Isaiah 55, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PERFECT PEACE - January 18, 2024

For the love of more you might lose your purpose. Just because someone gives you advice, a job, or a promotion, you don’t have to accept it. Let your uniqueness define your path of life. Isaiah prayed, “You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3 TEV).

Before you change your job title, examine your perspective toward life. As the Japanese proverb says, “Even if you sleep in a thousand-mat room, you can only sleep on one mat.” Success is not defined by position or pay scale but by this: Doing the most what you do the best. Parents, tell them to do what they love to do so well that someone pays them to do it. “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5 MSG).

Isaiah 55

Buy Without Money

1–5  55 “Hey there! All who are thirsty,

come to the water!

Are you penniless?

Come anyway—buy and eat!

Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.

Buy without money—everything’s free!

Why do you spend your money on junk food,

your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?

Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,

fill yourself with only the finest.

Pay attention, come close now,

listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.

I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,

the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.

I set him up as a witness to the nations,

made him a prince and leader of the nations,

And now I’m doing it to you:

You’ll summon nations you’ve never heard of,

and nations who’ve never heard of you

will come running to you

Because of me, your God,

because The Holy of Israel has honored you.”

6–7  Seek God while he’s here to be found,

pray to him while he’s close at hand.

Let the wicked abandon their way of life

and the evil their way of thinking.

Let them come back to God, who is merciful,

come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

8–11  “I don’t think the way you think.

The way you work isn’t the way I work.”

God’s Decree.

“For as the sky soars high above earth,

so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

not come back empty-handed.

They’ll do the work I sent them to do,

they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

12–13  “So you’ll go out in joy,

you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.

The mountains and hills will lead the parade,

bursting with song.

All the trees of the forest will join the procession,

exuberant with applause.

No more thistles, but giant sequoias,

no more thornbushes, but stately pines—

Monuments to me, to God,

living and lasting evidence of God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 13:6–17

When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

7  Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”

8  Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”

Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”

9  “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

10–12  Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

12–17  Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

Insight

Peter often misunderstood Jesus. He misunderstood what Christ was doing when He began to wash the disciples’ feet (John 13:6-9). Earlier in John, he confessed that only Jesus had the words of life (6:68-69), but he often failed to take Him at His word. He was convinced he could follow Jesus on the path of suffering (13:36-37). He assumed Christ’s goal was military conquest and started swinging a sword (18:10-11). And he ultimately denied his teacher and friend (vv. 15-27).

In every instance, however, Jesus gently showed love to His friend Peter. In the end, He called him to restoration and hope (21:15-19). By: Jed Ostoich

Washing Feet . . . and Dishes

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:15

On Charley and Jan’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, they shared breakfast at a café with their son Jon. That day, the restaurant was understaffed with just a manager, cook, and one teenage girl who was working as hostess, waitress, and busser. As they finished their breakfast, Charley turned to his wife and son and said, “Do you have anything important going on in the next few hours?” They didn’t.

So, with permission from the manager, Charley and Jan began washing dishes in the back of the restaurant while Jon started clearing the cluttered tables. According to Jon, what happened that day wasn’t really that unusual. His parents had always set an example of Jesus who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).

In John 13, we read about the last meal Christ shared with His disciples. That night, the Teacher taught them the principle of humble service by washing their dirty feet (vv. 14–15). If He was willing to do the lowly job of washing a dozen men’s feet, they too should joyfully serve others.

Every avenue of service we encounter may look different, but one thing’s the same: there’s great joy in serving. The purpose behind acts of service isn’t to bring praise to the ones performing them, but to lovingly serve others while directing all praise to our humble, self-sacrificing God. By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

When has someone unexpectedly offered to help you with a difficult task? Why is humility such an important aspect of serving others?

Loving Savior, thank You for showing me how to be a servant.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 18, 2024

“It Is the Lord!”

Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28

“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.

Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?

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: Genesis 43-45; Matthew 12:24-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Sincerely Wrong, Eternally Wrong - #9659

My wife and I were out for a Sunday afternoon drive, and we saw a very strange contradiction. There was this church, and there were long stairs leading up to the entrance, and one lady, all alone, at the door. She was trying every door to get in that church and they were all locked. She was frustrated. Now, what was the contradiction? Well, the name of the church - Our Lady of Perpetual Help. My wife said, "You know, this reminds me of a scene I saw when I was in Haiti." She said, "I was right near a church and there was this very gaunt woman, maybe starving to death, and weeping at the door of this church. And she looked like she was desperate to get in and every door was locked. She literally was beating her fists bloody on the door and there was no response."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sincerely Wrong, Eternally Wrong."

Our word for today from the Word of God is sobering. It's one of the most unsettling passages in the Bible. It's in Luke 13, beginning with verse 23 - listen to these words. "Someone asked Jesus, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?' And He said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, "Sir, open the door for us." But he will answer, "I don't know you or where you come from." Then you will say, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets." But he will reply, "I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!" There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out."

Oh man! This is the door of eternity. People are trying to get into heaven, but it says many will not be able to. Jesus will utter those sobering, chilling words, "I don't know you." They'll end up weeping. They'll end up thrown out. This is about real people locked out of heaven; people like our neighbors, our coworkers, like you and me. People who have been around Jesus a lot. They know a lot about Him, but somehow they missed the personal relationship with Him.

You know, with the current demands of our lives, it's really easy to kind of neglect eternity. It's a mistake to just have Jesus in your head and not in your heart. But each of us has this non-cancellable, non-postpone-able appointment with our Creator. The Bible says, "It is appointed to man once to die and after this the judgment." And in that instant when God decides we've taken our last breath and our heart has beaten for the last time, there is only one thing that matters. It won't be our religion, won't be our titles, not our net worth, our sickness, our references, and not even our Christian activities. Only one thing will matter, "What did you do with my Son, Jesus?"

Get a picture here of the greatest eternal tragedy, being locked out of heaven. God doesn't want it that way. He did all He could to remove the sin that keeps people out of heaven. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He said, "Why have You forsaken Me, God?" Why did God the Father turn His back on His one and only Son? Because He was carrying all the guilt and all the hell of my sin and yours. Your sin has been paid for so you don't have to. Jesus was cut off from the Father so you don't have to be.

