fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. The rest of the life and times of Amaziah is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

19-20 At the last they cooked up a plot against Amaziah in Jerusalem and he had to flee to Lachish. But they tracked him down in Lachish and killed him there. They brought him back on horseback and buried him in Jerusalem, with his ancestors in the City of David.

21-22 Azariah—he was only sixteen years old at the time—was the unanimous choice of the people of Judah to succeed his father Amaziah as king. Following his father’s death, he rebuilt and restored Elath to Judah.

Jeroboam II of Israel

23-25 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria. He ruled for forty-one years. As far as God was concerned he lived an evil life, never deviating an inch from all the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin. But he did restore the borders of Israel to Lebo Hamath in the far north and to the Dead Sea in the south, matching what God, the God of Israel, had pronounced through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

26-27 God was fully aware of the trouble in Israel, its bitterly hard times. No one was exempt, whether slave or citizen, and no hope of help anywhere was in sight. But God wasn’t yet ready to blot out the name of Israel from history, so he used Jeroboam son of Jehoash to save them.

28-29 The rest of the life and times of Jeroboam, his victories in battle and how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath which had belonged to Judah, these are all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jeroboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the royal cemetery. His son Zechariah became the next king.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, March 27, 2023

Today's Scripture

James 5:13–16

Prayer to Be Reckoned With

13-15 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.

16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

Insight

The words pray[ed] or prayer occur seven times in James 5:13–18 (niv), but they’re derived from three different Greek words. The word rendered “pray” in verse 13 (also vv. 14, 17, 18) is proseuchomai, to pray to God, to supplicate, worship. This is the word most often used in the New Testament in reference to prayer. The word translated “prayer” in verse 15 is euche, which denotes a wish, expressed as a petition to God. The verb form of this word, euchomai, appears in verse 16: “pray for each other so that you may be healed.” The other word translated “prayer” in James 5 also appears in verse 16: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The word here is deesis, a petition, prayer, request, supplication. Prayers of various kinds find their way to the listening ear and caring heart of God. By: Arthur Jackson

God Is Listening

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

Chuck, an actor and martial artist, honored his mother on her hundredth birthday by sharing how instrumental she’d been in his spiritual transformation. “Mom has been an example of perseverance and faith,” he wrote. She raised three boys on her own during the Great Depression; suffered the death of two spouses, a son, a stepson, and grandchildren; and endured many surgeries. “[She] has prayed for me all my life, through thick and thin.” He continued, “When nearly losing my soul to Hollywood, she was back home praying for my success and salvation.” He concluded, “I thank [my mom] for helping God to make me all I can and should be.”

The prayers of Chuck’s mother helped him to find salvation—and a godly wife. She prayed fervently for her son, and God heard her prayers. We don’t always get our prayers answered the way we’d like, so we cannot use prayer as a magic wand. However, James assures us that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (5:16). Like this mom, we’re to continue to pray for the sick and those in trouble (vv. 13–15). When, like her, we commune with God through prayer, we find encouragement and peace and the assurance that the Spirit is at work.

Does someone in your life need salvation or healing or help? Lift your prayers to God in faith. He’s listening. By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When have you seen God answer your fervent prayers? Who continues to be in your prayers?

Dear Father, help me to continually be in prayer and not to give up. Thank You for Your love that helps me persevere.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, March 27, 2023

Spiritual Vision Through Personal Character

Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place… —Revelation 4:1

A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, “Friend, come up even higher.” There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.

Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.

Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, “Come up higher,” not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…?” (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance. Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 1-3; Luke 4:1-30

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, March 27, 2023

HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE LESS LONELY - #9446

If the firstborn in a family is a girl, the younger children often end up with a bonus feature; they get two mothers instead of one! Big sisters are often happy to be another mother for her younger siblings, whether they're happy about it or not! But the instinctive motherly concern of a big sister came out loud and clear. It was in our three-year-old granddaughter some years ago. She had gotten a brand new baby brother whose life was pretty much eating and sleeping; mostly sleeping...until he needed something. And some friends were visiting our son and daughter-in-law, and there was a lot of talking and laughing going on. Suddenly, our little granddaughter said, "Shhhh. Shhhh, hear my brother crying." He was. And she was the only one who heard it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Make the World a Little Less Lonely."

