Ezekiel 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHERE ARE YOU? - September 4, 2024

“When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God” (Genesis 3:8 MSG). They hid from God! We’ve been hiding ever since. We cover ourselves in work or status. God sought them out. “God called to the Man: ‘Where are you?’” (v. 9). This was not a question of geography. This was a question of the heart.

And God began sending message after message, miracle after miracle, mercy after mercy. In heaven’s finest act of love, God became human. When Jesus died on the cross, he died our death, he paid our price, he took our place. He, the sinless, became a sinner so that we, the sinners, could be regarded as sinless. As a result, God will walk with his children in the garden again.

What Happens Next

Ezekiel 25

Acts of Vengeance

1–5  25 God’s Message came to me:

“Son of man, face Ammon and preach against the people: Listen to the Message of God, the Master. This is what God has to say: Because you cheered when my Sanctuary was desecrated and the land of Judah was devastated and the people of Israel were taken into exile, I’m giving you over to the people of the east. They’ll move in and make themselves at home, eating the food right off your tables and drinking your milk. I’ll turn your capital, Rabbah, into pasture for camels and all your villages into corrals for flocks. Then you’ll realize that I am God.

6–7  “God, the Master, says, Because you clapped and cheered, venting all your malicious contempt against the land of Israel, I’ll step in and hand you out as loot—first come, first served. I’ll cross you off the roster of nations. There’ll be nothing left of you. And you’ll realize that I am God.”

8–11  “God, the Master, says: Because Moab said, ‘Look, Judah’s nothing special,’ I’ll lay wide open the flank of Moab by exposing its lovely frontier villages to attack: Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. I’ll lump Moab in with Ammon and give them to the people of the east for the taking. Ammon won’t be heard from again. I’ll punish Moab severely. And they’ll realize that I am God.”

12–14  “God, the Master, says: Because Edom reacted against the people of Judah in spiteful revenge and was so criminally vengeful against them, therefore I, God, the Master, will oppose Edom and kill the lot of them, people and animals both. I’ll waste it—corpses stretched from Teman to Dedan. I’ll use my people Israel to bring my vengeance down on Edom. My wrath will fuel their action. And they’ll realize it’s my vengeance. Decree of God the Master.”

15–17  “God, the Master, says: Because the Philistines were so spitefully vengeful—all those centuries of stored-up malice!—and did their best to destroy Judah, therefore I, God, the Master, will oppose the Philistines and cut down the Cretans and anybody else left along the seacoast. Huge acts of vengeance, massive punishments! When I bring vengeance, they’ll realize that I am God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, September 04, 2024

Today's Scripture

Philippians 3:12-21

Focused on the Goal

12–14  I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

15–16  So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.

17–19  Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.

20–21  But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

Insight

Paul is driven by his urgent passion “to know Christ” (Philippians 3:10). He wants to “know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection” (vv. 10-11). Being transformed to be like the resurrected Christ requires us to pursue that goal with everything we have (vv. 13-14, 17). Yet even as we “press on toward the goal” (v. 14), we know it’s only possible through complete reliance on God, who will one day resurrect believers to finally reflect Christ perfectly (v. 21). By: Monica La Rose

Excelsior!

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 esv

Sometimes surprisingly spiritual messages turn up in unexpected places, like in a comic book, for example. Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of such iconic heroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and many others.

The famously smiling man with sunglasses had a personal catchphrase that he used to sign off in monthly columns in Marvel comics for decades—the word excelsior. In a 2010 tweet, Lee explained its meaning: “ ‘Upward and onward to greater glory!’ That’s what I wish you whenever I finish tweeting! Excelsior!”

I like that. Whether Stan Lee realized it or not, his use of this unusual catchphrase certainly resonates with what Paul wrote in Philippians as he admonished believers to look not behind but ahead—and up: “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:13-14 esv).

We can easily become entangled in regrets or second-guessing past decisions. But in Christ, we’re invited to relinquish regrets and to press upward and onward to God’s greater glory through embracing the forgiveness and purpose He so graciously gives us! Excelsior!  By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

Why do you tend to look forward or backward in your life and in your faith? How can you let go of past mistakes and move forward?

Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiveness. Thank You that You invite me to move forward, upward, and onward for Your glory.

Learn how forgiveness can help you move forward. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, September 04, 2024

His

They were yours; you gave them to me. — John 17:6

A disciple is one in whom the Holy Spirit has forged this realization: “I am not my own.” To say “I am not my own” is to have reached a point of great spiritual nobility. If I am a disciple, I make a sovereign decision to give myself over to Jesus Christ. Then the Holy Spirit comes in to teach me his nature. He teaches me this not so that I’ll hold myself apart from others, like a showroom exhibit of holiness, but in order to make me one with my Lord. Until I am made one with him, he won’t send me out. Jesus Christ waited until after the resurrection to send his disciples to preach the gospel, because only then did the power of the Holy Spirit come upon them, enabling them to perceive who Jesus Christ was and to become one with him.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children . . . such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t say, “Such a person cannot be a good and moral individual.” He says, “Such a person cannot be one over whom I write the word mine.” Any of the relationships Jesus mentions may be a competitive relationship. I may prefer to belong to my father or my mother, to my spouse or to myself. If I do, Jesus says I cannot be his disciple. This doesn’t mean I won’t be saved; it simply means I won’t be his.

“You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Our Lord makes his disciples his own possessions. He becomes responsible for them. The spirit the disciple receives isn’t the spirit of hard work or of doing practical things for Jesus. It’s the spirit of love and devotion, of being a perfect delight to him. The secret of the disciple is “I am entirely his, and he is carrying out his work through me.”

Be entirely his.

Psalms 143-145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”

The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, September 04, 2024

SOMEONE'S BRIDGE TO HEAVEN - #9823

I once spoke for a large youth conference at one of the East Coast's most popular vacation spots: Ocean City, Maryland. The boardwalk, the hotels, the restaurants, the amusements seem to stretch for miles there. My friend told me he'd been coming to Ocean City since the 1970s, when most of what I was seeing wasn't there. Not that many folks used to come to Ocean City at all. I asked my friend what changed that. He said, "Oh, the bridge." The building of what is called the Bay Bridge opened up this beautiful spot to many people who literally had never experienced it before.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Someone's Bridge to Heaven."