But you do have to take this eternal gift purchased by the blood of God's Son. You have to surrender that self-running of your life and tell God you're putting all your trust in Jesus. The Lord will come down and the gate of heaven will be wide open for you. Have you ever reached out to Him with desperate hope and faith and said, "Jesus, I'm Yours"? Would you today? We're not guaranteed tomorrow. This is the only day we know for sure.

If I can help you with that, I'd just love to have you drop by our website. It's ANewStory.com.

You have nothing more important, nothing more urgent to do than to be sure you have settled things with Jesus, because your forever depends on it. Jesus said there will be many who are like the lady at that church pounding on the door of heaven, desperately trying to get in. But it will be too late for them; too late to find Jesus. Please, would you open your heart to Him now?

Isaiah 54, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: BE ON YOUR GUARD - January 17, 2024

Jesus warns, “Be on your guard against every form of greed” (Luke 12:15 NASB).

John D. Rockefeller was asked, “How much money does it take to satisfy a man?” He answered, “Just a little more.” Wise was the one who wrote, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV).

Urge your mate to choose satisfaction over salary. Better to be married to a happy person with a thin wallet than a miserable person with a thick one. Besides, “a pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life” (Proverbs 13:7 MSG).

Pursue the virtue of contentment, because “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV). Consult your design. Consult your Designer. But never consult your greed.

Isaiah 54

Spread Out! Think Big!

1–6  54 “Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby.

Fill the air with song, you who’ve never experienced childbirth!

You’re ending up with far more children

than all those childbearing women.” God says so!

“Clear lots of ground for your tents!

Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!

Use plenty of rope,

drive the tent pegs deep.

You’re going to need lots of elbow room

for your growing family.

You’re going to take over whole nations;

you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.

Don’t be afraid—you’re not going to be embarrassed.

Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short.

You’ll forget all about the humiliations of your youth,

and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.

For your Maker is your bridegroom,

his name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

Your Redeemer is The Holy of Israel,

known as God of the whole earth.

You were like an abandoned wife, devastated with grief,

and God welcomed you back,

Like a woman married young

and then left,” says your God.

7–8  Your Redeemer God says:

“I left you, but only for a moment.

Now, with enormous compassion, I’m bringing you back.

In an outburst of anger I turned my back on you—

but only for a moment.

It’s with lasting love

that I’m tenderly caring for you.

9–10  “This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:

I promised then that the waters of Noah

would never again flood the earth.

I’m promising now no more anger,

no more dressing you down.

For even if the mountains walk away

and the hills fall to pieces,

My love won’t walk away from you,

my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.”

The God who has compassion on you says so.

11–17  “Afflicted city, storm-battered, unpitied:

I’m about to rebuild you with stones of turquoise,

Lay your foundations with sapphires,

construct your towers with rubies,

Your gates with jewels,

and all your walls with precious stones.

All your children will have God for their teacher—

what a mentor for your children!

You’ll be built solid, grounded in righteousness,

far from any trouble—nothing to fear!

far from terror—it won’t even come close!

If anyone attacks you,

don’t for a moment suppose that I sent them,

And if any should attack,

nothing will come of it.

I create the blacksmith

who fires up his forge

and makes a weapon designed to kill.

I also create the destroyer—

but no weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged.

Any accuser who takes you to court

will be dismissed as a liar.

This is what God’s servants can expect.

I’ll see to it that everything works out for the best.”

God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Today's Scripture

Joshua 24:14–18

  “So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God.

15  “If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.”

16  The people answered, “We’d never forsake God! Never! We’d never leave God to worship other gods.

17–18  “God is our God! He brought up our ancestors from Egypt and from slave conditions. He did all those great signs while we watched. He has kept his eye on us all along the roads we’ve traveled and among the nations we’ve passed through. Just for us he drove out all the nations, Amorites and all, who lived in the land.

“Count us in: We too are going to worship God. He’s our God.”

Insight

The challenge from Joshua to the people of Israel who are about to take possession of the promised land (Joshua 24:14-15) gives us insight into their religious history during their time of slavery in Egypt. While some continued to worship Yahweh during their captivity, as seen in the fear of God displayed by the midwives Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15-17), today’s passage indicates that worship of Yahweh was only one form of their worship.

To the second generation that had come out of slavery (the first generation had died in the wilderness), Joshua proclaimed these words: “Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. . . . Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:14-15). This shows that the descendants of Jacob who were in slavery in Egypt had adopted various religious practices. By: JR Hudberg

Choosing to Follow God

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . . As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

“The average person will make 773,618 decisions over a lifetime,” claims the Daily Mirror. The British newspaper goes on to assert that we “will come to regret 143,262 of them.” I have no idea how the paper arrived at these numbers, but it’s clear that we face countless decisions throughout our lifetime. The sheer quantity of them might become paralyzing, especially when we consider that all our choices have consequences, some far more momentous than others.

After forty years wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel stood at the threshold of their new homeland. Later, after entering the land, Joshua, their leader, issued to them a challenging choice: “Fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness,” he said. “Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped” (Joshua 24:14). Joshua told them, “If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (v. 15).

As we begin each new day, possibilities stretch before us, leading to scores of decisions. Taking the time to ask God to guide us will influence the choices we make. By the power of the Spirit, we can choose to follow Him every day. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

What choices have you regretted making? How might you have handled those situations more wisely?

Father, sometimes life can feel overwhelming—and so can the many choices that confront me. Please guide my steps and my decision-making so that I honor You in the choices I make.

For further study, read Dangerous Decisions: Learning from the Mistakes of Lot and Achan.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

The Call of the Natural Life

When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me… —Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t.  Conformed to His Image, 357 R

Bible in a Year: Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

There's Something About That Name - #9658

One of the more special opportunities I've had over the years has been to speak for professional football chapels. I spoke a lot for the New York Giants, and when I was with them, of course, it looked like about 30 New York Giants and one New York Dwarf (that would be me). You can tell who is the speaker in the room, believe me! I did stand out in that group. And people will often say, "Well, what do you talk to them about?" Of course, I had the opportunity to simply present the Gospel. But I did try to use a lot of sport's illustrations and things that will relate to their everyday lives.

There's one subject I couldn't talk to them about. Oh, now, if you speak at a baseball chapel, they don't mind so much if you're with the other team. You'll speak in one locker room for the visiting team, and then you'll come down and speak for the home team. And everybody knows you speak for both teams.