How our world needs people with their ears tuned to those who need help and attention! You and I who belong to Jesus Christ need to be that person in our personal world. The one who says, "I hear my brother crying." Unfortunately, so many of us are so busy and so preoccupied with our own agenda-so self-absorbed-we run right by many people who are crying, at least inside.

The life of Jesus leaves us an unmistakable example of living with your "need-ometer" always on, looking for the needs around us. In Luke 18, beginning with verse 35, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says: "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging (of course, he's used to being ignored, no doubt). When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.' He called out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!'" I love these next two words. "Jesus stopped." For the need that no one else had time for. For the man everyone else treated like a nuisance, but not Jesus. He hears a brother crying and He stops, and He heals that man.

When He's surrounded by a crushing crowd, Jesus stops to meet the need of one woman who, in desperate faith, has touched the hem of His robe. With hundreds pushing on Him, He responds to one woman who needed Him. Even on the cross, when His own agony gave Him every reason to just be thinking about His own need, Jesus responds to the need of His mother, His friend John, and the thief on the cross next to Him.

If you're going to follow Jesus, if you're going to be like Jesus, you can't be so busy that you can't stop for someone in need. That need might be physical, financial or emotional. It may surface through an email you get, or a letter, a text, a call, or just by the Holy Spirit laying someone on your heart that He knows needs you. Don't shrug that off. Don't just keep running your marathon. Do what your Savior did. Stop for that person who needs help or attention, who needs a hug, a prayer, some praise, some encouragement. While others are walking by or walking away, you be the one who walks in. Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

Often the key to being the conduit for Jesus' love is what I call the second question. Everybody asks the first question, "How are you doing?" And we robotically answer, "Fine." But the second question asks, "Really?" You'll be amazed how that simple demonstration that you really care about how they're doing will often open up a heart-cry that's been buried just beneath the surface. And you get to experience the love of Jesus reaching into their life through you. And remember, the greatest gift you can give that person is to pray with them right there; asking God to show you how to pray for a need that He fully understands. It's nice to let them know you'll pray for them. It's powerful to pray with them.

So in the midst of the clamor, in the midst of all the noise of all you have to do, keep your ears tuned to hear the needs around you at home, at work, at school, as you run your errands. So many people are crying, unheard and unhelped. Be the one who hears your brother or sister crying.

2 Kings 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Not Just Mercy, But Grace

We are poor, spiritually for sure; monetarily, perhaps.  We’ve buried our dreams, desires, and aspirations.  Like the mother with Lupus or the businessman in the unemployment line, we’re out of options.

Yet Christ approached us while we were yet sinners!  “Will you cover us?” we asked him, and grace smiled.

He gave us grace. Not just mercy, mind you, but grace. Grace goes beyond mercy. Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance.  Grace threw him a party. Mercy prompted the Samaritan to bandage the wounds of the victim. Grace prompted him to leave his credit card as payment for the victim’s care. Mercy forgave the thief on the cross. Grace escorted him into paradise. Mercy pardons us. Grace woos and weds us.

Grace does this! Grace is God walking into your world with a sparkle in his eye and an offer that’s hard to resist.

From GRACE

2 Kings 13

Jehoahaz of Israel

In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria—a rule of seventeen years. He lived an evil life before God, walking step for step in the tracks of Jeroboam son of Nebat who led Israel into a life of sin, swerving neither left or right. Exasperated, God was furious with Israel and turned them over to Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad son of Hazael. This domination went on for a long time.

4-6 Then Jehoahaz prayed for a softening of God’s anger, and God listened. He realized how wretched Israel had become under the brutalities of the king of Aram. So God provided a savior for Israel who brought them out from under Aram’s oppression. The children of Israel were again able to live at peace in their own homes. But it didn’t make any difference: They didn’t change their lives, didn’t turn away from the Jeroboam-sins that now characterized Israel, including the sex-and-religion shrines of Asherah still flourishing in Samaria.

7 Nothing was left of Jehoahaz’s army after Hazael’s oppression except for fifty cavalry, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry. The king of Aram had decimated the rest, leaving behind him mostly chaff.

8-9 The rest of the life and times of Jehoahaz, the record of his accomplishments, are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jehoahaz died and was buried with his ancestors in Samaria. His son Jehoash succeeded him as king.

Jehoash of Israel

10-11 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria—a reign of sixteen years. In God’s eyes he lived an evil life. He didn’t deviate one bit from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin. He plodded along in the same tracks, step after step.

