Hosea 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE REAL DEAL - February 7, 2024

Susie’s most treasured possession was a string of fake pearls given to her by her father. As he put her to bed one evening, he asked this question: “Do you love me?” “Yes, Daddy. I love you more than anything.” He paused. “More than the pearls? Would you give me your pearls?” “Oh Daddy,” she replied. “I couldn’t do that. I love my pearls.”

But the next day she went to see him. “Daddy, I love you more than these. Here you take them.” He said, “I brought you a gift from my trip.” She opened the small flat box and gasped. Pearls! Genuine pearls.

You suppose your Father wants to give you some as well? He offers authentic love. His devotion is the real deal. He will give you the genuine when you surrender the imitation.

Hosea 4

No One Is Faithful

1–3  4 Attention all Israelites! God’s Message!

God indicts the whole population:

“No one is faithful. No one loves.

No one knows the first thing about God.

All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex,

sheer anarchy, one murder after another!

And because of all this, the very land itself weeps

and everything in it is grief-stricken—

animals in the fields and birds on the wing,

even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless.

4–10  “But don’t look for someone to blame.

No finger pointing!

You, priest, are the one in the dock.

You stumble around in broad daylight,

And then the prophets take over and stumble all night.

Your mother is as bad as you.

My people are ruined

because they don’t know what’s right or true.

Because you’ve turned your back on knowledge,

I’ve turned my back on you priests.

Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God,

I’m no longer recognizing your children.

The more priests, the more sin.

They traded in their glory for shame.

They pig out on my people’s sins.

They can’t wait for the latest in evil.

The result: You can’t tell the people from the priests,

the priests from the people.

I’m on my way to make them both pay

and take the consequences of the bad lives they’ve lived.

They’ll eat and be as hungry as ever,

have sex and get no satisfaction.

They walked out on me, their God,

for a life of rutting with whores.

They Make a Picnic Out of Religion

11–14  “Wine and whiskey

leave my people in a stupor.

They ask questions of a dead tree,

expect answers from a sturdy walking stick.

Drunk on sex, they can’t find their way home.

They’ve replaced their God with their genitals.

They worship on the tops of mountains,

make a picnic out of religion.

Under the oaks and elms on the hills

they stretch out and take it easy.

Before you know it, your daughters are whores

and the wives of your sons are sleeping around.

But I’m not going after your whoring daughters

or the adulterous wives of your sons.

It’s the men who pick up the whores that I’m after,

the men who worship at the holy whorehouses—

a stupid people, ruined by whores!

15–19  “You’ve ruined your own life, Israel—

but don’t drag Judah down with you!

Don’t go to the sex shrine at Gilgal,

don’t go to that sin city Bethel,

Don’t go around saying ‘God bless you’ and not mean it,

taking God’s name in vain.

Israel is stubborn as a mule.

How can God lead him like a lamb to open pasture?

Ephraim is addicted to idols.

Let him go.

When the beer runs out,

it’s sex, sex, and more sex.

Bold and sordid debauchery—

how they love it!

The whirlwind has them in its clutches.

Their sex-worship leaves them finally impotent.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

Today's Scripture

Nehemiah 4:6–9

We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height because the people had a heart for the work.

7–9  When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem were going so well—that the breaks in the wall were being fixed—they were absolutely furious. They put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could. We countered with prayer to our God and set a round-the-clock guard against them.

Insight

Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah, served the important post of cupbearer for King Artaxerxes. When Nehemiah heard the discouraging news from his brother Hanani that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, he wept. Moreover, his people, the Jewish exiles who’d returned to Judah from Babylon, were in trouble (Nehemiah 1). The king noticed Nehemiah’s sadness, inquired about it (2:1-2), and granted his servant Nehemiah leave of absence to help rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah united the returning exiles to rebuild the walls despite heavy opposition from opponents in nearby Samaria, Amnon, and Arabia. While some of the men worked to rebuild the walls, others stood guard (4:1-9, 15). The wall was completed in fifty-two days (6:15). Later, Nehemiah helped Ezra the priest and teacher to restore the morals of the people by obeying the law of the Lord (8:9-10). Nehemiah served as governor of Judah for twelve years. By: Alyson Kieda

Angels on the Walls

We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Nehemiah 4:9

When Wallace and Mary Brown moved to an impoverished part of Birmingham, England, to pastor a dying church, they didn’t know that a gang had made the grounds of their church and home its headquarters. The Browns had bricks thrown through their windows, their fences set on fire, and their children threatened. The abuse continued for months; the police were unable to stop it.

The book of Nehemiah recounts how the Israelites rebuilt Jerusalem’s broken walls. When locals set out to “stir up trouble,” threatening them with violence (Nehemiah 4:8), the Israelites “prayed to . . . God and posted a guard” (v. 9). Feeling God used this passage to direct them, the Browns, their children, and a few others walked around their church’s walls, praying that He would install angels as guards to protect them. The gang jeered, but the next day, only half of them showed up. The day after that, only five were there, and the day after, no one came. The Browns later heard the gang had given up terrorizing people.

This miraculous answer to prayer isn’t a formula for our own protection, but it’s a reminder that opposition to God’s work will come and must be fought with the weapon of prayer. “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,” Nehemiah told the Israelites (v. 14). He can even set violent hearts free. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

What would you have done in the Browns’ situation? Who needs your prayers for deliverance today?

Awesome God, protect Your people by Your powerful angels, and set the hearts of Your enemies free.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

Spiritual Dejection

We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21

Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.

We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 1-3; Matthew 24:1-28

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

The Word Hell Doesn't Want You to Say - #9673

If you've flown commercially, you know you have to go through a security checkpoint before you can get to your gate. And for those security personnel who man those metal detectors and X-ray machines, there is a four-letter word they won't tolerate. You know what it is, it's the word "bomb." I mean, you can see signs warning you not to even joke about explosives or bombs or anything. And I'm glad! The slightest hint of the possibility of a bomb has been known to literally shut down an airport for hours - I've been there when that happened. That's fine with me if they want to check that out. Nobody in an airport wants to hear the word "bomb" because of what that word represents. That's something that could destroy everything.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Word Hell Doesn't Want You to Say."

You know, there's a word like that in hell. It's a word that the devil and his forces hate because it can destroy everything they have planned. Like the signs at the airport warning people not to bring up the word bomb, the devil is doing everything he can to stop you and me from bringing up this word, because it's like a bomb in hell. He's been trying to edit that word out for a very long time - including in our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 4:17-18.

Peter and John have been proclaiming Christ in Jerusalem, and the Sanhedrin - the same people who engineered the crucifixion of Christ - want to silence his followers. The Bible says they reached this conclusion: "'To stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.' Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." There it is: the word the devil doesn't want to hear - Jesus - because of the power of that name to destroy all his plans.

