Daniel 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: What Pleases a Father

When our daughters were young, Denalyn went away for a couple of days and left me alone with the girls. Though the time was not without the typical children’s quarrels and occasional misbehavior, it went fine.

“How were the girls?” Denalyn asked when she got home. “Good. No problem at all.” Jenna overheard me. “We weren’t good, Daddy,” she objected. “We fought once; we didn’t do what you said once. We weren’t good.”

Jenna and I had different perceptions of what pleases a father. She thought it depended on what she did. It didn’t. We think the same about God. We think His love rises and falls with our performance. It doesn’t. I didn’t love Jenna for what she did. I loved her—and love her still—for whose she is. She’s mine. God loves you for the same reason. He loves you for whose you are; and you are His child!

From Dad Time

Daniel 10

A Vision of a Big War

In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was made plain to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. The message was true. It dealt with a big war. He understood the message, the understanding coming by revelation:

2–3  “During those days, I, Daniel, went into mourning over Jerusalem for three weeks. I ate only plain and simple food, no seasoning or meat or wine. I neither bathed nor shaved until the three weeks were up.

4–6  “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris. I looked up and to my surprise saw a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body was hard and glistening, as if sculpted from a precious stone, his face radiant, his eyes bright and penetrating like torches, his arms and feet glistening like polished bronze, and his voice, deep and resonant, sounded like a huge choir of voices.

7–8  “I, Daniel, was the only one to see this. The men who were with me, although they didn’t see it, were overcome with fear and ran off and hid, fearing the worst. Left alone after the appearance, abandoned by my friends, I went weak in the knees, the blood drained from my face.

9–10  “I heard his voice. At the sound of it I fainted, fell flat on the ground, face in the dirt. A hand touched me and pulled me to my hands and knees.

11  “ ‘Daniel,’ he said, ‘man of quality, listen carefully to my message. And get up on your feet. Stand at attention. I’ve been sent to bring you news.’

“When he had said this, I stood up, but I was still shaking.

12–14  “ ‘Relax, Daniel,’ he continued, ‘don’t be afraid. From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you. But I was waylaid by the angel-prince of the kingdom of Persia and was delayed for a good three weeks. But then Michael, one of the chief angel-princes, intervened to help me. I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia. And now I’m here to help you understand what will eventually happen to your people. The vision has to do with what’s ahead.’

15–17  “While he was saying all this, I looked at the ground and said nothing. Then I was surprised by something like a human hand that touched my lips. I opened my mouth and started talking to the messenger: ‘When I saw you, master, I was terror-stricken. My knees turned to water. I couldn’t move. How can I, a lowly servant, speak to you, my master? I’m paralyzed. I can hardly breathe!’

18–19  “Then this humanlike figure touched me again and gave me strength. He said, ‘Don’t be afraid, friend. Peace. Everything is going to be all right. Take courage. Be strong.’

“Even as he spoke, courage surged up within me. I said, ‘Go ahead, let my master speak. You’ve given me courage.’

20–21  “He said, ‘Do you know why I’ve come here to you? I now have to go back to fight against the angel-prince of Persia, and when I get him out of the way, the angel-prince of Greece will arrive. But first let me tell you what’s written in The True Book. No one helps me in my fight against these beings except Michael, your angel-prince.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19

 devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.

9–10  But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

17–19  Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

Insight

Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 calls to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The concept of “laying up treasures” is common to both passages. Treasures on earth speak of investments of things that only have earthly value and usefulness, such as gifts or money. Treasures in heaven refer to earthly investments that have eternal value. Generous giving on earth stores up treasure in heaven. Thus, the need for cultivating contentment. Doing so makes us less susceptible to greed and better positioned for doing good deeds and thereby truly enriching ourselves in the process. By: Arthur Jackson

Rich in Good Deeds

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18

After seven decades of hard work as a washerwoman—scrubbing, drying, and pressing clothes by hand—Oseola McCarty was finally ready to retire at the age of eighty-six. She had scrupulously saved her meager earnings all those years, and to the amazement of her community, Oseola donated $150,000 to the nearby university to create a scholarship fund for needy students. Inspired by her selfless gift, hundreds of people donated enough to triple her endowment.

Oseola understood the true value of her wealth was not in using it for her own gain, but to bless others. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to command those who are rich in this present world “to be rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18). Each of us has been given wealth to steward, whether it’s in the form of financial means or other resources. Instead of trusting in our resources, Paul cautions us to put our hope only in God (v. 17) and to lay up treasure in heaven by being “generous and willing to share” (v. 18).

In God’s economy, withholding and not being generous only leads to emptiness. Giving to others out of love is the way to fulfillment. To have both godliness and contentment with what we have, instead of striving for more, is great gain (v. 6). What would it look like for us to be generous with our resources, as Oseola was? Let us strive to be rich in good deeds today as God leads us. By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

What opportunity do you have to be generous today? How can sharing what you have lead to greater contentment?

Thank You for the resources I have, God. I surrender them to You today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Acquaintance with Grief

He is . . . a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. — Isaiah 53:3

We are not acquainted with grief in the way our Lord was acquainted with grief. We endure it, we get through it, but we don’t become intimate with it. The reason for this is that we don’t understand the cause of grief and sorrow in life. Grief and sorrow are caused by sin— but many of us refuse to recognize the fact that sin exists.

At the beginning of our lives, we take a rational view of things. We say that human beings, by educating themselves and looking after their instincts, by controlling “the ape and tiger” within, can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we discover the presence of something we hadn’t taken into account: sin.

Sin upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild, not rational. Some of us never learn to accept the fact of sin because we don’t think it should be there. We have to recognize that sin is a fact.

Sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed. If God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no other possible outcome. Sin reached its climax when it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. We have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation for why Jesus Christ came, and the only explanation for grief and sorrow in life.

Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L

Daniel 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He Wants You To Fly

“If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22

Don’t reduce this grand statement to the category of new cars and paychecks . . .

God wants you to fly. He wants you to fly free of yesterday’s guilt. He wants you to fly free of today’s fears. He wants you to fly free of tomorrow’s grave. Sin, fear, and death. These are the mountains he has moved. These are the prayers he will answer.

Daniel 9

God’s Covenant Commitment

1–4  9 “Darius, son of Ahasuerus, born a Mede, became king over the land of Babylon. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was meditating on the Scriptures that gave, according to the Word of God to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years that Jerusalem had to lie in ruins, namely, seventy. I turned to the Master God, asking for an answer—praying earnestly, fasting from meals, wearing rough penitential burlap, and kneeling in the ashes. I poured out my heart, baring my soul to God, my God:

4–8  “ ‘O Master, great and august God. You never waver in your covenant commitment, never give up on those who love you and do what you say. Yet we have sinned in every way imaginable. We’ve done evil things, rebelled, dodged and taken detours around your clearly marked paths. We’ve turned a deaf ear to your servants the prophets, who preached your Word to our kings and leaders, our parents, and all the people in the land. You have done everything right, Master, but all we have to show for our lives is guilt and shame, the whole lot of us—people of Judah, citizens of Jerusalem, Israel at home and Israel in exile in all the places we’ve been banished to because of our betrayal of you. Oh yes, God, we’ve been exposed in our shame, all of us—our kings, leaders, parents—before the whole world. And deservedly so, because of our sin.

9–12  “ ‘Compassion is our only hope, the compassion of you, the Master, our God, since in our rebellion we’ve forfeited our rights. We paid no attention to you when you told us how to live, the clear teaching that came through your servants the prophets. All of us in Israel ignored what you said. We defied your instructions and did what we pleased. And now we’re paying for it: The solemn curse written out plainly in the revelation to God’s servant Moses is now doing its work among us, the wages of our sin against you. You did to us and our rulers what you said you would do: You brought this catastrophic disaster on us, the worst disaster on record—and in Jerusalem!

