Psalm 99, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: THE PATH - May 23, 2023

The story’s told of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide had a machete and was whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush. The traveler, wearied and hot, asked in frustration, “Where are we? Do you know where you’re taking me? Where’s the path?” The seasoned guide stopped and looked back at the man and replied, “I am the path.”

We ask the same questions, don’t we? “God, where are you taking me? Where’s the path?” Oh, he may give us a hint or two but that’s all. If he did give us more, would we understand? No. Like the traveler, we’re unacquainted with this jungle. So rather than give us an answer, he gives us a far greater gift – Jesus gives us himself. He says in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always to the very end of the age.” We need that reminder!

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Psalm 99

God rules. On your toes, everybody!

He rules from his angel throne—take notice!

God looms majestic in Zion,

He towers in splendor over all the big names.

Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you!

    Holy. Yes, holy.

4-5 Strong King, lover of justice,

You laid things out fair and square;

You set down the foundations in Jacob,

Foundation stones of just and right ways.

Honor God, our God; worship his rule!

    Holy. Yes, holy.

6-9 Moses and Aaron were his priests,

Samuel among those who prayed to him.

They prayed to God and he answered them;

He spoke from the pillar of cloud.

And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them.

And then God, our God, answered them

(But you were never soft on their sins).

Lift high God, our God; worship at his holy mountain.

    Holy. Yes, holy is God our God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Today's Scripture

Acts 12:1–11

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.”

nsight

Peter, who’d been unjustly imprisoned by King Herod for eight days, was about to stand trial. Like James, his fellow apostle, he too would be executed (Acts 12:1–3). But Peter didn’t lose any sleep over his impending death: “the night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep” (v. 6 nlt). Peter experienced the peace Jesus promised: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). We’re told “the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5), and on this very night “many people had gathered and were praying” (v. 12). By: K. T. Sim

Not a Dream

Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Ephesians 5:14

It’s like living in a dream you can’t wake up from. People who struggle with what’s sometimes called “derealization” or “depersonalization” often feel like nothing around them is quite real. While those who chronically have this feeling can be diagnosed with a disorder, it’s believed to be a common mental health struggle, especially during stressful times. But sometimes the feeling persists even when life is seemingly good. It’s as if our minds can’t trust that good things are really happening.

Scripture describes a similar struggle of God’s people at times to experience His power and deliverance as something real, not just a dream. In Acts 12, when an angel delivers Peter from prison—and possible execution (vv. 2, 4)—the apostle is described as being in a daze, not sure it was really happening (vv. 9–10). When the angel left him outside the jail, Peter finally “came to his senses” and realized it had all been real (v. 11 nlt).

In both bad times and good, it can be hard sometimes to fully believe or experience that God is really at work in our lives. But we can trust that as we wait on Him, His resurrection power will one day become undeniably, wonderfully real. God’s light will rouse us from our sleep into the reality of life with Him (Ephesians 5:14). By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

Why is it sometimes hard for you to feel God’s power and love? How can you experience His love more tangibly?

Dear God, thank You that in good times and bad, whether I can feel it or not, You’re real, creating new life and hope.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Our Careful Unbelief

…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. —Matthew 6:25

Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.

“…do not worry about your life….” Don’t take the pressure of your provision upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No— “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries. We say, “I will not trust when I cannot see”— and that is where unbelief begins. The only cure for unbelief is obedience to the Spirit.

The greatest word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me.  The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

BATTLE PLAN FOR BIG TEMPTATION - #9487

God has the most amazing ways of getting our attention. My friend, Brian, had been involved in evangelism for many years. Which of course, means he spends a lot of time on the road. Which, in his case, meant a lot of opportunities to mess up in an area where he has struggled for many years; a weakness for pornography. Now, Brian was determined to get the victory over that slave master, so he took some very bold defensive action. He actually stayed away from places where he might encounter pornography. He asked those who invited him to speak to put him in private homes rather than motels.

But one college he was invited to insisted on lodging him in a motel. So, he's driving through Iowa on his way to this school, and he stops at a gas station in the middle of nowhere for a cold drink. When he walked in the store, there was a whole wall covered with pornographic magazines. After just a moment, the old Brian thought, "Nobody knows I'm a minister here. I could get a couple magazines and take them to my motel room." Right then, someone came running in the store and asked, "Does anyone here have a gray Firebird?" Brian knew that was his car. "It's sitting out in the middle of the highway." Brian raced outside to find his car had somehow, inexplicably, rolled into the highway in the flats of Iowa! Needless to say, he didn't go back inside that store. And he's been winning that battle for a long time now.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Battle Plan for Big Temptation."

Isn't it great to know that God is in the temptation rescue business? I mean, I can't hear Brian's story without thinking of that classic request in the Lord's Prayer, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13). Even if you find your car in the middle of the highway. God knows our sinful tendencies. So, He knows. He knows the areas where we're most prone to mess up again, and He will go to great lengths to deliver you from that evil.

But He expects you to take strong evasive action against your temptation. Our word for today from the word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." Okay, so God knows your limits, He says, "stop!" when it's a sinful opportunity you can't handle. There simply is no such thing as an irresistible temptation. If you can't walk away from it, God won't let it in your life.

Here's how God very practically intervenes so you don't ever have to be that way again. "But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." There's the key to beating the temptation that's beaten you so many times - God's temptation exit, "The way out." The King James Version calls it "the way of escape." You know why I think God intervened so dramatically for my friend Brian when he was teetering on the edge of backsliding? Because Brian had been setting up his life to avoid that temptation in every possible way, and God honors that.

He'll do that for you, too. Your job? Analyze the situations and relationships where you're most vulnerable to your entangling sins. Think about what your evasive action could be when the opportunity to do that sin again comes up. Where's your way of escape? There are people that you can't afford to be with. There are shows you can't afford to watch, there's music you can't afford to listen to, there are websites you can't afford to even get near, there are situations you can't afford to get into - not if you really want to change. Not if you want to be free, and I think you really do.

For every sinful choice, there are other choices you can make, usually pre-make, that will take you out the exit that God's provided. If you'll do your part to seriously battle that sin, believe me, God will do His part to "deliver you from evil." Just ask that guy with his car in the middle of the road!

Acts 17:1-15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: RESTORING HOPE TO THE SOUL - May 22, 2023

For many, hope is in short supply. Hopelessness is an odd bag. Unlike others, it isn’t full. It’s empty, and its emptiness creates the burden. Unzip the top and examine all the pockets. Turn it upside down and shake it hard. The bag of hopelessness is painfully empty.