12-13 The rest of the life and times of Jehoash, the record of his accomplishments and his war against Amaziah king of Judah, are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jehoash died and joined his ancestors. Jeroboam took over his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria in the royal cemetery.

14 Elisha came down sick. It was the sickness of which he would soon die. Jehoash king of Israel paid him a visit. When he saw him he wept openly, crying, “My father, my father! Chariot and horsemen of Israel!”

15 Elisha told him, “Go and get a bow and some arrows.” The king brought him the bow and arrows.

16 Then he told the king, “Put your hand on the bow.” He put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hand over the hand of the king.

17 Elisha said, “Now open the east window.” He opened it.

Then he said, “Shoot!” And he shot.

“The arrow of God’s salvation!” exclaimed Elisha. “The arrow of deliverance from Aram! You will do battle against Aram until there’s nothing left of it.”

18 “Now pick up the other arrows,” said Elisha. He picked them up.

Then he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.”

The king struck the ground three times and then quit.

19 The Holy Man became angry with him: “Why didn’t you hit the ground five or six times? Then you would beat Aram until he was finished. As it is, you’ll defeat him three times only.”

20-21 Then Elisha died and they buried him.

Some time later, raiding bands of Moabites, as they often did, invaded the country. One day, some men were burying a man and spotted the raiders. They threw the man into Elisha’s tomb and got away. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came alive, stood up, and walked out on his own two feet.

22-24 Hazael king of Aram badgered and bedeviled Israel all through the reign of Jehoahaz. But God was gracious and showed mercy to them. He stuck with them out of respect for his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He never gave up on them, never even considered discarding them, even to this day. Hazael king of Aram died. His son Ben-Hadad was the next king.

25 Jehoash son of Jehoahaz turned things around and took back the cities that Ben-Hadad son of Hazael had taken from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash went to war three times and defeated him each time, recapturing the cities of Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Today's Scripture

1 Samuel 18:1–4

Jonathan and David—Soul Friends

 By the time David had finished reporting to Saul, Jonathan was deeply impressed with David—an immediate bond was forged between them. He became totally committed to David. From that point on he would be David’s number-one advocate and friend.

2 Saul received David into his own household that day, no more to return to the home of his father.

3-4 Jonathan, out of his deep love for David, made a covenant with him. He formalized it with solemn gifts: his own royal robe and weapons—armor, sword, bow, and belt.

Insight

We first read of Jonathan, King Saul’s oldest son, in 1 Samuel 13–14, 18–20. Jonathan was a valiant soldier. In a heroic move, Jonathan and his armorbearer went against the Philistines at Mikmash and singlehandedly killed twenty men. Saul and his men joined the battle, and God led the Israelites to victory (13:23–14:23). Earlier, Saul had made the rash oath, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” (14:24). So, his men went into battle hungry. But Jonathan hadn’t been around to hear the oath and had refreshed himself with honey while pursuing the enemy. Fortunately, the soldiers prevented Saul from carrying out his foolish oath (vv. 41–45). In today’s text, we learn of Jonathan and David’s friendship. Jonathan put David ahead of his own interests and saved him from Saul’s attempt to kill him (ch. 20). By: Alyson Kieda

The Telling Room

Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 1 Samuel 18:3

Northern Spain produced a beautiful way of expressing communion and friendship. With the countryside full of handmade caves, after each harvest some farmers would sit in a room built above a cave and inventory their various foods. As time passed, the room became known as the “telling room”—a place of communion where friends and families would gather to share their stories, secrets, and dreams. If you needed the intimate company of safe friends, you would head for the telling room.

Had they lived in northern Spain, the deep friendship shared by Jonathan and David might have led them to create a telling room. When King Saul became so jealous that he wanted to kill David, Jonathan, Saul’s oldest son, protected and befriended him. The two became “one in spirit” (1 Samuel 18:1). And Jonathan “loved him as himself” (vv. 1, 3) and—though he was heir apparent to the throne—recognized David’s divine selection to be king. He gave David his robe, sword, bow, and belt (v. 4). Later, David declared that Jonathan’s deep love for him as a friend was wonderful (2 Samuel 1:26).

As believers in Jesus, may He help us build our own relational “telling rooms”—friendships that reflect Christlike love and care. Let’s take the time to linger with friends, open our hearts, and live in true communion with one another in Him.