So the devil tries to make that name the issue, 2,000 years ago or today. In first-century Jerusalem, the authorities didn't care if the believers talked about God or the Scriptures as long as they didn't mention the name of Jesus. Not much has changed has it? It's OK to talk about God, the Bible, family values, spirituality, your church, but don't mention the name. Satan hates that name and he does everything he can to edit out the name of Jesus.

All too often we fall right into his trap. We don't want to be offensive or we don't want to turn anyone off, and a voice says, "Hey, just talk about God. That won't bother anybody." So we talk about God in our lives but we avoid the name. Christian musicians write songs that vaguely talk about "Him" but too often they avoid the name of Jesus so their music can cross over to the unbelieving world. Even Christian leaders try to avoid conflict, sometimes, by watering down the name.

But I love the way the first Christians responded to the pressure to edit out Jesus, "There is no other name," they said, "under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Wow! The power is in the name of Jesus. Philippians 2:10 says, "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow!" Satan knows it and Satan hates it, so he's trying to get you and me to choke on the name.

For 20 centuries our enemy has been trying to censor the name of Jesus. Don't be a part of his godless crusade. Don't be ashamed of the One who died publicly on a cross for you! The people who don't care about Him, the people who hate Him aren't afraid to say His name. Why would the people who love Him be afraid to speak His name? The devil is afraid you will mention the name; you will talk about Jesus, because that name is a spiritual bomb that can destroy everything he's planning to do.

You might very well hear the name of Jesus several times today spoken irreverently from the lips of people who have no love for Him, no respect for Him. How can you, for whom He died, who loved you so much; how can you be silent about His name?

Hosea 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE CURE FOR JEALOUSY - February 6, 2024

Suppose you spotted a flame in your house. How would you react? Would you shrug your shoulders and walk away, saying, “ Eh, a little fire never hurt any house.” Of course not. You’d put it out. Why? Because you know, left untended, fire consumes all that’s consumable. For the sake of your house, you don’t play with fire.

For the sake of your heart, the same is true. The name of the fire? Solomon tagged it in Song of Solomon 8:6 (RSV): “Jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire.”

Do you know what the cause of jealousy is? Distrust. Do you know what the cure for jealousy is? Trust. Is the flame of jealousy beginning to consume your heart? Are you jealous of someone’s success or possessions? Then ask God for deeper trust. He will help put out the fire.

Hosea 3

In Time They’ll Come Back

1  3 Then God ordered me, “Start all over: Love your wife again,

your wife who’s in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife.

Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people,

even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy.”

2–3  I did it. I paid good money to get her back.

It cost me the price of a slave.

Then I told her, “From now on you’re living with me.

No more whoring, no more sleeping around.

You’re living with me and I’m living with you.”

4–5  The people of Israel are going to live a long time

stripped of security and protection,

without religion and comfort,

godless and prayerless.

But in time they’ll come back, these Israelites,

come back looking for their God and their David-King.

They’ll come back chastened to reverence

before God and his good gifts, ready for the End of the story of his love.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, February 06, 2024

Today's Scripture

Genesis 22:1–3, 6–12

After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, “Abraham!”

“Yes?” answered Abraham. “I’m listening.”

2  He said, “Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I’ll point out to you.”

3–5  Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants and his son Isaac. He had split wood for the burnt offering. He set out for the place God had directed him.

 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. He carried the flint and the knife. The two of them went off together.

7  Isaac said to Abraham his father, “Father?”

“Yes, my son.”

“We have flint and wood, but where’s the sheep for the burnt offering?”

8  Abraham said, “Son, God will see to it that there’s a sheep for the burnt offering.” And they kept on walking together.

9–10  They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son.

11  Just then an angel of God called to him out of Heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

12  “Don’t lay a hand on that boy! Don’t touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn’t hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me.”

Insight

The “gospel echoes” in Genesis 22 are noteworthy. Abraham took his beloved and only son to sacrifice him on a mountain (v. 2). While Isaac was spared (vv. 8, 13-14), God’s own Son was the Lamb slain for the sins of the world (John 1:29; 3:16). Paul wrote in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” God the Father gave; Jesus the Son gave; believers in Jesus follow their example of surrender. By: Arthur Jackson

Surrendering to God

So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. Genesis 22:14

Born on a farm, Judson Van DeVenter learned to paint, studied art, and became an art teacher. God, however, had a different plan for him. Friends valued his work in church and urged him to go into evangelism. Judson felt God calling him too, but it was hard for him to give up his love for teaching art. He wrestled with God, but “at last,” he wrote, “the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all.”

We can’t imagine Abraham’s heartbreak when God called him to surrender his son Isaac. In the wake of God’s command to “sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2), we ask ourselves what precious thing God is calling us to sacrifice. We know that He ultimately spared Isaac (v. 12), and yet the point is made: Abraham was willing to surrender what was most precious to him. He trusted God to provide in the midst of a most difficult calling.

We say we love God, but are we willing to sacrifice what’s dearest to us? Judson Van DeVenter followed God’s call into evangelism and later penned the beloved hymn “I Surrender All.” In time, God called Judson back into teaching. One of his students was a young man named Billy Graham.

God’s plan for our lives has purposes we can’t imagine. He longs for us to be willing to surrender what is dearest. It seems that’s the least we can do. After all, He sacrificed for us His only begotten Son. By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

What’s God’s calling for you? What might you need to sacrifice for Him?

Dear God, I struggle to fully surrender parts of my life to You. Please help me to trust You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, February 06, 2024

Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)

I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6

Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.

“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice…to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?

Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.  The Highest Good, 544 R

Bible in a Year: Exodus 39-40; Matthew 23:23-39

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, February 06, 2024

Ending Up Where You Never Wanted to Go - #9672

You might just remember turning your television on and there would be Gilligan's Island. Maybe, you can even hear the theme song playing in your brain. It was a big hit when it first came out.

Now, here's Gilligan, who's the terminally stupid first mate of the S.S. Minnow. There's the millionaire, his wife (you're probably thinking of the song now if you can go back that far), the professor, the movie star... OK, you know, the characters are pretty well-known. The plot was very simply summed up in the theme song. These people went out on the S.S. Minnow for a three-hour tour. The storm blew them into some unknown island where they were stranded until the series finally ended years later. Some three-hour tour, huh?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Ending Up Where You Never Wanted to Go."

By the way, what is the Gilligan Syndrome? Well, it's going farther than you wanted to; staying longer than you planned to. It might be happening to you right now. Jesus told us about a young man it happened to many years ago; our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 15, beginning in verse 13. It's after this man has asked his dad for the family inheritance that's coming to him. While his dad's still alive.

