Micah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LOVE BEARS ALL THINGS - February 22, 2024

Wouldn’t it be great if love were like a cafeteria line? It would be easier. It would be neater. It would be painless and peaceful. But you know what? It wouldn’t be love. Love doesn’t accept just a few things. Love is willing to accept all things!

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) Paul says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I envision the leathery-faced saint pausing in his dictation. Checking off his fingers, he reviews his list. Let’s see, patience, kindness, envy, arrogance. We’ve mentioned rudeness, selfishness, and anger, forgiveness, evil, and truth. Have I covered all things? Ah that’s it—all things!

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Every single one!

Micah 1

God’s Message as it came to Micah of Moresheth. It came during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. It had to do with what was going on in Samaria and Jerusalem.

God Takes the Witness Stand

2  Listen, people—all of you.

Listen, earth, and everyone in it:

The Master, God, takes the witness stand against you,

the Master from his Holy Temple.

3–5  Look, here he comes! God, from his place!

He comes down and strides across mountains and hills.

Mountains sink under his feet,

valleys split apart;

The rock mountains crumble into gravel,

the river valleys leak like sieves.

All this because of Jacob’s sin,

because Israel’s family did wrong.

You ask, “So what is Jacob’s sin?”

Just look at Samaria—isn’t it obvious?

And all the sex-and-religion shrines in Judah—

isn’t Jerusalem responsible?

6–7  “I’m turning Samaria into a heap of rubble,

a vacant lot littered with garbage.

I’ll dump the stones from her buildings in the valley

and leave her abandoned foundations exposed.

All her carved and cast gods and goddesses

will be sold for stove wood and scrap metal,

All her sacred fertility groves

burned to the ground,

All the sticks and stones she worshiped as gods,

destroyed.

These were her earnings from her life as a whore.

This is what happens to the fees of a whore.”

8–9  This is why I lament and mourn.

This is why I go around in rags and barefoot.

This is why I howl like a pack of coyotes,

and moan like a mournful owl in the night.

God has inflicted punishing wounds;

Judah has been wounded with no healing in sight.

Judgment has marched through the city gates.

Jerusalem must face the charges.

10–16  Don’t gossip about this in Telltown.

Don’t waste your tears.

In Dustville,

roll in the dust.

In Alarmtown,

the alarm is sounded.

The citizens of Exitburgh

will never get out alive.

Lament, Last-Stand City:

There’s nothing in you left standing.

The villagers of Bittertown

wait in vain for sweet peace.

Harsh judgment has come from God

and entered Peace City.

All you who live in Chariotville,

get in your chariots for flight.

You led the daughter of Zion

into trusting not God but chariots.

Similar sins in Israel

also got their start in you.

Go ahead and give your good-bye gifts

to Good-byeville.

Miragetown beckoned

but disappointed Israel’s kings.

Inheritance City

has lost its inheritance.

Glorytown

has seen its last of glory.

Shave your heads in mourning

over the loss of your precious towns.

Go bald as a goose egg—they’ve gone

into exile and aren’t coming back.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Today's Scripture

Colossians 3:8–17

But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

9–11  Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

12–14  So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

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

Insight

Paul’s letters are both doctrinal and practical. Colossians 1-2 tell us who Jesus is. Chapters 3-4 teach us what kind of people we ought to be. In Colossians 3:1-17, the apostle tells us what “a life worthy of the Lord” (1:10) looks like. Employing the image of clothing (3:12), the apostle commands us to take off our old sinful self and to put on the new self. Listing various vices a believer of Jesus must get rid of—including sexual immorality, lust, greed, anger, malice, and lying (vv. 5-9)—Paul instructs believers to put on Christlike virtues—compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and a forgiving heart—enveloped and motivated by love (vv. 12-14). Elsewhere, he speaks of these as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). By: K. T. Sim

Walking in Jesus’ Shoes

Clothe yourselves with compassion. Colossians 3:12

What would it be like to walk in the shoes of royalty? Angela Kelly, the daughter of a dockworker and nurse, knows. She was also the official dresser for the late Queen Elizabeth for the last two decades of the monarch’s life. One of her responsibilities was to break-in the aging Queen’s new shoes by walking in them around the palace grounds. There was a reason for it: compassion for an elderly woman who sometimes was required to stand for extended periods at ceremonies. Because they wore the same shoe size, Kelly was able to save her some discomfort.

Kelly’s personal touch in her care for Queen Elizabeth makes me think of Paul’s warm encouragement to the church in Colossae (an area in modern Turkey): “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). When our lives are “built on” Jesus (2:7 nlt), we become “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved” (3:12). He helps us take off our “old self” and “put on the new self” (vv. 9–10)—living out the identity of those who love and forgive others because God has loved and forgiven us (vv. 13–14).

All around us are those who need us to “walk in their shoes” and have compassion for them in the day-to-day challenges of life. When we do, we walk in the shoes (or the sandals) of a humble king—Jesus—who always has compassion for us. By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

How has God had compassion for you? Who can you show His love to today?

Thank You, Jesus, for Your forgiveness and love. Help me to receive it, and also to give it away.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, February 22, 2024

The Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance

Be still, and know that I am God… —Psalm 46:10

Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, “because you have kept My command to persevere…” (Revelation 3:10).

Continue to persevere spiritually.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R

Bible in a Year: Numbers 4-6; Mark 4:1-20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Worth So Much More - #9684

I ordered out for lunch and of course it came on a paper plate. Guess what I did with the plate when I finished lunch? I didn't wash it, no, I didn't save it for later. In fact, I've never done that with a paper plate.

But we have these other plates at our house. They're in a cabinet in the dining room, my wife put them there. We save them for special occasions. And we wash those after we use them. They're the best we've got - those dishes. When we're done, we put them away very carefully. Because if you drop them, you're out of the family. Now, what's the difference? Paper plates are cheap, practically worthless. You throw them away. Now, fine china, oh no, that's expensive, too valuable to throw away. Guess which one most people feel like today.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Worth So Much More."

Yeah, an awful lot of people feel like paper plates these days. I mean they've been put-down, hurt, neglected, ignored, left out, abused. And they feel worthless, they're throwing themselves away. That might be you. I mean there's a lot of ways you can throw yourself away. You can throw yourself away socially by the friends you choose. You can throw yourself away alcoholically, chemically, romantically, sexually, musically. You can even be suicidal.

But when you get close to Jesus you find out God didn't make any paper plates! If you think you're not worth much, you are so wrong about who you are. And anyone who's treated you like you're not worth much, they are clueless about who you are. The One who knows what you're worth is the One who gave you your life in the first place, who gave you your worth in the first place - your Creator. And here's how He feels about you.

It's in our word for today from the Word of God, Exodus 19:5. "You will be My treasured possession." God says you're treasured; you're fine china. You're too valuable to throw away. But there's more in God's appraisal of your worth. He says in Ephesians 2:10, "We are God's workmanship." Now, workmanship isn't just thrown together; it's no accident. You're a masterpiece. You're a handmade creation of God the Creator. And then He goes on to say in that verse, "You are designed for good works, which He's prepared in advance for us to do." See, you are uniquely created to make a unique difference in people's lives.