It's amazing what a difference a bridge can make - it literally brings people and places together. And for most people, there needs to be a bridge for them to get to the most important destination of all - to get to heaven. For some people you know, you are that bridge.

Actually, Jesus has bridged the grand canyon between a holy God and us sinners by His death for our sins. And most people will not make it to Jesus unless a Christian they know is the bridge they can cross to Jesus. You see, your lost friends can't see Jesus. But they can see you. The question is: "Are you taking them to Him?" If you don't, they may never make it to Him. They may never make it to heaven

Jesus spells out your role as His bridge in our word for today from the Word of God. First, there's God's part in bringing a lost person to Him. "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ." It might be good to put in this verse maybe the name of someone you know who doesn't belong to Jesus as far as you know. "God was reconciling (put their name in there) to Himself in Christ, not counting that person's sins against them. And He has committed to us (put your name in there) the message of reconciliation. We are, therefore, Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us (that's through you). We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." That's 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.

Reconciling. Well, we know what that is; bringing two people together. I think sometimes we make this business we call "witnessing" way too complicated. You don't have to explain all about Christianity, all about Christians, everything the church has ever done, all about the differences between religions. Because it's all about Jesus. He said, "Follow Me." Not my followers, not my religion, not my rules. "Follow Me." I'm glad it's all about Jesus, aren't you?

So His invitation is still the same, "Follow Me." So your assignment as Jesus' ambassador - as Jesus' bridge - is to bring two people together. You take Jesus in one hand, you take that lost person you care about in the other hand and you bring them together - forever. What a beautiful picture! And what a beautiful eternal tribute to the life you lived here. They'll be in heaven with you.

Will you reach out to a person you know who doesn't belong to Jesus yet? There's somebody you know who doesn't know your Jesus. Listen to the Holy Spirit's voice and step up and be their bridge. Would you take them by the hand and walk with them up Skull Hill, and bring them to the bottom of that old rugged cross and let them stand there for a moment and look at what Jesus is doing for them there.

Show them Jesus. Show them His cross, and tell them, "What He's doing on that cross is for you, for every wrong thing you've ever done, and nobody loves you like Jesus does." You are pointing them to the greatest love in the universe, proven at a cross, the greatest power in the universe, proven at an empty tomb.

Listen, our website is there, if you've never begun a relationship with Him, to help you know how to do that. You can go to ANewStory.com.

If that one you know doesn't get to Jesus, they're not going to get to heaven. And they may never get to Jesus without a bridge. That is why God put you there.

Ezekiel 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ENTER JESUS CHRIST - September 3, 2024

After Adam and Eve rebelled, God set in motion a plan of redemption that includes promises, prophets, and miracles. He made a covenant with Abraham. He raised up Joseph in Egypt. He gave courage to David and strength to Esther. But still the people sinned. It would take a perfect man and a perfect sacrifice to overcome it.

Enter Jesus Christ.

Like Adam, Jesus had no earthly father. Like Adam, Jesus was given authority over creation. Like Adam, Jesus was tempted. But unlike Adam, Jesus never sinned. We can thank the apostle Paul for this concise summary found in Romans 5:18 (MSG): “Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!”

What Happens Next

Ezekiel 24

Bring the Pot to a Boil

1–5  24 The Message of God came to me in the ninth year, the tenth month, and the tenth day of the month: “Son of man, write down this date. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. Tell this company of rebels a story:

“ ‘Put on the soup pot.

Fill it with water.

Put chunks of meat into it,

all the choice pieces—loin and brisket.

Pick out the best soup bones

from the best of the sheep in the flock.

Pile wood beneath the pot.

Bring it to a boil

and cook the soup.

6  “ ‘God, the Master, says:

“ ‘Doom to the city of murder,

to the pot thick with scum,

thick with a filth that can’t be scoured.

Empty the pot piece by piece;

don’t bother who gets what.

7–8  “ ‘The blood from murders

has stained the whole city;

Blood runs bold on the street stones,

with no one bothering to wash it off—

Blood out in the open to public view

to provoke my wrath,

to trigger my vengeance.

9–12  “ ‘Therefore, this is what God, the Master, says:

“ ‘Doom to the city of murder!

I, too, will pile on the wood.

Stack the wood high,

light the match,

Cook the meat, spice it well, pour out the broth,

and then burn the bones.

Then I’ll set the empty pot on the coals

and heat it red-hot so the bronze glows,

So the germs are killed

and the corruption is burned off.

But it’s hopeless. It’s too far gone.

The filth is too thick.

13–14  “ ‘Your encrusted filth is your filthy sex. I wanted to clean you up, but you wouldn’t let me. I’ll make no more attempts at cleaning you up until my anger quiets down. I, God, have said it, and I’ll do it. I’m not holding back. I’ve run out of compassion. I’m not changing my mind. You’re getting exactly what’s coming to you. Decree of God, the Master.’ ”

No Tears

15–17  God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, I’m about to take from you the delight of your life—a real blow, I know. But, please, no tears. Keep your grief to yourself. No public mourning. Get dressed as usual and go about your work—none of the usual funeral rituals.”

18  I preached to the people in the morning. That evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I’d been told.

19  The people came to me, saying, “Tell us why you’re acting like this. What does it mean, anyway?”

20–21  So I told them, “God’s Word came to me, saying, ‘Tell the family of Israel, This is what God, the Master, says: I will desecrate my Sanctuary, your proud impregnable fort, the delight of your life, your heart’s desire. The children you left behind will be killed.

22–24  “ ‘Then you’ll do exactly as I’ve done. You’ll perform none of the usual funeral rituals. You’ll get dressed as usual and go about your work. No tears. But your sins will eat away at you from within and you’ll groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be your example. The way he did it is the way you’ll do it.