"Not long after that," the Bible says, "the younger son got together all he had, went off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father."

He was just going for a fling on the wild side, just a three-hour tour. He almost never made it back. What was supposed to bring him pleasure and happiness did for just a little while. Ultimately it left him stranded on this spiritual island all by himself. "He squandered his wealth," Jesus said. In other words, he wasted what he'd been given. Have you done that?

He spent everything he had, it says. He was alone except for the pigs. The Bible says, "The way of a transgressor is hard." It always is - sooner or later.

Except it's sin that carries us to a place that's hard to get back from. Here's the ugly truth about sin: it will always take you farther than you wanted to go, it will keep you longer than you planned to stay, and it will cost you more than you ever thought you'd pay. And, maybe you've seen that already. And the bill has come. If it hasn't, it will.

Maybe, you're listening and you say, "That's all happened to me." Or maybe you're just starting down a sin road that looks exciting, and profitable, and desirable, and you think it will be just a three-hour tour. Sin never is. Listen to God's statement in James 1:15, "After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." It will take you where you never meant to go.

If you feel like you're just too far away to ever get back, you can get back the same way the Prodigal Son did, but only that way. It says he "got up and went to his father." It's time for you to run to God instead of running from Him any longer. You say, "He'll never take me." Look, that's why Jesus told this story, to let you know that God is waiting for you to come into His waiting arms. It says "His father saw him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." God proved He wants you home with Him by sending His Son to die for your very rebellion against Him. For all that you've wasted with your sin, He says come home to Me. He's saying it to your heart right now as you listen to this.

Do you want to get home? Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I believe some of the sin you died for was mine. I am yours as of today." I'd love to share more information with you at our website ANewStory.com.

God will come running to you because of what Jesus did on the cross for you. Haven't you been gone from God long enough? It's time to come home.

Hosea 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  ASK GOD FOR PATIENCE - February 5, 2024

How infiltrated are you with God’s patience? You’ve heard about it, read about it, perhaps underlined Bible passages regarding it. But have you received it? Well the proof is in your patience. Patience deeply received results in patience freely offered.

Remember the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:34? “Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny.” Whew, we sigh. It’s a good thing God doesn’t imprison the impatient in real life. Don’t be so sure – impatience still imprisons the soul.

But God does more than demand patience from us; he offers it to us. According to Galatians 5:22, patience is a fruit of his Spirit. Have you asked God to give you some fruit? Did you grow impatient? Well ask him again and again.

Hosea 2

 “Rename your brothers ‘God’s Somebody.’

Rename your sisters ‘All Mercy.’

Wild Weekends and Unholy Holidays

2–13  “Haul your mother into court. Accuse her!

She’s no longer my wife.

I’m no longer her husband.

Tell her to quit dressing like a whore,

displaying her breasts for sale.

If she refuses, I’ll rip off her clothes

and expose her, naked as a newborn.

I’ll turn her skin into dried-out leather,

her body into a badlands landscape,

a rack of bones in the desert.

I’ll have nothing to do with her children,

born one and all in a whorehouse.

Face it: Your mother’s been a whore,

bringing bastard children into the world.

She said, ‘I’m off to see my lovers!

They’ll wine and dine me,

Dress and caress me,

perfume and adorn me!’

But I’ll fix her: I’ll dump her in a field of thistles,

then lose her in a dead-end alley.

She’ll go on the hunt for her lovers

but not bring down a single one.

She’ll look high and low

but won’t find a one. Then she’ll say,

‘I’m going back to my husband, the one I started out with.

That was a better life by far than this one.’

She didn’t know that it was I all along

who wined and dined and adorned her,

That I was the one who dressed her up

in the big-city fashions and jewelry

that she wasted on wild Baal-orgies.

I’m about to bring her up short: No more wining and dining!

Silk lingerie and gowns are a thing of the past.

I’ll expose her genitals to the public.

All her fly-by-night lovers will be helpless to help her.

Party time is over. I’m calling a halt to the whole business,

her wild weekends and unholy holidays.

I’ll wreck her sumptuous gardens and ornamental fountains,

of which she bragged, ‘Whoring paid for all this!’

They will soon be dumping grounds for garbage,

feeding grounds for stray dogs and cats.

I’ll make her pay for her indulgence in promiscuous religion—

all that sensuous Baal worship

And all the promiscuous sex that went with it,

stalking her lovers, dressed to kill,

And not a thought for me.”

God’s Message!

To Start All Over Again

14–15  “And now, here’s what I’m going to do:

I’m going to start all over again.

I’m taking her back out into the wilderness

where we had our first date, and I’ll court her.

I’ll give her bouquets of roses.

I’ll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope.

She’ll respond like she did as a young girl,

those days when she was fresh out of Egypt.

16–20  “At that time”—this is God’s Message still—

“you’ll address me, ‘Dear husband!’

Never again will you address me,

‘My slave-master!’

I’ll wash your mouth out with soap,

get rid of all the dirty false-god names,

not so much as a whisper of those names again.

At the same time I’ll make a peace treaty between you

and wild animals and birds and reptiles,

And get rid of all weapons of war.

Think of it! Safe from beasts and bullies!

And then I’ll marry you for good—forever!

I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.

Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.

You’ll know me, God, for who I really am.

21–23  “On the very same day, I’ll answer”—this is God’s Message—

“I’ll answer the sky, sky will answer earth,

Earth will answer grain and wine and olive oil,

and they’ll all answer Jezreel.

I’ll plant her in the good earth.

I’ll have mercy on No-Mercy.

I’ll say to Nobody, ‘You’re my dear Somebody,’

and he’ll say ‘You’re my God!’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, February 05, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 8:2–11

but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them.

3–6  The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.

6–8  Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.

9–10  Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”

11  “No one, Master.”

“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”

Insight

In the passage about Jesus and the woman caught in adultery in John 8:2-11, the religious leaders were trying to entrap Him on the horns of a dilemma (a situation where you have two choices, but both are wrong). If He excuses the woman’s sin, He’d be seen as denying Moses’ law and would be exposed as a false teacher. But if He said to stone her to death, He’d be defying Roman law—for only Rome could enact capital punishment. Instead, He chooses a third option—making the religious leaders the subject of examination instead of the woman and offering her compassion. By: Bill Crowder

Extending Dignity

Has no one condemned you? John 8:10

Maggie’s young friend showed up in church shockingly dressed. No one should have been surprised though; she was a prostitute. Maggie’s visitor shifted uneasily in her seat, alternately tugging at her much-too-short skirt and folding her arms self-consciously around herself.