Not in football! When you speak for professional teams, you've got to make sure you don't speak to the other team or you've got cooties! Yeah, you've been contaminated! So, guess what is the subject you don't mention when you're speaking. Do not under any circumstances mention the name of the other team.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "There's Something About That Name."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from several places in the book of Acts, showing us that the problem with Christianity and the power of Christianity are the same thing. Peter is preaching that great sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2:36. "Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

They walk up to a lame man in chapter 3, a man who is carried to the temple every day. And when he asks them for money, they reply, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." And then they proceed to say, "I'll give you a name. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." And he did.

And then in Acts 4:12 they boldly preach, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." And then in verses 17 and 18, the Sanhedrin calls them in, asks them to stop preaching, and they say, "We have to warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this Name. So they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the Name of Jesus." Are you getting the idea here?

What's the power that pushes back the darkness and changes people's lives? The power is in the Name of Jesus Christ. What's the problem people have with Christianity? Oh, you know, we can talk about God; nobody cares. About problems? About church? Fine. We talk about love or life or family values? That's okay. But it's when we talk about Jesus that people say, "Whoa! That's too far!" See, nothing has changed over 2,000 years. The power of Christianity is in the Name of Jesus; the problem people have with Christianity is the Name of Jesus. But there is no other Name, the Bible says.

You know when you're having a chance to talk spiritually to someone. Maybe you can talk to them about God. But, do you ever notice how you choke when it gets to the Name of Jesus? Guess what makes you choke? The one who hates that name. The one who knows the power of that name. The Devil himself for 2,000 years has given the order, "Don't mention The Name."

Sometimes you hold back and you don't talk very openly about Jesus Christ because you know that's controversial. Don't hold back! That's the power for answered prayer - Jesus' Name. It's the power that clarifies the real issue to people. Jesus is who they have to deal with. You're not deciding about my belief. You're deciding about Jesus. That's where the power is to change lives. The people who don't respect Jesus, who don't care about Jesus, use His Name all day long. They're pretty bold about it. How can we, who've experienced His love and forgiveness, be ashamed of The Name.

Oh, talk much, talk boldly about Jesus, because the Devil is saying, "I don't want to hear that Name!" And we will say in reply, "There is no other Name."

Isaiah 53, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOUR GOD-INTENDED DESIGN - January 16, 2024

Be careful – in a desire to be great, one might cease being any good.

Not every teacher is equipped to be a principal. Not every carpenter has the skill to head a crew. Not every musician should conduct an orchestra. A promotion might promote a person right out of their sweet spot. For the love of more, a person might lose their purpose. You know, greed makes a poor job counselor.

Examine your gifts; know your strengths. Romans 12:3 says, “Have a sane estimate of your capabilities.” Proverbs 15:16 says, “It is better to have little with fear for the LORD than to have great treasure with turmoil.” So don’t let the itch for things or the ear for applause derail you from your God-intended design!

Isaiah 53

Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?

Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

2–6  The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,

a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.

We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,

on him, on him.

7–9  He was beaten, he was tortured,

but he didn’t say a word.

Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered

and like a sheep being sheared,

he took it all in silence.

Justice miscarried, and he was led off—

and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare,

beaten bloody for the sins of my people.

They buried him with the wicked,

threw him in a grave with a rich man,

Even though he’d never hurt a soul

or said one word that wasn’t true.

10  Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,

to crush him with pain.

The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin

so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.

And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

11–12  Out of that terrible travail of soul,

he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.

Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,

will make many “righteous ones,”

as he himself carries the burden of their sins.

Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—

the best of everything, the highest honors—

Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,

because he embraced the company of the lowest.

He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,

he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Corinthians 10:1–11

Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

6–10  The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—“First the people partied, then they threw a dance.” We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.

11–12  These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were.

Insight

It’s appropriate that in writing to the Corinthians Paul would talk about the mistakes of Israel’s past being recorded “as warnings for us” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Why? Because the first fourteen chapters of this letter are also corrective—addressing problems within the life of the church at Corinth. From personality cults to lawsuits to immoral relationships to problems in marriages to abuse of liberty in Christ—the problems in Corinth ran deep. Therefore, examples of spiritual failure from Israel’s past provided warnings to a church very much in need of correction. In this case, perhaps the key is 1 Corinthians 10:8: “We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.” Given the depths of the problems at Corinth, the call to learn from the mistakes of others is valuable wisdom. By: Bill Crowder

Learning from Mistakes

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. 1 Corinthians 10:11

To help avoid future financial mistakes, such as those in 1929 and 2008 that brought down the world’s economy, the Library of Mistakes was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland. It features a collection of more than two thousand books that can help educate the next generation of economists. And it serves as a perfect example of how, according to the library’s curators, “smart people keep doing stupid things.” The curators believe that the only way to build a strong economy is to learn from prior mistakes.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that one way to avoid yielding to temptation and to have a strong spiritual life is to learn from the mistakes of God’s people in the past. So to make sure they wouldn’t become overconfident with their spiritual privilege, the apostle used ancient Israel’s failures as an example from which to gain wisdom. The Israelites engaged in idolatry, chose to “commit sexual immorality,” grumbled about the plans and purposes of God, and rebelled against His leaders. Due to their sin, they experienced His discipline (1 Corinthians 10:7–10). Paul presented these historical “examples” from Scripture to help believers in Jesus avoid repeating Israel’s mistakes (v. 11).

As God helps us, let’s learn from our mistakes and those made by others so that we might gain a heart of obedience for Him. By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What warning should we recall when tempted to sin? How can we learn from our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others?

Dear God, please help me learn from failures so that I might be more obedient to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

The Voice of the Nature of God

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" —Isaiah 6:8

When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.

The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Genesis 39-40; Matthew 11

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Waking Up to Good News - #9657

So I'm sleeping all night, but something very interesting happens. There are people all over the world making news! The world's different from the time I close my eyes till the time I wake up, and I want to know what's happened during the night. I think a lot of people do. That's probably one of the first things some of us do is make sure we check in with one of the news channels, or check our phone, and maybe check what's on the Internet. I used to have a newspaper that arrived early in the morning, (in the good old days) and at that point I could just go out and get that and check out the headlines! Of course, I liked it better then and I still like it better now, even if it's on my phone, when it's good news, which isn't nearly often enough.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Waking Up to Good News."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 143:8. Listen to this: "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love. For I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go. For to You I lift up my soul." God's inviting us here to check out the news from heaven every new morning. If you do, you will notice that the headline is always the same - God's Love Is Unfailing. God still loves you very, very much.