But there's more! 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." God says you're a treasure, He says you're His workmanship, and you're the one He paid a lot for. Look, you can tell how much a person values something by how much they're willing to pay for it. Well, God paid for you with the blood of His one and only Son, Jesus. And even though you and I have left His creator's plan for us, we've sinned; He wants you back so much that He sent His Son to do the dying for your sin. To pay the death penalty in your place.

You're special, so don't believe the lies that your brain keeps telling you that you're a paper plate, you're worthless, you keep being tempted to throw yourself away. You are fine china, reserved for special purposes. If you feel like you're not worth much, it may be because you've never begun a relationship with the One who gave you worth in the first place. Who feels so deeply about you, who loves you so sacrificially. Listen, don't believe the lies about who you are anymore. Find out the truth of your worth. It happens when you give yourself to the man who died on a cross for you, for the sin that actually just dumps all kinds of lies on our worth.

This could be the day that you say, "Lord I take this life of mine out of my hands, I put it into your hands. I'm putting my total trust in the man who died for my sin. You run it from here on." That's a new start. That's a new beginning. It's what our website is all about. I urge you to check it out as soon as you can - ANewStory.com.

Start living like the treasure that your Creator says you are.

Romans 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GUARD YOUR THOUGHTS - February 21, 2024

Life has a way of unloading its rubbish on us. Your boss expects too much. Your kids whine too much. Trash. Load after load of anger, guilt, pessimism, bitterness, anxiety. It all piles up. As a result, we must guard our thoughts. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s hate crime.

Could that be why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV), “Love keeps no record of wrongs”? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NCV) that we have a choice: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” Selfishness, step back! Envy, get lost! Rather than store up the sour thoughts, store up the sweet ones. Make a list of God’s mercies—the many times that he’s blessed you, the many times that he’s forgiven you—and you will find your thoughts resulting in happy days.

Romans 16

Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She’s a key representative of the church at Cenchrea. Help her out in whatever she asks. She deserves anything you can do for her. She’s helped many a person, including me.

3–5  Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked hand in hand with me in serving Jesus. They once put their lives on the line for me. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house.

Hello to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia.

6  Hello to Mary. What a worker she has turned out to be!

7  Hello to my cousins Andronicus and Junias. We once shared a jail cell. They were believers in Christ before I was. Both of them are outstanding leaders.

8  Hello to Ampliatus, my good friend in the family of God.

9  Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys.

10  Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ.

Hello to the family of Aristobulus.

11  Hello to my cousin Herodion.

Hello to those who belong to the Lord from the family of Narcissus.

12  Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master.

Hello to Persis, a dear friend and hard worker in Christ.

13  Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. She has also been a dear mother to me.

14  Hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and also to all of their families.

15  Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them.

16  Holy embraces all around! All the churches of Christ send their warmest greetings!

17–18  One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.

19–20  And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!

21  And here are some more greetings from our end. Timothy, my partner in this work, Lucius, and my cousins Jason and Sosipater all said to tell you hello.

22  I, Tertius, who wrote this letter at Paul’s dictation, send you my personal greetings.

23  Gaius, who is host here to both me and the whole church, wants to be remembered to you.

Erastus, the city treasurer, and our good friend Quartus send their greetings.

25–26  All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter.

27  All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Today's Scripture

Revelation 3:7–11

To Philadelphia

7  Write this to Philadelphia, to the Angel of the church. The Holy, the True—David’s key in his hand, opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open—speaks:

8  “I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough.

9  “And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they’re forced to acknowledge it’s you that I’ve loved.

10  “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test.

11  “I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown.

Insight

In Revelation 2-3, Christ is the speaker in the seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). The letter to Philadelphia is the sixth letter and the second to refer to the “synagogue of Satan” (3:9). The first instance occurs in the letter to Smyrna (modern Izmir) (2:9). Both usages define this “synagogue” as those “who say they are Jews and are not” (v. 9). What does this mean? These are Jews who opposed the first-century believers in Jesus and who claimed that the kingdom of God belonged exclusively to Israel. However, the apostle Paul wrote, “God does not show favoritism [between Jew and Gentile]” (Romans 2:11). He explained, “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly [that is, by keeping the law] . . . . No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; . . . [marked] by the Spirit, not by the written code” (vv. 28-29). By: Tim Gustafson

God’s Open Doors

See, I have placed before you an open door. Revelation 3:8

At my new school near a large city, the guidance counselor took one look at me and placed me in the lowest performing English composition class. I’d arrived from my inner-city school with outstanding test scores, excellent grades, and even a principal’s award for my writing. The door to the “best” writing class in my new school was closed to me, however, when the counselor decided I wasn’t right or ready.

The church in ancient Philadelphia would’ve understood such arbitrary setbacks. A small and humble church, its city had suffered earthquakes in recent years that left lasting damage. Additionally, they faced satanic opposition (Revelation 3:9). Such a disregarded church had “little strength, yet,” as the risen Jesus noted, “you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (v. 8). Therefore, God placed before them “an open door that no one can shut” (v. 8). Indeed, “what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (v. 7).

That’s true for our ministry efforts. Some doors don’t open. With my writing for God, however, He has indeed opened doors, allowing it to reach a global audience, regardless of one counselor’s closed attitudes. Closed doors won’t hinder you either. “I am the door,” Jesus said (John 10:9 kjv). Let’s enter the doors He opens and follow Him. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What doors has God opened for you? How does your ministry and life flourish when you wait for His openings?

When doors close to me, dear God, may I turn to You, the Holy Door, and walk where and how You say to go.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Do You Really Love Him?

She has done a good work for Me. —Mark 14:6

If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.

Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things— things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever created what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? “She has done a good work for Me.”

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “…but perfect love casts out fear…” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L

Bible in a Year: Numbers 1-3; Mark 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Bringing Back a Loved One - #9683

The funeral plans for Matt were in the works. The Park Service had announced that Matt was one of five people who had been killed in a plane crash on a mountainside in Montana. The funeral never happened. Suddenly, Matt's bereaved parents heard the stunning news: although he had been badly injured, their son, along with one other Forest Service worker, had just been rescued alive, miles from the crash site. Rescue workers at the scene of the crash had concluded that the charred wreckage and the scattered human remains indicated that the crash had been "un-survivable." But amazingly, Matt and his fellow worker hiked for 29 hours, often in subfreezing temperatures, until they reached a highway where a motorist picked them up. One news magazine called it, "A Miracle in the Snows of Montana" (Newsweek, October 4, 2004).

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bringing Back a Loved One."

Many a parent with a child away from God has despaired of them ever coming out of the spiritual death that they've chosen. There may be wreckage, there may be damage, injuries, but it's way too soon to think it's over.

If someone you love is away from the Lord and hope is sometimes hard to hang onto, God has a promise for you today in Psalm 126:5-6. It's our word for today from the Word of God and it's a good one. He says: "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." All those months and years of praying and weeping and sowing the seed of God's Word in their life will not return un-harvested.

How God does it, when God does it, whether or not you may even be here to see it is totally in God's hands. But you can be sure the Shepherd is persistently, skillfully pursuing that lost sheep you love. And that He loves so much more. Remember, He's more concerned about the one who's lost than the ninety-nine who are doing okay.