“Oh, are you cold?” Maggie asked, deftly diverting attention away from how she was dressed. “Here! Take my shawl.”

Maggie introduced dozens of people to Jesus simply by inviting them to come to church and helping them feel comfortable. The gospel had a way of shining through her winsome methods. She treated everyone with dignity.

When religious leaders dragged a woman before Jesus with the harsh (and accurate) charge of adultery, Christ kept the attention off her until He sent her accusers away. Once they were gone, He could have scolded her. Instead, He asked two simple questions: “Where are they?” and “Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10). The answer to the latter question, of course, was no. So Jesus gave her the gospel in one brief statement: “Then neither do I condemn you.” And then the invitation: “Go now and leave your life of sin” (v. 11).

Never underestimate the power of genuine love for people—the kind of love that refuses to condemn, even as it extends dignity and forgiveness to everyone.   By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How will you react when you see someone who’s living a hard lifestyle? Who can you invite to church this week and how might you get them to come?

Gracious God, please forgive me for having a judgmental spirit, and help me to show others Your love and grace.

Learn more about the importance of extending forgiveness.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, February 05, 2024

Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (1)

If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. —Philippians 2:17

Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer—to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, “I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, ‘Well done.’ ”

It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a “doormat” under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to say, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket— to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted— not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel such service is beneath their dignity.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child.  Not Knowing Whither, 882 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 36-38; Matthew 23:1-22

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, February 05, 2024

Hug Them Tightly, But Hold Them Loosely - #9671

It was Christmas Eve a long time ago, and we got an emergency S.O.S. phone call from a school principal that we knew in Patterson, New Jersey. She actually had promised to supply Christmas toys for some of her students who were burned out families, and I think at that time Patterson was one of the arson capitols of the country. Actually, she had come up short and it was Christmas Eve. So - this emergency call was asking if we could help.

Well, I was pretty thrilled to see our kids respond. They dropped everything and started digging into their old toys for things to give, and then came the fire engine. It was my oldest son's favorite. It was this big, new, bright red Tonka fire engine. And with both hands he carried it upstairs and extended it to me to be put in the Christmas bag. And I said, "Oh, son, are you sure you want to give this? I mean, I don't want you to feel bad about this tomorrow." I think he was almost offended. He looked at me with those big, blue eyes and he said, "Dad! Isn't this what Jesus coming here is all about?" Oh, man, I melted. You see, even at his young age, my son knew that even your most precious possessions really belong to the Lord and are to be held loosely, whether they're toy trucks or the children who play with them.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hug Them Tightly, But Hold Them Loosely."

Our word for today from the Word of God, it's from 1 Samuel 1. It's about a mother who could not have wanted her child more. Her name is Hannah. She has suffered many childless years, frustrated years. She gives God a desperate prayer, "Lord, give me a child." And He gives her a glorious answer in the person of a baby - Samuel. She says in verse 20, after the baby comes, "I will name him Samuel because I asked the Lord for him." Then in verse 22, it says, "Hannah did not go up to the temple. She said to her husband, 'After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord and he will live there at the temple always.'" She wants him to be raised for the Lord's service by the High Priest.

Verse 27: "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." Man! Hannah loved her child dearly, but she held him loosely. You know, I think many of us Christian parents can say, "Whatever You want, Lord, about everything we have except maybe my son or my daughter."

You see, it's one thing for our children to need us; it's something else for us to need them too much. Had Hannah needed Samuel too much, she would have restricted God's training, and God's movement, and God's plans for his life. Without realizing it, we often end up standing in the way of God's best for our kids because, well, we might lose their attention, or their closeness, or their help that we need. Or the identity that they give us. Maybe our dreams for them are different from God's dreams for them. But we continue to press our expectations, maybe even using spiritual language to do it.

It's so easy to let our children become an extension of our ego, our hopes, our dreams rather than letting them simply be God's servants. Maybe you even have a child God is calling into His service and you're kind of standing in the way. We just dare not forget that our children are God's property trusted to us. We dare not hijack them from His service to be in ours.

Oh, love them deeply, but don't hold them back. Hug them tightly, but hold them loosely.

Hosea 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:The Son of Man

Matthew 20:28 says of Jesus, "The Son of Man did not come to be served.  He came to serve others and give His life as a ransom for many people."

As a young boy, I read a Russian fable about a master and a servant who went on a journey.  Before they reached their destination they were caught in a blizzard and lost their direction. When they were found the master was frozen to death, face down in the snow. When they lifted him they found the servant, cold but alive. The master had voluntarily placed himself on top of the servant so the servant could live.

Jesus did the same for you! Jesus wears a sovereign crown but he bears a father's heart. The King who suffers for the peasant, the Master who sacrifices himself for the servant. He is the Son of Man who came to serve and to give his life as a ransom-for you!

From And the Angels Were Silent

Hosea 1

This is God’s Message to Hosea son of Beeri. It came to him during the royal reigns of Judah’s kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This was also the time that Jeroboam son of Joash was king over Israel.

This Whole Country Has Become a Whorehouse

2  The first time God spoke to Hosea he said:

“Find a whore and marry her.

Make this whore the mother of your children.

And here’s why: This whole country

has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God.”

3  Hosea did it. He picked Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She got pregnant and gave him a son.

4–5  Then God told him:

“Name him Jezreel. It won’t be long now before

I’ll make the people of Israel pay for the massacre at Jezreel.

I’m calling it quits on the kingdom of Israel.

Payday is coming! I’m going to chop Israel’s bows and arrows

into kindling in the valley of Jezreel.”

6–7  Gomer got pregnant again. This time she had a daughter. God told Hosea:

“Name this one No-Mercy. I’m fed up with Israel.

I’ve run out of mercy. There’s no more forgiveness.

Judah’s another story. I’ll continue having mercy on them.

I’ll save them. It will be their God who saves them,

Not their armaments and armies,

not their horsepower and manpower.”

8–9  After Gomer had weaned No-Mercy, she got pregnant yet again and had a son. God said:

“Name him Nobody. You’ve become nobodies to me,

and I, God, am a nobody to you.

10–11  “But down the road the population of Israel is going to explode past counting, like sand on the ocean beaches. In the very place where they were once named Nobody, they will be named God’s Somebody. Everybody in Judah and everybody in Israel will be assembled as one people. They’ll choose a single leader. There’ll be no stopping them—a great day in Jezreel!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, February 04, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 103:1–8, 17

O my soul, bless God.

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

O my soul, bless God,

don’t forget a single blessing!

3–5  He forgives your sins—every one.

He heals your diseases—every one.

He redeems you from hell—saves your life!

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

He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.

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

6–18  God makes everything come out right;

he puts victims back on their feet.