“ ‘When this happens you’ll recognize that I am God, the Master.’ ”

25–27  “And you, son of man: The day I take away the people’s refuge, their great joy, the delight of their life, what they’ve most longed for, along with all their children—on that very day a survivor will arrive and tell you what happened to the city. You’ll break your silence and start talking again, talking to the survivor. Again, you’ll be an example for them. And they’ll recognize that I am God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, September 03, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 39:4-13

 “Tell me, what’s going on, God?

How long do I have to live?

Give me the bad news!

You’ve kept me on pretty short rations;

my life is string too short to be saved.

Oh! we’re all puffs of air.

Oh! we’re all shadows in a campfire.

Oh! we’re just spit in the wind.

We make our pile, and then we leave it.

7–11  “What am I doing in the meantime, Lord?

Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping

You’ll save me from a rebel life,

save me from the contempt of dunces.

I’ll say no more, I’ll shut my mouth,

since you, Lord, are behind all this.

But I can’t take it much longer.

When you put us through the fire

to purge us from our sin,

our dearest idols go up in smoke.

Are we also nothing but smoke?

12–13  “Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my

cry—open your ears.

Don’t be callous;

just look at these tears of mine.

I’m a stranger here. I don’t know my way—

a migrant like my whole family.

Give me a break, cut me some slack

before it’s too late and I’m out of here.”

Insight

That our life on earth is “fleeting” and “a mere handbreadth” (Psalm 39:4-5) is the consistent reminder of Scripture (see Job 14:1-2; Psalm 144:3-4; James 4:14). In Psalm 90, “Moses, the man of God,” asks God to “teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (v. 12 nlt). David offers the same wisdom: “Show me, Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is” (39:4). The wise know their own end and understand how brief and uncertain life is (vv. 5-6). But their trust and hope is in God (v. 7). By: K. T. Sim

God Hears Us

Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. Psalm 39:12

The first grader called the number for emergency dispatch. The 9-1-1 operator answered. “I need help,” said the boy. “I have to do take-aways.” The operator proceeded to assist, until he heard a woman enter the room and say, “Johnny, what are you doing?” Johnny explained that he couldn’t do his math homework, so he did exactly what his mother had taught him to do when he needed help. He called 9-1-1. To Johnny, his current need qualified as an emergency. To the compassionate listener, helping the young boy with his homework was top priority in that moment.

When the psalmist David needed help, he said, “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is” (Psalm 39:4 nlt). He said, “My hope is in” God (v. 7). So, he pleaded for Him to hear and answer his “cry for help” (v. 12). Then, strangely, he asked God to “look away from” him (v. 13). Though David’s needs remain unspoken, throughout Scripture he declared that God would always be with him, hearing and answering his prayers.

Our confidence in God’s constancy allows us to process our fickle feelings, while affirming there’s no request too big or too small for the unchanging One. He hears us, cares for us, and answers every prayer we utter. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How has God demonstrated His love for you by answering prayers you thought would be too small to bring to Him? Which of your needs seems too big or too small?

Loving God, thank You for hearing and answering every prayer I place in Your hands.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, September 03, 2024

The Waters of Satisfaction Scattered

The three mighty warriors . . . drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord. — 2 Samuel 23:16

Have you recently received something that is like water from the well near Bethlehem? Has God given you love? Friendship? Spiritual blessings? It’s at the peril of your soul’s well-being that you use his gift to satisfy yourself. If you do, you cannot pour it out before the Lord. Remember that you can never sacrifice to God that with which you long to satisfy yourself. Satisfy yourself with one of his blessings and it will corrupt you. Rather, you must do what common sense says is an absurd waste and pour it out.

How am I to pour out before the Lord the love I receive from others? There’s only one way: through the determination of my mind. People may do certain things for me which are humanly impossible to repay, things I could never accept if I didn’t know God. Since I do know him, I am able to accept others’ loving acts because I know that God will repay them—so long as I give the thing back to him in my mind. I do this by saying, “This is too great and worthy for me; it’s not meant for a human being at all. I must pour it out.” The moment I commit something to the Lord, it will begin to flow in rivers of living water all around. If instead I hoard the love others give me, it will turn to poison. Love has to be transfigured by being poured out before the Lord.

Have you become bitter and sour because you have clutched one of God’s blessings for yourself? If instead you had poured it out to him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. God wants to use you to enlarge other people’s horizons. Get into the habit of immediately giving back to him everything he gives to you, and he will make you an immeasurable blessing to others.

Psalms 140-142; 1 Corinthians 14:1-20

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him. 

The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, September 03, 2024

Prayer That Wins Battles - #9822

Back in my old school days, we used to do an experiment in science class. When I told my then teenage sons about this, they were very surprised to find out that there was a science class when I was in school! But there was and we used to dissect the triceratops and the tyrannosauruses.

There was this little experiment we would do for real. Maybe you remember it. There's this little hand crank. You know, sort of a generator. And you'd crank it as fast as you could, and it would make a light bulb slowly light up. If you cranked fast enough, you could get a pretty bright light in that bulb. But as you started to wear out, you slowed down and the bulb started to dim and go out.

That little hand crank method was okay for the limited demands of a light bulb, but, man I'd hate to run my whole house that way, huh. I mean, there's the stove and the microwave, the computers, and the TV. Fortunately all of those are not plugged into some little hand crank system when we're trying to get as much juice out of it as we can. That would make you cranky for sure. We plug into this tremendous current and voltage that flows through our house; into a much bigger source really. Now, it's amazing how many folks are trying to run everything in their life by a hand crank.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Prayer That Wins Battles."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 17; we'll begin at verse 8. "The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.' As long as Moses held up his hands that day, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning."

Now, that's interesting! The difference was made by the leader holding up the staff of God. What's the deal with the staff? Well, it represented and in a sense contained the power and the presence of the Lord. What it really means is given to us after the battle is won and in later verses where it says, "Moses built an altar and called it 'the Lord is my banner.' He said, '...for hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord."

See, Moses standing on that hill holding high God's power, represents a leader interceding for his troops. And when he is, there's victory, and when he isn't, there's defeat. You're probably in a leadership role of some kind; I mean you've got influence in your family, or maybe with a group of friends, or in your church or at work. Your number one responsibility is to hold high the power; to keep the focus on prayer, on intercession as the way to win the battles.