I can't begin to list the wanderers and rebels that my heart has ached for over the years; so many who had tasted the goodness of God but who wandered away - some of whom are still wandering. Some of whom have gloriously come home to Jesus, now living for Him with the fervor of one who loves much because they've been forgiven much. Through all these battles for people away from Jesus, I've learned a couple of simple principles that are grounded in Scripture. They've been anchors when it looked like there was no hope.

First, remember the difference between a chapter and a book. These dark times in the life of that one you love are not the whole book - they're a chapter, or even a series of chapters. But many a book with sad chapters has had a happy ending. Don't judge the ending by the dark chapters in the middle of a book. Don't decide the game is lost because your team is losing at halftime.

If you think it's over, you may actually contribute to their continued wandering by resorting to nagging that will only drive them farther away, by compromise and accepting what can never be acceptable before God. By slowly giving up on your prayer of faith for them, or by just withdrawing from them when your unconditional love may actually be their best hope. See, when someone you love is the least lovable, that's when they need your love the most.

Remember, as long as there's breath, there's hope. It just isn't over so long as they have breath to cry out to God for rescue. So keep on fighting for them in the Throne Room of Almighty God with defiant faith - faith that defies the devil's lie that "it's over. What's the use?" Keep on loving them. Keep on gently sowing seed, as the Holy Spirit opens up natural opportunities. Keep on asking God to make their sin unsatisfying to them, and cry out to the Lord, "Do whatever it takes, Lord, within Your will, to bring them to You!"

Jesus is still bringing back alive loved ones that had been spiritually given up for dead.

Hosea 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: REASON FOR JOY - February 20, 2024

As a believer in Christ, don’t focus on yourself. Focus on all that you have in Christ! “How’s life?” someone asks. And we who’ve been resurrected from the dead say, “Well, things could be better.” Or, “Couldn’t get a parking place.” Or, “My parents won’t let me move to Hawaii.”

Are you so focused on what you don’t have that you’re blind to what you do?  Paul asks in Philippians 2:1, “Have you received any encouragement? Any fellowship? Any consolation? Then don’t you have reason for joy?” You’re blood-bought and heaven-made. A child of God! So be grateful, joyful. For isn’t it true – what you don’t have is much less than what you do? Don’t focus on yourself; focus on all that you have in Christ!

Hosea 14

Come Back! Return to Your God!

1–3  14 O Israel, come back! Return to your God!

You’re down but you’re not out.

Prepare your confession

and come back to God.

Pray to him, “Take away our sin,

accept our confession.

Receive as restitution

our repentant prayers.

Assyria won’t save us;

horses won’t get us where we want to go.

We’ll never again say ‘our god’

to something we’ve made or made up.

You’re our last hope. Is it not true

that in you the orphan finds mercy?”

4–8  “I will heal their waywardness.

I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.

I will make a fresh start with Israel.

He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring.

He’ll put down deep oak tree roots,

he’ll become a forest of oaks!

He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia,

his fragrance like a grove of cedars!

Those who live near him will be blessed by him,

be blessed and prosper like golden grain.

Everyone will be talking about them,

spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.

Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods.

From now on I’m the one who answers and satisfies him.

I am like a luxuriant fruit tree.

Everything you need is to be found in me.”

9  If you want to live well,

make sure you understand all of this.

If you know what’s good for you,

you’ll learn this inside and out.

God’s paths get you where you want to go.

Right-living people walk them easily;

wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 13

A David Psalm

1–2  13 Long enough, God—

you’ve ignored me long enough.

I’ve looked at the back of your head

long enough. Long enough

I’ve carried this ton of trouble,

lived with a stomach full of pain.

Long enough my arrogant enemies

have looked down their noses at me.

3–4  Take a good look at me, God, my God;

I want to look life in the eye,

So no enemy can get the best of me

or laugh when I fall on my face.

5–6  I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—

I’m celebrating your rescue.

I’m singing at the top of my lungs,

I’m so full of answered prayers.

Insight

Psalm 13 is a prayer of lament in which the psalmist brings four areas of lament to God. Each one begins with “How long . . .” and builds in intensity. First, the psalmist describes feeling neglected and abandoned by God—“Will you forget me forever?” The next question—“How long will you hide your face from me?” (v. 1)—accuses God of not just passively “forgetting” to care for the psalmist but actively choosing to withdraw His faithfulness. The next “how long” describes the psalmist’s continual internal anguish, which seems to worsen “day after day” (v. 2)—the longer this perceived abandonment continues. The final “how long” describes this experience as an enemy “triumph[ing] over me” (v. 2).

The psalmist boldly calls God to address each complaint—to “look,” “answer,” and “give light” (v. 3) so his enemies will be silenced (v. 4). He closes the psalm on a note of confident trust in God’s love (vv. 5-6).  By: Monica La Rose

God’s Wise Purposes

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? Psalm 13:1

The United Kingdom brims with history. Everywhere you go, you see plaques honoring historic figures or commemorating sites where important events occurred. But one such sign exemplifies the droll British sense of humor. On a weathered plaque outside a bed and breakfast in Sandwich, England, a message reads, “On this site, Sept. 5, 1782, nothing happened.”  

Sometimes it seems to us that nothing is happening regarding our prayers. We pray and pray, bringing our petitions to our Father with expectation that He’ll respond—right now. The psalmist David expressed such frustration when he prayed, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). We can easily echo those same thoughts: How long, Lord, before you respond?  

However, our God is not only perfect in His wisdom but also in His timing. David was able to say, “I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation” (v. 5). Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.” The word beautiful means “appropriate” or “a source of delight.” God may not always respond to our prayers when we’d like Him to, but He’s always working out His wise purposes. We can take heart that when He does answer, it will be right and good and beautiful. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

When have you prayed for something and felt that perhaps God was ignoring your requests? What lesson might you have learned in that time of waiting?

Loving God, please help me to learn a patience in prayer borne of trust in You.

For further study, read Why Doesn’t God Answer Me? 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming

Arise, let us go from here. —John 14:31

Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God’s blessing is never on it. God will take the initiative against this kind of daydreaming by prodding us to action. His instructions to us will be along the lines of this: “Don’t sit or stand there, just go!”

If we are quietly waiting before God after He has said to us, “Come aside by yourselves…” then that is meditation before Him to seek His will (Mark 6:31). Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don’t sit and daydream about that person all the time— you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 26-27; Mark 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Four Mistakes That Mess Up Sex - #9682

I had the cutest little guy join me on my hike. I was in the country exploring a trail that wound along the creek and at first I just saw this little flash of black and white fur toddling along through the grass not far from me. He was all black, except for a nice white stripe all the way down his back, a big bushy tail, a cute little almost kitten-like face. Yes, it was a skunk!

Two problems: one little spray and my wife wouldn't get near me for the next week. Secondly, it was daytime and skunks are nocturnal animals. If they're out in the daytime they can have rabies. So what did I do? I did the only thing any guy with any brains would do. I walked quickly the other direction, and I did not have to bury my clothes that day.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Four Mistakes That Mess Up Sex."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, written by the creator of love and sex. I mean, the Inventor knows best, right? It starts out by saying, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified." That word doesn't mean you're wearing a halo and a white robe. It literally talks about being kept special.