Basically, David is saying, "That's all I need to know about this day. This day may be filled with stress, and pressure, and danger, and challenges. But all I need to know is that I'm covered again. I am covered by the unfailing love of my Heavenly Father." Why? "Well, I've put all my eggs in one basket. I have put my trust in You, Lord." See, it means hanging everything on the protection and the provision of a God whose love for me is uninterrupted and unloseable. That is security! And He will show me the way I should go for this particular day. That's the way to have a day where you have peace no matter what; joy no matter what.

We've got a lot of days that aren't like that though. The problem is that I think we choose early in the day to focus on other headlines instead of God's banner headlines. Instead of focusing on God's unfailing love, we fill our heart with a headline like this: The money is failing! My strength is failing! My health is failing! My loved ones are failing! My dream is failing! The church is failing me! In fact, every earth thing, every earth person will fail you sometimes.

Many mornings you will wake up to a headline about something or someone who has failed you. But God's Word offers you a headline that never changes; the unsinkable anchor to this particular turbulent day. His unfailing love is still unfailing. The Old Testament prophet promises, "Every new day He does not fail." God, again this morning, whatever's happened still loves you very, very much. You are covered by that love. You are blessed if you're one of those rare people who are always calm at the center like the eye of a hurricane.

None of us knows what news will break in our life on any given day. That's why I love the security of Hebrews 6:19, that says, speaking of Jesus, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." One love that will never leave. One unmovable relationship. One unloseable security. And it all begins with a trip to the cross where Jesus spent His blood and His love to pay for the sin that separated you and me from God.

How wonderful it is to wake up in the morning and go, "I know He loves me. I've opened my life to that love that began on that cross." By the way, have you done that? If there's never been a day you have, make this your day to say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Do you want to know how and make sure you have? Go to our websiteANewStory.com?

Every morning, your emotions, your attitudes to the headlines from heaven. They overrule every other headline. The morning news is always this: God Loves Me Today!

Romans 9:16-33, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MADE FOR THE PART - January 15, 2024

Listen to the way God described the builder Bezalel. “I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence and skill in all kinds of crafts” (Exodus 31:3 NLT). Can you hear the pleasure in God’s voice?

You know, when you do the most what you do the best, you pop the pride buttons on the vest of God. In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell defended his devotion to running by telling his sister, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” When do you feel God’s pleasure? When do you look up into the heavens and say, “I was made to do this”?

When it comes to being you, you were made for the part. So speak your lines with confidence.

Romans 9:16-33

Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for good or ill.

19  Are you going to object, “So how can God blame us for anything since he’s in charge of everything? If the big decisions are already made, what say do we have in it?”

20–33  Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:

I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;

I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.

In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!”

they’re calling you “God’s living children.”

Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:

If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered

and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”

They’d be numbers still, not names;

salvation comes by personal selection.

God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.

Arithmetic is not his focus.

Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:

If our powerful God

had not provided us a legacy of living children,

We would have ended up like ghost towns,

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:

Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,

a stone you can’t get around.

But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me,

you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, January 15, 2024

Today's Scripture

Mark 10:35–45

The Highest Places of Honor

35  James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. “Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.”

36  “What is it? I’ll see what I can do.”

37  “Arrange it,” they said, “so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.”

38  Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about to be plunged into?”

39–40  “Sure,” they said. “Why not?”

Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in my baptism. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. There are other arrangements for that.”

41–45  When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.”

Insight

James and John’s request to sit at Jesus’ right hand and left hand after He’s glorified (Mark 10:37) shows they didn’t yet understand that Christ’s path to glory would be through suffering. Jesus responded by referring to His coming “cup” and “baptism” (v. 38)—both metaphors referring to His future suffering for His people. He would drink the cup of suffering and identify fully with His people to save them—taking on the consequences of sin for their sake. In response to James and John’s request for honor, they’re instead promised that as Christ’s disciples, they’d suffer like Him (v. 39). And Jesus used this occasion to teach all His disciples about offering themselves in service (vv. 42-45). By: Monica La Rose

Serving Others for Jesus

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Mark 10:43

Actress Nichelle Nichols is best remembered for playing Lieutenant Uhura in the original Star Trek series. Landing the role was a personal win for Nichols, making her one of the first African American women on a major TV show. But a greater win was to come of it.

Nichols had actually resigned from Star Trek after its first season, to return to her theater work. But then she met Martin Luther King Jr., who urged her not to leave. For the first time, he said, African Americans were being seen on TV as intelligent people who could do anything, even go to space. By playing Lieutenant Uhura, Nichols was achieving a greater win—showing Black women and children what they could become.

It reminds me of the time James and John asked Jesus for the two best positions in His kingdom (Mark 10:37). What personal wins such positions would be! Jesus not only explained the painful realities of their request (vv. 38–40) but called them to higher goals, saying, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (v. 43). His followers weren’t to seek personal wins alone but, like Him, use their positions to serve others (v. 45).

Nichelle Nichols stayed with Star Trek for the greater win it provided for African Americans. May we too never be content with a personal win alone but use whatever position we gain to serve others in His name. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

What are your current personal and career goals? What doors could you open for others right now?

Dear Jesus, show me how to use my position to serve others in Your name.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, January 15, 2024

Do You Walk In White?

We were buried with Him…that just as Christ was raised from the dead…even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4

No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral” — the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection— a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.

Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).

Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”

“This is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand.  Not Knowing Whither, 888 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, January 15, 2024

Why Your Service Has Been Interrupted - #9656

OK, so there are more bills to pay than you've got money to pay them. You have to make some choices. What you probably won't do is decide not to pay the electric bill and certain other bills like that. Those bills where, if you don't pay, they can cut off your service. You get this little notice: "If you don't pay your bill right away, your service will be cut off." It's amazing how a service cutoff can help you set your priorities!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Your Service Has Been Interrupted."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from some of the most preached on words in the Bible...and maybe some of the least acted on. 2 Chronicles 7:14, with the introduction of verse 13, "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

To be in a position to receive God's healing of what's hurting and broken, we have to humbly pray; we have to seek His face. But let's focus on that last and maybe most neglected step. A lot of people get that far. They humble themselves, they pray, and they seek His face. It's that last step where a lot of us fall short, "If My people... will turn from their wicked ways, then will I." God seems to be saying, "As long as you're hanging onto that sinful practice, that sinful attitude, or that sinful way you treat people, I can't open up heaven and bless you." In other words, your service will be interrupted until that outstanding spiritual bill is settled.