13–14  “ ‘Just as written in God’s revelation to Moses, the catastrophe was total. Nothing was held back. We kept at our sinning, never giving you a second thought, oblivious to your clear warning, and so you had no choice but to let the disaster loose on us in full force. You, our God, had a perfect right to do this since we persistently and defiantly ignored you.

15–17  “ ‘Master, you are our God, for you delivered your people from the land of Egypt in a show of power—people are still talking about it! We confess that we have sinned, that we have lived bad lives. Following the lines of what you have always done in setting things right, setting people right, please stop being so angry with Jerusalem, your very own city, your holy mountain. We know it’s our fault that this has happened, all because of our sins and our parents’ sins, and now we’re an embarrassment to everyone around us. We’re a blot on the neighborhood. So listen, God, to this determined prayer of your servant. Have mercy on your ruined Sanctuary. Act out of who you are, not out of what we are.

18  “ ‘Turn your ears our way, God, and listen. Open your eyes and take a long look at our ruined city, this city named after you. We know that we don’t deserve a hearing from you. Our appeal is to your compassion. This prayer is our last and only hope:

19  “ ‘Master, listen to us!

Master, forgive us!

Master, look at us and do something!

Master, don’t put us off!

Your city and your people are named after you:

You have a stake in us!’

Seventy Sevens

20–21  “While I was pouring out my heart, baring my sins and the sins of my people Israel, praying my life out before my God, interceding for the holy mountain of my God—while I was absorbed in this praying, the humanlike Gabriel, the one I had seen in an earlier vision, approached me, flying in like a bird about the time of evening worship.

22–23  “He stood before me and said, ‘Daniel, I have come to make things plain to you. You had no sooner started your prayer when the answer was given. And now I’m here to deliver the answer to you. You are much loved! So listen carefully to the answer, the plain meaning of what is revealed:

24  “ ‘Seventy sevens are set for your people and for your holy city to throttle rebellion, stop sin, wipe out crime, set things right forever, confirm what the prophet saw, and anoint The Holy of Holies.

25–26  “ ‘Here is what you must understand: From the time the word goes out to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed Leader, there will be seven sevens. The rebuilding will take sixty-two sevens, including building streets and digging a moat. Those will be rough times. After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed Leader will be killed—the end of him. The city and Sanctuary will be laid in ruins by the army of the newly arriving leader. The end will come in a rush, like a flood. War will rage right up to the end, desolation the order of the day.

27  “ ‘Then for one seven, he will forge many and strong alliances, but halfway through the seven he will banish worship and prayers. At the place of worship, a desecrating obscenity will be set up and remain until finally the desecrator himself is decisively destroyed.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 26:30-27:8

Then put The Dwelling together, following the design you were shown on the mountain.

31–35  “Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Have a design of angel-cherubim woven into it by a skilled craftsman. Fasten it with gold hooks to four posts of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold, set on four silver bases. After hanging the curtain from the clasps, bring the Chest of The Testimony in behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Holy-of-Holies. Now place the Atonement-Cover lid on the Chest of The Testimony in the Holy-of-Holies. Place the Table and the Lampstand outside the curtain, the Lampstand on the south side of The Dwelling and the Table opposite it on the north side.

36–37  “Make a screen for the door of the tent. Weave it from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Frame the weaving with five poles of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold and make gold hooks to hang the weaving. Cast five bronze bases for the poles.”

The Altar

1–8  27 “Make an Altar of acacia wood. Make it seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. Make horns at each of the four corners. The horns are to be of one piece with the Altar and covered with a veneer of bronze. Make buckets for removing the ashes, along with shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. Make all these utensils from bronze. Make a grate of bronze mesh and attach bronze rings at each of the four corners. Put the grate under the ledge of the Altar at the halfway point of the Altar. Make acacia wood poles for the Altar and cover them with a veneer of bronze. Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the Altar for carrying. Use boards to make the Altar, keeping the interior hollow.

Insight

The curtain described here (Exodus 26:31-33) separated the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle from the Holy Place. This is crucial because the Most Holy Place was only for the high priest (Aaron) to enter, and only under particular circumstances (Leviticus 16). Any violation would result in death. The letter to the Hebrews gives us remarkable insight into Jesus’ role as our high priest (see chs. 7-9). We may now “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (4:16). The curtain to the Most Holy Place was “torn in two” when Christ was crucified (Matthew 27:51). By: Tim Gustafson

House of Worship

Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. Exodus 26:30

When Britain’s House of Commons was bombed in World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament they must rebuild it according to its original design. It must be small, so debates would remain face-to-face. It must be oblong rather than semicircular, allowing politicians to “move around the center.” This preserved Britain’s party system, where Left and Right faced each other across the room, requiring careful thought before switching sides. Churchill concluded, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”

God seems to agree. Seven chapters in Exodus (chs. 25-31) give instructions on building the tabernacle, and six more (chs. 35-40) describe how Israel did it. God cared about their worship. When the people entered the courtyard, the gleaming gold and the tabernacle’s colorful curtains (26:1, 31-37) dazzled them. The altar of burnt offering (27:1-8) and water basin (30:17-21) reminded them of the cost of their forgiveness. The tabernacle contained a lampstand (25:31-40), bread table (25:23-30), altar of incense (30:1-6), and ark of the covenant (25:10-22). Each item held great significance.

God doesn’t give us detailed instructions for our worship space as He did with Israel, yet our worship is no less vital. Our very being is to be a tabernacle set apart for Him to dwell in. May everything we do remind us of who He is and what He does. By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What does your worship teach you about God and His love for you? What changes might you want to make?

Father, You’re worthy of my best worship.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, June 22, 2024

The Undeviating Test

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. — Matthew 7:2

What Jesus says here about judging isn’t a haphazard guess; it’s an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you make of another person will be made of you. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus says that the basis of life is retribution: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding defects in others, remember that this is how you will be dealt with. This is the law from God’s throne downward: “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd” (Psalm 18:26). Life serves you back in the coin you pay.

Romans 2 applies this law of judgment in an even more definite way. It says that the person who criticizes another is guilty of the exact thing they’re criticizing. God doesn’t look at the act alone; he looks at the possibility of the act. The problem with many of us is that we don’t believe the statements of the Bible in the first place. Do you, for instance, believe you are actually guilty of all the things you criticize in others? The reason we see hypocrisy and fraud and unreality in others is because we have these things in our own hearts. The defining quality of the truly righteous person is humility. The righteous person knows, “All those evil things and many more would rule me if it weren’t for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”

Jesus says, “Do not judge” (Matthew 7:1). If you judge, you will be judged to the same degree. Which of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged my fellow human beings”? We have judged our fellow human beings as sinners. If God were to judge us like that, we would be in hell. God judges us through the marvelous atonement of Jesus Christ.

Esther 6-8; Acts 6

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. 

Not Knowing Whither, 888 L

Daniel 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

A GOOD, HEALTHY STRUGGLE - June 21, 2024 -God’s using your struggle to toughen you up. It’s like viewing a movie after you’ve read the book. When something bad happens, everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. But not you. Why? You’ve read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot.

God views your life with the same confidence. He’s not only read your story, he wrote it. His perspective is different, and his purpose is clear. One of God’s cures for weak faith? A good, healthy struggle. “Consider it a gift when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. Under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” Scripture says, “Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (James 1:2-4 MSG). Join with Isaiah who resolved, “I will trust in him and not be afraid!” (Isaiah 12:2 NLT).

Daniel 8

A Vision of a Ram and a Billy Goat

1  8 “In King Belshazzar’s third year as king, another vision came to me, Daniel. This was now the second vision.

2–4  “In the vision, I saw myself in Susa, the capital city of the province Elam, standing at the Ulai Canal. Looking around, I was surprised to see a ram also standing at the gate. The ram had two huge horns, one bigger than the other, but the bigger horn was the last to appear. I watched as the ram charged: first west, then north, then south. No beast could stand up to him. He did just as he pleased, strutting as if he were king of the beasts.