Now, He says that it is God's will that you should "avoid sexual immorality." That means any sexual relationship outside the boundaries of your marriage to your lifetime partner. And then He says His will is that "each of you should learn to control his own body." This unique, powerful love gift is too special to ruin. So God, the Inventor, sums up His strategy for staying pure.

And you might think of it as the skunk approach. See, I knew there was only one way to keep from getting the skunk's worst; don't play with him, even if he looks like a cute little kitty. And don't try to resist him. You'll lose! Avoid him, man! That's how God says we can protect the beauty of no regrets sex. Avoid immorality. That's His Word! Don't get anywhere near the opportunity or the urge to do it outside of marriage.

In practical terms I think it means avoiding four mistakes that can take you farther than you ever intended to go. First, you avoid spending a lot of time alone. If you've got feelings for someone and you're with them for a very long time in a situation where you could get very physical, chances are you will.

Secondly, avoid exceeding the speed limit. In other words, don't even get near the point where your body and mind are preparing themselves for sexual intercourse. Because you cannot shift the car into reverse at 70 miles an hour. Thirdly, avoid feeding your fantasies by watching things or listening to things that will just fuel your lust and make it even harder to control.

And finally, avoid squandering the innocent expressions of affection. Don't give away little things like holding hands, or a simple hug or a kiss. You need to guard those and make those special too.

If I hadn't known any better, that skunk seemed to almost have a sign on him that kind of said, "I'm cuddly! Come play with me." I would not have been the same after that. Don't let sex too soon or adulterous sex lure you to get so close to something or to someone that it will cost you more than you ever intended to pay and take you where you never intended to go, and steal from you what you never meant to lose, and leave scars you never imagined.

By the way, you say, "Ron, yeah, great! A little late for me. I already made those mistakes. I wish I could have it back." You can't. But you can be clean and you can be forgiven. That is what Jesus died for. The very nights, the very experiences that you remember with regret and guilt and shame, He died to forgive you of those. The Bible says you are a new creation when you come to Him.

If you want that experience of a brand new start, a fresh beginning, come to Jesus and tell Him you're His and you want to be His from now on. Our website is all about this relationship. Check it out - it's ANewStory.com.

And if you're facing temptation, if you're feeling the pressure, don't panic! Don't fight it. Do what God, the Inventor, says, "Run from it!"

Hosea 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE CURE FOR SELFISHNESS - February 19, 2024

Forgive me for being the one to tell you, but you’re infected. You’re a diseased carrier. You have a case of—brace yourself—selfishness!

Don’t believe me? When you look at a group photo, where do you look? And if you look good, do you like the picture? Do you suffer from clutching hands? Do your fingers ever wrap and close around possessions? And heavy feet? When a car wants to cut in front of you, do you sense a sudden heaviness of foot on the accelerator? Look into your eyes, into your pupils. Do you see a tiny figure? An image of a person? An image of you?

The self-centered see everything through self. Their motto? “It’s all about me!” What’s the cure for selfishness? Get your self out of your eye by taking your eye off your self. Quit staring at the little self, and focus on your great Savior.

Hosea 13

Religion Customized to Taste

1–3  13 God once let loose against Ephraim

a terrifying sentence against Israel:

Caught and convicted

in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died!

And now they’re back in the sin business again,

manufacturing god-images they can use,

Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it:

Anything you want in a god you can get.

Can you believe it? They sacrifice live babies to these dead gods—

kill living babies and kiss golden calves!

And now there’s nothing left to these people:

hollow men, desiccated women,

Like scraps of paper blown down the street,

like smoke in a gusty wind.

4–6  “I’m still your God,

the God who saved you out of Egypt.

I’m the only real God you’ve ever known.

I’m the one and only God who delivers.

I took care of you during the wilderness hard times,

those years when you had nothing.

I took care of you, took care of all your needs,

gave you everything you needed.

You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.

You forgot me.

7–12  “I’ll charge them like a lion,

like a leopard stalking in the brush.

I’ll jump them like a sow grizzly robbed of her cubs.

I’ll rip out their guts.

Coyotes will make a meal of them.

Crows will clean their bones.

I’m going to destroy you, Israel.

Who is going to stop me?

Where is your trusty king you thought would save you?

Where are all the local leaders you wanted so badly?

All these rulers you insisted on having,

demanding, ‘Give me a king! Give me leaders!’?

Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn’t happy about it.

Now, fed up, I’ve gotten rid of him.

I have a detailed record of your infidelities—

Ephraim’s sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box.

13–15  “When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born,

Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb.

When the passage into life opened up,

he didn’t show.

Shall I intervene and pull them into life?

Shall I snatch them from a certain death?

Who is afraid of you, Death?

Who cares about your threats, Tomb?

In the end I’m abolishing regret,

banishing sorrow,

Even though Ephraim ran wild,

the black sheep of the family.

15–16  “God’s tornado is on its way,

roaring out of the desert.

It will devastate the country,

leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage.

The cities will be gutted,

dear possessions gone for good.

Now Samaria has to face the charges

because she has rebelled against her God:

Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks,

pregnant women ripped open.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, February 19, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:12–18

The Way He Wants You to Live

12–13  And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

13–15  Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

16–18  Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Insight

Believers in Jesus can learn from Paul’s exhortations, example, and experiences in what could be called the “Pauline School of Prayer.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the exhortation is to “pray continually.” Paul, however, didn’t simply encourage prayer; he himself prayed for his fellow believers in Christ: “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers” (1:2). We see a similar pattern in Colossians, where in the context of his prayers for them, Paul spoke of giving thanks for believers in Jesus (1:3). Then, as if to encourage them to follow his pattern, he exhorted them to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (4:2 esv). In the book of Acts, Paul and Silas prayed in the prison at Philippi (16:25-34), and Paul’s experience on the storm-tossed sea likely prompted prayer (27:13-38). By: Arthur Jackson

Prompted to Pray

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

A coworker once told me that her prayer life had improved because of our manager. I was impressed, thinking that our difficult leader had shared some spiritual nuggets with her and influenced how she prays. I was wrong—sort of. My coworker and friend went on to explain: “Every time I see him coming, I start praying.” Her time of prayer had improved because she prayed more before each conversation with him. She knew she needed God’s help in her challenging work relationship with her manager, and she called out to Him more because of it.

My coworker’s practice of praying during tough times and interactions is something I’ve adopted. It’s also a biblical practice found in 1 Thessalonians when Paul reminds the believers in Jesus to “pray continually . . . give thanks in all circumstances” (5:17–18). No matter what we face, prayer is always the best practice. It keeps us connected with God and invites His Spirit to direct us (Galatians 5:16) rather than having us rely on our human inclinations. This helps us “live in peace with each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:13) even when we face conflicts.

As God helps us, we can rejoice in Him, pray about everything, and give thanks often. And those things will help us live in even greater harmony with our brothers and sisters in Jesus. By:  Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

What relationships do you need to pray about more frequently? How can prayer help you follow God’s leading versus your human tendencies?

Heavenly Father, please help me remember to pray continually as I seek to live in harmony with others.