By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What kinds of commitments have you made to your friends? How can you express your love to them this week?

Dear God, please help me to pursue vulnerable, loving, and authentic friendships.

For further study, read A Torrent of Justice: Building Relationships of Love and Kindness.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8

Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see God.”

God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.

A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham.  The Highest Good, 548 L

Bible in a Year: Joshua 22-24; Luke 3

James 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Grace Soaked

Most people keep a pot of anger on low boil!  But you aren't most people. Look at your feet. They're wet, grace-soaked. Jesus has washed your feet…he has washed the grimiest parts of your life.

To accept grace is the vow to give it.  You don't endorse the deeds of your offender when you forgive them. Jesus didn't endorse your sins by forgiving you. The grace-defined person still sends thieves to jail and expects the ex to pay child support. Grace sees the hurt full well. But it refuses to let hurts poison the heart.  Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds.  Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows.

So, let the hands of God wipe away every dirty part of your life. Then look across the room and wash someone else's feet. Let grace begin and continue in you!

From GRACE

James 4

Get Serious

Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

2-3 You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

4-6 You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

11-12 Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?

Nothing but a Wisp of Fog

13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”

16-17 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Today's Scripture

Lamentations 3:16–33

He ground my face into the gravel.

    He pounded me into the mud.

I gave up on life altogether.

    I’ve forgotten what the good life is like.

I said to myself, “This is it. I’m finished.

    God is a lost cause.”

It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

19-21 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,

    the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.

I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—

    the feeling of hitting the bottom.

But there’s one other thing I remember,

    and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

22-24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,

    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.

They’re created new every morning.

    How great your faithfulness!

I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).

    He’s all I’ve got left.

25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,

    to the woman who diligently seeks.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope,

    quietly hope for help from God.

It’s a good thing when you’re young

    to stick it out through the hard times.

28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take,

    go off by yourself. Enter the silence.

Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:

    Wait for hope to appear.

Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.

    The “worst” is never the worst.

31-33 Why? Because the Master won’t ever

    walk out and fail to return.

If he works severely, he also works tenderly.

    His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.

He takes no pleasure in making life hard,

    in throwing roadblocks in the way:

Insight

The writer of Lamentations is not named, but Jewish tradition identifies the prophet Jeremiah as its author. Consisting of five dirges or funeral laments, Jeremiah gives an emotionally charged eyewitness account of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Babylonians in 586 bc (see 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 52). Yet amid the devastation and despair, Jeremiah also expressed great hope (Lamentations 3:19–21). God, who judged rightly their covenantal unfaithfulness, remained the God of unfailing love and compassion (vv. 22, 32–33), the God of faithfulness (v. 23), the God of hope (vv. 24–25), and the God of their salvation (v. 26). By: K. T. Sim

The Reboot of Grace

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22–23

Over the last several decades, a new word has entered our movie vocabulary: reboot. In cinematic parlance, a reboot takes an old story and jumpstarts it. Some reboots retell a familiar tale, like a superhero story or a fairytale. Other reboots take a lesser-known story and retell it in a new way. But in each case, a reboot is a bit like a do-over. It’s a fresh start, a chance to breathe new life into the old.  

There’s another story that involves reboots—the gospel story. In it, Jesus invites us to His offer of forgiveness, as well as abundant and eternal life (John 10:10). And in the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah reminds us that God’s love for us makes every day a “reboot” of sorts: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (3:22–23).

God’s grace invites us to embrace each day as a fresh opportunity to experience His faithfulness. Whether we’re struggling with the effects of our own mistakes or going through other hardships, God’s Spirit can breathe forgiveness, new life, and hope into each new day. Every day is a reboot of sorts, an opportunity to follow the lead of the great Director, who is weaving our story into His bigger one.

By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

How do you think reflecting upon and remembering God’s faithfulness in the midst of trials changes your perspective on them? How has God’s forgiveness and grace brought a reboot to your life?

Father, thank You that Your grace and forgiveness invite me to start over, fresh, every morning.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Maintaining the Proper Relationship

…the friend of the bridegroom… —John 3:29

Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.

To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything.  Shade of His Hand, 1200 L

Bible in a Year: Joshua 19-21; Luke 2:25-52

2 Kings 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DON’T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW - March 24, 2023

“So don’t worry about tomorrow” Jesus said, “for tomorrow will bring its own worries.” (Matthew 6:34 NLT).