5–7  “While I was watching this, wondering what it all meant, I saw a billy goat with an immense horn in the middle of its forehead come up out of the west and fly across the whole country, not once touching the ground. The billy goat approached the double-horned ram that I had earlier seen standing at the gate and, enraged, charged it viciously. I watched as, mad with rage, it charged the ram and hit it so hard that it broke off its two horns. The ram didn’t stand a chance against it. The billy goat knocked the ram to the ground and stomped all over it. Nothing could have saved the ram from the goat.

8–12  “Then the billy goat swelled to an enormous size. At the height of its power its immense horn broke off and four other big horns sprouted in its place, pointing to the four points of the compass. And then from one of these big horns another horn sprouted. It started small, but then grew to an enormous size, facing south and east—toward lovely Palestine. The horn grew tall, reaching to the stars, the heavenly army, and threw some of the stars to the earth and stomped on them. It even dared to challenge the power of God, Prince of the Celestial Army! And then it threw out daily worship and desecrated the Sanctuary. As judgment against their sin, the holy people of God got the same treatment as the daily worship. The horn cast God’s Truth aside. High-handed, it took over everything and everyone.

13  “Then I overheard two holy angels talking. One asked, ‘How long is what we see here going to last—the abolishing of daily worship, this devastating judgment against sin, the kicking around of God’s holy people and the Sanctuary?’

14  “The other answered, ‘Over the course of 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning. Then the Sanctuary will be set right again.’

15  “While I, Daniel, was trying to make sense of what I was seeing, suddenly there was a humanlike figure standing before me.

16–17  “Then I heard a man’s voice from over by the Ulai Canal calling out, ‘Gabriel, tell this man what is going on. Explain the vision to him.’ He came up to me, but when he got close I became terrified and fell facedown on the ground.

17–18  “He said, ‘Understand that this vision has to do with the time of the end.’ As soon as he spoke, I fainted, my face in the dirt. But he picked me up and put me on my feet.

19  “And then he continued, ‘I want to tell you what is going to happen as the judgment days of wrath wind down, for there is going to be an end to all this.

20–22  “ ‘The double-horned ram you saw stands for the two kings of the Medes and Persians. The billy goat stands for the kingdom of the Greeks. The huge horn on its forehead is the first Greek king. The four horns that sprouted after it was broken off are the four kings that come after him, but without his power.

23–26  “ ‘As their kingdoms cool down

and rebellions heat up,

A king will show up,

hard-faced, a master trickster.

His power will swell enormously.

He’ll talk big, high-handedly,

Doing whatever he pleases,

knocking off heroes and holy ones left and right.

He’ll plot and scheme to make crime flourish—

and oh, how it will flourish!

He’ll think he’s invincible

and get rid of anyone who gets in his way.

But when he takes on the Prince of all princes,

he’ll be smashed to bits—

but not by human hands.

This vision of the 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning,

is accurate but confidential.

Keep it to yourself.

It refers to the far future.’

27  “I, Daniel, walked around in a daze, unwell for days. Then I got a grip on myself and went back to work taking care of the king’s affairs. But I continued to be upset by the vision. I couldn’t make sense of it.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, June 21, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

Insight

The church in Corinth was established by Paul on his second missionary journey (around ad 50). Some four years later, at the end of his third missionary journey, he wrote to a troubled church characterized by congregational conflicts, abuse of liberty, lack of humility, immorality, and disunity. Paul deals with the source of their problems—their arrogant pride (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). He reminded them they weren’t the influential, powerful elites they assumed they were—wise philosophers, politically powerful, or materially wealthy. They were the opposite—foolish, weak, lowly, despised nobodies (vv. 27-28). Yet, God chose them to be His children based solely on His grace, not on their merits. Therefore, “no one may boast before him” (v. 29; see vv. 4-5). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Unpack Paul’s letters to the church of Corinth. By: K. T. Sim

Use Me

Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31

James Morris was once described as “an illiterate but warmhearted layman,” but God used him to draw Augustus Toplady to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Toplady, the eighteenth-century author of the timeless hymn “Rock of Ages,” described hearing Morris preach: “Strange that I . . . should be brought nigh unto God . . . amidst a handful of God’s people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous.”

Indeed, God does marvelous things in unlikely places and through those we may rank as “unqualified” or ordinary. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminded believers in Jesus that they were an unimpressive lot. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (v. 26). Though the Corinthian believers were quite ordinary, by God’s grace they weren’t lacking in giftedness and usefulness (see v. 7). And God—who knows how to put boasters in their place (vv. 27-29)—was at work among them and through them.

Do you see yourself as “plain,” “ordinary,” or even “less than”? Don’t fret. If you have Jesus and are willing to be used by Him, you have enough. May your heart’s prayer be, “God, use me!” By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

Who comes to mind when you think of one who’s been quietly but effectively used by God? What can you do to help shift your focus from what you have or don’t have to what God can do through you?

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for focusing on myself and not enough on You. Use me where I am in Your holy service.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, June 21, 2024

A Royal Priesthood

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. — 1 Peter 2:9

By what right do we become “a royal priesthood”? By the right of the atonement, which is given to us as an absolute gift. Are we prepared to accept this gift, set aside all concerns about ourselves, and embark on the priestly work of intercessory prayer?

To begin the work of intercessory prayer is to take the focus off ourselves. The endless, self-centered quest to find out if we are what we ought to be creates a morbid kind of Christianity, not the simple, robust life of the child of God. Until we get into a right relationship with God, we are always wondering whether or not we’ve done enough to win his favor, and our prayers are devoted to worries about our own salvation.

There is nothing of the miracle of the redemption in this mindset. We must launch ourselves out in the reckless belief that the redemption is complete. Jesus Christ has already saved us; we don’t need to ask him to do it again. If we truly believe that our salvation is already accomplished, we will set aside concerns for ourselves and do as Jesus said: we will pray for the friend who comes to us at midnight, pray for the faithful, pray for everyone (Luke 11:1–13; 1 Timothy 2:1–4). We will pray in the realization that we are only perfect in Christ Jesus, not on this plea: “Oh, Lord, I’ve done my best; please hear me.”

How long is it going to take God to free us from the morbid habit of thinking about ourselves? We must get sick to death of ourselves, until we are no longer surprised by anything God can tell us about ourselves. If we are searching ourselves in the hopes of discovering how deep our depravity goes, we’ll be searching forever: the depth of sinfulness inside us is so profound we can never fathom it. There is only one place where we are right, and that is in Christ Jesus.

Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. 

Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, June 21, 2024

Love Protects - #9770

When I used to go places with my two sons, people would often say, "And who are these young men?" And I'd say, "Oh, these are my bodyguards." We'd all get a good laugh at that! Of course, you know, these guys of ours grew up pretty fast, and it was believable that they could be my bodyguards.

Actually, if I really felt that I needed one, well I would look to, you know, a professional wrestler or good old Mr. T from TV days of yore. Now, there was a bodyguard. In fact, before he became a TV personality and a movie star, he was actually a bodyguard for people like Muhammad Ali. So he got noticed first and got into the movies and into that old A-Team series.

Now, it's interesting to think of bodyguards. There are people who need them, and you picture those big beefy guys who stand between the celebrity or whoever they're protecting and whoever might want to cause them any trouble. It's almost as if they're saying, "Nothing's going to happen to you my friend as long as I'm looking out for you. I'm going to stand between you and anyone who tries to hurt you." That's bodyguards. Hey, did you know you're a bodyguard? Well, I mean, at least you're supposed to be.