Learn how to deepen your prayer life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, February 19, 2024

Taking the Initiative Against Drudgery

Arise, shine… —Isaiah 60:1

When it comes to taking the initiative against drudgery, we have to take the first step as though there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us— He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find He is there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue— a matter of obedience. Then we must act to be obedient and not continue to lie down doing nothing. If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed.

Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. Read John 13. In this chapter, we see the Incarnate God performing the greatest example of drudgery— washing fishermen’s feet. He then says to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it. Our Lord takes our human flesh and transforms it, and now every believer’s body has become “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10.  Not Knowing Whither, 867 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23-45

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, February 19, 2024

The Last Days Forecast - #9681

I've often awakened in the morning to a local news station. Great way to wake up. Or check your phone for news. It gets your day off to a really cheerful start. You can hear about a war or two, a little terrorism, some of last night's fatalities. Oh yeah, that will get you started! Actually it's not the news I'm actually so interested in, it's the weather I want to hear. And when you hear the weather, then you can plan your day's wardrobe and your activities, you know, that's a good planning tool.

In fact, if I'm in charge of an important meeting or an event that's coming up in a few days, I want the five-day weather forecast. Okay, it's not always right, but it does help me anticipate some of the problems and some of my responses and how we ought to plan. Recently I read a long, long, long-range forecast; one that should help you and help me as we make our plans.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Last Days Forecast."

Our word for today from the Word of God; it comes from Matthew 24. The disciples are asking in verse 3, "What will be the sign of your coming, Jesus, and of the end of the age?" Well, people have been curious about this for two thousand years, "What's it going to look like before the Lord comes and He writes that last chapter of human history?" Well, Jesus, in part of His answer says, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation..." Sounds a little familiar doesn't it? "...kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."

Well, our world really seems to be fitting this description in a lot of ways: religious turbulence, merging with international turbulence, merging with turbulence in nature, all coming together at one time. When that happens, Jesus said, "I'm coming." What will the weather be in the church during those countdown days? Listen to this from verse 12: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Now, you'd think that in these terminal days with everything turbulent that Christians would become more and more excited and more and more aggressive in their witness for Christ. But there are two groups, basically, in the last day's weather forecast...the cold and the hot. And it says, "The love of most will grow cold." You know, cooling is gradual, you don't even notice it.

And it might be that you've been drifting toward coldness and you haven't even realized it. Because the way the world has become so corrupt, you still look good, but really you've cooled off tremendously in your walk with the Lord. You gradually start to spend less time with Him. You watch what you wouldn't have watched before, and you listen to what you wouldn't have listened to. You go where you wouldn't have considered going only a short time ago. Sin slowly becomes more attractive; the things of God less attractive. You're not exploded; you're just eroded - a deserter.

But it's a time for heroes too, because Jesus said, "There will be those who will become hotter, who take their stand, who spread the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the world." So, you're either going to become colder or bolder; no third group. Pick your group. You're becoming one or the other right now. Most, Jesus said, become colder. You know why? Because colder doesn't require any choice; you just drift to coolness. Bolder? Now, that demands a choice, "I will take a stand. I will not compromise. I will be unembarrassed about my association with Jesus Christ." If you haven't chosen bolder, you're probably getting colder.

You know, I'm thinking there's not a lot of time left on God's clock. We don't know but it's looking like the kind of world that Jesus said He would come to. This is a time for passion, for action! The cold winds of earth's last days might be blowing right now. It's time to write your own personal forecast, "Very hot for Jesus until He comes!"

Hosea 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: How Quickly We Forget

Take this quiz. Name the ten wealthiest men in the world. Name the last ten Heisman trophy winners. Name eight people who've won the Nobel prize. How about the last ten Academy Award winners for best picture? Or the last decade's worth of World Series winners? How'd you do? I didn't do well either. Surprising how quickly we forget, isn't it? And what I've mentioned are no second-rate achievements. These are the best in their fields.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one. Think of three people you enjoy spending time with. Name ten people who've taught you something worthwhile. Name five friends who've helped you in a difficult time. List a few teachers who aided your journey through high school. Easier? It was for me, too.

The lesson? The people who make a difference are not the ones with the most credentials, but the ones with the most concern.

And the Angels Were Silent

Hosea 12

Ephraim, obsessed with god-fantasies,

chases ghosts and phantoms.

He tells lies nonstop,

soul-destroying lies.

Both Ephraim and Judah made deals with Assyria

and tried to get an inside track with Egypt.

God is bringing charges against Israel.

Jacob’s children are hauled into court to be punished.

In the womb, that heel, Jacob, got the best of his brother.

When he grew up, he tried to get the best of God.

But God would not be bested.

God bested him.

Brought to his knees,

Jacob wept and prayed.

God found him at Bethel.

That’s where he spoke with him.

God is God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

God-Revealed, God-Known.

6  What are you waiting for? Return to your God!

Commit yourself in love, in justice!

Wait for your God,

and don’t give up on him—ever!

7–8  The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud.

They love to rip people off!

Ephraim boasted, “Look, I’m rich!

I’ve made it big!

And look how well I’ve covered my tracks:

not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!”

9–11  “But not so fast! I’m God, your God!

Your God from the days in Egypt!

I’m going to put you back to living in tents,

as in the old days when you worshiped in the wilderness.

I speak through the prophets

to give clear pictures of the way things are.

Using prophets, I tell revealing stories.

I show Gilead rampant with religious scandal

and Gilgal teeming with empty-headed religion.

I expose their worship centers as

stinking piles of garbage in their gardens.”

12–14  Are you going to repeat the life of your ancestor Jacob?

He ran off guilty to Aram,

Then sold his soul to get ahead,

and made it big through treachery and deceit.

Your real identity is formed through God-sent prophets,

who led you out of Egypt and served as faithful pastors.

As it is, Ephraim has continually

and inexcusably insulted God.

Now he has to pay for his life-destroying ways.

His Master will do to him what he has done.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 90:1–6

God, it seems you’ve been our home forever;

long before the mountains were born,

Long before you brought earth itself to birth,

from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.

3–11  So don’t return us to mud, saying,

“Back to where you came from!”

Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether

a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you.

Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,

no more than a blade of grass

That springs up gloriously with the rising sun

and is cut down without a second thought?

Insight

The book of Psalms is the hymnbook and prayer book of Jews and believers in Jesus. The Hebrew title is Tehillim, which means “praise songs.” The 150 songs were composed and compiled by numerous authors over a period of nearly one thousand years. Authors include Moses, David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Heman, Solomon, and Ethan. But 48 psalms are by unnamed authors.

The superscription of Psalm 90 says it’s “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” This esteemed title is also used of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:1 and Joshua 14:6. Psalm 90 is the only psalm attributed to Moses, which makes it the oldest of the 150 psalms. Scholars believe that Moses had the forty years of wilderness wandering as the backdrop for this psalm. Contrasting the eternality of God (vv. 1-2) with the transience of human life (vv. 3-12), Moses reminds us of the mercy and compassion of God for sinful human beings (vv. 13-17). By: K. T. Sim

In God’s Loving Hands

Before the mountains were born . . . from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2

After another health setback, I feared the unknown and uncontrollable. One day, while reading a Forbes magazine article, I learned that scientists studied the rising of the “Earth’s rotation velocity” and declared that the Earth “wobbled” and is “spinning faster.” They said we “could require the first-ever ‘drop second’—the official removal of a second from global time.” Though a second doesn’t seem like much of a loss, knowing that the Earth’s rotation could change seemed like a big deal to me. Even slight instability can make my faith feel wobbly. However, knowing God is in control helps me to trust Him no matter how scary our unknowns or how shaky our circumstances may seem.