Now, our tendency? Well, it's to trust in hand-cranked power; yeah, the power of planning, committees, money, and the power of good ideas and experts, and how smart we are. But human generators cannot meet all the demands of our complex lives. We need the kind of voltage that only prayer generates. We tend to feel that we're not doing anything when we pray. It may seem like it's kind of passive.

Well, Moses might have said, "Well, you know, I'm not fighting the battle. I'm not doing anything." But intercession determines whether all the other weapons will win or not. Prayer doesn't make a difference; it makes the difference. It's not just a glancing prayer. No, you keep at it relentlessly until that battle is won. You don't stop; you don't give up.

Look, are you leading the people around you to make prayer their first resort; not their last resort? Are you modeling for them, asking big with great faith in a great God? Do you model that prayer is a power lifestyle for your family? Do you model to your family that prayer is your primary method of getting things done? Do you pray with people; not just for them, but with them?

Stand like Moses stood above the fray; interceding, reminding your troops regularly where the voltage comes from, and hold high the power! 

Exodus 32, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

onday, September 1, 2014

Max Lucado Daily: Soaring and Sitting

Perhaps you’ve seen the sight! Tethered to a high-speed boat, the parasail lifts the rope-clinging customer six hundred feet into the air. High above, the passenger hangs on and enjoys the view, letting the boat do the work. What choice does he or she have? To reach such heights, help is needed. To maintain such heights, power is mandated. No person can self-elevate to such a level.

Watching as one of my daughters flew high above on the parasail, I thought, “Isn’t this a picture of grace? Look at her, soaring and sitting.” Those two words seldom appear in the same sentence. Especially religious sentences. We tend to think soaring and working; soaring and striving, soaring and struggling. But soaring and sitting? It happens. It happens when you let the boat do the work. It happens when you let God do the same.

From In the Grip of Grace

Exodus 32
The Golden Calf

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

18 Moses replied:

“It is not the sound of victory,
    it is not the sound of defeat;
    it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 01, 2014

Read: Psalm 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.
Footnotes:

Psalm 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-6 is numbered 13:2-6.

Insight
All believers go through times of frustration due to unanswered prayer. Yet the Scriptures provide hope for this apparent dilemma. Psalm 13 illustrates the release that grows out of praying through a problem. David asks God four times “how long” he must wait to get an answer to prayer (vv.1-2). Eventually he understands that his perspective has not been a divine one. He then asks God to “give light to my eyes” so that he can have the strength to endure opposition (vv.3-4). David redirects his heart to trust in God’s unfailing mercy. The Hebrew word for “mercy” here is hesed, which connotes enduring, unfailing, and gracious care. With a new perspective, David now sings of God’s goodness with petitions of praise (vv.5-6).

I Am Not Forgotten
By Marion Stroud

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. —Psalm 33:20

Waiting is hard at any time; but when days, weeks, or even months pass and our prayers seem to go unanswered, it’s easy to feel God has forgotten us. Perhaps we can struggle through the day with its distractions, but at night it’s doubly difficult to deal with our anxious thoughts. Worries loom large, and the dark hours seem endless. Utter weariness makes it look impossible to face the new day.

The psalmist grew weary as he waited (Ps. 13:1). He felt abandoned—as if his enemies were gaining the upper hand (v.2). When we’re waiting for God to resolve a difficult situation or to answer often-repeated prayers, it’s easy to get discouraged.

Satan whispers that God has forgotten us, and that things will never change. We may be tempted to give in to despair. Why bother to read the Bible or to pray? Why make the effort to worship with fellow believers in Christ? But we need our spiritual lifelines most when we’re waiting. They help to hold us steady in the flow of God’s love and to become sensitive to His Spirit.

The psalmist had a remedy. He focused on all that he knew of God’s love, reminding himself of past blessings and deliberately praising God, who would not forget him. So can we.

Lover of my soul, who draws close
in the darkest and longest night, please
keep me trusting You, talking to You,
and leaning on Your promises.
God is worth waiting for; His time is always best.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 01, 2014

Destined To Be Holy

. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 01, 2014

ONE MORE PERSON AT YOUR HOUSE - #7211

For four years my wife and I did whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. It was the first four years we were married, just the two of us. Now I'm happy to say that neither of us required diapers or formula or having to have an early bedtime. And then along came this precious little bundle, our daughter. Our lives were never the same. Maybe you know that experience.

Now, as child number two, and child number three came along, that ability to do what we wanted when we wanted? Oh, that really diminished. And needs? Our needs didn't matter anymore. No, we had to consider our three children. Oftentimes, when we planned to do something, we were just too tired once we got everything together that they needed. Forget about it, you know?

Well, as the children got a little older, we began to choose things to do that they could do with us. Then their school schedule, of course, became a major factor in our schedule, and their feelings and their opinions became an issue in decisions from vacation to whether we were going to move or not. And we had someone else to shop for; someone else to buy for. Life for our house was a whole new adventure from the day another person joined our family.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "One More Person at Your House."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Chronicles 13:14. It's an inside look at a family that had a very unusual presence in their house. When you hear about the Ark of God in the Old Testament you know that that was the physical container for the presence of God as it were. So it says, "The Ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months. And the Lord blessed his household and everything he had."

You can just imagine the neighbors going, "Did you hear what's going on over at Obed-Edom's house? There's something exciting going on over there." Yeah, the glory of the Lord – the Ark of the Covenant – was in his house. Now the Ark is gone, but the glory is still moving in people's homes.

You see, we're all supposed to live really as Obed-Edom did, with a strong sense of God's personal presence right in our home. What a privilege! It's the great responsibility of a Christian parent to see that our children grow up knowing that Jesus lives at our house.

We had Mom and Dad and three children, and I always hoped that our kids would so feel the reality of Jesus that they would tell you that six people lived at our house. Your kids ought to say there's one more person than they can see living there, because Jesus lives there.