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

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from that great love chapter of the Bible - 1 Corinthians 13. I'm going to read just a portion of it beginning with verse 4. As you listen to this ultimate description of love, perhaps you might compare your own love right now for your family, the people you live with, the people you spend a lot of time with. Compare your love to this description, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13:7 - I want to pick up these three little words from that wonderful description, "...love always protects." In other words, if we love as Christ loves, we are meant to be looking out for each other. I guess I'm supposed to be your bodyguard and you're supposed to be mine if we're brothers and sisters in Christ. That means that if someone comes to me and starts to attack a brother or sister's reputation, then I'm the one who intervenes and says, "Hey, wait a minute! Let's not talk about him. Have you thought about the other side of the story?" You become, as a spiritual body guard, the one who stops the gossip when it comes to you and then it says, "Excuse me, but that will be enough of that. It stops here."

When someone comes to you and starts criticizing another person, you've got to be the one who says, "Hey wait a minute! Go to them. I don't think I need to hear this. Have you talked to them about it? Go tell them." You're the one who makes sure that you never say anything bad about a family member or lets anyone else get away with it. You're the one who reminds people of the good points of a person that maybe they're having a hard time remembering. You say, "Yeah, but have you thought about this?" You're the one who encourages understanding and communication, because ultimately it is not your body that you're protecting. It is the body of Christ.

We are all part of that, those of us who are in Christ. And His body has been broken enough. He said, "This is My body which was broken for you." Don't allow it to be broken any more by a Christian attacking another Christian. Don't throw any punches at someone that Jesus loves very much.

Instead say, "Nothing's going to happen to you because I'm looking out for you."

Titus 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THOUGHTS OF HEAVEN - June 20, 2024

It’s been a long time, but there was a time when my daughters celebrated my daily arrival. Jenna was five at the time, Andrea three. Denalyn would alert them, and they’d scamper to the window, pressing noses and hands against the tall pane that paralleled the front door. As I pulled in, I would see them. Jenna, a head taller than her sister Andrea, squeezed into the frame.  Seeing me, they’d squeal. My, how they jumped and clapped. You’d think someone had switched their M&M’s for coffee beans. No returning Caesar ever felt more welcomed. Their father was home!

You know, it’s been too long since I searched for God that way. Let’s do better! Colossians 3:2 (TLB) says, “Let heaven fill your thoughts!” Every day carries us closer to the day our Father will come. Let’s keep a look out for him.

Titus 3

He Put Our Lives Together

1–2  3 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.

3–8  It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

8–11  I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

12–13  As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.

14  Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don’t end up with nothing to show for their lives.

15  All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Today's Scripture

Lamentations 3:19-26

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

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

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

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

the feeling of hitting the bottom.

But there’s one other thing I remember,

and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

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

his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.

They’re created new every morning.

How great your faithfulness!

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

He’s all I’ve got left.

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

to the woman who diligently seeks.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope,

quietly hope for help from God.

Insight

Lamentations is one of the darkest books in the Bible; it’s Jeremiah’s heart cry for his violated nation. But here, at the center point of his poem, we find real hope. “The Lord’s . . . compassions never fail” (3:22). The book also concludes in hope, yet we still sense Jeremiah’s doubt. He proclaims, “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation” (5:19). That’s how we might expect the book to end—in ultimate triumph. The prophet, however, asks God a pair of haunting questions: “Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?” (v. 20). Although he asks God to “restore us to yourself” (v. 21), he doesn’t do so with unwavering confidence. Rather, he adds this caveat: “unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure” (v. 22). Jeremiah is a prophet who struggled mightily with the tragedy he saw. By: Tim Gustafson

New and Certain

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23

For three years, apart from household necessities, Susan didn’t buy anything for herself. The Covid-19 pandemic affected my friend’s income, and she embraced a simple lifestyle. “One day, while cleaning my apartment, I noticed how shabby and faded my things looked,” she shared. “That’s when I started to miss having new things—the sense of freshness and excitement. My surroundings seemed tired and stale. I felt as if there was nothing to look forward to.”

Susan found encouragement in an unlikely book in the Bible. Written by Jeremiah after Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Lamentations describes the open wound of grief suffered by the prophet and the people. In the midst of grief’s despair, however, lies sure ground for hope-God’s love. "His compassions never fail,” Jeremiah wrote. “They are new every morning” (3:22-23).

Susan was reminded that God’s deep love relentlessly breaks through anew each day. When circumstances make us feel there’s no longer anything to look forward to, we can call to mind His faithfulness and look forward to how He’ll provide for us. We can confidently hope in God, knowing our hoping is never in vain (vv. 24-25) because it’s secured in His steadfast love and compassion.

“God’s love is my ‘something new’ each day,” Susan says. “I can look ahead with hope.” By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

When have you felt unable to see any hope in your situation? How does the promise of God’s love as “new every morning” give you hope?

Thank You, dear God, because each day brings with it Your certain, steadfast love.

Deal head-on with pain and pressure in this study.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Have You Come to “After” Yet?

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. — Job 42:10

A self-centered, pleading prayer—the kind of prayer in which I vow to “get right” with God if only he’ll help me—is never found in the New Testament. Am I telling God that I’ll purify my heart if he’ll hear my plea? That I’ll make myself good and righteous if he’ll extend his grace to me? I have to realize I can’t make myself right with God; I can’t make my life perfect, no matter how I plead. The only way I can be right with God is by accepting the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift.

Am I humble enough to accept the gift Jesus bought for me on the cross? I have to stop every effort I’m making and leave myself entirely alone in God’s hands. If I find myself constantly trying to get right with him, it’s a sign that I’m rebelling against the atonement. Many prayers are made in total disbelief of the atonement. We beg Jesus to save us, forgetting he already has. Asking him to do it again is an insult.

“After Job had prayed for his friends . . .” If your fortunes haven’t been restored, if you aren’t getting insight into God’s word, stop praying in a self-centered way and start praying for others. Intercessory prayer is the real business of your life as a saved soul. Wherever God places you, no matter the circumstances, pray immediately for those around you. Pray that the atonement will be realized for others as it has for you. Pray for your friends; pray for your acquaintances; pray for all whose lives have been brought into contact with your own.

Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Trusting Jesus With What You Treasure - #9769

Dino and Nanette are dear Navajo friends of ours and they became Mr. and Mrs.! Oh, we wanted to be at their wedding because they are two very special friends, very special Native American Christian leaders. Now this was years ago but we couldn't be there, but our son attended, and that afternoon he described the wedding to us, as well as any man can describe a wedding. I choked up when I heard about their wedding vows. Dino made his vows to Nanette on bended knee. Nanette made her vows to Dino and then handed him a beautiful Navajo blanket. But this wasn't just any blanket. It had belonged to her father who died several years ago and it represented a relationship and memories that she really treasures. That blanket was Nanette's father's love gift to her. And in this moment of commitment, she was handing her new husband this most precious treasure from her most precious person. I guess in a sense, she was handing him her heart.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Trusting Jesus With What You Treasure."

In a tangible, deeply moving way, a young bride was saying with that gift, "I totally trust you, my husband. I'm giving you my heart. I'm giving you my life." She understood the deepest meaning of commitment. And commitment is the key to life's most important relationship; your personal relationship with the Man who died for you - Jesus Christ.

Now, our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Luke 7:37 - "A woman in that town who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." Like that Navajo bride, this woman understood the commitment of a heart to Jesus. She brought what may have been the most valuable possession she had and lavished it on Jesus. She worshiped Him with abandonment, not caring what anyone thought. She was pouring out more than expensive perfume; just like that bride was handing over more than a blanket. This lady was pouring out her life to Jesus.

Later, when the religious leader Jesus was dining with objected to what she had done, Jesus said, "You did not put oil even on my head, but she has poured perfume on My feet Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'" Jesus seems to be saying, "This lady just came to me with all her heart because she knows her need. You don't know your need and you come to Me with all your head."