In Psalm 90, Moses said, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (v. 2). Acknowledging God’s unlimited power, control, and authority over all creation, Moses declared that time cannot constrain God (vv. 3–6).

As we seek to know more about God and the wonderful world He made, we’ll discover how He continues perfectly managing time and all He created. God can be trusted with every unknown and newly discovered thing in our lives too. All creation remains secure in God’s loving hands. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How does knowing God is in control of time and all creation help you trust Him when facing the unknown? How can you honor God with the time He’s entrusted to you today?

Unchanging Creator, thank You for securing every second of my life in Your trustworthy hands.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Taking the Initiative Against Despair

Rise, let us be going. —Matthew 26:46

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.

There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.” If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption.

Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them.  Workmen of God, 1341 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22

Romans 15:14-33, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: You are Invited

Jesus gives the invitation in Revelation 3:20, “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.”

To know God is to receive his invitation. Not just to hear it, not just to study it, not just to acknowledge it, but to receive it. It’s possible to learn much about God’s invitation and never respond to it personally. His invitation is clear and non-negotiable. He gives all and we give him all.  Simple and absolute.

Isn’t it incredible that God leaves this choice up to us? Think about it. We can’t choose the weather. We can’t control the economy. We can’t even choose how people respond to us. But we can choose where we spend eternity. The big choice, God leaves to us. The critical decision is ours. What are you doing with his personal request that you live with him forever?

And  the Angels Were Silent

Romans 15:14-33

Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.

17–21  Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. My text has been,

Those who were never told of him—

they’ll see him!

Those who’ve never heard of him—

they’ll get the message!

22–24  And that’s why it has taken me so long to finally get around to coming to you. But now that there is no more pioneering work to be done in these parts, and since I have looked forward to seeing you for many years, I’m planning my visit. I’m headed for Spain, and expect to stop off on the way to enjoy a good visit with you, and eventually have you send me off with God’s blessing.

25–29  First, though, I’m going to Jerusalem to deliver a relief offering to the followers of Jesus there. The Greeks—all the way from the Macedonians in the north to the Achaians in the south—decided they wanted to take up a collection for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty. Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty. As soon as I have done this—personally handed over this “fruit basket”—I’m off to Spain, with a stopover with you in Rome. My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ’s more extravagant blessings.

30–33  I have one request, dear friends: Pray for me. Pray strenuously with and for me—to God the Father, through the power of our Master Jesus, through the love of the Spirit—that I will be delivered from the lions’ den of unbelievers in Judea. Pray also that my relief offering to the Jerusalem believers will be accepted in the spirit in which it is given. Then, God willing, I’ll be on my way to you with a light and eager heart, looking forward to being refreshed by your company. God’s peace be with all of you. Oh, yes!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Today's Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:6–10

If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I’d still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I’ll spare you. I don’t want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you’d encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk.

7–10  Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.

My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Insight

In 2 Corinthians 10-13, Paul defends his spiritual authority against accusations by false teachers (10:10; 11:12-14; 13:1-10). Describing himself as being forced by these critics to “boast in the Lord” (10:17), Paul details many ways in which God has confirmed the authenticity of his ministry. His goal was to convince Corinthian believers in Jesus of this so “that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up” (13:10).

Perhaps because false teachers were trying to base their authority on claims of divine visions, Paul reveals that he experienced a vision from God (12:1-4). But he emphasized he wasn’t permitted to share the details (v. 4). Instead, the unidentified “thorn in [his] flesh” (v. 7) was God’s way of teaching him that Christ’s power is experienced not through arrogance but through suffering and weakness (vv. 9-10). By: Monica La Rose

Growing Up in Jesus

My power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

As a child, I viewed grown-ups as wise and incapable of failure. They always know what to do, I’d think. One day, when I’m grown up, I’ll always know what to do too. Well, “one day” came many years ago, and all it has taught me is that, many times, I still don’t know what to do. Whether it’s illness in the family, problems at work, or conflict in a relationship, such times have wrested all delusions of personal control and strength, simply leaving me one option—to close my eyes and whisper, “Lord, help. I don’t know what to do.”

The apostle Paul understood this feeling of helplessness. The “thorn” in his life, which may have been a physical ailment, caused him much frustration and pain. It was through this thorn, however, that Paul experienced God’s love, promises, and blessings as sufficient for him to endure and overcome his difficulties (2 Corinthians 12:9). He learned that personal weakness and helplessness don’t mean defeat. When surrendered to God in trust, they become tools for Him to work in and through these circumstances (vv. 9-10).

Our being a grown-up doesn’t mean we’re all-knowing. Sure, we grow wiser with age, but ultimately our weaknesses often reveal how truly powerless we are. Our true power is in Christ: “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10). Truly “growing up” means knowing, trusting, and obeying the power that comes when we realize we need God’s help. By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

What trials make you realize your own helplessness? How can you obey God’s leading? 

Heavenly Father, thank You for being my help and strength.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Taking the Initiative Against Depression

Arise and eat. —1 Kings 19:5

The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive— only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things— things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

SDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28

Hosea 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CLOTHED WITH CHRIST - February 16, 2024

Galatians 3:27 (NIV) says, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” We wear Jesus! And those who don’t believe in Jesus note what we do.

People make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we’re kind, they assume Christ is kind. When we’re gracious, they assume Christ is gracious. No wonder Paul says in Colossians 4:5 (NCV), “Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity.” Courteous conduct honors Christ.

It also honors his children. When you surrender a parking place to someone, you honor him. When you make an effort to greet everyone in the room, especially the ones others have overlooked, you honor God’s children. Do your best! You can’t control the attitudes of others, but you can manage yours.

Hosea 11

Israel Played at Religion with Toy Gods

1–9  11 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him.

I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.

But when others called him,

he ran off and left me.

He worshiped the popular sex gods,

he played at religion with toy gods.

Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.

I rescued him from human bondage,

But he never acknowledged my help,

never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,

That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,

then I bent down to feed him.

Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—

anything but return to me!

That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets

and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.

My people are hell-bent on leaving me.

They pray to god Baal for help.

He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.

But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?

How can I turn you loose, Israel?

How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,

devastated like luckless Zeboim?

I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.

My insides churn in protest.

And so I’m not going to act on my anger.

I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.

And why? Because I am God and not a human.

I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.

10–12  “The people will end up following God.

I will roar like a lion—

Oh, how I’ll roar!

My frightened children will come running from the west.

Like frightened birds they’ll come from Egypt,

from Assyria like scared doves.

I’ll move them back into their homes.”

God’s Word!

Soul-Destroying Lies

Ephraim tells lies right and left.

Not a word of Israel can be trusted.