Not a very pretty picture, is it? What would it take to restore your hope? One comes quickly to mind—a person. Not just any person. You need someone to look you in the face and say, “This isn’t the end. Don’t give up. There’s a better place than this, and I’ll lead you there.”

David in Psalm 23 used these words: “He restores my soul.” God majors in restoring hope to the soul. Please note: you have hope. Psalm 121:7 says, “The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life.” And he’s the perfect one to do so.

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Acts 17:1-15

Thessalonica

They took the road south through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where there was a community of Jews. Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures. He opened up the texts so they understood what they’d been reading all their lives: that the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead—there were no other options—and that “this Jesus I’m introducing you to is that Messiah.”

4-5 Some of them were won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas, among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from the aristocracy. But the hard-line Jews became furious over the conversions. Mad with jealousy, they rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terrorizing the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas.

5-7 They broke into Jason’s house, thinking that Paul and Silas were there. When they couldn’t find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, “These people are out to destroy the world, and now they’ve shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncoats who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing!”

8-9 The city fathers and the crowd of people were totally alarmed by what they heard. They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail and let them go while they investigated the charges.

Berea

10-12 That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica. The Jews received Paul’s message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence.

13-15 But it wasn’t long before reports got back to the Thessalonian hard-line Jews that Paul was at it again, preaching the Word of God, this time in Berea. They lost no time responding, and created a mob scene there, too. With the help of his friends, Paul gave them the slip—caught a boat and put out to sea. Silas and Timothy stayed behind. The men who helped Paul escape got him as far as Athens and left him there. Paul sent word back with them to Silas and Timothy: “Come as quickly as you can!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, May 22, 2023

Today's Scripture

1 John 1:1–4

 From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

3-4 We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

Insight

The word fellowship, used four times in 1 John (1:3 [twice], 6, 7) is the translation of the Greek word koinonia, which means “participation, sharing, having something in common with others.” Elsewhere in the New Testament, this word or related words are used to show that those who embraced the truths about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection also shared their lives in practical ways. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). In Philippians, Paul used several related words to acknowledge the believers’ participation in his ministry: “I thank my God every time I remember you . . . because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (1:3–5). Their partnership included some form of material support: “Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only” (4:15). By: Arthur Jackson

Tell the Story

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. 1 John 1:3

Robert Todd Lincoln, son of US president Abraham Lincoln, was present for three major events—the death of his own father as well as the assassinations of presidents James Garfield and William McKinley.

But consider that the apostle John was present at four of history’s most crucial events: the last supper of Jesus, Christ’s agony in Gethsemane, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. John knew that bearing witness to these events was the ultimate why behind his presence in these moments. In John 21:24, he wrote, “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”

John reaffirmed this in his letter of 1 John. He wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim” (1:1). John felt a compelling duty to share his eyewitness account of Jesus. Why? “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,” he said, “so that you also may have fellowship with us” (v. 3).

The events of our lives may be surprising or mundane, but in either case God is orchestrating them so we can bear witness to Him. As we rest in the grace and wisdom of Christ, may we speak for Him in even life’s surprising moments. By:  Bill Crowder

ect & Pray

What are some of the more surprising aspects of your faith story? How will you share your story with someone who needs to hear of God’s love?

Jesus, please help me be sensitive to those times when I can share with others how much You love us.

For further study, see Gospel Conversations: Sharing the Story of Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, May 22, 2023

The Explanation For Our Difficulties

…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us… —John 17:21

If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you “may be one” with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be.

God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?

God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?” No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, “Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him— because Jesus prayed, “…that they all may be one….”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 16-18; John 7:28-53

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, May 22, 2023

LOVING CREATION, MISSING THE CREATOR - #9486

When I was growing up, it was just a picture on a T-shirt. Then one day I finally got to see Niagara Falls for real. Wow! It's one of this continent's great wonders. Many miles before you get to those roaring falls you start to see all these power lines. It's Niagara's generated electricity of course, and then as you get near the falls, you see this big, ground-level cloud rising up. It's this massive mist that's billowing up from the river below Niagara. It's impressive!

Let me tell you what we didn't do. We didn't stop before we got to the falls and say, "Man, look at that mist! Quick, get the camera! What an incredible mist!" And then deeply impressed by that cloud of spray, turn around and head home, never going the rest of the way to see the falls that produced the mist.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Loving Creation, Missing the Creator."

Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 40:12. "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?" What a tribute that is to God's power. "Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?"

Verse 15 says, "Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust." Then it says, "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." Finally, verse 26, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

When you look at creation, it should lead you to the Creator. I mean, if you think what He made is awesome, wait till you meet the One who made it. But the Bible describes a tragic mistake that's made in many cultures, over many years, and increasingly made by people in our sophisticated culture.

Romans 1:25...here's the mistake, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised." Worshiping the creation rather than the Creator? Which brings us back to Niagara. It's okay to be impressed by the great Niagara mist, but the real marvel is the falls; the source that creates the mist. The mist is only a reflection of the source that creates it. Don't miss the source.

Unfortunately a lot of people are doing just that. There's all kinds of talk today about Mother Earth and all the spiritual energy you can tap by getting in touch with the cosmos. People are on a very real spiritual search. But those who focus on the power of creation miss the real power - the Creator.

Jesus Christ, God's Son, entered His creation to re-connect us human beings, His masterpieces back to Himself. The God who holds an endless ocean in the palm of His hand, weighs the Rocky Mountains on a little scale, stretches out the heavens like I would set up a tent. He loves you. He gave His Son for you to have a relationship with Him. Don't miss Him! Don't let anyone you care about miss Him by falling for the lie that creation is the end of our search for our Creator. Don't get hooked on the mist. Go to the source. You will be overwhelmed by the power of the One who created you and all you see.

Have you ever experienced His love? Have you ever experienced His power for yourself? It's my prayer that this day you might say, "Jesus, you loved me enough to die for me. You were powerful enough to walk out of your grave. I ask you to walk into my life. I'm pinning all my hopes on You."

I think our website would help you get there. Check it out, will you - ANewStory.com. Because today could be the beginning of your new story.

Psalm 98, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: God Loves Humility

God loves humility!  The Jesus who said, "I am gentle and humble in heart," loves those who are gentle and humble in heart. And Paul reminds us in Romans 12:3, "Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of faith that God has given to you."

Humility isn't the same as low self-esteem. Being humble doesn't mean you think you have nothing to offer; it means you know exactly what you have to offer and no more.

An elementary-age boy came home from the tryouts for the school play. "Mommy, Mommy," he announced, "I got a part.  I've been chosen to sit in the audience and clap and cheer."

When you have a chance to clap and cheer, do you take it? If you do-then your head is starting to fit your hat size!

From Traveling Light

Psalm 98

Sing to God a brand-new song.