He showed Moses how he went about his work,

opened up his plans to all Israel.

God is sheer mercy and grace;

not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

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

eternally present to all who fear him,

Making everything right for them and their children

Insight

The Psalms, perhaps more than any other book of the Bible, are filled with praise and gratitude to God. The psalmists David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, and other unnamed writers all praise Him for His attributes and wondrous deeds. Psalm 103 is such a psalm. David had many reasons to praise God who’d “been good to [him]” (13:6): God chose David, a lowly shepherd, to be king. He forgave his grievous sins (see 2 Samuel 11-12; Psalms 32, 51) and gave him victory over his enemies (18:3). The psalmist sang God’s praises because of His righteousness and love (7:17; 31:21), counsel and instruction (16:7). God, his strength and fortress (59:17), lifted him “out of the slimy pit” and “put a new song in [his] mouth” (40:2-3). God, the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” deserves our praise (2 Corinthians 1:3). By: Alyson Kieda

Rewired by Gratitude

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:2

After being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Christina Costa noticed how much of the talk around facing cancer is dominated by the language of fighting. She found that this metaphor quickly started to feel exhausting. She “didn’t want to spend over a year at war with [her] own body.” Instead, what she found most helpful were daily practices of gratitude—for the team of professionals caring for her and for the ways her brain and body were showing healing. She experienced firsthand that no matter how difficult the struggle, practices of gratitude can help us resist depression and “wire our brains to help us build resilience.”

Costa’s powerful story reminded me that practicing gratitude isn’t just something believers do out of duty. Although it’s true that God deserves our gratitude, it’s also profoundly good for us. When we lift up our hearts to say, “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2), we’re reminded of the countless ways God’s at work—assuring us of forgiveness, working healing in our bodies and hearts, letting us experience “love and compassion” and countless “good things” in His creation (vv. 3–5).

While not all suffering will find complete healing in this lifetime, our hearts can always be renewed by gratitude, for God’s love is with us “from everlasting to everlasting” (v. 17). By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How have you experienced healing through gratitude? What are you grateful for today?

Dear God, thank You for always giving me reasons for gratitude and hope.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, February 04, 2024

The Compelling Majesty of His Power

The love of Christ compels us… —2 Corinthians 5:14

Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in a vise by “the love of Christ.” Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. “The love of Christ compels us….” When you hear that coming from the life of a man or woman it is unmistakable. You will know that the Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person’s life.

When we are born again by the Spirit of God, our testimony is based solely on what God has done for us, and rightly so. But that will change and be removed forever once you “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8). Only then will you begin to realize what Jesus meant when He went on to say, “…you shall be witnesses to Me….” Not witnesses to what Jesus can do— that is basic and understood— but “witnesses to Me….” We will accept everything that happens as if it were happening to Him, whether we receive praise or blame, persecution or reward. No one is able to take this stand for Jesus Christ who is not totally compelled by the majesty of His power. It is the only thing that matters, and yet it is strange that it’s the last thing we as Christian workers realize. Paul said that he was gripped by the love of God and that is why he acted as he did. People could perceive him as mad or sane— he did not care. There was only one thing he lived for— to persuade people of the coming judgment of God and to tell them of “the love of Christ.” This total surrender to “the love of Christ” is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life. And it will always leave the mark of God’s holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.  The Place of Help, 1051 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 34-35; Matthew 22:23-46

Romans 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Passion for the Forgotten

A day late and a dollar short. One brick short of a load. You pick the phrase-the result is the same. Get told enough times that only the rotten fruit gets left in the bin, and you begin to believe it.  You begin to believe you are "too little, too late."

God has a peculiar passion for the forgotten. Have you noticed? See his hand on the skin of the leper? See the face of the prostitute cupped in Jesus' hands? See him with his arm around little Zacchaeus? God wants us to get the message: What society puts out, God puts in.  What the world writes off, God picks up.

Why did He pick you?  He wanted to.  After all, you are his, and he made you. No matter how long you've waited or how much time you've wasted, you are his and he has a place for you.

From And The Angels Were Silent

Romans 13

To Be a Responsible Citizen

1–3  13 Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

3–5  Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.

6–7  That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

8–10  Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

11–14  But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, February 03, 2024

Today's Scripture

Proverbs 11:24–25

 The world of the generous gets larger and larger;

the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

25  The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;

those who help others are helped.

Insight

Proverbs 11:24-25 provides winsome images that illustrate principles of generosity and stinginess. “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (esv). Contrary to human reasoning and self-preservation, giving can result in gain and emptying to fullness. Closed hands, clenched fists, and hoarding are inconsistent with the gospel and the teaching and example of Jesus (see Luke 6:38). In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul summed up the generosity of Christ: “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” By: Arthur Jackson

Gifted with Love

One person gives freely, yet gains even more. Proverbs 11:24

On her wedding day, Gwendolyn Stulgis wore the wedding dress of her dreams. Then she gave it away—to a stranger. Stulgis believed a dress deserved more than sitting in a closet collecting dust. Other brides agreed. Now scores of women have bonded on her social media site to donate and receive wedding dresses. As one giver said, “I hope this dress gets passed from bride to bride to bride, and it just gets worn out and is in tatters at the end of its life because of all the celebrating that’s done in it.”

The spirit of giving can feel like a celebration, indeed. As it is written, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:24–25).

The apostle Paul taught this principle in the New Testament. As he said his goodbyes to the believers in Ephesus, he gave them a blessing (Acts 20:32) and reminded them of the importance of generosity. Paul pointed to his own work ethic as an example for them to follow. “In everything I did,” he said, “I showed you that by . . . hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ ” (v. 35).

Being generous reflects God. “For God so loved the world that He gave . . .” (John 3:16). Let’s follow His glorious example as He guides us. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What good gift have you given recently? How did your gift help someone?

Dear Father, please open my hands to give to others with Your love in my heart.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, February 03, 2024

Becoming the “Filth of the World”

We have been made as the filth of the world… —1 Corinthians 4:13

These words are not an exaggeration. The only reason they may not be true of us who call ourselves ministers of the gospel is not that Paul forgot or misunderstood the exact truth of them, but that we are too cautious and concerned about our own desires to allow ourselves to become the refuse or “filth of the world.” “Fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24) is not the result of the holiness of sanctification, but the evidence of consecration— being “separated to the gospel of God…” (Romans 1:1).