Maybe you've wondered why that repeated prayer hasn't been answered, or why things have come unglued, or why you're going through the pain you're facing, or why things don't change! Maybe it's because you haven't changed!

Now, there can be other reasons God hasn't seemed to answer, for sure. Maybe He's asking you to wait, or He's taking His time to enlarge your faith in Him, or He's preparing to do a larger miracle than the one you even asked for. But the first explanation we should consider is this: "Is there a sinful action, a sinful attitude, or a wrong relationship that I haven't let go of? Am I hanging onto a stubborn sin? Am I excusing what God wants me to be refusing?"

God accepts only one response to sin, not rationalizing it, not excusing it, not comparing yourself to other people. He says, "Turn from it!" Do you want God's best? Then deal with the "wicked ways" that are holding back the very answers you're seeking. The Lord has so much He wants to give you, so much He's ready to fix, and so many mountains He wants to move in your life. But His holy hand may be held back by some unrepented, unforsaken sin.

The difficulties you've been experiencing might be God's warning notice! If it seems like God's service in your life has been interrupted, check your account with Him and settle what's come between you.

Isaiah 52, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A New Definition

With God-all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26).

Consider Abram. Pushing a century of years, his wife, Sarai, ninety. The wallpaper in the nursery faded, baby furniture out of date.  The topic of a promised child brings sighs and tears. . . and God tells them they'd better select a name for their new son. They laugh! Partly because it's too good to happen and partly because it might.  They've given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it's real. They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God-for God is laughing too.

With the smile still on His face, He gets busy doing what He does the best-the unbelievable. Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a promised multitude. Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother.

Their names aren't the only thing God changes. He changes the way they define the word impossible!

From The Applause of Heaven

Isaiah 52

God Is Leading You Out of Here

1–2  52 Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion!

Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city!

Those who want no part of God have been culled out.

They won’t be coming along.

Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem!

Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!

3  God says, “You were sold for nothing. You’re being bought back for nothing.”

4–6  Again, the Master, God, says, “Early on, my people went to Egypt and lived, strangers in the land. At the other end, Assyria oppressed them. And now, what have I here?” God’s Decree. “My people are hauled off again for no reason at all. Tyrants on the warpath, whooping it up, and day after day, incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it’s time that my people know who I am, what I’m made of—yes, that I have something to say. Here I am!”

7–10  How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,

Breaking the news that all’s well,

proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,

telling Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts,

shouting in joyful unison.

They see with their own eyes

God coming back to Zion.

Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:

“God has comforted his people!

He’s redeemed Jerusalem!”

God has rolled up his sleeves.

All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.

Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other,

sees him at work, doing his salvation work.

11–12  Out of here! Out of here! Leave this place!

Don’t look back. Don’t contaminate yourselves with plunder.

Just leave, but leave clean. Purify yourselves

in the process of worship, carrying the holy vessels of God.

But you don’t have to be in a hurry.

You’re not running from anybody!

God is leading you out of here,

and the God of Israel is also your rear guard.

It Was Our Pains He Carried

13–15  “Just watch my servant blossom!

Exalted, tall, head and shoulders above the crowd!

But he didn’t begin that way.

At first everyone was appalled.

He didn’t even look human—

a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.

Nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback,

kings shocked into silence when they see him.

For what was unheard of they’ll see with their own eyes,

what was unthinkable they’ll have right before them.”

Insight

In calling His people to trust Him instead of trusting in other nations, God proclaimed Himself sovereign over all human history (Isaiah 24-27). He’s at work behind the scenes, orchestrating events to the triumphant outcome He planned for the end of time. He’ll judge and punish the wicked and the proud (24:16-23; 25:10-12) but will bless those who humble themselves and trust in Him (25:1-8). Isaiah 26 is a song of praise celebrating the salvation and blessings God will bestow on those who trust, obey, and honor Him (vv. 7-9). By: K. T. Sim

A Gaze Fixed on God

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

Nineteenth-century Scottish pastor, Thomas Chalmers, once told the story of riding in a horse-drawn carriage in the Highlands region as it hugged a narrow mountain ledge, along a harrowing precipice. One of the horses startled, and the driver, fearing they would plummet to their death, repeatedly flicked his whip. After they made it past the danger, Chalmers asked the driver why he used the whip with such force. “I needed to give the horses something else to think about,” he said. “I needed to get their attention.”

In a world overflowing with threats and dangers all around us, we all need something else to arrest our attention. However, we need more than merely mental distraction—a kind of psychological trick. What we most need is to fasten our minds upon a reality more powerful than all our fears. As Isaiah told God’s people in Judah, what we truly need is to fix our minds on God. “You will keep in perfect peace,” Isaiah promises, “all who trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3 nlt). And we can “trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock” (v. 4 nlt).

Peace—this is the gift for all who fix their gaze on God. And His peace provides far more than only a technique for holding our worst thoughts at bay. For those who will surrender their future, their hopes, and their worries, the Spirit makes an entirely new way of life possible. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

Where do you normally fix your attention? How might you renew your gaze on God?

Dear God, my mind can be a scary place, and I fear so much. Please give me Your peace.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Called By God

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Bible in a Year: Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20

Isaiah 51, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Prison of Pride

The prison of pride. You’ve seen the prisoners—the alcoholic who won’t admit his drinking problem; the woman who refuses to talk to anyone about her fears. Perhaps to see such a prisoner all you have to do is look in the mirror!

The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us” (I John 1:9). The biggest word in Scripture just might be that two-letter one, if.

Confessing sins, admitting failure, is exactly what prisoners of pride refuse to do. They say, “Listen, I’m just as good as the next guy.”  “I pay my taxes.” Justification. Rationalization. Comparison. These are the tools of the jailbird. But in the kingdom of God they sound hollow. Many know they’re wrong, yet pretend they are right. As a result they never taste the exquisite sorrow of repentance.

Blessed are those who know they’re in trouble and have enough sense to admit it!

From The Applause of Heaven

Isaiah 51

Committed to Seeking God

1–3  51 “Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living

and committed to seeking God.

Ponder the rock from which you were cut,

the quarry from which you were dug.

Yes, ponder Abraham, your father,

and Sarah, who bore you.