Do you ever worry? And now that you know we aren’t supposed to worry, you might worry about worrying. So let’s be certain what Jesus means when he says worry. Jesus doesn’t condemn legitimate concern for responsibility, but rather the continuous mindset that dismisses God’s presence. Worry is a state of mind in which God is distrusted and disregarded.

You know we pay a high price for such agitation: headaches, loss of sleep, irritability, high blood pressure, heart disease, even cancer. Some people fixate on the problem to the point of frustration, anger, anxiety, oblivious to the presence of their Father, who stands nearby.

Our Father invites us to request his help. The scripture says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).

2 Kings 12

Joash of Judah

 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash began his kingly rule. He was king for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Gazelle. She was from Beersheba.

2-3 Taught and trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased God for as long as he lived. (Even so, he didn’t get rid of the sacred fertility shrines—people still frequented them, sacrificing and burning incense.)

4-5 Joash instructed the priests: “Take the money that is brought into The Temple of God for holy offerings—both mandatory offerings and freewill offerings—and, keeping a careful accounting, use them to renovate The Temple wherever it has fallen into disrepair.”

6 But by the twenty-third year of Joash’s rule, the priests hadn’t done one thing—The Temple was as dilapidated as ever.

7 King Joash called Jehoiada the priest and the company of priests and said, “Why haven’t you renovated this sorry-looking Temple? You are forbidden to take any more money for Temple repairs—from now on, hand over everything you get.”

8 The priests agreed not to take any more money or to be involved in The Temple renovation.

9-16 Then Jehoiada took a single chest and bored a hole in the lid and placed it to the right of the main entrance into The Temple of God. All the offerings that were brought to The Temple of God were placed in the chest by the priests who guarded the entrance. When they saw that a large sum of money had accumulated in the chest, the king’s secretary and the chief priest would empty the chest and count the offerings. They would give the money accounted for to the managers of The Temple project; they in turn would pay the carpenters, construction workers, masons, stoneworkers, and the buyers of timber and quarried stone for the repair and renovation of The Temple of God—any expenses connected with fixing up The Temple. But none of the money brought into The Temple of God was used for liturgical “extras” (silver chalices, candle snuffers, trumpets, various gold and silver vessels, etc.). It was given to the workmen to pay for their repairing God’s Temple. And no one even had to check on the men who handled the money given for the project—they were honest men. Offerings designated for Compensation Offerings and Absolution Offerings didn’t go into the building project—those went directly to the priests.

17-18 Around this time Hazael king of Aram ventured out and attacked Gath, and he captured it. Then he decided to try for Jerusalem. Joash king of Judah countered by gathering up all the sacred memorials—gifts dedicated for holy use by his ancestors, the kings of Judah, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, along with the holy memorials he himself had received, plus all the gold that he could find in the temple and palace storerooms—and sent it to Hazael king of Aram. Appeased, Hazael went on his way and didn’t bother Jerusalem.

19-21 The rest of the life and times of Joash and all that he did are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. At the last his palace staff formed a conspiracy and assassinated Joash as he was strolling along the ramp of the fortified outside city wall. Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer were the assassins. And so Joash died and was buried in the family plot in the City of David. His son Amaziah was king after him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, March 24, 2023

Today's Scripture

Acts 20:22–32

“But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.

25-27 “And so this is good-bye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held back nothing of God’s will for you.

28 “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.

29-31 “I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.

32 “Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.

Insight

Luke, the author of Acts, describes Paul’s determination to follow the Spirit’s leading and go to Jerusalem in ways that seem to parallel Jesus’ own determination to go to the city. Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) despite knowing what awaited Him there. Paul said, “compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there” (Acts 20:22), despite being warned that this journey would result in suffering (v. 23). Paul’s single-minded purpose was to share the gospel by following Christ’s example of humility and love (vv. 19, 23–24; see also Philippians 2:3–5). By: Monica La Rose

Recognizing God’s Voice

I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Acts 20:32

After years of research, scientists have learned that wolves have distinct voices that help them communicate with each other. Using a specific sound analysis code, one scientist realized that various volumes and pitches in a wolf’s howl enabled her to identify specific wolves with 100 percent accuracy.