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…” (1 Peter 4:12). If we do think the things we encounter are strange, it is because we are fearful and cowardly. We pay such close attention to our own interests and desires that we stay out of the mire and say, “I won’t submit; I won’t bow or bend.” And you don’t have to— you can be saved by the “skin of your teeth” if you like. You can refuse to let God count you as one who is “separated to the gospel….” Or you can say, “I don’t care if I am treated like ‘the filth of the world’ as long as the gospel is proclaimed.” A true servant of Jesus Christ is one who is willing to experience martyrdom for the reality of the gospel of God. When a moral person is confronted with contempt, immorality, disloyalty, or dishonesty, he is so repulsed by the offense that he turns away and in despair closes his heart to the offender. But the miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst and the vilest offender can never exhaust the depths of His love. Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make of him, but “to reveal His Son in me…” (Galatians 1:16).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you.  My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R

Bible in a Year: Exodus 31-33; Matthew 22:1-22

Isaiah 66, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: LOVING AS GOD LOVES - February 2, 2024

Need more patience? Is generosity an elusive virtue? Having trouble putting up with ungrateful relatives or cranky neighbors? Well God puts up with you when you act the same. Luke 6:35 (NIV) says, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” Can’t we love like this? Not without God’s help we can’t.

Our relationships need more than a social gesture. Some of our friends need a flood of tears. Our children need to be covered in the oil of our love. But if we haven’t received these things ourselves, how can we give them to others? Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that apart from God, “the heart is deceitful about all things.” We need help from an outside source. A transfusion. Would we love as God loves? Then we start by receiving God’s love.

Isaiah 66

Living Worship to God

1–2  66 God’s Message:

“Heaven’s my throne,

earth is my footstool.

What sort of house could you build for me?

What holiday spot reserve for me?

I made all this! I own all this!”

God’s Decree.

“But there is something I’m looking for:

a person simple and plain,

reverently responsive to what I say.

3–4  “Your acts of worship

are acts of sin:

Your sacrificial slaughter of the ox

is no different from murdering the neighbor;

Your offerings for worship,

no different from dumping pig’s blood on the altar;

Your presentation of memorial gifts,

no different from honoring a no-god idol.

You choose self-serving worship,

you delight in self-centered worship—disgusting!

Well, I choose to expose your nonsense

and let you realize your worst fears,

Because when I invited you, you ignored me;

when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.

You did the very things I exposed as evil,

you chose what I hate.”

5  But listen to what God has to say

to you who reverently respond to his Word:

“Your own families hate you

and turn you out because of me.

They taunt you, ‘Let us see God’s glory!

If God’s so great, why aren’t you happy?’

But they’re the ones

who are going to end up shamed.”

6  Rumbles of thunder from the city!

A voice out of the Temple!

God’s voice,

handing out judgment to his enemies:

7–9  “Before she went into labor,

she had the baby.

Before the birth pangs hit,

she delivered a son.

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

Has anyone seen anything like this?

A country born in a day?

A nation born in a flash?

But Zion was barely in labor

when she had her babies!

Do I open the womb

and not deliver the baby?

Do I, the One who delivers babies,

shut the womb?

10–11  “Rejoice, Jerusalem,

and all who love her, celebrate!

And all you who have shed tears over her,

join in the happy singing.

You newborns can satisfy yourselves

at her nurturing breasts.

Yes, delight yourselves and drink your fill

at her ample bosom.”

12–13  God’s Message:

“I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,

the glory of nations like a river in flood.

You’ll nurse at her breasts,

nestle in her bosom,

and be bounced on her knees.

As a mother comforts her child,

so I’ll comfort you.

You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

14–16  You’ll see all this and burst with joy

—you’ll feel ten feet tall—

As it becomes apparent that God is on your side

and against his enemies.

For God arrives like wildfire

and his chariots like a tornado,

A furious outburst of anger,

a rebuke fierce and fiery.

For it’s by fire that God brings judgment,

a death sentence on the human race.

Many, oh so many,

are under God’s sentence of death:

17  “All who enter the sacred groves for initiation in those unholy rituals that climaxed in that foul and obscene meal of pigs and mice will eat together and then die together.” God’s Decree.

18–21  “I know everything they’ve ever done or thought. I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages. They’ll come and see my glory. I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am. I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship to God. They’ll bring them on horses and wagons and carts, on mules and camels, straight to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says God. “They’ll present them just as Israelites present their offerings in a ceremonial vessel in the Temple of God. I’ll even take some of them and make them priests and Levites,” says God.

22–23  “For just as the new heavens and new earth

that I am making will stand firm before me”

—God’s Decree—

“So will your children

and your reputation stand firm.

Month after month and week by week,

everyone will come to worship me,” God says.

24  “And then they’ll go out and look at what happened

to those who rebelled against me. Corpses!

Maggots endlessly eating away on them,

an endless supply of fuel for fires.

Everyone who sees what’s happened

and smells the stench retches.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, February 02, 2024

Today's Scripture

2 Samuel 1:23–27

Saul and Jonathan—beloved, beautiful!

Together in life, together in death.

Swifter than plummeting eagles,

stronger than proud lions.

24–25  Women of Israel, weep for Saul.

He dressed you in finest cottons and silks,

spared no expense in making you elegant.

The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen

in the middle of the fight!

Jonathan—struck down on your hills!

26  O my dear brother Jonathan,

I’m crushed by your death.

Your friendship was a miracle-wonder,

love far exceeding anything I’ve known—

or ever hope to know.

27  The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen.

And the arms of war broken to bits.

Insight

In addition to the friendship between David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-3; 2 Samuel 1:26), friendship is mentioned many other times in the Bible. Proverbs tells us that “a friend loves at all times” (17:17) but also warns that friendship can be based on wealth or gifts (14:20; 19:4 ,6) and advises that the righteous “choose their friends carefully” (12:26).

In John 15, Jesus Himself speaks of friendship. He says: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. . . . I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (vv. 13-15). Christ’s statement that friends “lay down” their lives for each other would prove true in the coming hours and days. And the disciples themselves would demonstrate their love for Jesus as all but one (John) would die for their testimony about Him. By: JR Hudberg

Deep Friendship in Christ

Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord. 1 Samuel 20:42

There’s a monument in the chapel of Christ’s College, Cambridge, England, dedicated to two seventeenth-century physicians, John Finch and Thomas Baines. Known as the “inseparable friends,” Finch and Baines collaborated on medical research and traveled together on diplomatic trips. When Baines died in 1680, Finch lamented their “unbroken marriage of souls” that had lasted thirty-six years. Theirs had been a friendship of affection, loyalty, and commitment.

King David and Jonathan had a friendship equally as close. They shared deep mutual affection (1 Samuel 20:41), and even made vows of commitment to each other (vv. 8–17, 42). Their friendship was marked by radical loyalty (19:1–2; 20:13), Jonathan even sacrificing his right to the throne so David could become king (20:30–31; see 23:15–18). When Jonathan died, David lamented that Jonathan’s love to him had been “more wonderful than that of women” (2 Samuel 1:26).