Judah, meanwhile, is no better,

addicted to cheap gods.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, February 16, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 15:9–17

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

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

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

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

Insight

Hours before He went to the cross, Jesus gave us a new commandment: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). The command to love others isn’t new. In the Mosaic law, God’s people were to “love [their] neighbor as [themselves]” (Leviticus 19:18), which Christ reiterated was the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39). However, Jesus introduced a new standard of love, which He emphasized in John 15:12: “Love each other as I have loved you.” The standard is no longer how much we love ourselves but how much Jesus loved us. Christ laid down His life for us (v. 13). He raised the bar from our self-love to His sacrificial love. John would later write, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). By: K. T. Sim

Loving Like Jesus

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

He was loved by all—those were the words used to describe Giuseppe Berardelli of Casnigo, Italy. Giuseppe was a beloved man who rode around town on an old motorbike and always led with the greeting: “peace and good.” He worked tirelessly on behalf of the good of others. But in the last years of his life, he had health problems that worsened when he was infected by the coronavirus, and he eventually died in the hospital. A friend who knew him for more than twenty years said he would've given up his potential spot in the intensive care unit for another younger patient if he could have. This reveals the character of a man who was loved and admired for loving others.

Loved for loving, this is the message the apostle John keeps sounding throughout his gospel. Being loved and loving others are like a chapel bell that tolls night and day, regardless of weather. And in John 15, they reach somewhat of a zenith, for John lays bare that it’s not being loved by all but loving all that’s the greatest love: “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (v. 13).

Stories of those willing to offer sacrificial love always inspire us. Yet they pale in comparison to God’s great love. But don’t miss the challenge that brings, for Jesus commands: “Love each other as I have loved you” (v. 12). Yes, love all. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

Loved by all and love all. Do you get those mixed up sometimes? Why or why not? What might sacrificing for a friend look like today?

Loving God, please help me to love as You love me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, February 16, 2024

The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative

Arise from the dead… —Ephesians 5:14

Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God. Someone may say to you, “Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the throat and throw it overboard— just do what needs to be done!” That is what we mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and says, in effect, “Get up and get going,” suddenly we find that the initiative is inspired.

We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later we realize we have no power to accomplish them. We cannot do the things we long to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead. But God comes and says to us, “Arise from the dead….” When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to “arise from the dead” and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get going.” God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, “Arise from the dead…,” we have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). As soon as the man did so, his hand was healed. But he had to take the initiative. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the power of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, February 16, 2024

How Freedom Can Leave You Stuck - #9680

It wasn't my idea to get a dog. But, I did get pretty attached to little Missy. She became a part of the family; a little shih tzu dog. Now, I never called her Missy Hutchcraft. I mean, I didn't make her a member of the family, but she was cute.

Getting a dog was my youngest son's idea. He really wanted a dog and I explained we couldn't afford a dog. And he said the magic words, "She's free!" to which I responded, "Okay, there goes my last argument." And I succumbed.

Now, my son kept Missy in the kitchen most of the time, and when she was being housebroken, he would put a gate on the door of the kitchen so she couldn't get into the hallway and the rest of the house. It was a big help to my wife and to me, because he was gone most of the day. We didn't have to check on her as much.

Of course she didn't want to stay in the kitchen. No, she wanted out, as any dog would. Four times this dog chewed through the plastic mesh on the gate. So we'd come in and we'd find her loose in the house doing things she shouldn't do. Then we got some strong electrical tape and put it over the hole. Well, she chewed and chewed. She finally chewed the tape until she got a piece loose. We found her running across the kitchen but slightly slowed down. See, she had a piece of tape stretched from one paw to the other, effectively handcuffing... or paw-cuffing that little dog until we could do a little tape removal surgery.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Freedom Can Leave You Stuck."

Our word for today from the Word of God, John 8:34, the words of Jesus, "I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Well, that's the ironic consequences of not living God's way, like our dog when she was a puppy. See, we see the gates that God has put up as confinement. "You know, it's really hard to stay married in my situation." "It's really hard to keep sex inside the fence of marriage." "It's hard to tell the truth if you only knew my situation." So we want to get outside the gate, because it's going to cost too much to do the right thing. "It's going to be hard not to be unequally yoked. I really love this girl/I really love this guy." "I don't know if I can stay in the gate."

Maybe you've looked at God's boundaries and you've decided there's something beyond the gate that you want. Missy thought she'd get free and she got stuck. So will you, or so have you. There's something enslaving about sin. Oh, that voice says, "Oh, you could have just a little. Do it just once. Just a little compromise won't hurt." But soon you're in deeper than you ever imagined you would be. You didn't realize the scars this would cause. You didn't realize the guilt, the consequences, the darkness that would start to grow inside of you. You didn't realize how you were going to lose self-respect and you lose your closeness to God and maybe even some of your reputation. You didn't realize the difficulty of trying to stop it when you started it. Where are the brakes? It was easy to find the accelerator.

Jesus said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin." If you haven't crossed that boundary, would you run back from the edge? Freedom is never found in sin; only bondage. Don't be conned by the Devil. You say, "Well, I've gone beyond the boundary. I have gone beyond the gate. I've disobeyed God, and I'm paying for it." Maybe you're stuck.

There's such good news two verses later in John 8:36. "If the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed." That's what a Savior means. Jesus wants to lovingly hold you in His arms and cut loose the things that have tied you up. It may hurt, but it is worth it.

There is a cross where Jesus paid for every wrong choice you've ever made, every person you've ever hurt. Bring that garbage to His cross where millions of people have been forgiven and set free. You say, "I don't belong to this Savior. I've never experienced clean inside. This is your day! I hope you'll go to our website. Right there, you'll see the path that will take you right into a personal relationship with God where you will be forgiven. That website is ANewStory.com.

There's nothing good outside the gate. Remember, when you sin to break free, you don't end up free. You end up stuck!

Hosea 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE COURTESY OF CHRIST - February 15, 2024

My wife has a heart for single moms. She loves to include them at the table when we go to a restaurant. Through the years I’ve noticed a common appreciation from them. They love it when I pull out their chair. More than once they’ve specifically thanked me. One mom in particular comes to mind. “My,” she said, brushing the sudden moisture from her eye, “it’s been a while since anyone did that.”

Has it been a while for you as well? People can be so rude. We snatch parking places. We forget names. Could you use some courtesy? Has it been a while since someone pulled out your chair? Then let Jesus! Don’t hurry through this thought. Receive the courtesy of Christ. He’s your groom. Let Christ do what he longs to do. For as you receive his love, you’ll find it easier to give yours away.

Hosea 10

You Thought You Could Do It All on Your Own

1–2  10 Israel was once a lush vine,

bountiful in grapes.

The more lavish the harvest,

the more promiscuous the worship.

The more money they got,

the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image.

Their sweet smiles are sheer lies.

They’re guilty as sin.

God will smash their worship shrines,

pulverize their god-images.

3–4  They go around saying,

“Who needs a king?

We couldn’t care less about God,

so why bother with a king?

What difference would he make?”

They talk big,

lie through their teeth,

make deals.

But their high-sounding words

turn out to be empty words, litter in the gutters.