See, too many homes have Jesus as a belief or a list of rules, or someone whose meetings we attend but not a member of the family; the ruling member, the one who casts the deciding vote on family choices. The glory of the Lord fills the house where Jesus is an acknowledged member of the family. So, is He at your house? Do your kids sense the reality of this presence as you talk to Him and as you pray with them?

You know, they'll find out that He's really there when you consult Him often, when you talk about Him in your big things and your little things of your life, when you include Jesus' perspective when you're talking about your bills, or a biology test, or boyfriends, or girlfriends, when you include Him as part of your mealtime conversation, when you continually seek His opinion on things. "Well, what does Jesus think about this?" And maybe you get His Book open to find out.

When you include Jesus in teachable moments and you include His perspective, He becomes real, when you get together to tell Him that you love Him as a family, when you tell Him that you're sorry, maybe in their presence. When you send them off with Him and say, "Have a nice day with Jesus." That's spiritual reality.

My wife and I learned what a difference another person could make when that person entered our family. Well, when that person happens to be the Lord Jesus, He will make all the difference at your house.

1 Peter 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: Soaring and Sitting

Perhaps you’ve seen the sight! Tethered to a high-speed boat, the parasail lifts the rope-clinging customer six hundred feet into the air. High above, the passenger hangs on and enjoys the view, letting the boat do the work. What choice does he or she have? To reach such heights, help is needed. To maintain such heights, power is mandated. No person can self-elevate to such a level.

Watching as one of my daughters flew high above on the parasail, I thought, “Isn’t this a picture of grace? Look at her, soaring and sitting.” Those two words seldom appear in the same sentence. Especially religious sentences. We tend to think soaring and working; soaring and striving, soaring and struggling. But soaring and sitting? It happens. It happens when you let the boat do the work. It happens when you let God do the same.

From In the Grip of Grace

1 Peter 1

I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

3–5  What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

6–7  I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

8–9  You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.

10–12  The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah’s Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A Future in God

13–16  So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

17  You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.

18–21  Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

22–25  Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,

its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;

Grass dries up, flowers droop,

God’s Word goes on and on forever.

This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, September 01, 2024

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 65:17-25

New Heavens and a New Earth

17–25  “Pay close attention now:

I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.

All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain

are things of the past, to be forgotten.

Look ahead with joy.

Anticipate what I’m creating:

I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy,

create my people as pure delight.

I’ll take joy in Jerusalem,

take delight in my people:

No more sounds of weeping in the city,

no cries of anguish;

No more babies dying in the cradle,

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

One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal—

anything less will seem like a cheat.

They’ll build houses

and move in.

They’ll plant fields

and eat what they grow.

No more building a house

that some outsider takes over,

No more planting fields

that some enemy confiscates,

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

my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.

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

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

For they themselves are plantings blessed by God,

with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed.

Before they call out, I’ll answer.

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

Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow,

lion and ox eat straw from the same trough,

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

Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill

anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says God.

Insight

Isaiah shares God’s words when he writes, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth” (65:17). This anticipates Revelation 21:5, where the apostle John says, “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ ” Then John writes, “To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life” (v. 6). This echoes Isaiah 55:1: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” These Scriptures fit together beautifully and point to Christ—the one “seated on the throne” (Revelation 21:5). By: Tim Gustafson

When Believing Is Seeing

The wolf and the lamb will feed together. Isaiah 65:25

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” My wife, Cari, called me to the window and pointed out an adult doe in the woods just outside our fence, bounding from one end of our yard to the other. Keeping pace beside her inside the fence were our large dogs, but they weren’t barking. Back and forth they went, for nearly an hour. When the doe paused and faced them, the dogs stopped also, straightening their front legs and crouching back on their haunches, ready to run again. This wasn’t predator and prey behavior; the doe and the dogs were playing together, enjoying each other’s company!

To Cari and me, their morning romp provided a picture of the coming kingdom of God. The prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s promise of that kingdom with the words, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). He goes on to say that “the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (v. 25). No more predator, no more prey. Just friends.

Isaiah’s words seem to show us that there will be animals in God’s eternal kingdom; they also point to what God is preparing for His creation, especially “for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). What a beautiful place that will be! As we trust in Him by faith, God lifts our eyes to the reality that’s coming: peace and safety in His presence forever! By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

What do you look forward to most about God’s kingdom? Whom can you share your hope with today?

Thank You for everything good that’s coming, loving Father! Please help me look forward to You today.

For further study, read What Is Heaven? What the Bible Says about Eternity.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, September 01, 2024

Destiny of Holiness

Be holy, because I am holy. — 1 Peter 1:16

Continually restate to yourself the purpose of your life: God’s destiny for humanity isn’t happiness or wealth; it’s holiness. His one aim, for all men and women, is to turn us into his sons and daughters. God isn’t an eternal blessing machine, and he didn’t come to save humanity out of pity. He came to save humanity because he created us to be holy. The atonement means that through the death of Jesus Christ, God can put each of us back into perfect union with himself, without a shadow in between.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe God can come into me and make me holy? If a preacher, by preaching the gospel, convinces me that I am unholy, I will resent it. The preaching of the gospel always awakens intense resentment, because it reveals that I am unholy. Yet it also awakens an intense craving: the craving to realize the destiny God has for me.

Today, far too many things are calling to us. Some of these things aren’t inherently bad; they’re good and noble and morally justifiable things. But if they are distracting us from our relationship with God, he will take them away until we get right with him. What matters is that we accept the God who will make us holy. At all costs, we must be rightly related to him.

Never adopt any practice that isn’t in keeping with a holy God. Guard against any sympathy for yourself or for others that causes you to tolerate unholy thoughts or deeds. Holiness means keeping every detail of your life under God’s scrutiny. It means unsullied thinking with the mind, unsullied talking with the tongue, and unsullied walking with the feet. Holiness is not only what God gives; it’s manifesting what God gives: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Psalms 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. 

My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R

Ezekiel 23, bible reading and devotions.

MaxLucado.com: Pigeonholing

Life is so much easier if we can put labels on people!  Pigeonholing permits us to wash our hands and leave.