He’s made a world of wonders!

He rolled up his sleeves,

He set things right.

2 God made history with salvation,

He showed the world what he could do.

3 He remembered to love us, a bonus

To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.

The whole earth comes to attention.

Look—God’s work of salvation!

4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!

Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

5 Round up an orchestra to play for God,

Add on a hundred-voice choir.

6 Feature trumpets and big trombones,

Fill the air with praises to King God.

7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,

With everything living on earth joining in.

8 Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”

And mountains harmonize the finale—

9 A tribute to God when he comes,

When he comes to set the earth right.

He’ll straighten out the whole world,

He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Today's Scripture

Genesis 39:1–12

After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them.

2-6 As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.

6-7 Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”

8-9 He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”

10 She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.

11-15 On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: “Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside.”

Insight

When dealing with sexual temptation, Scripture calls for prompt, decisive action. Joseph “ran out of the house” (Genesis 39:12) when confronted by Potiphar’s wife. In the New Testament, Paul says to “put to death . . . whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust” (Colossians 3:5). He also says to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). We’re to renounce all sexual sins because they directly attack our own bodies which “are temples of the Holy Spirit” (v. 19) and this violates the sacred sanctuary of God’s holy presence (vv. 19–20; see 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–4). By: K. T. Sim

Our Choices Matter

But he refused. Genesis 39:8

A swimming instructor in New Jersey saw a car sinking into Newark Bay and heard the driver inside screaming “I can’t swim” as his SUV quickly sank into the murky waters. As a crowd watched from shore, Anthony ran to the rocks along the edge, removed his prosthetic leg, and jumped in to rescue the sixty-eight-year-old man and help him safely to shore. Thanks to Anthony’s decisive action, another man was saved.

Our choices matter. Consider the patriarch Jacob, the father of many sons, who openly favored his seventeen-year-old son Joseph. He foolishly made Joseph “an ornate robe” (Genesis 37:3). The result? Joseph’s brothers hated him (v. 4); and when the opportunity arose, they sold him into slavery (v. 28). Yet because Joseph ended up in Egypt, God used him to preserve Jacob’s family and many others during a seven-year famine—despite Joseph’s brothers’ intention to harm him (see 50:20). The choice that set it all in motion was Joseph’s decision to be honorable and run from Potiphar’s wife (39:1–12). The result was prison (39:20) and an eventual meeting with Pharaoh (ch. 41).

Anthony may have had the advantage of training, but he still had to make a choice. When we love God and seek to serve Him, He helps us make life-affirming and God-honoring choices. If we haven’t already, we can begin by trusting Jesus. By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

What was the result of a recent choice you’ve made? How has God’s Spirit led you to make wise choices?

Dear God, help me to make wise decisions that honor You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Having God’s “Unreasonable” Faith

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. —Matthew 6:33

When we look at these words of Jesus, we immediately find them to be the most revolutionary that human ears have ever heard. “…seek first the kingdom of God….” Even the most spiritually-minded of us argue the exact opposite, saying, “But I must live; I must make a certain amount of money; I must be clothed; I must be fed.” The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God but how we are going to take care of ourselves to live. Jesus reversed the order by telling us to get the right relationship with God first, maintaining it as the primary concern of our lives, and never to place our concern on taking care of the other things of life.

“…do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25). Our Lord pointed out that from His standpoint it is absolutely unreasonable for us to be anxious, worrying about how we will live. Jesus did not say that the person who takes no thought for anything in his life is blessed— no, that person is a fool. But Jesus did teach that His disciple must make his relationship with God the dominating focus of his life, and to be cautiously carefree about everything else in comparison to that. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Don’t make food and drink the controlling factor of your life, but be focused absolutely on God.” Some people are careless about what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it; they are careless about what they wear, having no business looking the way they do; they are careless with their earthly matters, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first, and everything else second.

It is one of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 13-15; John 7:1-27

Psalm 97 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: The Only Reason for Bragging

A philosopher once asked, "Do you wish people to speak well of you?  Then never speak well of yourself." In other words-get over yourself!

In Luke 14:10, Jesus said to His followers, "Go sit in a seat that's not important. When the host comes to you, he may say, 'Friend, move up here to a more important place.' Then all the other guests will respect you."

Paul said in Galatians 6:14, "The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging."

Do you feel a need for affirmation? Does your self-esteem need attention? You don't need to drop names or show off. You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this. The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.  And that's a fact. So if you need to brag-brag about that!

From Traveling Light

Psalm 97

God rules: there’s something to shout over!

On the double, mainlands and islands—celebrate!

2 Bright clouds and storm clouds circle ’round him;

Right and justice anchor his rule.

3 Fire blazes out before him,

Flaming high up the craggy mountains.

4 His lightnings light up the world;

Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear.

5 The mountains take one look at God

And melt, melt like wax before earth’s Lord.

6 The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right,

And everyone will see it happen—glorious!

7-8 All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry—

And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods!

On your knees, all you gods—worship him!

And Zion, you listen and take heart!

Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out:

God has done it all, has set everything right.

9 You, God, are High God of the cosmos,

Far, far higher than any of the gods.

10 God loves all who hate evil,

And those who love him he keeps safe,

Snatches them from the grip of the wicked.

11 Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people,

Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Today's Scripture

Matthew 6:5–9

Pray with Simplicity

5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for fifteen minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what’s best—

    as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You’re in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!

    Yes. Yes. Yes.

Insight

In Matthew 6:1–8, Jesus emphasizes that living for God should be done humbly, without seeking to draw attention to oneself or to gain praise. Believers in Jesus should have a humble attitude as they give to those in need (vv. 1–4) and as they pray (vv. 5–8). At first glance, this might seem to contradict 5:14–16, which emphasizes that the lives of Jesus’ disciples should shine brightly before others “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (v. 16). There’s no contradiction, however, for when believers serve God humbly out of love for Him and others, it naturally results in His light shining in the world. When service and prayer is motivated by a desire for attention and praise, however, it can have the opposite effect, repulsing others who may detect self-serving, hypocritical motivations (6:5).

Learn more about prayer.

By: Monica La Rose

Keep in Touch

Pray to your Father. Matthew 6:6

Madeleine L’Engle made it a habit to call her mother once a week. As her mother moved into her later years, the beloved spiritual writer called more frequently, “just to keep in touch.” In the same way, Madeleine liked her children to call and maintain that connection. Sometimes it was a lengthy conversation filled with significant questions and answers. Other times a call simply making sure the number was still valid was sufficient. As she wrote in her book Walking on Water, “It is good for the children to keep in touch. It is good for all of us children to keep in touch with our Father.”

Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. But the verses that precede it are just as important, for they set the tone for what follows. Our prayers aren’t to be showy, “to be seen by others” (v. 5). And while there’s no limit on how long our prayers need to be, “many words” (v. 7) doesn’t automatically equate to quality prayer. The emphasis seems to be on maintaining regular contact with our Father who knows our need “before [we] ask him” (v. 8). Jesus stresses how good it is for us to keep in touch with our Father. Then instructs us: “This, then, is how you should pray” (v. 9).

Prayer is a good, vital choice for it keeps us in touch with the God and Father of us all. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

How can you better stay in touch with others? How have you experienced keeping in touch with the Father?

Father, thank You for knowing my needs before I even speak them.  

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Taking Possession of Our Own Soul

By your patience possess your souls. —Luke 21:19

When a person is born again, there is a period of time when he does not have the same vitality in his thinking or reasoning that he previously had. We must learn to express this new life within us, which comes by forming the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5). Luke 21:19 means that we take possession of our souls through patience. But many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the Christian life, instead of going on to create and build our soul in accordance with the new life God has placed within us. We fail because we are ignorant of the way God has made us, and we blame things on the devil that are actually the result of our own undisciplined natures. Just think what we could be when we are awakened to the truth!

There are certain things in life that we need not pray about— moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we won’t. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances.  Not Knowing Whither, 900 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 10-12; John 6:45-71

Psalm 96, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ONE STEP ENOUGH - May 19, 2023

Arthur Hays Sulzberger was the publisher of the New York Times during the Second World War. Because of all the world conflict, he found it almost impossible to sleep. He was never able to set aside worries from his mind, until he adopted as his motto these five words: “One step enough for me.”

He took the words from the old hymn:

Lead, kindly light…

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene; one step enough for me.

Friend, God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene either. So you might as well quit looking for it. God does promise a lamp for our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We don’t need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know that Hebrews 4:16 promises “we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Psalm 96

Sing God a brand-new song!

Earth and everyone in it, sing!

Sing to God—worship God!

2-3 Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,

Take the news of his glory to the lost,

News of his wonders to one and all!

4-5 For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.

His furious beauty puts the other gods to shame;

Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.

5-6 God made the heavens—

Royal splendor radiates from him,

A powerful beauty sets him apart.

7 Bravo, God, Bravo!

Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!

In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.

8-9 Bring gifts and celebrate,

Bow before the beauty of God,

Then to your knees—everyone worship!

10 Get out the message—God Rules!

He put the world on a firm foundation;

He treats everyone fair and square.

11 Let’s hear it from Sky,

With Earth joining in,

And a huge round of applause from Sea.

12 Let Wilderness turn cartwheels,

Animals, come dance,

Put every tree of the forest in the choir—

13 An extravaganza before God as he comes,

As he comes to set everything right on earth,

Set everything right, treat everyone fair.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, May 19, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 116:1–7

 I love God because he listened to me,

    listened as I begged for mercy.

He listened so intently

    as I laid out my case before him.

Death stared me in the face,

    hell was hard on my heels.

Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn;

    then I called out to God for help:

“Please, God!” I cried out.

    “Save my life!”

God is gracious—it is he who makes things right,

    our most compassionate God.

God takes the side of the helpless;

    when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.

7-8     I said to myself, “Relax and rest.

    God has showered you with blessings.

    Soul, you’ve been rescued from death;

    Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;

    And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”

Insight

Psalm 116 is one of six praise songs (Psalms 113–118) collectively known as the “Egyptian Hallel.” The Hebrew root word halal means “to praise,” and “Egyptian” is a designation that these songs were sung during the Passover remembrance of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. Psalms 113–114 are recited before the Passover meal and Psalms 115–118 afterward. The hymn that Jesus and the disciples sang after the Last Supper would probably be one of these psalms (Mark 14:26).

In Psalm 116, the author writes of his near-death experience (vv. 3–4) and celebrates his deliverance from the jaws of death (v. 8). In his musing about life and death, the psalmist assures us of God’s undying care and love, giving us precious comfort when facing death: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” Or as one translation renders it, “The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die” (v. 15 nlt). By: K. T. Sim

You Are Heard

He turned his ear to me. Psalm 116:2

In the book Physics, Charles Riborg Mann and George Ransom Twiss ask: “When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is nearby to hear it, does it make a sound?” Over the years, this question has prompted philosophical and scientific discussions about sound, perception, and existence. A definitive answer, however, has yet to emerge.

One night, while feeling lonely and sad about a problem I hadn’t shared with anyone, I recalled this question. When no one hears my cry for help, I thought, does God hear?

Facing the threat of death and overcome by distress, the writer of Psalm 116 may have felt abandoned. So he called out to God—knowing He was listening and would help him. “He heard my voice,” the psalmist wrote, “he heard my cry for mercy. . . . [He] turned his ear to me” (vv. 1–2). When no one knows our pain, God knows. When no one hears our cries, God hears.

Knowing that God will show us His love and protection (vv. 5–6), we can be at rest in difficult times (v. 7). The Hebrew word translated “rest” (manoakh) describes a place of quiet and safety. We can be at peace, strengthened by the assurance of God’s presence and help.

The question posed by Mann and Twiss led to numerous answers. But the answer to the question, Does God hear? is simply yes.  By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

What do you do when you’re feeling alone or abandoned? What will you ask God, who hears your every cry and cares for you?

Father, thank You for always hearing the cries of my heart. Your help and presence are my rest.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, May 19, 2023

Out of the Wreck I Rise

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? —Romans 8:35

God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, “I will be with him in trouble…” (Psalm 91:15). It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; nothing can ever separate him from his relationship to God. “In all these things we are more than conquerors…” (Romans 8:37). Paul was not referring here to imaginary things, but to things that are dangerously real. And he said we are “super-victors” in the midst of them, not because of our own ingenuity, nor because of our courage, but because none of them affects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ. I feel sorry for the Christian who doesn’t have something in the circumstances of his life that he wishes were not there.

“Shall tribulation…?” Tribulation is never a grand, highly welcomed event; but whatever it may be— whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness— it is not able to “separate us from the love of Christ.” Never allow tribulations or the “cares of this world” to separate you from remembering that God loves you (Matthew 13:22).