5–6  The people of Samaria travel over to Crime City

to worship the golden calf-god.

They go all out, prancing and hollering,

taken in by their showmen priests.

They act so important around the calf-god,

but are oblivious to the sham, the shame.

They have plans to take it to Assyria,

present it as a gift to the great king.

And so Ephraim makes a fool of himself,

disgraces Israel with his stupid idols.

7–8  Samaria is history. Its king

is a dead branch floating down the river.

Israel’s favorite sin centers

will all be torn down.

Thistles and crabgrass

will decorate their ruined altars.

Then they’ll say to the mountains, “Bury us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9–10  You got your start in sin at Gibeah—

that ancient, unspeakable, shocking sin—

And you’ve been at it ever since.

And Gibeah will mark the end of it

in a war to end all the sinning.

I’ll come to teach them a lesson.

Nations will gang up on them,

Making them learn the hard way

the sum of Gibeah plus Gibeah.

11–15  Ephraim was a trained heifer

that loved to thresh.

Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck,

I wanted to harness Ephraim,

Put Ephraim to work in the fields—

Judah plowing, Jacob harrowing:

Sow righteousness,

reap love.

It’s time to till the ready earth,

it’s time to dig in with God,

Until he arrives

with righteousness ripe for harvest.

But instead you plowed wicked ways,

reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies.

You thought you could do it all on your own,

flush with weapons and manpower.

But the volcano of war will erupt among your people.

All your defense posts will be leveled

As viciously as king Shalman

leveled the town of Beth-arba,

When mothers and their babies

were smashed on the rocks.

That’s what’s ahead for you, you so-called people of God,

because of your off-the-charts evil.

Some morning you’re going to wake up

and find Israel, king and kingdom, a blank—nothing.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Today's Scripture

Proverbs 22:1–5

The Cure Comes Through Discipline

1  22 A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich;

a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank.

2  The rich and the poor shake hands as equals—

God made them both!

3  A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;

a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.

4  The payoff for meekness and Fear-of-God

is plenty and honor and a satisfying life.

5  The perverse travel a dangerous road, potholed and mud-slick;

if you know what’s good for you, stay clear of it.

Insight

The book of Proverbs is both helpful and challenging. It’s helpful because it offers us wisdom for living. What’s wisdom? It can be defined as the appropriate application of knowledge and understanding to life situations. Which of us doesn’t need that? Clearly, we all do—and it’s readily available. James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). Our wise God is the true and ultimate source of wisdom. What makes the Proverbs challenging, however, is that they offer general insight on how life works best—not ironclad promises. When we attempt to make them into guarantees, we try to prove too much. It’s better to let them guide us in wise, humble living without placing on them the expectation of specific outcomes. By: Bill Crowder

Humility’s Perk

Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. Proverbs 22:4

Like many teachers, Carrie devotes countless hours to her career, often grading papers and communicating with students and parents late into the evening. To sustain the effort, she relies on her community of colleagues for camaraderie and practical help; her challenging job is made easier through collaboration. A recent study of educators found that the benefit of collaboration is magnified when those we work with demonstrate humility. When colleagues are willing to admit their weaknesses, others feel safe to share their knowledge with one another, effectively helping everyone in the group.

The Bible teaches the importance of humility—for much more than enhanced collaboration. “Fear[ing] the Lord”—having a right understanding of who we are in comparison with the beauty, power, and majesty of God—results in “riches and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4). Humility leads us to living in community in a way that’s fruitful in God’s economy, not just the world’s, because we seek to benefit our fellow image bearers.

We don’t fear God as a way to gain “riches and honor and life” for ourselves—that wouldn’t be true humility at all. Instead, we imitate Jesus, who “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:7) so we can become part of a body that humbly cooperates together to do His work, give Him honor, and take a message of life to the world around us. By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

What does humility mean to you? How have you seen someone’s humility benefit others?

Dear Jesus, I surrender my pride to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, February 15, 2024

“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”

None of us lives to himself… —Romans 14:7

Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people? For instance, if I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers. We “sit together in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 2:6). “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it…” (1 Corinthians 12:26). If you allow physical selfishness, mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, or spiritual weakness, everyone in contact with you will suffer. But you ask, “Who is sufficient to be able to live up to such a lofty standard?” “Our sufficiency is from God…” and God alone (2 Corinthians 3:5).

“You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “…lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Protecting Our Sisters - #9679

I never had a sister, but my sons have one, which means I have a daughter. Now, our oldest son is two years younger than our daughter, who is the oldest, but it was interesting to see as I watched their relationship what I had missed growing up. Oh, there was a lot of kidding around; the kids called it "busting." They had some exciting disagreements growing up because, well, they're two very different people.

There were some hugs, there was some advice, there was sometimes some conflict, but one thing was really clear in that relationship - no one had ever better do my son's sister wrong. Even though he's two years younger, he was her personal - I'm going to make up a word here - "look-out-forer." I'm looking out for her! In fact, when any guy wanted to date her, he had to pass my son's very high requirements first. Oh, he's younger, but he was his sister's protector. Now, if you're a sister, it's nice to have a brother like that.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Protecting Our Sisters."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Timothy 5, and I'm going to be reading verse 2. It's a road map for relationships between, well, men and women in general, but particularly between young men and young women. He is addressing Timothy, who is a young man, and Paul says, "Treat the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers," and then get this part, "and treat the younger women as sisters with absolute purity."

Now, if you grow up in our culture today, that's not the message you're getting. Oh, no, our culture says, "Hey, if you're a young man, treat the younger woman as a conquest; as a lover." But that's not God's design. He says, "Treat the younger women as sisters." Now, what does that mean? Does that mean you tease them all the time? Does that mean you argue with them, which brothers and sisters are known to do? No. Do you know what I think it's referring to?

See, the love of a brother for a sister is, after all is said and done, protective love. It's like my son and daughter, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you that could hurt you, Sis." That's how young men are supposed to view young women. Not as targets, not as conquests, not as things to use.

That's why it says, "Treat them with absolute purity" so you won't hurt them. You're supposed to guard your sister. That means you look at the women around you and say, "I will not use you. I will not push you for physical involvement. I won't even think about taking your greatest gift from you - your virginity. I won't let my mind wander into scenes where I reduce you to being a thing. I will guard your reputation, sister. I will guard your purity. I will guard your character." Now, that's manhood! And you know what? Ask a lot of young women today, and they'll tell you there is a critical shortage of that kind of man.

See, what happens is you begin to say, "I'm going to develop some sisters here." So, you begin to develop friendships, and not just romances. And that becomes more important than just a passionate romance. You open the door to some real legitimate closeness, and really getting to know somebody. And you do that by finally throwing your sexual agenda out the window and developing a real friendship.

Now, if you're a woman, by the way you dress, the way you act, the way you talk, the way you move, be sure you're encouraging this kind of relationship. Remember this: they always told me when I was fishing that the kind of bait you offer determines the kind of catch you get. Act like you want brothers. Act like you want guys who will be friends. And men, cultivate sisters; a level of sharing and caring that the sexual conquerors will never even get close to. Treat them with dignity, with respect. Absolute purity. Treat her like family. She's your sister, man! And every sister needs a brother.