“Oh I know him—he’s an alcoholic.

“She’s a liberal Democrat.”

“He’s divorced.”

Categorizing others creates distance and gives us a convenient exit strategy for avoiding involvement.  Jesus took an entirely different approach.  He was all about including people.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

Jesus touched lepers and loved foreigners. His Facebook page included the likes of Matthew the IRS agent, and some floozy he met at Simon’s house.  Jesus set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave.  He became human!

Jesus sends this message: Don’t call any person common.  Don’t call any person unfit! Every person matters to God.

From GRACE

Ezekiel 23

Wild with Lust

1–4  23 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. They became whores in Egypt, whores from a young age. Their breasts were fondled, their young bosoms caressed. The older sister was named Oholah, the younger was Oholibah. They were my daughters, and they gave birth to sons and daughters.

“Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5–8  “Oholah started whoring while she was still mine. She lusted after Assyrians as lovers: military men smartly uniformed in blue, ambassadors and governors, good-looking young men mounted on fine horses. Her lust was unrestrained. She was a whore to the Assyrian elite. She compounded her filth with the idols of those to whom she gave herself in lust. She never slowed down. The whoring she began while young in Egypt she continued, sleeping with men who played with her breasts and spent their lust on her.

9–10  “So I left her to her Assyrian lovers, for whom she was so obsessed with lust. They ripped off her clothes, took away her children, and then, the final indignity, killed her. Among women her name became Shame—history’s judgment on her.

11–18  “Her sister Oholibah saw all this, but she became even worse than her sister in lust and whoring, if you can believe it. She also went crazy with lust for Assyrians: ambassadors and governors, military men smartly dressed and mounted on fine horses—the Assyrian elite. And I saw that she also had become incredibly filthy. Both women followed the same path. But Oholibah surpassed her sister. When she saw figures of Babylonians carved in relief on the walls and painted red, fancy belts around their waists, elaborate turbans on their heads, all of them looking important—famous Babylonians!—she went wild with lust and sent invitations to them in Babylon. The Babylonians came on the run, fornicated with her, made her dirty inside and out. When they had thoroughly debased her, she lost interest in them. Then she went public with her fornication. She exhibited her sex to the world.

18–21  “I turned my back on her just as I had on her sister. But that didn’t slow her down. She went at her whoring harder than ever. She remembered when she was young, just starting out as a whore in Egypt. That whetted her appetite for more virile, vulgar, and violent lovers—stallions obsessive in their lust. She longed for the sexual prowess of her youth back in Egypt, where her firm young breasts were caressed and fondled.

22–27  “ ‘Therefore, Oholibah, this is the Message from God, the Master: I will incite your old lovers against you, lovers you got tired of and left in disgust. I’ll bring them against you from every direction, Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all Assyrians—good-looking young men, ambassadors and governors, elite officers and celebrities—all of them mounted on fine, spirited horses. They’ll come down on you out of the north, armed to the teeth, bringing chariots and troops from all sides. I’ll turn over the task of judgment to them. They’ll punish you according to their rules. I’ll stand totally and relentlessly against you as they rip into you furiously. They’ll mutilate you, cutting off your ears and nose, killing at random. They’ll enslave your children—and anybody left over will be burned. They’ll rip off your clothes and steal your jewelry. I’ll put a stop to your sluttish sex, the whoring life you began in Egypt. You won’t look on whoring with fondness anymore. You won’t think back on Egypt with stars in your eyes.

28–30  “ ‘A Message from God, the Master: I’m at the point of abandoning you to those you hate, to those by whom you’re repulsed. They’ll treat you hatefully, leave you publicly naked, your whore’s body exposed in the cruel glare of the sun. Your sluttish lust will be exposed. Your lust has brought you to this condition because you whored with pagan nations and made yourself filthy with their no-god idols.

31–34  “ ‘You copied the life of your sister. Now I’ll let you drink the cup she drank.

“ ‘This is the Message of God, the Master:

“ ‘You’ll drink your sister’s cup,

a cup canyon-deep and ocean-wide.

You’ll be shunned and taunted

as you drink from that cup, full to the brim.

You’ll be falling-down-drunk and the tears will flow

as you drink from that cup titanic with terror:

It’s the cup of your sister Samaria.

You’ll drink it dry,

then smash it to bits and eat the pieces,

and end up tearing at your breasts.

I’ve given the word—

Decree of God, the Master.

35  “ ‘Therefore God, the Master, says, Because you’ve forgotten all about me, pushing me into the background, you now must pay for what you’ve done—pay for your sluttish sex and whoring life.’ ”

36–39  Then God said to me, “Son of man, will you confront Oholah and Oholibah with what they’ve done? Make them face their outrageous obscenities, obscenities ranging from adultery to murder. They committed adultery with their no-god idols, sacrificed the children they bore me in order to feed their idols! And there is also this: They’ve defiled my holy Sanctuary and desecrated my holy Sabbaths. The same day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they walked into my Sanctuary and defiled it. That’s what they did—in my house!

40–42  “Furthermore, they even sent out invitations by special messenger to men far away—and, sure enough, they came. They bathed themselves, put on makeup and provocative lingerie. They reclined on a sumptuous bed, aromatic with incense and oils—my incense and oils! The crowd gathered, jostling and pushing, a drunken rabble. They adorned the sisters with bracelets on their arms and tiaras on their heads.

43–44  “I said, ‘She’s burned out on sex!’ but that didn’t stop them. They kept banging on her doors night and day as men do when they’re after a whore. That’s how they used Oholah and Oholibah, the worn-out whores.

45  “Righteous men will pronounce judgment on them, giving out sentences for adultery and murder. That was their lifework: adultery and murder.”

46–47  “God says, ‘Let a mob loose on them: Terror! Plunder! Let the mob stone them and hack them to pieces—kill all their children, burn down their houses!