“Shall…distress…?” Can God’s love continue to hold fast, even when everyone and everything around us seems to be saying that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

“Shall…famine…?” Can we not only believe in the love of God but also be “more than conquerors,” even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, having deceived even Paul, or else some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Logic is silenced in the face of each of these things which come against him. Only one thing can account for it— the love of God in Christ Jesus. “Out of the wreck I rise” every time.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. Conformed to His Image, 381 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 7-9; John 6:22-44

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, May 19, 2023

DISPROPORTIONATE POWER FOR YOUR DISPROPORTIONATE CHALLENGE

It's been a fun assignment over the years to speak for some professional football chapels, especially my old hometown team, the New York Giants. Of course it's pretty funny seeing me in a room with them. "Here's the New York Giants with special guest, "the little guy." But on several occasions I have been able to go to the game that same day with the team chaplain. In one game he leaned over to me and he said, "Now I want you to see one of the most powerful men in this stadium." There were 70,000 people there and I knew how powerful some of the men on the field were. And I wondered maybe if it was an owner or an executive. Nope! The chaplain pointed to this little man with a big bright orange glove on one hand. "Him?" "Yeah." He said, "Just watch." And after a play, that man stepped out on the field, put his orange-gloved hand on his chest and the game totally stopped. Now that is power!

Who is that man? He represents the TV producers who are broadcasting this game all over the country. And when it's time to stop everything for the next commercial, He just steps out and shows his magic glove. Nothing resumes until he puts down that glove and steps back off the field. One guy - power over lots of big people!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Disproportionate Power for Your Disproportionate Challenge."

That's what you have to call this kind of match up, or the kind talked about in our word for today from the Word of God. Joshua 23:10 - exciting words: "One of you routs a thousand because the Lord your God fights for you" just as He promised.

Let's say you're a battlefield reporter. On one side you have a force of 1,000 people. On the other side, one little guy. Who's going to win this? Well, if the Lord God is fighting for that one guy, you will see the thousand running for their lives. That is disproportionate power. A biblical principle that opens up otherwise unthinkable possibilities for you, your family, your ministry, your church. The numbers are only slightly less lopsided when God says in Leviticus 26:8, "Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and your enemies will fall by the sword before you."

When we were launching much of this ministry that our team is involved with today, we looked at the incredible work God has given us and then the comparatively small size of our team and we said, "How?" Then God gave us this verse. To this day it's still like five of us chasing a hundred because of the difference that a mighty God can make when He's fully trusted. In the unforgettable words of the invincible Apostle Paul in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us."

Right now you may be facing some overwhelming odds, or obstacles, or needs. They look very big and honestly you look very small beside them. But, that's where God's miracle math comes in. You plus God equals a majority, but if you try to anticipate the outcome based on earth math, you'll probably hold back, you'll probably miss the amazing thing God wants to do.

His ancient people looked at the walls and the giants in the Promised Land and they said, "We feel like grasshoppers" (Numbers 13:33) so they gave up. But, two spies out of all those spies, Joshua and Caleb, looked at those same walls and giants and compared them to the size of their God rather than the size of themselves, and they were ready to go for it. But because earth math and earth odds prevailed, people who could have been living in the Promised Land ended up just surviving in the wilderness for forty years.

Remember this disproportionate power and you'll be more likely to make God's will choices. Because the less there's going to be of you, and the more there's going to be of God, you know what that means. The greater the victory is going to be.

Philippians 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD LEADS YOU - May 18, 2023

Worrying is one job you cannot farm out, but you can overcome it. There’s no better place to begin than in Psalm 23:2. “He leads me beside the still waters,” David declares. “He leads me.” God isn’t behind me, yelling, “Go!” He’s ahead of me bidding, “Come.” He’s in front, clearing the path, cutting the brush. Standing next to the rocks, he warns, “Watch your step there.”

Isn’t this what God gave the children of Israel? He promised to supply them with manna each day. But he told them to collect only one day’s supply at a time. Matthew 6:34 says (The Message), “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” God is leading you. Leave tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow.

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Philippians 4

My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.

Pray About Everything

2 I urge Euodia and Syntyche to iron out their differences and make up. God doesn’t want his children holding grudges.

3 And, oh, yes, Syzygus, since you’re right there to help them work things out, do your best with them. These women worked for the Message hand in hand with Clement and me, and with the other veterans—worked as hard as any of us. Remember, their names are also in the Book of Life.

4-5 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.

Content Whatever the Circumstances

10-14 I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

15-17 You Philippians well know, and you can be sure I’ll never forget it, that when I first left Macedonia province, venturing out with the Message, not one church helped out in the give-and-take of this work except you. You were the only one. Even while I was in Thessalonica, you helped out—and not only once, but twice. Not that I’m looking for handouts, but I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity.

18-20 And now I have it all—and keep getting more! The gifts you sent with Epaphroditus were more than enough, like a sweet-smelling sacrifice roasting on the altar, filling the air with fragrance, pleasing God to no end. You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.

21-22 Give our regards to every follower of Jesus you meet. Our friends here say hello. All the Christians here, especially the believers who work in the palace of Caesar, want to be remembered to you.

23 Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Today's Scripture

Zephaniah 3:17–20

God Is Present Among You

16-17 Jerusalem will be told:

    “Don’t be afraid.

Dear Zion,

    don’t despair.

Your God is present among you,

    a strong Warrior there to save you.

Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love

    and delight you with his songs.

* * *

18-20 “The accumulated sorrows of your exile

    will dissipate.

I, your God, will get rid of them for you.

    You’ve carried those burdens long enough.

At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those

    who’ve made your life miserable.

I’ll heal the maimed;

    I’ll bring home the homeless.

In the very countries where they were hated

    they will be venerated.

On Judgment Day

    I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering!

You’ll be famous and honored

    all over the world.

You’ll see it with your own eyes—

    all those painful partings turned into reunions!”

        God’s Promise.

Insight

Zephaniah’s message is predominantly one of judgment. Chapter 1 aims this harsh message at the whole world (vv. 2–3), but Jerusalem and Judah are singled out for their idolatry (vv. 4–6). Zephaniah 2 targets specific nations (vv. 4–15), and, again, Judah is included. The prophet calls them a “shameful nation” and makes a heartfelt appeal for them to repent “before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon [them]” (vv. 1–2). In Zephaniah 3:1–7, the prophet zeroes in on Jerusalem for its corrupt leadership. But verses 8–20 show how God’s eternal hope rises out of the ashes of judgment. “Wait for me,” God says (v. 8). After His judgment is complete, God will enable the people to call upon His name (v. 9). “Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,” He tells them through His prophet. “The Lord has taken away your punishment” (vv. 14–15). By: Tim Gustafson

Grandmother Research

He will take great delight in you. Zephaniah 3:17

Researchers at Emory University used MRI scans to study the brains of grandmothers. They measured empathetic responses to images that included their own grandchild, their own adult child, and one anonymous child. The study showed that grandmothers have a higher empathy toward their own grandchild than even their own adult child. This is attributed to what they call the “cute factor”—their own grandchild being more “adorable” than the adult.