The Bible provides many examples of God recognizing the distinct voices of His beloved creations. He called Moses by name and spoke to him directly (Exodus 3:4–6). The psalmist David proclaimed, “I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain” (Psalm 3:4). The apostle Paul also emphasized the value of God’s people recognizing His voice.

When bidding farewell to the Ephesian elders, Paul said the Spirit had “compelled” him to head to Jerusalem. He confirmed his commitment to follow God’s voice, though he didn’t know what to expect upon his arrival (Acts 20:22). The apostle warned that “savage wolves” would “arise and distort the truth,” even from within the church (vv. 29–30). Then, he encouraged the elders to remain diligent in discerning God’s truth (v. 31).

All believers in Jesus have the privilege of knowing that God hears and answers us. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit who helps us recognize God’s voice, which is always in alignment with the words of Scripture. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

What false teaching has God helped you combat as you studied Scripture? When has He used the Bible to encourage you?

Dear God, when the noise of the world around me threatens to make me wander from You, please help me recognize and obey Your voice.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, March 24, 2023

Decreasing for His Purpose

He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30

If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. One day that person will say to us, “You are a thief; you stole my desire to follow Jesus, and because of you I lost sight of Him.”

Beware of rejoicing with someone over the wrong thing, but always look to rejoice over the right thing. “…the friend of the bridegroom…rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). This was spoken with joy, not with sadness— at last they were to see the Bridegroom! And John said this was his joy. It represents a stepping aside, an absolute removal of the servant, never to be thought of again.

Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.  The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

Bible in a Year: Joshua 16-18; Luke 2:1-24

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, March 24, 2023

BEAUTY IN BROKEN SHELLS - #9445

My wife and I were enjoying a wonderful few days of rest on the Gulf Coast of Florida. And one of our favorite things to do is to walk the beach, even though we can't seem to agree on how fast to walk. See, I've always been Mr. Aerobics and she was always Mrs. Aesthetics. Yeah. Loved to walk slowly enough to appreciate the beautiful sea shells that the tide deposited on the beach. Well, she finally slowed me down long enough to enjoy some of the color and the design that God put into those shells. I'm glad she did.

Of course we weren't the only ones collecting them. A lot of people were walking along looking for those shell treasures. And my wife made an interesting observation. She said, "You know, no one picks up the broken ones." Well she always did. She reached into her bag of treasures and produced this pink and white cone-shaped shell. Now the hard exterior had been broken away, but there was exposed the interior which you wouldn't usually see. And it was a beautiful, expressive pattern of twists and curls, and this intricate network of the inner chambers of a shell. I was seeing beauty I never could have seen if the shell wasn't broken.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Beauty in Broken Shells."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 12. Paul is telling about his thorn in the flesh, and it was so painful and so frustrating it had to break him. And though the breaking was ugly, the result was really something beautiful. Three times he'd asked for this to be removed; whatever this agony was for him. But he says, "The Lord has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, he says, 'I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ' power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

The brokenness of Paul's life exposed the beauty and the grace of God, the strength of God, the power of God. My wife said, "No one picks up the broken ones." Actually Jesus does. Maybe He's done that with you. He uses the pain first to create a beauty in you that you could not develop any other way. He might be trying to do that right now.

When we're at the end of our answers and our resources, we finally throw ourselves on God in this total desperate dependency. And that humility gets us out of the way and allows us to experience God's power and God's love on a level we have never touched before. There's nothing left of us so it's all Him, and that produces a beautiful new spirit; one that could never be there if we hadn't been broken.

God also uses our pain to give us a deep, new compassion; a new sensitivity for hurting people. And that compassion enables us to really make a difference for other people in a struggling world. After Christ creates that beauty inside of us, He displays it to a world that desperately needs to know the difference He can make. The pounding breaks open our hard shell and lets the world see Jesus working inside.

If you're going through a hurting time, all eyes are upon you to see how you handle it. You have a unique opportunity to show them your Jesus through your brokenness in a way you could never have when you were whole. You know, Jesus was a broken person. At that first communion, He handed His disciples broken bread and said, "This is My body broken for you." He was broken so we could be healed.

All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. But I like to say, "The King can." He puts Humpty Dumpty people together again. I don't know if you've ever met this Jesus, but I would love to introduce you to Him. Would you go to our website? It's ANewStory.com. Let Jesus move into the broken places in you and heal what only He can.