48–49  “ ‘I’ll put an end to sluttish sex in this country so that all women will be well warned and not copy you. You’ll pay the price for all your obsessive sex. You’ll pay in full for your promiscuous affairs with idols. And you’ll realize that I am God, the Master.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Today's Scripture

Proverbs 22:1-5

A good name is more desirable than great riches;

to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.n

2 Rich and poor have this in common:

The Lord is the Maker of them all.o

3 The prudent see danger and take refuge,p

but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.q

4 Humility is the fear of the Lord;

its wages are riches and honorr and life.s

5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,t

but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

Insight

The prudent person is contrasted with the simple throughout the book of Proverbs: “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 22:3; 27:12). The prudent refers to a shrewd and wise person. The simple person is the opposite, described consistently as one “who [had/has] no sense” (7:7; 9:4, 16) and is therefore a fool. Proverbs 14:8 and verse 15 describe the simple as one who’s gullible, believes anything, and is easily deceived. In contrast, the prudent person carefully evaluates the situation and guardedly decides how to proceed: “The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence” (14:16 nlt). Therefore, “a prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences” (27:12 nlt). The prudent—in contrast to the simple—avoid the dangers and pitfalls of life (see 7:7-23). By: K. T. Sim

Wise Caring

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Proverbs 22:3

The sight was heartbreaking. A pod of fifty-five pilot whales had stranded themselves on a Scottish beach. Volunteers tried to save them, but ultimately they died. No one knows why mass strandings like this occur, but it could be due to the whales’ strong social bonds. When one gets into trouble, the rest come to help—a caring instinct that can ironically lead to harm.

The Bible clearly calls us to help others, but to also be wise in how we do so. For example, when we help restore someone who’s caught in a sin, we’re to be careful that we’re not dragged into that sin ourselves (Galatians 6:1), and while we’re to love our neighbors, we’re to love ourselves too (Matthew 22:39). Proverbs 22:3 says, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” This is a good reminder when helping others starts harming us.

Some years ago, two very needy people started attending our church. Soon, caring congregants were burning out responding to their cries. The solution wasn’t to turn the couple away but to put boundaries in place so helpers weren’t harmed. Jesus, the ultimate helper, took time for rest (Mark 4:38), and He ensured His disciples' needs weren’t displaced by others’ needs (6:31). Wise caring follows His example. By tending to our own health, we’ll have more care to give in the long term.

By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

How do you recognize your need for rest and refuge? What helps you to serve others over the long term?

Holy Spirit, please empower me to serve others in a healthy, sustainable way.

Learn more about healthy ways to care for another’s soul.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, August 31, 2024

My Joy, Your Joy

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. — John 15:11

What is the joy Jesus mentions here? It isn’t mere happiness; using the word happiness in connection with Jesus Christ is an insult. The joy of Jesus was the joy of surrendering and sacrificing himself to his Father. It was the joy of doing exactly what his Father sent him to do: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). Jesus prayed that our joy might go on fulfilling itself until it was the same joy as his. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce his joy to me?

The fullness of my life lies not in bodily health, not in external events, not in seeing God’s work succeed. It lies in the perfect understanding of God, and in the communion with him that Jesus himself had. The first thing that will upset this communion is the irritation that comes from trying to control my circumstances. The worries of this life, said Jesus, will choke the word of God (Mark 4:19). God’s aim is to get me beyond worry to the place where I will be his witness and proclaim who Jesus is. Everything God has done for me until now is the mere threshold of this deeper relationship with him.

Be rightly related to God, find your joy in him, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. Be a center through which Jesus Christ can pour living water. Stop being self-conscious, stop being smug and self-righteous, and start living the life that is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). The life that is rightly related to God is as natural as breathing. The lives that have been of most blessing to you are those which were unconscious of their influence.

Psalms 132-134; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

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

Ezekiel 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A HELPER FOR ADAM - August 30, 2024

“It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18 NLT). God commissioned Adam to care for the creation. But alone? No companion? No partner? For the first time God used the phrase “It is not good.” Adam exercised his role as overseer and assigned a name to each creature. But the man could find “no helper just right for him” (Genesis 2:20 NLT).

Men, aren’t we glad? What if he’d chosen a warthog as a helper? But God had a special gift for Adam. God put Adam to sleep (thereby forever sanctifying the act of a good nap), extracted a rib from Adam’s side, and created the perfect partner. Eve, like the bone from which she was made, was created to remain closest to Adam’s heart. And life was good.

What Happens Next

Ezekiel 22

The Scarecrow of the Nations

1–5  22 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, are you going to judge this bloody city or not? Come now, are you going to judge her? Do it! Face her with all her outrageous obscenities. Tell her, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: You’re a city murderous at the core, just asking for punishment. You’re a city obsessed with no-god idols, making yourself filthy. In all your killing, you’ve piled up guilt. In all your idol-making, you’ve become filthy. You’ve forced a premature end to your existence. I’ll put you on exhibit as the scarecrow of the nations, the world’s worst joke. From far and near they’ll deride you as infamous in filth, notorious for chaos.

6–12  “ ‘Your leaders, the princes of Israel among you, compete in crime. You’re a community that’s insolent to parents, abusive to outsiders, oppressive against orphans and widows. You treat my holy things with contempt and desecrate my Sabbaths. You have people spreading lies and spilling blood, flocking to the hills to the sex shrines and fornicating unrestrained. Incest is common. Men force themselves on women regardless of whether they’re ready or willing. Sex is now anarchy. Anyone is fair game: neighbor, daughter-in-law, sister. Murder is for hire, usury is rampant, extortion is commonplace.

“ ‘And you’ve forgotten me. Decree of God, the Master.

13–14  “ ‘Now look! I’ve clapped my hands, calling everyone’s attention to your rapacious greed and your bloody brutalities. Can you stick with it? Will you be able to keep at this once I start dealing with you?