Could it be that total commitment is "the" issue between you and Jesus right now? I mean, we're talking about the kind that releases to Him the things that matter most to you. Maybe you're clutching whatever is your "blanket," your security blanket. It's a relationship that really matters to you, or a dream you insist on hanging onto, or a possession, a position, your business, your ministry, something from your past. And you're at a crossroads now. You can't go any deeper, can't go any further in Christ until you release that precious treasure to Him. And the nagging, unspoken question really is, "Can I trust Jesus with this?"

Marty struggled with that question at a youth conference where I spoke some years ago. He told me he just couldn't give everything to Jesus because he couldn't surrender basketball, the most important thing in his life. Put your own treasure in there. But at the conclusion of the conference he said, "Ron, I've surrendered everything to Jesus, even basketball." I asked him why. He told me about his walk on the beach the night before where he finally settled the deciding issue. He said, "Anyone who loved me enough to die for me would never do me wrong."

You know, that's why you can trust Jesus with your life, your treasure, your eternity, your soul. He loved you enough to die for you. Isn't it time you gave Him your life. Do you want to begin that relationship with Him finally? Tell Him that. Go to our website to be sure you have - it's ANewStory.com.

Jesus can be trusted. Let this be the day you cross over into a relationship with Him, the day you put the treasure you've clutched in your hands into His hands. "Jesus, here. I trust You. I'm handing You my heart."

Daniel 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: JOINT HEIRS - June 19, 2024

You’ve been claimed. Adopted. God’s very own child! Romans 8:29: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.”

Abandon you to a fatherless world? No way. Before you knew you needed adopting, he’d already filed the papers and selected the wallpaper for your room. Those who have access to God’s family Bible can read your name. He wrote it there. He covered the adoption fees. We don’t finance our adoption, but we do accept it. And the moment we accept his offer, we go from orphans to heirs!

Romans 8:17 says we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. No stepchildren or grandchildren. You and Christ share the same will. What he inherits, you inherit. You are headed home!

Daniel 7

A Vision of Four Animals

1  7 In the first year of the reign of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream. What he saw as he slept in his bed terrified him—a real nightmare. Then he wrote out his dream:

2–3  “In my dream that night I saw the four winds of heaven whipping up a great storm on the sea. Four huge animals, each different from the others, ascended out of the sea.

4  “The first animal looked like a lion, but it had the wings of an eagle. While I watched, its wings were pulled off. It was then pulled erect so that it was standing on two feet like a man. Then a human heart was placed in it.

5  “Then I saw a second animal that looked like a bear. It lurched from side to side, holding three ribs in its jaws. It was told, ‘Attack! Devour! Fill your belly!’

6  “Next I saw another animal. This one looked like a panther. It had four birdlike wings on its back. This animal had four heads and was made to rule.

7  “After that, a fourth animal appeared in my dream. This one was a grisly horror—hideous. It had huge iron teeth. It crunched and swallowed its victims. Anything left over, it trampled into the ground. It was different from the other animals—this one was a real monster. It had ten horns.

8  “As I was staring at the horns and trying to figure out what they meant, another horn sprouted up, a little horn. Three of the original horns were pulled out to make room for it. There were human eyes in this little horn, and a big mouth speaking arrogantly.

9–10  “As I was watching all this,

“Thrones were set in place

and The Old One sat down.

His robes were white as snow,

his hair was white like wool.

His throne was flaming with fire,

its wheels blazing.

A river of fire

poured out of the throne.

Thousands upon thousands served him,

tens of thousands attended him.

The courtroom was called to order,

and the books were opened.

11–13  “I kept watching. The little horn was speaking arrogantly. Then, as I watched, the monster was killed and its body cremated in a roaring fire. The other animals lived on for a limited time, but they didn’t really do anything, had no power to rule. My dream continued.

13–14  “I saw a human form, a son of man,

arriving in a whirl of clouds.

He came to The Old One

and was presented to him.

He was given power to rule—all the glory of royalty.

Everyone—race, color, and creed—had to serve him.

His rule would be forever, never ending.

His kingly rule would never be replaced.

15–16  “But as for me, Daniel, I was disturbed. All these dream-visions had me agitated. So I went up to one of those standing by and asked him the meaning of all this. And he told me, interpreting the dream for me:

17–18  “ ‘These four huge animals,’ he said, ‘mean that four kingdoms will appear on earth. But eventually the holy people of the High God will be given the kingdom and have it ever after—yes, forever and ever.’

19–22  “But I wanted to know more. I was curious about the fourth animal, the one so different from the others, the hideous monster with the iron teeth and the bronze claws, gulping down what it ripped to pieces and trampling the leftovers into the dirt. And I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that sprouted up while three of the original horns were removed. This new horn had eyes and a big mouth and spoke arrogantly, dominating the other horns. I watched as this horn was making war on God’s holy people and getting the best of them. But then The Old One intervened and decided things in favor of the people of the High God. In the end, God’s holy people took over the kingdom.

23–25  “The bystander continued, telling me this: ‘The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from the first three kingdoms, a monster kingdom that will chew up everyone in sight and spit them out. The ten horns are ten kings, one after another, that will come from this kingdom. But then another king will arrive. He will be different from the earlier kings. He will begin by toppling three kings. Then he will blaspheme the High God, persecute the followers of the High God, and try to get rid of sacred worship and moral practice. God’s holy people will be persecuted by him for a time, two times, half a time.

26–27  “ ‘But when the court comes to order, the horn will be stripped of its power and totally destroyed. Then the royal rule and the authority and the glory of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the people of the High God. Their royal rule will last forever. All other rulers will serve and obey them.’

28  “And there it ended. I, Daniel, was in shock. I was like a man who had seen a ghost. But I kept it all to myself.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 3:1-10

Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.

3  Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

4  God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

5  God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

6  Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

7–8  God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

9–10  “The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Insight

Moses was one of the most significant leaders in the Bible. We can sometimes overlook, however, how God prepared him to lead. For four decades as a shepherd (Acts 7:30), he tended the flock of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 3:1; see 2:16-22). Like David (Psalm 78:70-71), God took Moses from caring for animals to caring for people. While it was the Great Shepherd who saw the misery, heard the cries, and was concerned about the suffering of His people (Exodus 3:7), His rescue plan called for a liberator in the flesh to function on His behalf: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 77:20). 

By: Arthur Jackson

God of Freedom

I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10

President Abraham Lincoln had emancipated people held in slavery two-and-a half-years earlier and the Confederacy had surrendered, yet the state of Texas still hadn’t acknowledged the freedom of enslaved persons. However, on June 19, 1865, Union army general Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and demanded that all enslaved persons be released. Imagine the shock and joy as shackles fell off and those in bondage heard the pronouncement of freedom.

God sees the oppressed, and He’ll ultimately announce freedom for those under the weight of injustice. This is true now just as it was true in Moses’ day. God appeared to him from a burning bush with an urgent message: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7). He not only saw Egypt’s brutality against Israel—but He also planned to do something about it. “I have come down to rescue them,” God declared, “and to bring them . . . into a good and spacious land” (v. 8). He intended to declare freedom to Israel, and Moses would be the mouthpiece. “I am sending you to Pharaoh,” God told His servant, “to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (v. 10).

Though God’s timing may not happen as quickly as we hope, one day He’ll free us from all bondage and injustice. He gives hope and liberation to all who are oppressed. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

How have you seen God work to help the oppressed? How does He invite you to participate in His work?

Dear God, there’s so much oppression in the story of our world. It’s easy to despair. Please help me stay attuned to Your intention to announce freedom.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Service of Passionate Devotion

Do you love me? . . . Feed my sheep. — John 21:17

Jesus doesn’t say, “Make converts to your way of thinking.” He says, “Look after my sheep. Make sure they are nourished with knowledge of me.” We think that the work we do in Christian ministry counts as service; Jesus Christ says that service is what we are to him, not only what we do for him. Christianity is not devotion to a work or a cause or a doctrine; it is devotion to a person.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t argue or compel. He simply says that if we wish to be his disciples, we must be devoted to him. When we are touched by the Spirit of God, we see suddenly who Jesus is, and this becomes the source of our devotion.