Brokenness is beautiful if the love and power of Jesus are exposed to people who might not see that beauty any other way.

2 Kings 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE REWARD - March 23, 2023

Heaven was not foreign to Jesus. He knew heaven before he came to earth. He knew what awaited him upon his return. And knowing what awaited him in heaven enabled him to bear the shame on the earth. I understand where Jesus found his strength. He lifted his eyes beyond the horizon, and he saw the table. He focused on the feast. He saw what gave him strength to finish—and finish strong.

Such a moment awaits us. We’ll take our place at the table. In an hour that has no end, we will rest. Surrounded by saints and engulfed by Jesus himself, the work will, indeed, be finished. We will be seated, and Christ will christen the meal with these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). And in that moment, the race will have been worth it.

2 Kings 11

Athaliah of Judah

Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began by massacring the entire royal family. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and kidnapped him from among the king’s sons slated for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah. He didn’t get killed. He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of God. Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country.

4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the captains of the bodyguards and the Palace Security Force. They met him in The Temple of God. He made a covenant with them, swore them to secrecy, and only then showed them the young prince.

5-8 Then he commanded them, “These are your instructions: Those of you who come on duty on the Sabbath and guard the palace, and those of you who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard The Temple of God, are to join forces at the time of the changing of the guard and form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going.”

9-11 The captains obeyed the orders of Jehoiada the priest. Each took his men, those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, and presented them to Jehoiada the priest. The priest armed the officers with spears and shields originally belonging to King David, stored in The Temple of God. Well-armed, the guards took up their assigned positions for protecting the king, from one end of The Temple to the other, surrounding both Altar and Temple.

12 Then the priest brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God’s covenant, and made him king. As they anointed him, everyone applauded and shouted, “Long live the king!”

13-14 Athaliah heard the shouting of guards and people and came to the crowd gathered at The Temple of God. Astonished, she saw the king standing beside the throne, flanked by the captains and heralds, with everybody beside themselves with joy, trumpets blaring. Athaliah ripped her robes in dismay and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”

15-16 Jehoiada the priest ordered the military officers, “Drag her outside and kill anyone who tries to follow her!” (The priest had said, “Don’t kill her inside The Temple of God.”) So they dragged her out to the palace’s horse corral; there they killed her.

17 Jehoiada now made a covenant between God and the king and the people: They were God’s people. Another covenant was made between the king and the people.

18-20 The people poured into the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing altar and images to smithereens. They killed Mattan the priest in front of the altar.

Jehoiada then stationed sentries in The Temple of God. He arranged for the officers of the bodyguard and the palace security, along with the people themselves, to escort the king down from The Temple of God through the Gate of the Guards and into the palace. There he sat on the royal throne. Everybody celebrated the event. And the city was safe and undisturbed—they had killed Athaliah with the royal sword.

21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 19:7–11

The revelation of God is whole

    and pulls our lives together.

The signposts of God are clear

    and point out the right road.

The life-maps of God are right,

    showing the way to joy.

The directions of God are plain

    and easy on the eyes.

God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,

    with a lifetime guarantee.

The decisions of God are accurate

    down to the nth degree.

10 God’s Word is better than a diamond,

    better than a diamond set between emeralds.

You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,

    better than red, ripe strawberries.

11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger

    and directs us to hidden treasure.

Otherwise how will we find our way?

    Or know when we play the fool?

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!

    Keep me from stupid sins,

    from thinking I can take over your work;

Then I can start this day sun-washed,

    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

These are the words in my mouth;

    these are what I chew on and pray.

Accept them when I place them

    on the morning altar,

O God, my Altar-Rock,

    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

Insight

While the specific occasion for writing Psalm 19 isn’t stated, it’s been suggested that as a shepherd boy tending sheep, David was awed by the immensity and beauty of the open skies. So inspired, the psalmist celebrates the splendor of creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (v. 1). He points us to the creator God who’s worthy of honor and worship. David reflects on how He has revealed Himself to humanity so that we can know Him. First, He reveals Himself through His created works (vv. 1–6). He also reveals Himself through the Scriptures (vv. 7–14). Speaking of God’s self-revelation, Bible expositor Warren Wiersbe writes: “The heavens declare God’s glory, and the Scriptures declare His grace.” In this passage, Scripture refreshes the soul, gives wisdom and joy, and enlightens those who would obey it, guiding them into godliness.