We may feel uncomfortable today likening friendship to marriage, but maybe friendships like Finch and Baines’ and David and Jonathan’s can help our own friendships reach greater depth. Jesus welcomed His friends to lean against Him (John 13:23–25), and the affection, loyalty, and commitment He shows us can be the basis of the deep friendships we build together.

By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

How do you think faith in Christ can deepen friendship? How could you show more affection, loyalty, or commitment to your friends?

Dear God, please help me to build deeper, more intimate friendships.

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

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, February 02, 2024

The Compelling Force of the Call

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16

Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it— “If anyone…” (Luke 14:26).

Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “…separated to the gospel…” Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R

Bible in a Year: Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, February 02, 2024

Where to Go Before the Explosion - #9670

It was another one of those tragic shootings that killed four students (and the shooter) at Marysville High School in Washington state. It shocked everybody. When the identity of the 15-year-old shooter was revealed, it was all the more shocking. Because he wasn't the typical loner, the bullying victim, the outsider. He was the Homecoming prince, a football player, the popular guy. But, as it turns out, there were hints of the anger and anguish in his soul. You could read about it on Facebook and Twitter.

See, social media is the new confessional. That's where he spilled his romantically broken heart, his despair, his rage. Social networks have become the new place to dump the contents of your heart. All the contents of your heart, even the dark stuff. It's a catharsis, but it's not a cure.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where to go Before the Explosion."

The authorities and talking heads analyzed for a long time that shooting. Teenage angst. Gun violence. Warning signs.

For my account, I found myself asking what we could learn about handling life's shattering moments. Without making tragic choices. Well here's some lessons I think:

First, don't stuff it. Buried pain is a ticking time bomb. A lot of us were raised to believe that our pain and brokenness should be kept inside, hidden behind this "I'm fine" mask. And all the while, this volcano is building inside.

And there's grief, and there's anger, and desperation, and feeling alone - I'll tell you, if you stuff those things they just keep growing. They morph into an emotional monster. Until that emotional monster explodes, doing irreversible damage. Like the eruption at Mt. St. Helen's years ago. The explosion didn't last long. What was blown away is gone forever.

And then, don't store it. Treat the wound before the infection sets in. Talk about it when the wound is fresh. Before it submerges.

And don't take it to someone who's in the same swamp. You say, "but they get me." Well when we're broken, we don't just need someone who gives us sympathy. We need the objectivity of someone who's completely outside our situation. Someone who can help us see the big picture. Because pain distorts reality, convincing us that this wound will never heal. That everything's dark.

But there's never been a winter without a spring. Or a sunset without a sunrise. We need someone with perspective.

And another lesson is to have your "go to" person before your storm hits. When you live in "Tornado Alley," they tell you to "know where your shelter is before there's an emergency." That's a good idea emotionally, too. Decide what wise, objective person you can trust with your deepest, darkest feelings. As soon as they hit.

I'm so grateful I have found my "911" person. He's the one I've been able to trust with feelings I didn't dare tell anyone. He has calmed my frantic soul when nothing else could. He's pointed me to hope when it looked like there wasn't any.

He actually said, "The Lord has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted." The Bible says, "He is close to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit." That's Jesus. And the more broken I've been, the closer He has seemed.

And as far as having someone who understands? No one has ever been more wounded, more broken than He was. Abandoned. Attacked. Crucified.

Of course, I'm not alone in finding refuge in the open arms of Jesus. So many people have found that, for a very long time, they've accepted His invitation: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." This man who loved you enough to die on a cross for you, who's powerful enough to walk out of His grave and conquer the biggest monster of all - death - He stands ready to come into your life, at your invitation. If you have never had a moment when you began a personal relationship with the savior, where you've told Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." Would you tell Him that today? Get to our website. We've laid out, there, the path where you can be sure you belong to Him. That website's ANewStory.com.

See we're all Humpty Dumpty at times. All the King's horses and all the King's men can't put us together again.

But the King can.

Isaiah 65, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: RECEIVE FIRST - February 1, 2024

If you’ve never received love, how can you love others? In other words, we can’t give what we’ve never received. But oh how we try! Our typical strategy? Try harder. “I don’t care how much it hurts, I’m going to be nice to that bum.” So we try. Teeth clenched, jaw firm.

Could it be we’re missing a step? Could it be that the first step of love is not toward them but toward Him? In 1 John 4:19 (NIV) the apostle writes, “We love, because he first loved us.” Long to be more loving? Then consider how you’ve been forgiven. Paul said in Ephesians 4:32 (NIV), “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

We want to. We long to. But how can we? By living loved. By following the principle: receive first, love second.

Isaiah 65

The People Who Bothered to Reach Out to God

1–7  65 “I’ve made myself available

to those who haven’t bothered to ask.

I’m here, ready to be found

by those who haven’t bothered to look.

I kept saying ‘I’m here, I’m right here’

to a nation that ignored me.

I reached out day after day

to a people who turned their backs on me,

People who make wrong turns,

who insist on doing things their own way.

They get on my nerves,

are rude to my face day after day,

Make up their own kitchen religion,

a potluck religious stew.

They spend the night in tombs

to get messages from the dead,

Eat forbidden foods

and drink a witch’s brew of potions and charms.

They say, ‘Keep your distance.

Don’t touch me. I’m holier than thou.’

These people gag me.

I can’t stand their stench.

Look at this! Their sins are all written out—

I have the list before me.

I’m not putting up with this any longer.

I’ll pay them the wages

They have coming for their sins.

And for the sins of their parents lumped in,

a bonus.” God says so.

“Because they’ve practiced their blasphemous worship,

mocking me at their hillside shrines,

I’ll let loose the consequences

and pay them in full for their actions.”

8–10  God’s Message:

“But just as one bad apple doesn’t ruin the whole bushel,

there are still plenty of good apples left.

So I’ll preserve those in Israel who obey me.

I won’t destroy the whole nation.

I’ll bring out my true children from Jacob

and the heirs of my mountains from Judah.

My chosen will inherit the land,

my servants will move in.

The lush valley of Sharon in the west

will be a pasture for flocks,

And in the east, the valley of Achor,

a place for herds to graze.

These will be for the people

who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives,

who actually bothered to look for me.

11–12  “But you who abandon me, your God,

who forget the holy mountains,

Who hold dinners for Lady Luck

and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate,

Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be:

your destiny, Death.

For when I invited you, you ignored me;

when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.

You did the very things I exposed as evil;

you chose what I hate.”

13–16  Therefore, this is the Message from the Master, God:

“My servants will eat,

and you’ll go hungry;

My servants will drink,

and you’ll go thirsty;

My servants will rejoice,

and you’ll hang your heads.