Before we say, “Well, duh!” we might consider the words of James Rilling, who conducted the study: “If their grandchild is smiling, [the grandmother is] feeling the child’s joy. And if their grandchild is crying, they’re feeling the child’s pain and distress.”

One prophet paints an “MRI image” of God’s feelings as He looks upon His people: “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will . . . rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Some translate this to say, “You will make His heart full of joy, and He will sing loudly.” Like an empathetic grandmother, God feels our pain: “In all their distress he too was distressed” (Isaiah 63:9), and He feels our joy: “The Lord takes delight in his people” (Psalm 149:4).

When we feel discouraged, it’s good to remember that God has real feelings for us. He’s not a cold, far away God, but One who loves and delights in us. It’s time to draw close to Him, feel His smile—and listen to His singing. By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

How have you felt the pleasure of God? How does this make you feel?

Dear God, help me to feel Your smile upon me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Living Simply— Yet Focused

Look at the birds of the air….Consider the lilies of the field… —Matthew 6:26, 28

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin”— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.” In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually— just as “the lilies of the field.”

The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.

If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 4-6; John 6:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, May 18, 2023

RACING PAST THE GLORY - #9484

Three days before our vacation, my wife and I had no idea where we were going to be able to go! We'd been too busy to think about it and too broke to pay for it. And then some friends supplied a beautiful spot in the Rocky Mountains. You know, God is really a great vacation planner.

We had the joy of looking out a window each morning at the majesty of Buffalo Mountain, all 12,000 plus feet of her. One night the temperature dropped to some winter lows, even though it was just early fall. My wife had gotten up before sunrise that morning and she said, "Honey, get up! You've got to see this!" The mountain was covered with a beautiful blanket of new-fallen snow. And then just above the mountain was this crown of puffy, white clouds. Directly over all of that was a full moon that was softly lighting the whole thing. I mean, it was awesome!

And then there were the two early risers in the parking lot. One guy came out on his way to work, saw that magical scene and just stood there frozen, gazing at it for the longest time. He was awed by it as we were. Then guy number two came running out on his way to work. He's got his lunch box in his hands, his eyes are looking straight ahead, he hustles right to his car, speeds away. What a contrast between the two men. One stood amazed and one was too busy to even notice.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Racing Past the Glory."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 2:3. God asks an unsettling question here: "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" See, God's offering us a gift that cost Him a lot, and some people are running right past it. God's most glorious work is not a moonlit, snow-crest mountain or a sunset, or even the amazing universe out there. No, it's what happened on a Roman cross, and three days later at a garden tomb. It's wrapped up in these seven words, "if we ignore such a great salvation."

Obviously salvation means someone's in trouble, right, and needs deliverance...needs a rescue. You and I are in big trouble with God according to the Bible. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of our sin is death." And as good as we might be religious, we like to think we're okay. But the judge before whom we must stand says, "for all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Spiritually, we're on death row. That's where this salvation comes in. God sent His one and only Son to die our death penalty because of His awesome love for us.

Then three days later, Jesus wielded the knockout punch on death. He proved that He alone can deliver eternal life. He did it by rising from the dead. Who else did that? Jesus loves you enough to die in your place. He's powerful enough to blow the doors off of death. And all that to give you a way to belong to God. Such a great salvation! But you might be missing it, like that man who raced past the glory of the scene on that mountain, maybe you've been running right past the glory of what happened on a hill where Jesus died for you.

You've been busy working, caring for your family, pursuing your pleasure, and running right past the one thing you cannot afford to miss. Isn't it time you stopped running and stood amazed at the cross of Jesus Christ? Isn't it time to say, "Lord, I've ignored the glory of what You did for me, but no more. I'm Yours."

Don't you want to belong to Him? Are you ready to experience this love, this power that has changed lives for 2,000 years? This could be your day to begin with Him. Go to our website will you? It will take a very few minutes there for you to see how you can be sure you belong to Jesus. Go to ANewStory.com.

Okay, a person is drowning, a rescuer throws him a rope. He ignores it and he dies. Not because there was no salvation, but because he ignored it. Jesus has thrown you a rope that's anchored to His cross. Please don't ignore it! Don't miss it!

Psalm 95, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: BAG OF BURDENS - May 17, 2023

Worry is the burlap bag of burdens. It’s overflowing with “whaddifs” and “howells.” Whaddif after all my dieting, I find out lettuce is fattening and chocolate isn’t? Howell will we pay our baby’s tuition? Whaddifs and Howells. The burlap bag of worry. Cumbersome. Chunky. Unattractive. Scratchy. Irritating to carry and impossible to give away.

No one wants your worries. Truth is, you don’t want them either. No one has to remind you of the high cost of anxiety, but I will anyway. Worry divides the mind. It splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems. The result is half-minded living.

Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to “boldly approached the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and in his grace find timely help.” God’s help is timely! God will do the right thing at the right time. And what a difference that makes.

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Psalm 95

Come, let’s shout praises to God,

    raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!

Let’s march into his presence singing praises,

    lifting the rafters with our hymns!

3-5 And why? Because God is the best,

    High King over all the gods.

In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns,

    in the other hand grasps the high mountains.

He made Ocean—he owns it!

    His hands sculpted Earth!

6-7 So come, let us worship: bow before him,

    on your knees before God, who made us!

Oh yes, he’s our God,

    and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.

7-11 Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks:

    “Don’t turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising,

As on the day of the Wilderness Test,

    when your ancestors turned and put me to the test.

For forty years they watched me at work among them,

    as over and over they tried my patience.

And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked!

    ‘Can’t they keep their minds on God for five minutes?

    Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?’

Exasperated, I exploded,

    ‘They’ll never get where they’re headed,

    never be able to sit down and rest.’”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 43:1–7

When You’re Between a Rock and a Hard Place

But now, God’s Message,

    the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,

    the One who got you started, Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.

    I’ve called your name. You’re mine.

When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.

    When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.

When you’re between a rock and a hard place,

    it won’t be a dead end—

Because I am God, your personal God,

    The Holy of Israel, your Savior.

I paid a huge price for you:

    all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

That’s how much you mean to me!

    That’s how much I love you!

I’d sell off the whole world to get you back,

    trade the creation just for you.

5-7 “So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.

    I’ll round up all your scattered children,

    pull them in from east and west.

I’ll send orders north and south:

    ‘Send them back.

Return my sons from distant lands,

    my daughters from faraway places.

I want them back, every last one who bears my name,

    every man, woman, and child

Whom I created for my glory,

    yes, personally formed and made each one.’”