Learn more about the Christian worldview. By: K. T. Sim

Why Do This?

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. Psalm 19:7

As I was helping my sixth-grade grandson, Logan, with some tough algebra-type homework, he told me of his dream of becoming an engineer. After we returned to figuring out what to do with the x’s and y’s in his assignment, he said, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?”

I couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Well, Logan, this is exactly the stuff you’ll use if you become an engineer!” He hadn’t realized the connection between algebra and his hoped-for future.

Sometimes we view Scripture that way. When we listen to sermons and read certain parts of the Bible, we may think, “When am I ever going to use this?” The psalmist David had some answers. He said God’s truths found in Scripture are effective for “refreshing the soul,” “making wise the simple,” and “giving joy to the heart” (Psalm 19:7–8). The wisdom of Scripture, found in the first five books of the Bible as referred to in Psalm 19 (as well as all of Scripture), helps us as we daily rely on the Spirit’s leading (Proverbs 2:6).

And without the Scriptures, we’d lack the vital way God has provided for us to experience Him and better know His love and ways. Why study the Bible? Because “the commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes” (Psalm 19:8). By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

Why is the wisdom found in Scripture relevant for you today? How can you grow in your understanding of it?

Loving God, please make Your Word a light to my path. Help me to use the wisdom of Scripture to direct my steps and grow to love You more.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Am I Carnally Minded?

Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal…? —1 Corinthians 3:3

The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.

Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.

If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.

What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Joshua 13-15; Luke 1:57-80

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, March 23, 2023

HOW YOUR WEAKNESS MAKES YOU STRONG - #9444

Our son can usually tell when the weather's about to change. His knee is his own personal "weather channel." Now I know he seems like he might be young to have pain like that, but it actually goes back to one day on a football field in high school. When one hit tore his anterior cruciate ligament - that infamous "ACL" injury so many athletes dread. Since he was five, his dream had been to play football, and he did and he was good, but then the injury. I was with him in the office of a sports medicine specialist when the doctor said, "You will never play football again." That was the day his dream died. And, as he says now as part of his life testimony, it was the day his god died. His sports dream was dead. But that began a series of events that led to a time of tearful repentance, then the redirecting of his life goals, and ultimately to the incredible ways God has used him among Native American young people and in our whole ministry. And lest he forget who's in charge, he's got this alarm in his knee.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Your Weakness Makes You Strong."

So, God's given our son a lifelong reminder of his need to be surrendered completely to God, and the pain is part of that reminder. It's one of the strange but wonderful ways of God. And it may help explain some of what you're experiencing right now and some of what's gone on in your past.

To get the view from the Bible, we'll go to our word for today from the Word of God in Genesis 32, beginning with verse 24. It's part of Jacob's life story, a man for whom God has plans but who had plans of his own. Jacob - the schemer, the man who always found a way to make it happen, to get his way no matter what. He's on his way to a climactic reunion with the brother that he has stepped on to get where he is. And he has this defining moment at the ford of a brook called the Jabbok.

Here we go: "Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' The man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered. Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob (which, by the way, suggests his devious ways), but Israel" (which means "prince with God"). Jacob's life was changed forever from that moment on. It was the day he finally realized that it's got to be God; that's it's all about surrendering to God's plans instead of pushing your own.

But he left that encounter with a lifetime reminder of who's in charge. The Bible says, "So Jacob called that place Peniel (that means "face of God") because I saw God face to face...the sun rose above him...and he was limping because of his hip." He would limp for the rest of his life. God does that. He gives us a reminder of the battle we fought with Him and of the surrender that gives us His best. For you, that "life-changing limp" may be some lingering consequences from some past sin, a rebellious child maybe, a difficult marriage, some past failures, some lasting results of wrong choices in your past, or maybe even some physical pain like Jacob or our son.

Our son says of that injury that broke his body and broke his heart, "The worst thing that ever happened to me was the best thing that ever happened to me." It was that pain that led to his surrender to God and a much bigger life than he could have ever dreamed. It's the ongoing pain that is God's reminder that it's always got to be God.

If He's given you a painful reminder of the futility of self-reliance, of the price of sin, and the glory of His work in your life, then thank Him for it. Let the "limp" that God gave you when you wrestled with Him make you strong for the rest of your life!