Think of it! One solitary man when I called him,

but once I blessed him, he multiplied.

Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion,

comfort all her mounds of ruins.

I’ll transform her dead ground into Eden,

her moonscape into the garden of God,

A place filled with exuberance and laughter,

thankful voices and melodic songs.

4–6  “Pay attention, my people.

Listen to me, nations.

Revelation flows from me.

My decisions light up the world.

My deliverance arrives on the run,

my salvation right on time.

I’ll bring justice to the peoples.

Even faraway islands will look to me

and take hope in my saving power.

Look up at the skies,

ponder the earth under your feet.

The skies will fade out like smoke,

the earth will wear out like work pants,

and the people will die off like flies.

But my salvation will last forever,

my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.

7–8  “Listen now, you who know right from wrong,

you who hold my teaching inside you:

Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked

don’t let it get you down.

Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten,

from brains that are termite-ridden,

But my setting-things-right lasts,

my salvation goes on and on and on.”

9–11  Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!

Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.

Didn’t you once make mincemeat of Rahab,

dispatch the old chaos-dragon?

And didn’t you once dry up the sea,

the powerful waters of the deep,

And then made the bottom of the ocean a road

for the redeemed to walk across?

In the same way God’s ransomed will come back,

come back to Zion cheering, shouting,

Joy eternal wreathing their heads,

exuberant ecstasies transporting them—

and not a sign of moans or groans.

What Are You Afraid of—or Who?

12–16  “I, I’m the One comforting you.

What are you afraid of—or who?

Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead?

Some poor wretch destined for dust?

You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you,

who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.

And here you are, quaking like an aspen

before the tantrums of a tyrant

who thinks he can kick down the world.

But what will come of the tantrums?

The victims will be released before you know it.

They’re not going to die.

They’re not even going to go hungry.

For I am God, your very own God,

who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,

named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

I teach you how to talk, word by word,

and personally watch over you,

Even while I’m unfurling the skies,

setting earth on solid foundations,

and greeting Zion: ‘Welcome, my people!’ ”

17–20  So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!

Up on your feet, Jerusalem!

You’ve drunk the cup God handed you,

the strong drink of his anger.

You drank it down to the last drop,

staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.

And nobody to help you home,

no one among your friends or children

to take you by the hand and put you in bed.

You’ve been hit with a double dose of trouble

—does anyone care?

Assault and battery, hunger and death

—will anyone comfort?

Your sons and daughters have passed out,

strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,

Sleeping off the strong drink of God’s anger,

the rage of your God.

21–23  Therefore listen, please,

you with your splitting headaches,

You who are nursing the hangovers

that didn’t come from drinking wine.

Your Master, your God, has something to say,

your God has taken up his people’s case:

“Look, I’ve taken back the drink that sent you reeling.

No more drinking from that jug of my anger!

I’ve passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,

‘Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!’

And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,

you were the dirt under their feet.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Today's Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-3

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Insight

Who are the “witnesses” the writer refers to in Hebrews 12:1? That’s a matter of some debate, but a plausible interpretation is that they’re the faithful believers who’ve gone before us. Now they stand as “witnesses,” while we on earth remain in the arena, competing in our race of faith (v. 1). We accomplish this by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (v. 2). This means that Christ is our leader as we live it out. The word pioneer in the Greek is archegos. Other translations render it “author,” “champion,” or “originator.” The path Jesus took was far more difficult than the one we’re on. He bore the sins of the whole world, yet it led to His rightful place “at the right hand of the throne of God” (v. 2). Our race is difficult as well, but we know the joyful conclusion, for He’s blazed the trail for us. By: Tim Gustafson

Persevering in Jesus

Consider him who endured . . . so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:3

When I was studying in seminary years ago, we had a weekly chapel service. At one service, while we students were singing “Great Is the Lord,” I spotted three of our well-loved professors singing with fervor. Their faces radiated joy, made possible only by their faith in God. Years later, as each went through terminal illness, it was this faith that enabled them to endure and encourage others.

Today, the memory of my teachers singing continues to encourage me to keep going in my trials. To me, they’re a few of the many inspiring stories of people who lived by faith. They’re a reminder of how we can follow the author’s call in Hebrews 12:2-3 to fix our eyes on Jesus who “for the joy set before him . . . endured the cross” (v. 2).

When trials—from persecution or life’s challenges—make it hard to keep going, we have the example of those who took God at His word and trusted in His promises. We can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (v. 1), remembering that Jesus—and those who have gone before us—was able to endure. The writer urges us to “consider him . . . so that [we] will not grow weary and lose heart” (v. 3).

My teachers, now happy in heaven, would likely say: “The life of faith is worth it. Keep going.” By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

Who’s inspired you to keep going in your faith journey? How does their example encourage you to endure in times of trial and hardship?

Dear Jesus, help me to keep fixing my eyes on You. When I’m weary and losing heart, thank You for Your example.

For further study, read Going the Distance: Practices to Strengthen Your Faith.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)

When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10

His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).

As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38

Isaiah 50 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE BEST YOU - January 12, 2024

The apostle Paul said, “Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life” (Galatians 6:4-5 MSG).

Before Thomas Merton followed Christ, he followed money, fame, and society. He shocked many of his colleagues when he exchanged it all for the life of a Trappist monk. Many years later a friend visited the monastery and could see no important difference in him. “Tom, he said, “you haven’t changed at all.” “Why should I? Here,” he said, “our duty is to be more like ourselves, not less.”

You know, God never called you to be anyone other than you. But he does call you to be the best you that you can be. The big question is: at your best, who are you?

Isaiah 50

Who Out There Fears God?

1–3  50 God says:

“Can you produce your mother’s divorce papers

proving I got rid of her?

Can you produce a receipt

proving I sold you?

Of course you can’t.

It’s your sins that put you here,

your wrongs that got you shipped out.

So why didn’t anyone come when I knocked?

Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?

Do you think I’ve forgotten how to help?

Am I so decrepit that I can’t deliver?

I’m as powerful as ever,

and can reverse what I once did:

I can dry up the sea with a word,

turn river water into desert sand,

And leave the fish stinking in the sun,

stranded on dry land …

Turn all the lights out in the sky

and pull down the curtain.”

4–9  The Master, God, has given me

a well-taught tongue,

So I know how to encourage tired people.

He wakes me up in the morning,

Wakes me up, opens my ears

to listen as one ready to take orders.