* * *

Insight

God warned the Israelites that He’d use foreign armies to discipline them for their covenantal unfaithfulness. In 722 bc, the Assyrians destroyed Samaria, and the Northern Kingdom of Israel was exiled (see Isaiah 7:18–25; 10:3–6; 2 Kings 17:6–24). In 586 bc, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Southern Kingdom of Judah was exiled (see Isaiah 39:6–7; 2 Kings 20:12–19). Despite God’s harsh and severe discipline, God reminded the Israelites that as His chosen people they had an unbreakable bond with Him and assured them of His unfailing love: “You are precious and honored in my sight, and . . . I love you” (Isaiah 43:4). God’s discipline isn’t inconsistent with His love: “The Lord disciplines those he loves” (Proverbs 3:12; see Job 5:17; Hebrews 12:5–6). Though His people remained unfaithful and unrepentant, God in His mercy had purposed to forgive them of their sins (Isaiah 43:22–25). By: K. T. Sim

God Remembers Names

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1

The Sunday after I’d started working as a youth leader at a church and had met several of the young people, I spoke to a teen seated next to her mom. As I greeted the shy girl with a smile, I said her name and asked how she was doing. She lifted her head and her beautiful brown eyes widened. She too smiled and said in a small voice: “You remembered my name.” By simply calling that young girl by name—a girl who may have felt insignificant in a church filled with adults—I began a relationship of trust. She felt seen and valued.

In Isaiah 43, God is using the prophet Isaiah to convey a similar message to the Israelites: they were seen and valued. Even through captivity and time in the wilderness, God saw them and knew them “by name” (v. 1). They were not strangers; they belonged to Him. Even though they may have felt abandoned, they were “precious,” and His “love” was with them (v. 4). And along with the reminder that God knew them by name, He shared all that He would do for them, especially during trying times. When they went through trials, He would be with them (v. 2). They didn’t need to be afraid or worried since God remembered their names.

God knows each of His children’s names—and that’s good news, especially as we pass through the deep, difficult waters in life. By:  Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

What trials are you facing these days? How can focusing on the fact that God knows you by name help you walk through trying times with confidence?

Thank You for knowing me by name, dear God.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

His Ascension and Our Access

It came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. —Luke 24:51

We have no experiences in our lives that correspond to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. From that moment forward His life was altogether substitutionary. Up to the time of the transfiguration, He had exhibited the normal, perfect life of a man. But from the transfiguration forward— Gethsemane, the Cross, the resurrection— everything is unfamiliar to us. His Cross is the door by which every member of the human race can enter into the life of God; by His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone, and by His ascension our Lord entered heaven, keeping the door open for humanity.

The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.

The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God— He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 1-3; John 5:25-47

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

DISTURBING HEADLINES, A MESSAGE FROM GOD - #9483

Are you sure you want to turn on the news tonight? Yeah, it will cheer you up. Right. We need a few laughs. That's unlikely. It has been pretty ugly. Things are happening environmentally that are difficult, the weather is kinda going crazy. You've got headlines about growing crime and financial turmoil, and gun violence. Boy, you know all those headlines.

Yeah, there's a lot of grim stuff. But for us who belong to Jesus, you know what we should be hearing? We should be hearing our spiritual phone ringing. It's a wakeup call from God. And this is no time to let it go into voicemail, because God's calling us. And He's saying "If you're ever going to do something about the people who don't know Jesus, do it now!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Disturbing Headlines, A Message from God."

Number one, it's time to live for what others are dying for. You can go online and you will graphically see the price that our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are paying for their allegiance to Jesus. Torture. Rape. Even crucifixion.

We have a faith that is paid for in blood. First by Jesus. Then by countless Jesus-followers, from the first-century Coliseum to crosses today. So I should be intimidated into silence because of what talking about Jesus might cost me? "I might be called a name, marginalized, rejected, disrespected." If I won't pay that puny price, I should be ashamed.

The old hymn asks - "Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His name? Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease? While others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas?" Yeah, spiritual silence. Not an option any longer, because it can cost someone Jesus. It can cost someone heaven.

The second message in the headlines: hearts are open because the world is crazy. Yeah. God calls us to make "the most of every opportunity because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). This is opportunity time. Hearts that are usually looking inward are suddenly open to looking upward. So many things they have looked to are letting them down. With storm clouds coming in from every direction, people feel vulnerable, they feel unsafe. In the Bible's words, "like the tossing sea, which cannot rest... there is no peace" (Isaiah 57:20-21).

These are Jesus-times. Not to be missed. He's the One who speaks to the storm in the human heart and says, "Peace, be still!" And "do not let your hearts be troubled."

There's one other lesson in those headlines: We have the hope people are starving for. Peter calls it, "The reason for the hope you have" (1 Peter 3:15). That's what God says will interest people in my Jesus. Especially now. But only if I tell them about His unloseable love that He proved on a cross.

And there's never been a better time to tell your "hope story" than now. Our word for today from the Word of God: Hebrews 6:19. What a verse for unraveling times like ours! Speaking of Jesus it says, "we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

My friend Dave used to keep his sailboat in Stamford Harbor in Connecticut. They've got a hurricane gate that they close in the face of this approaching storm. To protect every craft that makes it into the harbor. Actually my friend rode out a hurricane on his boat! He was blown around but he was safe. Well, Jesus is the harbor where I'm safe in a Category 5 world.

How can I know where the peace is, where the anchor is, and not tell the people in my personal world? No more silence. No more letting fear win. No more wimping out on sharing my Jesus.

My brother, my sister, it's too late for that.

Psalm 94, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: REMEMBER THE SABBATH - May 16, 2023

When God gave the Ten Commandments, he needed only five English words to condemn adultery; four to denounce thievery and murder. But when it came to the topic of rest?

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servants, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:8-11a).

Wow. One word after another. But still we object, don’t we? We offer up one reason after another. We don’t like to rest. Will you please repeat these words after me: It is not my job to run the world. In the long run, we will do more by doing less.

Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry

Psalm 94

God, put an end to evil;

    avenging God, show your colors!

Judge of the earth, take your stand;

    throw the book at the arrogant.

3-4 God, the wicked get away with murder—

    how long will you let this go on?

They brag and boast

    and crow about their crimes!

5-7 They walk all over your people, God,

    exploit and abuse your precious people.

They take out anyone who gets in their way;

    if they can’t use them, they kill them.

They think, “God isn’t looking,

    Jacob’s God is out to lunch.”

8-11 Well, think again, you idiots,

    fools—how long before you get smart?

Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear,

    Eye-Shaper doesn’t see?

Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct,

    the teacher of Adam doesn’t know?

God knows, all right—

    knows your stupidity,

    sees your shallowness.

12-15 How blessed the man you train, God,

    the woman you instruct in your Word,

Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,

    while a jail is being built for the wicked.