Today, we’ve substituted ideological belief for personal belief. This is why so many are devoted to causes and so few to him. People don’t want to be devoted to Jesus; they want to be devoted to the cause he started. Jesus Christ the person is deeply offensive to the educated mind of today, to those who don’t want to see him as anything other than a champion of their cause.

Our Lord’s obedience was to the will of the Father, not to the needs of humanity. The saving of humanity was the natural outcome of that obedience. If we are devoted only to humanity, our love will falter, and we will soon be exhausted. But if we love Jesus, personally and passionately, we will be able to serve humanity, even if people treat us like doormats.

The secret of the disciple’s life is devotion to Jesus Christ; its hallmark is unobtrusiveness. It is like a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, then springs up, transforming the entire landscape (John 12:24).

Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. 

Biblical Ethics, 111 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Joy of "Others First" - #9768

It had been a frozen and freezing winter in New England and Canada. They got walloped with a mega ice-storm that left two inches of ice on everything. In Montreal, for example, power lines and poles and trees just collapsed under the weight of the ice, and thousands of people were without power for days; which means many were without heat in the middle of a Montreal winter. In one neighborhood, one man got pretty resourceful after shivering for five days. He marched across the street with a lot of orange extension cord and asked his neighbor if he could plug into their outdoor outlet. The people on one side curiously were without power and very cold. The people on the other side of the street had power and were pretty cozy.

That power from across the street was enough to start that man's furnace. And within a few hours, from one end of the block to the other, you could see long orange extension cords crisscrossing the street from the cold side to the warm side. Those who had no power were supplied by those who did and everybody was warm!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Joy of 'Others First.'"

They didn't have the extension cords back in New Testament times, but the first Christians sure understood the idea of sharing power with people who don't have any. It was part of what made them so magnetic to the unbelievers around them.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 2 beginning with verse 44. "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Just like those folks in Canada on the warm side of the street, "We've got it, they need it, and I'm going to share it."

Listen to how this worked out (back to the Bible), "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." This selfless sharing drew a lot of people to Jesus!

The basic principle is still supposed to be at the heart of how a Christian views everything he or she has. "I don't have this just for me. God gave it to me so others can have it, too." Those original believers basically erased the words "my" and "mine" from their vocabularies. How about you and me?

If God has given you transportation power (like a car, for example), He's expecting you to let that car help someone who is without power when it comes to transportation. If you own a place to go and rest, it could be an answer to prayer for someone who can't afford a place to get away. Some of that closet full of clothes could really encourage someone whose closet isn't very full at all. Your home isn't just meant to be your castle; it should be a refuge for someone who needs a place to stay. Someone without power needs some of the power you have.

You may be able to share your encouragement with someone who doesn't have much encouragement in their life; your knowledge in an area where they could use some help. The point is that you look around at what you can give, and you keep your eyes open for people who need it. It's great to wake up in the morning and say, "Who needs me today, Lord?" Maybe you have some of something they need, they have a little, and if you share what you have, you could both have enough.

That is New Testament living! That is Jesus-living! And in a world that's pretty cold for some people near you, you have the power to make it warm again!

Daniel 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HEAVEN AS YOUR HOME - June 18, 2024

Dread of death ends when you know heaven is your true home!

In all my air travels I’ve never seen one passenger weep when the plane landed. Never. No one clings to the armrests and begs, “Don’t make me leave. Let me stay and eat more peanuts!” We’re willing to exit the plane because the plane has no permanent mailing address.

Nor does this world. Philippians 3:20 (NLT) says, “We are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.” Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you give God your death? Imagine your last moment. Envision your final breath. Offer it to God. Deliberately, regularly. “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.” With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.

Daniel 6

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

1–3  6 Darius reorganized his kingdom. He appointed one hundred twenty governors to administer all the parts of his realm. Over them were three vice-regents, one of whom was Daniel. The governors reported to the vice-regents, who made sure that everything was in order for the king. But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

4–5  The vice-regents and governors got together to find some old scandal or skeleton in Daniel’s life that they could use against him, but they couldn’t dig up anything. He was totally exemplary and trustworthy. They could find no evidence of negligence or misconduct. So they finally gave up and said, “We’re never going to find anything against this Daniel unless we can cook up something religious.”

6–7  The vice-regents and governors conspired together and then went to the king and said, “King Darius, live forever! We’ve convened your vice-regents, governors, and all your leading officials, and have agreed that the king should issue the following decree:

For the next thirty days no one is to pray to any god or mortal except you, O king. Anyone who disobeys will be thrown into the lions’ den.

8  “Issue this decree, O king, and make it unconditional, as if written in stone like all the laws of the Medes and the Persians.”

9  King Darius signed the decree.

10  When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God.

11–12  The conspirators came and found him praying, asking God for help. They went straight to the king and reminded him of the royal decree that he had signed. “Did you not,” they said, “sign a decree forbidding anyone to pray to any god or man except you for the next thirty days? And anyone caught doing it would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

“Absolutely,” said the king. “Written in stone, like all the laws of the Medes and Persians.”

13  Then they said, “Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles, ignores you, O king, and defies your decree. Three times a day he prays.”

14  At this, the king was very upset and tried his best to get Daniel out of the fix he’d put him in. He worked at it the whole day long.

15  But then the conspirators were back: “Remember, O king, it’s the law of the Medes and Persians that the king’s decree can never be changed.”

16  The king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions’ den. But he said to Daniel, “Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you out of this.”

17  A stone slab was placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed the cover with his signet ring and the signet rings of all his nobles, fixing Daniel’s fate.

18  The king then went back to his palace. He refused supper. He couldn’t sleep. He spent the night fasting.

19–20  At daybreak the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. As he approached the den, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?”

21–22  “O king, live forever!” said Daniel. “My God sent his angel, who closed the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. I’ve been found innocent before God and also before you, O king. I’ve done nothing to harm you.”

23  When the king heard these words, he was happy. He ordered Daniel taken up out of the den. When he was hauled up, there wasn’t a scratch on him. He had trusted his God.

24  Then the king commanded that the conspirators who had informed on Daniel be thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. Before they hit the floor, the lions had them in their jaws, tearing them to pieces.

25–27  King Darius published this proclamation to every race, color, and creed on earth:

Peace to you! Abundant peace!

I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom.

He is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never falls.

His rule continues eternally.

He is a savior and rescuer.

He performs astonishing miracles in heaven and on earth.

He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.

28  From then on, Daniel was treated well during the reign of Darius, and also in the following reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 68:3-6, 19

When the righteous see God in action

they’ll laugh, they’ll sing,

they’ll laugh and sing for joy.

Sing hymns to God;

all heaven, sing out;

clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.

Enjoy God,

cheer when you see him!

5–6  Father of orphans,

champion of widows,

is God in his holy house.

God makes homes for the homeless,

leads prisoners to freedom,

but leaves rebels to rot in hell.

  Blessed be the Lord—

day after day he carries us along.

Insight

Psalm 68 begins with words similar to Numbers 10:35: “Rise up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” Moses prayed this “whenever the ark set out” as the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness toward the promised land. Because of this, scholars say David wrote this psalm as he moved the ark from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 7:2; 2 Samuel 6). The Israelites probably sang it as a victory song in their subsequent battles against their enemies. The psalmist affirms that God fights on behalf of His people (Psalm 68:1-3; see Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30). He celebrates God’s presence, power, protection, provision, and providential care for Israel, recalling how He led them safely through the wilderness into their inheritance. To show how much He cares for them, David highlights His compassion and care for the helpless—orphans, widows, the oppressed—people whom society ignores (Psalm 68:5-6). By: K. T. Sim

Friend to the Lonely

God sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68:6

Holly Cooke didn’t have one single friend when she moved to London for a job. Her weekends felt miserable. The city itself tops the list for feeling blue—with 55 percent of Londoners saying they’re lonely, according to a global survey, compared to just 10 percent of residents in neighborly Lisbon, Portugal.