My servants will laugh from full hearts,

and you’ll cry out heartbroken,

yes, wail from crushed spirits.

Your legacy to my chosen

will be your name reduced to a cussword.

I, God, will put you to death

and give a new name to my servants.

Then whoever prays a blessing in the land

will use my faithful name for the blessing,

And whoever takes an oath in the land

will use my faithful name for the oath,

Because the earlier troubles are gone and forgotten,

banished far from my sight.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17–25  “Pay close attention now:

I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.

All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain

are things of the past, to be forgotten.

Look ahead with joy.

Anticipate what I’m creating:

I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy,

create my people as pure delight.

I’ll take joy in Jerusalem,

take delight in my people:

No more sounds of weeping in the city,

no cries of anguish;

No more babies dying in the cradle,

or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime;

One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal—

anything less will seem like a cheat.

They’ll build houses

and move in.

They’ll plant fields

and eat what they grow.

No more building a house

that some outsider takes over,

No more planting fields

that some enemy confiscates,

For my people will be as long-lived as trees,

my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.

They won’t work and have nothing come of it,

they won’t have children snatched out from under them.

For they themselves are plantings blessed by God,

with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed.

Before they call out, I’ll answer.

Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.

Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow,

lion and ox eat straw from the same trough,

but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt!

Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill

anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, February 01, 2024

Today's Scripture

Philippians 2:1–8

He Took on the Status of a Slave

1–4  2 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

5–8  Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Insight

Philippians 2:5-11 describes what Jesus gave up by coming to earth and becoming a man, and it’s spawned much debate over the centuries. Verse 6 affirms that prior to His incarnation, Christ was equal to the Father in every way. But in coming to earth, He “made himself nothing” (v. 7) or “emptied Himself” (nasb) of something. The key issue is found in the word emptied (Greek kenoo). Some have said that He emptied Himself of His deity, but, if so, how could His sacrifice fully atone for our sins? The most satisfying view is that He retained His deity and all His attributes but set aside the right to use those powers for His own benefit. Instead, He chose to submit to the Father’s will and purpose.

Examine the evidence that God became a man. By: Bill Crowder

All-Star Humility

[Jesus] made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. Philippians 2:7

After a game, a college basketball star stayed behind to help workers throw out empty cups and food wrappers. When a fan posted a video of him in action, more than eighty thousand people viewed it. One person commented, “[The young man] is one of the most humble guys you will ever meet in your life.” It would’ve been easier for the basketball player to leave with his teammates and celebrate his role in the team’s victory. Instead, he volunteered for a thankless job.

The ultimate spirit of humility is seen in Jesus, who left His high position in heaven to take the role of a servant on earth (Philippians 2:7). He didn’t have to do it, but He willingly humbled Himself. His ministry on earth included teaching, healing, and loving all people—and dying and rising to save them.

Although Christ’s example can inspire us to sweep a floor, pick up a hammer, or dish up food, it may be most powerful when it finds its way into our attitude toward others. True humility is an inner quality that not only changes our actions but also changes what’s important to us. It motivates us to “value others above [ourselves]” (v. 3).

Author and preacher Andrew Murray said, “Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness.” May our lives reflect this beauty as, through the power of His Spirit, we reflect the heart of Christ (vv. 2–5). By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

How has Jesus’ humility affected you? In what areas are you tempted to be prideful?

Dear Jesus, thank You for humbling Yourself for me. Help me to follow Your example of valuing others’ needs above my own.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, February 01, 2024

The Call of God

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel… —1 Corinthians 1:17

Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel. But remember what Paul means by “the gospel,” namely, the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inclined to make sanctification the goal of our preaching. Paul refers to personal experiences only by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification— we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32). It is an injustice to say that Jesus Christ labored in redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God. The fact that we can experience redemption illustrates the power of its reality, but that experience is a byproduct and not the goal of redemption. If God were human, how sick and tired He would be of the constant requests we make for our salvation and for our sanctification. We burden His energies from morning till night asking for things for ourselves or for something from which we want to be delivered! When we finally touch the underlying foundation of the reality of the gospel of God, we will never bother Him anymore with little personal complaints.

The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;…  The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, February 01, 2024

Man's Forest and Woman's Trees - #9669

I don't think this is going to come as a news flash to anybody who's been around very long, but the differences between men and women aren't just biological. For example, the difference between how a man and woman tell a story or relate an incident. The man sort of skims the surface; gives you the 30,000 feet view of things, and usually he can't even remember a lot of details. I often had to ask my wife, "When did that happen? Where were we? Who were we with again?"

Now, when a woman tells the same story, oh, we get the color of the drapes, the weather forecast for the day, the expressions people had on their faces. And the man's going, "Okay, so what's the point? Where's this going?" Actually, this underscores an important difference between men and women; one that I think God designed. And the sooner we understand it, the sooner we'll really appreciate each other.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Man's Forest and Woman's Trees."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God goes back to the very creation of man and woman, Genesis 2:15. Notice what man's assignment was. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Adam, run the garden! That's no small job; he's got a big challenge. God has set him up to deal with the big picture.

Now notice the creation of woman only a few verses later. It says, "The man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the air, the beasts of the field." Okay, he's busy running the big operation. "But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman..." I personally am very glad He did. And it says, "He made her from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man."

Notice, He's created Eve now; not to run the garden, but with a focused concern. In this case, her concern is to be, largely, Adam. He would care about the big picture; she would care about the details. He would see the forest (or the garden); she would see the trees. And, you know, it's still that way today and we really need each other's perspective!

See, if a man doesn't have a woman's perspective, he tends to trample over people without even knowing it while he's pursuing his conquest, his big deal. And the man without a woman, he misses the journey because all he can see is the destination. He doesn't see the problems until they are a crisis; maybe too late to deal with. A woman tends to see them sooner and soon enough to solve them.

But see, if a woman doesn't have a man's perspective, she could be overwhelmed with worry over the details. She could tend to overreact to a bad situation because she's so close to it. To panic, maybe even make short-sighted decisions. But, man, it's dynamite when you put the two perspectives together. A man has this objective distance, and he's able to say, "Honey, come over here and let's look at the whole forest and we'll probably make a better decision and better choices." Created by God for that big picture, and there's nothing wrong with that.

But then you put that with a woman's sensitive closeness, where she says, "Honey, come over here. Did you notice that there are trees dying and falling down in the forest? You've got to come and look at the smaller picture with me, because if more of these trees die there ain't going to be no forest anymore." See, put us together; we've got the whole story. The genius of our Creator.

Let's celebrate the fact that we're different. She needs to see his forest, and he needs to see her trees.