God will never walk away from his people,

    never desert his precious people.

Rest assured that justice is on its way

    and every good heart put right.

16-19 Who stood up for me against the wicked?

    Who took my side against evil workers?

If God hadn’t been there for me,

    I never would have made it.

The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,”

    your love, God, took hold and held me fast.

When I was upset and beside myself,

    you calmed me down and cheered me up.

20-23 Can Misrule have anything in common with you?

    Can Troublemaker pretend to be on your side?

They ganged up on good people,

    plotted behind the backs of the innocent.

But God became my hideout,

    God was my high mountain retreat,

Then boomeranged their evil back on them:

    for their evil ways he wiped them out,

    our God cleaned them out for good.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 1:6–13

 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:

    Every person entering Life

    he brings into Light.

He was in the world,

    the world was there through him,

    and yet the world didn’t even notice.

He came to his own people,

    but they didn’t want him.

But whoever did want him,

    who believed he was who he claimed

    and would do what he said,

He made to be their true selves,

    their child-of-God selves.

These are the God-begotten,

    not blood-begotten,

    not flesh-begotten,

    not sex-begotten.

Insight

The Gospels are witnesses to the life and work of Jesus during His incarnation on earth. However, three of the four gospels begin with discussions of John the Baptist (Mark 1:1–8; Luke 1:8–25, 57–80; John 1:6–13). Here, in John 1:6–13, he’s described as a “witness to the light” (v. 8), but it’s made clear that he himself was not that light—Jesus was. Later, in 3:27–30, John the Baptist himself corrected any misconceptions that he was the Messiah. Using the metaphor of a wedding, he affirmed that he was not the bridegroom but the “friend who attends the bridegroom” (v. 29). Today, this is what we would call the best man. In Jesus’ words, there “is no one greater than John” (Luke 7:28). He still, however, wasn’t the Messiah. Jesus was. By: Bill Crowder

Who Am I?

To all who did receive him . . . [Jesus] gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

In 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton declared himself Emperor of the United States. Norton had made—and lost—his fortune in San Francisco shipping, but he wanted a new identity: America’s first emperor. When the San Francisco Evening Bulletin printed “Emperor” Norton’s announcement, most readers laughed. Norton made pronouncements aimed at correcting society’s ills, printed his own currency, and even wrote letters to Queen Victoria asking her to marry him and unite their kingdoms. He wore royal military uniforms designed by local tailors. One observer said Norton looked “every inch a king.” But of course, he wasn’t. We don’t get to make up who we are.  

Many of us spend years searching for who we are and wondering what value we possess. We flail, trying to name or define ourselves, when only God can truly tell us the truth about who we are. And, thankfully, He calls us His sons and daughters when we receive salvation in His Son, Jesus. “Yet to all who did receive him,” John writes, “he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). And this identity is purely a gift. We are His beloved “children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision . . . but born of God” (v. 13).

God gives us our name and our identity in Christ. We can stop striving and comparing ourselves to others, because He tells us who we are.

By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

How do you know you’re chosen by God? How does being His child help you understand your true identity?

God, I know that I’m Yours. Help me feel confidence in knowing that I’m born of You—a child of the King.

Learn more about your identity in Christ through salvation.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

The Habit of Recognizing God’s Provision

…you may be partakers of the divine nature… —2 Peter 1:4

We are made “partakers of the divine nature,” receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, “Oh, I can’t afford it.” One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.

Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you…may have an abundance…” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible does not thrill; the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically.  Disciples Indeed, 387 R

Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 24-25; John 5:1-24

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

FIGURING OUT THE MEANING OF IT ALL - #9482

Sometimes you find something spiritually thought provoking in the strangest places. Like in a rerun of an old episode of that hit sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond." Ray was trying to have that most dreaded conversation of all for many parents. You know, the one about where babies come from. Well, Ray is sitting on his daughter's bed, doing his best to get into the subject of s-e-x. At the foot of the bed he has four books open to the pages that he hopes will help. And then his daughter throws him a curve ball. She says, "Daddy, I don't care about how we got here." Ray looks surprised and very relieved. "I want to know why God put us here." Dad's expression is priceless. It's a combination of bewilderment and "let me out of here." She continues to press the question. Now, he's obviously wishing they could talk about the birds and the bees! He's stunned! He's stumped! Finally he fumbles his way into the only answer he can think of: "Well, honey, sometimes it gets... Well, really crowded in heaven, so God sends some down here." Well, his daughter's expression is a combination of bewilderment and "let me out of here."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Figuring Out the Meaning of It All."

Raymond, the dad, mirrored a lot of us. We know a lot more about how we got here than why we were put here. "Why am I here?" That's the question that seems to dog us our whole life. We didn't know the answer when we were teenagers, and for all our experience, many of us still don't know the answer in life's home stretch. Just living more years doesn't answer the question of the meaning of your life. It just allows us to stay busy most of the time so we don't have to think about it. But it's still the fundamental question about our existence isn't it? It's the question that must be answered.

Honestly, any ideas we have about our purpose on earth are not much more than guesses, because there's only one person who knows why we're here - the person who put us here. The Bible says that we are all "God's workmanship" and that we're created to "do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). See, you're not random. God made you for a specific purpose. Our ultimate destiny is summed up in these words from God in Colossians 1:16, it's our word for today from the Word of God. Speaking of Jesus Christ, God says, "All things were created by Him and for Him." We can put your name in there. There's a blank. _________ is created by Christ and for Christ.

The problem is we've left the orbit we were made for. That's called sin - our stubborn self-rule of a life God was supposed to run. Unless we can get back to the One we were made for, we will live our whole life without the answer to why I'm here, and we will die without hope. But the Bible gives us incredible hope with this announcement: "Christ suffered for our sins...to bring you safely home to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Wow! That means Jesus' death on a cross was a profoundly personal event for you and me. Because God's Son was paying the price for our sins. He wanted you to belong to Him, to be with Him forever. And so you could put your life in the hands of the One that can lead you into the destiny you were made for.

But you have a choice. You can put your total trust in Jesus to forgive your sins and give you a personal love relationship with God. Or you can continue orbiting your life around yourself and miss the meaning of the only life you get. There's someone listening right now, I think, who's tired of living without that meaning; without the God who loves you beyond words.

If you want to begin a personal relationship with Him, He's waiting for you now. Tell Him you want that relationship. Maybe it's just a simple heartfelt, "Jesus, I'm yours." He's the one who died to pay for your sins. He really is your only hope.

Our website is set up to help you understand this relationship. Check it out please today will you? ANewStory.com is the website. Listen, haven't you lived long enough without knowing why you're here?