The Master, God, opened my ears,

and I didn’t go back to sleep,

didn’t pull the covers back over my head.

I followed orders,

stood there and took it while they beat me,

held steady while they pulled out my beard,

Didn’t dodge their insults,

faced them as they spit in my face.

And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me,

so I’m not disgraced.

Therefore I set my face like flint,

confident that I’ll never regret this.

My champion is right here.

Let’s take our stand together!

Who dares bring suit against me?

Let him try!

Look! the Master, God, is right here.

Who would dare call me guilty?

Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare

socks and shirts, fodder for moths!

10–11  Who out there fears God,

actually listens to the voice of his servant?

For anyone out there who doesn’t know where you’re going,

anyone groping in the dark,

Here’s what: Trust in God.

Lean on your God!

But if all you’re after is making trouble,

playing with fire,

Go ahead and see where it gets you.

Set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames,

But don’t expect me to just stand there and watch.

I’ll hold your feet to those flames.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, January 12, 2024

Today's Scripture

Genesis 39:19–23

When his master heard his wife’s story, telling him, “These are the things your slave did to me,” he was furious. Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.

Insight

In Genesis 39, the word translated “prospered” (v. 2) or “success” (vv. 3, 23) is the Hebrew word tsalakh. In Genesis 24, it’s used in connection with the mission of Abraham’s “senior servant” to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac (vv. 21, 40, 42). Elsewhere in Scripture, “success” is associated with obedience to the Scriptures. After the mantle of leadership had been transferred from Moses to Joshua, God told Joshua that he’d be “prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8) when he obeyed God’s law. In Psalm 1, the person who delights in the words of God “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (v. 3). The success of God’s servants is based on God’s provision—His presence and His strength to obey Him. By: Arthur Jackson

God’s Worker

The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Genesis 39:23

In a refugee camp in the Middle East, when Reza received a Bible, he came to know and believe in Jesus. His first prayer in Christ’s name was, “Use me as your worker.” Later, after he left the camp, God answered that prayer when he unexpectedly secured a job with a relief agency, returning to the camp to serve the people he knew and loved. He set up sports clubs, language classes, and legal advice—“anything that can give people hope.” He sees these programs as a way to serve others and to share God’s wisdom and love.

When reading his Bible, Reza felt an instant connection with the story of Joseph from Genesis. He noticed how God used Joseph to further His work while he was in prison. Because God was with Joseph, He showed him kindness and granted him favor. The prison warden put Joseph in charge and didn’t have to pay attention to matters there because God gave Joseph “success in whatever he did” (Genesis 39:23).

God promises to be with us too. Whether we’re facing imprisonment—literal or figurative—hardship, displacement, heartache, or sorrow, we can trust that He’ll never leave us. Just as He enabled Reza to serve those in the camp and Joseph to run the prison, He’ll stay close to us always. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

When have you experienced God’s redeeming action, such as Reza and Joseph did? How does Joseph’s story help you to trust Him more?

Saving God, You never leave me, even when I face the hardest of circumstances. Please give me hope and eyes to see Your work in my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, January 12, 2024

Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34

Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?

We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, January 12, 2024 (not posted yet)

Leaky People - #7046

Monday, January 13, 2014

For many years I was kind of an old fashioned sort of guy in shaving. You know, I wasn't going to have any of those electric shavers for me. I've sort of succumbed now. But for many years I shaved, well, what I thought was like real men. Which meant cooking my beard with hot water first. And that required filling that sink with hot water; as hot as I could stand it. Now, in order for that to happen, the sink has to be able to hold water for a few minutes. And you know what I've noticed traveling around? They don't all do it. I can get them all full; I just couldn't keep them all full. So I'd close the drain, but they just didn't all hold water. I have to keep filling the sink, filling the sink because it leaked.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 5:17-18. Here's the real secret of spiritual power. "Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead, (Now listen to these words.) be filled with the Spirit." Now, those words cover one of the most powerful possibilities in the Bible. When you trust Jesus, God - the Holy Spirit - moves into your body. It becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 6. He brings with Him all the power of God right into your body.

The question isn't a believer getting the Holy Spirit; it's how much of you the Holy Spirit is getting. You live supernaturally when you're filled with the Spirit. Now the Greek word means to be saturated, to be controlled by, to be taken over by the Holy Spirit. It's a command here, "be filled with the Spirit."

If you read it in English, you might conclude that you just show up once at the Holy Spirit pump and get your lifetime fill-up. "There, I've been filled with the Spirit." But the Greek is what they call a progressive tense verb, "Be filled with the Spirit over and over again. Keep on being filled with the Spirit." It's not a once-and-for-all spiritual zap.

Somebody once asked the great evangelist, D. L. Moody, why he kept praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit. He said, "Madam, I leak." Well, we all do! It's like filling those sinks with hot water when I was shaving. I could get them full but I couldn't keep them full. They leak. So a leaky sink requires repeated refilling. Fill it just once and pretty soon it will be empty. A Holy Spirit take-over yesterday does not guarantee one for today. There are so many other things that fill you up in a day's time.

We Western Christians are products of an instant, get-it-now, get-it-fast culture. We want instant money from those machines, instant food from a restaurant, instant cooking from a microwave. We like to get it done. So we want to find a quick and final spiritual experience that we can go on for the rest of our lives. Being filled with the Spirit sounds like a good choice, but we leak like D. L. Moody said. He said, "I need a fresh filling for Boston, then for Philadelphia. When I'm in New York, I need to get a fresh filling for New York."

Well, we need a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit for Wednesday, and for Thursday, and we need another one for Friday, for today's calls, for today's conversations, for today's To Do List, today's challenges and surprises and stress. Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Let each day begin with a sacred rendezvous between you and your God; a time when you identify what else may have taken over; what else you may be filled with. And then repent of it. And then open yourself up to let your Lord again take over your personality, and take over your tongue, and your thoughts and your judgment. To take over your body and your plans.

Just keep on being filled with the Spirit. Remember, we're leaky people, and God - the Holy Spirit - offers free refills so you can have a supernatural day.

Romans 9:1-15 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A BRAND NEW IDEA - January 11, 2024

God made you and broke the mold. Every single baby is a brand new idea from the mind of God. Scan history for your replica; you won’t find it. God tailor-made you. You aren’t one of many bricks in the mason’s pile or one of a dozen bolts in the mechanic’s drawer. You are it!