For connection, Holly defied her fears and formed a social media group called The London Lonely Girls Club—and some thirty-five thousand have joined. Small-group meetups every few weeks offer park picnics, art lessons, jewelry workshops, dinners, and even outdoor exercise sessions with puppies.

The challenge of loneliness isn’t new, nor is the Healer of our feelings of isolation. Our eternal God, wrote David, “sets the lonely in families; he leads out the prisoners with singing” (Psalm 68:6). Asking God to point our way to Christlike friends is a holy privilege and, thus, a request we can freely take to Him. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (v. 5), added David. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (v. 19).

What a friend we have in Jesus! He grants us forever friends, starting with the glorious presence of Himself every moment. As Holly says, “Friend time is good for the soul.” By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What do you enjoy about friendship with Jesus? What does He teach you about being a forever friend to others?

When my heart feels lonely, dear Jesus, please point me to a good friend—starting with You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Don’t Think Now, Take the Road

Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. — Matthew 14:29-30

The wind was wild and the waves were high, but at first Peter didn’t notice. Fixing his eyes on Jesus, he stepped out in recognition of his Lord and walked on the water. It was only when Peter began to pay attention to his surroundings that fear and doubt set in. The instant this happened, down he went.

Sometimes we step right out in faith and walk happily along. Then self-consideration comes in, and down we go. If we are keeping our sights on our Lord, it doesn’t occur to us to worry about ourselves or our circumstances. The circumstances of our lives simply are. It’s only when we focus on them that we become overwhelmed. We lose sight of Jesus and receive his rebuke: “Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Let circumstances be what they are. Keep looking to Jesus, maintaining complete reliance on him. If you begin to debate when God has spoken, it’s all over. Never say, “I wonder if that really was God speaking.” Be reckless. The second you hear God’s voice, fling yourself out in faith. You do not know when God’s voice will come, but whenever you sense it, even in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon all to him. It is only by abandoning yourself that you learn to trust the Lord. You will hear his voice more clearly through recklessness.

Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 388 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Too Many Goodbyes - and One Unloseable Love - #9767

Missy hated suitcases. Our Shih Tzu puppy - she had great radar. I should explain that Missy had multiple masters. There was our youngest son, who was her first master. He lived in Arizona and Missy only got to see him occasionally. But he was still an important person in her life. Then there was my sister-in-law who often picked up Missy's care where my son left off. And then our daughter also really bonded with the dog.

Oh, about the radar. It went off whenever Missy started to see suitcases in the hall. She learned what that meant; that someone who loved her was going away. So, poor Missy just disappeared. She would literally run and hide under this cabinet in the kitchen whenever it looked like someone she counted on was leaving her.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Many Goodbyes - and One Unloseable Love."

Chances are you've never tried to hide under a cabinet in the kitchen. You probably wouldn't fit! But it could be that you know that awful feeling of having someone that you've counted on leave. And maybe you have felt like going and hiding.

I don't know what the "leavings" may have been in your life - someone you needed who died, or a marriage partner you pledged your life to who's gone, maybe friends who let you down or just moved away. But for somebody who's listening right now, the pain of being left has been one of the great hurts of your life. Out of it can come some deep feelings of insecurity and distrust, and even worthlessness. And ultimately that hurt can become a deep-down fear of abandonment, the fear that loving again will just mean losing again.

Every one of us needs some stable, count-on-able relationship where there will never be a goodbye, and there is one. You might be ready for it. Here's our word for today from the Word of God from Isaiah 49:15-16. God says, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Well, though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."

If you're tired of goodbyes, this promise from your Creator is loaded with hope for a "never say goodbye" relationship. He says, "I will not forget you." Jesus made this promise to those who belong to Him. "I am with you always, even to the very end of the age." And He said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Can you actually depend on His commitment to never abandon you? Yes, because you're engraved on the palms of His hands in nail prints.

Without Christ we have no hope of a love relationship with God. Our sin is an eternal wall that separates us from God. And the Bible says, "Sin carries a death penalty which Jesus loved you enough to take for you when He died on that cross. And today He's reminded of you every time He looks at His hands. You're engraved there in the marks left by the price He paid to bring you to Him. No, Jesus will never leave you. He already had his chance in a garden called Gethsemane where the night before He died He agonized over the cross He knew was coming. But He didn't turn His back on you.

If He was ever going to, it would have been then or it would have been on that cross. But He did not. He's sure not going to turn His back on you now if you belong to Him. And that's up to you. Your relationship with Jesus Christ begins the moment you open your heart to Him and say, "Lord, I'm sorry for the sin of my life. I want to change. I'm putting my total trust in You to forgive me and bring me into God's family.

Aren't you ready for this unloseable love, for this totally secure relationship? If you are, tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website and check out there a very clear path to be sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.

Haven't there been too many goodbyes? Well, you have within your reach right now the ultimate relationship with the One person who will never say, "Goodbye."

Daniel 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: IN JESUS’ JURISDICTION - June 17, 2024

Is the dread of death robbing you your joy of life? It can.

At the age of 37, Florence told her friends her life hung by a thread, and so she went to bed. And she stayed there—for 53 years! She did die, at the age of ninety. Except for three years, Florence cowered before the giant of death. During those years she made a name for herself, not as one who suffered, but as a friend of those who did. History’s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale lived, as a slave of death.

What about you? Jesus came to deliver those who’ve lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Death sits in his jurisdiction. Psalm 139:16 (NLT) says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment laid out before a single day had passed.”

Daniel 5

The Writing of a Disembodied Hand

1–4  5 King Belshazzar held a great feast for his one thousand nobles. The wine flowed freely. Belshazzar, heady with the wine, ordered that the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God’s Temple of Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines, could drink from them. When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them. They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

5–7  At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp-illumined, whitewashed wall of the palace. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away, he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits. His legs went limp and his knees knocked. He yelled out for the enchanters, the fortunetellers, and the diviners to come. He told these Babylonian magi, “Anyone who can read this writing on the wall and tell me what it means will be famous and rich—purple robe, the great gold chain—and be third-in-command in the kingdom.”

8–9  One after the other they tried, but could make no sense of it. They could neither read what was written nor interpret it to the king. So now the king was really frightened. All the blood drained from his face. The nobles were in a panic.

10–12  The queen heard of the hysteria among the king and his nobles and came to the banquet hall. She said, “Long live the king! Don’t be upset. Don’t sit around looking like ghosts. There is a man in your kingdom who is full of the divine Holy Spirit. During your father’s time he was well known for his intellectual brilliance and spiritual wisdom. He was so good that your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him the head of all the magicians, enchanters, fortunetellers, and diviners. There was no one quite like him. He could do anything—interpret dreams, solve mysteries, explain puzzles. His name is Daniel, but he was renamed Belteshazzar by the king. Have Daniel called in. He’ll tell you what is going on here.”

13–16  So Daniel was called in. The king asked him, “Are you the Daniel who was one of the Jewish exiles my father brought here from Judah? I’ve heard about you—that you’re full of the Holy Spirit, that you’ve got a brilliant mind, that you are incredibly wise. The wise men and enchanters were brought in here to read this writing on the wall and interpret it for me. They couldn’t figure it out—not a word, not a syllable. But I’ve heard that you interpret dreams and solve mysteries. So—if you can read the writing and interpret it for me, you’ll be rich and famous—a purple robe, the great gold chain around your neck—and third-in-command in the kingdom.”