And if you aren’t you, we don’t get you. The world misses out. You offer a gift to society that no one else brings. When you and I do the most what we do the best for the glory of God, the Bible says that we are “marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body” (Romans 12:5 MSG). You play no small part, because there is no small part to be played. God “shaped each person in turn” (Psalm 33:15 MSG). We need you to be you. And you need to be you.

Romans 9:1-15

God Is Calling His People

1–5  9 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites … If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!

6–9  Don’t suppose for a moment, though, that God’s Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. It wasn’t Abraham’s sperm that gave identity here, but God’s promise. Remember how it was put: “Your family will be defined by Isaac”? That means that Israelite identity was never racially determined by sexual transmission, but it was God-determined by promise. Remember that promise, “When I come back next year at this time, Sarah will have a son”?

10–13  And that’s not the only time. To Rebecca, also, a promise was made that took priority over genetics. When she became pregnant by our one-of-a-kind ancestor, Isaac, and her babies were still innocent in the womb—incapable of good or bad—she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. God told Rebecca, “The firstborn of your twins will take second place.” Later that was turned into a stark epigram: “I loved Jacob; I hated Esau.”

14–18  Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 21:17–24

 Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”

20–21  Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?”

22–23  Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?”

24  This is the same disciple who was eyewitness to all these things and wrote them down. And we all know that his eyewitness account is reliable and accurate.

Insight

After His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for forty days before ascending into heaven. During this time, He “proved to [his disciples] in many ways that he was actually alive” (Acts 1:3 nlt). The New Testament records some eleven post-resurrection appearances of Christ. The risen Jesus met with different people for different reasons. He had unfinished business with all His disciples. The Passover weekend was a traumatic one for them, and every disciple had “deserted him” (Matthew 26:56). In fact, Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times (John 18:15-27), but Christ restored him (21:15-19). His disciples needed to be forgiven, restored, reinstated, and recommissioned to do God’s work. By: K. T. Sim

A Simple Request

If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. John 21:22

“Please clean the front room before you go to bed,” I said to one of my daughters. Instantly came the reply, “Why doesn’t she have to do it?”

Such mild resistance was frequent in our home when our girls were young. My response was always the same: “Don’t worry about your sisters; I asked you.”

In John 21, we see this human tendency illustrated among the disciples. Jesus had just restored Peter after he’d denied Him three times (see John 18:15–18, 25–27). Now Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me!” (21:19)—a simple but painful command. Jesus explained that Peter would follow Him to the death (vv. 18–19).

Peter barely had time to comprehend Jesus’ words before he asked about the disciple behind them: “What about him?” (v. 21). Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” Then He said, “You must follow me” (v. 22).

How often we’re like Peter! We wonder about the faith journeys of others and not what God is doing with us. Late in his life, when the death Jesus foretold in John 21 was much closer, Peter elaborated on Christ’s simple command: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1 Peter 1:14–15). That’s enough to keep each of us focused on Jesus and not on those around us. By:  Matt Lucas

Reflect & Pray

How are you tempted to compare your faith walk with others? How will you keep your focus on Jesus today?

Heavenly Father, please continue to conform me into the image of Your Son. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 11, 2024

What My Obedience to God Costs Other People

As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon…, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. —Luke 23:26

If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, “You call this Christianity?” We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.

When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, “I will never accept anything from anyone.” But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).

A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, “I will not cause other people to suffer”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.

Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come.  Shade of His Hand, 1226 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Using Your Winter To Win Your Battles - #9654

King George and his army must have had a really good laugh. George Washington and his Continental Army had been whipped in battle after battle in their campaign to become independent from Britain. British troops had driven the Americans out of New York City, across the Hudson River, across New Jersey, and finally into Pennsylvania. Then came the winter of 1777, at a place outside of Philadelphia called Valley Forge. Washington's troops faced not only a physical winter there, but an emotional winter. Discouragement and defeat may have been their worst enemies. But General Washington wasn't about to let those enemies win. He fought back by immediately deploying his soldiers to fortify their camp. Then the drills began. A veteran European military officer began to drill those soldiers every day, teaching them a single set of maneuvers rather than the multiple approaches that had just created confusion in the past battles. That winter, they were learning one way of doing things while Washington worked on getting more recruits and building his army into a real fighting force. Many historians believe that the outcome of America's battle for independence was actually decided at Valley Forge more than any battle - because there was an army that came out of Valley Forge to stun the British with major victories. One army went into the winter at Valley Forge - divided, discouraged, demoralized. Another army emerged from that winter. They were unified, they were fortified, they were confident because of what they had done with their winter.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Using Your Winter To Win Your Battles."

In many ways, the outcome of your battles may be decided, not on the battlefield alone, but in how you use your winter. And you may be in one of those cold, bleak times right now. You could succumb to your fears and your feelings and just surrender. Or you could pull a spiritual "Valley Forge." You could use your winter to get stronger, more together, more focused on what you need to do to win.

In some ways, Jesus' disciples expected their winter to begin with His announced departure to heaven. The One who had called them to be with Him was now leaving them and entrusting to them the work He had started. In Luke 24, Jesus tells them to tell the world about Him and then, "while He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven." In a way, their winter had begun, as it often does when you lose someone you love. But they knew what to do with their winter! In our word for today from the Word of God taken from Acts 1 and 2, "they all joined together constantly in prayer." Then they got their team of twelve back to full strength by replacing Judas with another disciple. And, "When the day of Pentecost came" - that's the day God sent His Holy Spirit - "they were all together in one place...and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit." At that point, they exploded on the city of Jerusalem with the Gospel that would, one day, start spreading around the world.

But they had to use their winter to get together, to get stronger, and to get closer to God. You need to handle your winter that way. Don't just sit there worrying or feeling sorry for yourself or wallowing in your emotions. Take action to get strong. Spend extra time with God right now. Strengthen your relationship with your family and your coworkers. Think through what you need to stop doing and what you need to start doing to focus on what really matters. And prayerfully plan for a future, right there in the middle of your valley, even when the future looks very uncertain. While the bombs were falling on London during World War II, Winston Churchill was in his underground bunker - not worrying about the bombs, but actually planning the invasion of Germany!

Discouragement and fear and drifting from God - those are your greatest enemies, not what faces you on your battlefield. This winter is not dead time or despair time. It's get ready time. What you do with your winter will decide whether you win or lose!