17  Daniel answered the king, “You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

18–21  “Listen, O king! The High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar a great kingdom and a glorious reputation. Because God made him so famous, people from everywhere, whatever their race, color, and creed, were totally intimidated by him. He killed or spared people on whim. He promoted or humiliated people capriciously. He developed a big head and a hard spirit. Then God knocked him off his high horse and stripped him of his fame. He was thrown out of human company, lost his mind, and lived like a wild animal. He ate grass like an ox and was soaked by heaven’s dew until he learned his lesson: that the High God rules human kingdoms and puts anyone he wants in charge.

22–23  “You are his son and have known all this, yet you’re as arrogant as he ever was. Look at you, setting yourself up in competition against the Master of heaven! You had the sacred chalices from his Temple brought into your drunken party so that you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines, could drink from them. You used the sacred chalices to toast your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone—blind, deaf, and imbecile gods. But you treat with contempt the living God who holds your entire life from birth to death in his hand.

24–26  “God sent the hand that wrote on the wall, and this is what is written: mene, teqel, and peres. This is what the words mean:

“Mene: God has numbered the days of your rule and they don’t add up.

27  “Teqel: You have been weighed on the scales and you don’t weigh much.

28  “Peres: Your kingdom has been divided up and handed over to the Medes and Persians.”

29  Belshazzar did what he had promised. He robed Daniel in purple, draped the great gold chain around his neck, and promoted him to third-in-charge in the kingdom.

30–31  That same night the Babylonian king Belshazzar was murdered. Darius the Mede was sixty-two years old when he succeeded him as king.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, June 17, 2024

Today's Scripture

Deuteronomy 24:17-22

Make sure foreigners and orphans get their just rights. Don’t take the cloak of a widow as security for a loan. Don’t ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there. I command you: Do what I’m telling you.

19–22  When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don’t go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work. When you shake the olives off your trees, don’t go back over the branches and strip them bare—what’s left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don’t take every last grape—leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in Egypt. I command you: Do what I’m telling you.

Insight

The laws for Israel in Deuteronomy 24:17-22 occur in a series of laws on how to live in the promised land. The point of the section is clear: provide for the poor, the needy, and the foreigner. An interesting corollary occurs, however, at the end of the previous chapter. Deuteronomy 23:24-25 permitted anyone—not merely the needy—to eat whatever they wished from a neighbor’s field. One day, Jesus’ disciples availed themselves of this provision (Matthew 12:1). Immediately, the Pharisees accused them of “doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath” (v. 2)—that is, “working.” Christ defended His disciples, saying, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (v. 8). They ate the grain merely because they “were hungry” (v. 1). Jesus noted that His Father desires “mercy” (feeding the hungry) over “sacrifice.” The Pharisees adhered to a legalistic interpretation of the law, in the process missing the generous Spirit who gave it. By: Tim Gustafson

Generous Faith

When you are harvesting in your field . . . leave [some] for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Deuteronomy 24:19

A few years ago, our church was invited to host refugees fleeing their country after a tumultuous change in political leadership. Entire families came with only what they could fit in a small bag. Several of our church families opened their homes, including some who had little room to spare. 

Their gracious hospitality reflects God’s triple command to the Israelites when they entered the promised land (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). As an agricultural society, they understood the importance of the harvest. The crops were essential to get them through until next year. This makes God’s command to “leave [some] for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow” (v. 19) also a request to trust Him. The Israelites were to practice generosity not by giving only when they knew they had enough but giving out of a heart that trusts God’s provision. 

Such hospitality was also a reminder “that [they] were slaves in Egypt” (vv. 18, 22). They were once oppressed and destitute. Their generosity was a reminder of God’s graciousness to them in freeing them from bondage.

Believers in Jesus are similarly urged to be generous. Paul reminds us, “Though [Christ] was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). We give because He gave to us. By:  Matt Lucas

Reflect & Pray

When has someone helped you when you were in need? How will you give to others while trusting God’s provision for you?

Dear Father, please open my eyes to the needs of the marginalized in my community. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, June 17, 2024

The Uncritical Temper

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. — Matthew 7:1

Jesus says one simple thing about judging: Don’t. The average Christian is the most sharply critical individual. The human mind has a natural tendency to criticize, but spiritually nothing is accomplished by criticism. Only the Holy Spirit is in a position to point out what is wrong in someone, because only the Holy Spirit can do so without causing pain. When humans criticize, they only succeed in weakening and wounding.

It is impossible to enter into communion with God when we are in a critical mood. A critical mindset makes us hard and vindictive and cruel. It leaves us with the flattering idea that we are better than others. Jesus says that his disciples must cultivate the uncritical temper. This cultivation must happen again and again; we can’t do it once and be done with it.

There is no getting away from the penetrating gaze of Jesus. He tells us that if we see a speck in another’s eye, it means we have a plank in our own. Every wrong we see in another Jesus finds in us. Every time we judge another, we condemn ourselves (Romans 2:17–21). We must stop using a measuring stick for other people. There is always one fact more, in every person’s case, about which we know nothing.

When we decide to commit ourselves entirely to Jesus, the first thing God does is give us a spiritual spring-cleaning, showing us what we would be if it weren’t for his grace. After that, there is no possibility of pride left, nothing that allows us to go on criticizing others from a place of superiority. Once I realize what God has done for me, it is impossible to despair of anyone else.

Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. 

Not Knowing Whither, 900 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, June 17, 2024

How to Handle a Heavy Load - #9766

Our family was driving down the Interstate and I saw this familiar bumper sticker. I said, "Oh, that's nice." And then I began to pass the car. I could tell from behind, that it was obviously a mother and a child in the front seat. But the significance of the message on the bumper didn't hit me until I pulled alongside. I glanced over and it was obvious that the child had an evident disability, and that the mother had a very heavy burden. And I thought, "Boy, how does she cope with that responsibility?" And then I remembered her bumper sticker and I had my answer. It just might be an answer for you too.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Handle a Heavy Load."

Our word for today from the Word of God is going to come from Deuteronomy 33:25, and it relates very directly to that bumper sticker, which we'll get to in a minute. The words were familiar, but it may be a reminder that you need to hear to make it through this very heavy load you've got. The words on the bumper sticker - you've probably seen it - simply said, "One day at a time."

Now, Jesus told us how to bear the cross of following Him. He said in Luke 9:23, "If anyone wants to come after Me, let him take up his cross..." You remember the next word? "...daily and follow Me." Now Deuteronomy 33:25 has this simple, profound, and enlightening statement, "Your strength will equal your years." It does not say that. It says, "Your strength will equal your days." God distributes strength to us in 24-hour allotments. You have no strength for tomorrow-today, or certainly for next week or next month or next year.

So, you're facing what appears to be, let's say, a mountain right now and you're saying, "I don't know how I'll get all this done!" Or, "I don't know how I'll make it through this crisis? I don't know how I'll cope." And the Lord says to you, "One day at a time. You don't have to take the mountain all at once. Don't try to handle that entire load at one time. Take it as I give it to you in 24-hour chunks."

My wife was very ill with hepatitis. She was in bed for nine months and it was like I lost my right arm - my partner, my strength, my great supporter. And I was Mr. Mom for our three kids as well as running a ministry. It had been about five weeks of trying to be Mom on top of everything else, and I remember my pastor's wife caught me at church and said, "How are you doing five weeks without your wife?" I said, "I didn't do five weeks, I did 35 days. That's the only way I knew to do it."

You know, you'll never have a day where you won't have enough strength. God promised that. You have His word on it. If the Lord sends you a 20-pound day, you'll get 20 pounds of strength. He sends you a 100-pound day, you'll get 100 pounds of strength - 100 pounds of His supernatural resources. But don't try to borrow tomorrow's trouble. You don't have the strength yet. You go thinking about that and worrying about that, and you'll run ahead of your supply lines. You'll have everything you need that day. So live as God designed you to live. Cope as He's equipped you to cope - in 24-hour slices of life.

If you do it one day at a time, you'll make it through this because God's mercies are new every morning.