14–16  “ ‘I, God, have spoken. I’ll put an end to this. I’ll throw you to the four winds. I’ll scatter you all over the world. I’ll put a full stop to your filthy living. You will be defiled, spattered with your own mud in the eyes of the nations. And you’ll recognize that I am God.’ ”

17–22  God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, the people of Israel are slag to me, the useless byproduct of refined copper, tin, iron, and lead left at the smelter—a worthless slag heap. So tell them, ‘God, the Master, has spoken: Because you’ve all become worthless slag, you’re on notice: I’ll assemble you in Jerusalem. As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace and blow fire on it to melt it down, so in my wrath I’ll gather you and melt you down. I’ll blow on you with the fire of my wrath to melt you down in the furnace. As silver is melted down, you’ll be melted down. That should get through to you. Then you’ll recognize that I, God, have let my wrath loose on you.’ ”

23–25  God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, tell her, ‘You’re a land that during the time I was angry with you got no rain, not so much as a spring shower. The leaders among you became desperate, like roaring, ravaging lions killing indiscriminately. They grabbed and looted, leaving widows in their wake.

26–29  “ ‘Your priests violated my law and desecrated my holy things. They can’t tell the difference between sacred and secular. They tell people there’s no difference between right and wrong. They’re contemptuous of my holy Sabbaths, profaning me by trying to pull me down to their level. Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want. Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, “This is what God, the Master, says …” when God hasn’t said so much as one word. Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice.’

30–31  “I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. So I’ll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they’ve done. Decree of God, the Master.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, August 30, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 4:1-5

Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’ ”

2  So God said, “What’s that in your hand?”

“A staff.”

3  “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!

4–5  God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Insight

We would think that the staff turning into a snake would be convincing to Pharaoh and his court when Moses and Aaron appeared before them. Note that it was Aaron, not Moses, who threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh (Exodus 7:8-10). However, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to replicate this miracle (v. 11). How did they do it? Some scholars say it was through trickery and deceit. Others, however, believe it was through the power of the evil one, the devil. Intriguingly, the apostle Paul notes how “Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses” (2 Timothy 3:8). Although these names aren’t recorded in the Old Testament, they were known to Paul, a highly educated man, through other Near Eastern literature and were likely two of Pharaoh’s magicians. Regardless, Aaron’s staff in the form of a snake devoured the snakes produced by those magicians (Exodus 7:11-12), proving the vast superiority of the one true God. By: Tim Gustafson

What’s in Your Hand?

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. Exodus 4:2

A few years after I received salvation and dedicated my life to God, I felt Him directing me to lay down my journalism career. As I put down my pen and my writing went into hiding, I couldn’t help feeling that one day God would call me to write for His glory. During my years of wandering in my personal wilderness, I was encouraged by the story of Moses and his staff in Exodus 4.

Moses, who was raised in Pharaoh’s palace and had a promising future, fled Egypt and was living in obscurity as a shepherd when God called him. Moses must’ve thought he had nothing to offer God, but he learned that He can use anyone and anything for His glory.

“What is that in your hand?” God asked. “A staff,” Moses replied. God said, “Throw it on the ground” (Exodus 4:2-3). Moses’ ordinary staff became a snake. When he grabbed the snake, God turned it back into the staff (vv. 3-4). This sign was given so the Israelites would “believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you” (v. 5). As Moses threw down his staff and took it back up again, I laid down my career as a journalist in obedience to God. Later, He guided me to pick up my pen again, and now I’m writing for Him.

We don’t need much to be used by God. We can simply serve Him with the talents He’s given us. Not sure where to start? What’s in your hand?  By:  Nancy Gavilanes

Reflect & Pray

How can you use your talents to serve God? How can you use your resources to bless someone today?

Father God, please help me to use my life to honor You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, August 30, 2024

Rightly Related to Him

Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. — Luke 10:20

When the disciples came back from their first mission, they were filled with joy because the spirits had submitted to them. Jesus replied that they should rejoice instead that their “names are written in heaven.” He was telling them, “Don’t rejoice in successful service; rejoice because you are rightly related to me.”

The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in how much you’ve done or in the fact that God has used you. If you are rightly related to Jesus Christ, you won’t be able to measure what God does through you. Jesus will pour rivers of living water through you all the time (John 7:38), and by his mercy he will not let you know what he’s doing.

Once you have been rightly related to God through salvation and sanctification, you can rest assured that wherever you find yourself, you have been put there by God. As long as you keep in the light as God is in the light, you will fulfill his purpose, simply by the way your life reacts to the circumstances around you.

Our tendency is to place the emphasis on service rather than relationship. Beware of people who make usefulness their standard. If usefulness is the measure of our success, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure who ever lived. Consider how our Lord spent his time on earth: for three years all he did was to walk about saying things and healing sick people—a useless life according to every human standard of success and of enterprise.

When we are following the example of our Lord, we know that what counts is the work God does through us, not the work we do for him. The only standard our Lord takes note of in our lives is our relationship to God, which is meant to be the relationship between a Father and his children. Jesus is “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).

Psalms 129-131; 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them.

Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, August 30, 2024

TWO WORDS TO PEACE - #9820

Some people have wall-to-wall carpet. Me? I have a wall-to-wall schedule. Maybe you do too. It was like that even when I had to take my daughter to college years ago. She had just returned from a mission trip to Manila and so had I. We had one day to get her to Chicago for college. Not only did we have to get her to school that day, but on that particular Friday, I had to produce some of these radio programs.

So I had to produce radio, deliver a daughter, I mean everything was perfectly timed. No room for anything to go wrong. And then we landed at O'Hare Airport to learn that there had been nine inches of rain overnight. It closed the airport totally, flooded it closed. O'Hare became Camp O'Hare, an island for a day.

So, here were the five Hutchcrafts in a mountain of moving to college with luggage all around us. Well, my plans said I had to be at that radio studio. Uh... No, apparently I didn't! My plan said my daughter had to be at college that day. Uh... no! In fact, thousands of people, in those days before cell phones, were fighting over telephones there to change their plans. Every one of them probably had to be somewhere that day. No, they didn't! There are lots of days like that.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Two Words to Peace."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from James 4 - I'll begin at verse 13. "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this city or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, make money.'" (Or take your daughter to college, do radio programs.) "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

Now, I have a confession to make. Sometimes I have been bothered by people who would say, "Lord willing," sounding like a cliche in every other sentence. I said that was a confession; I do confess that. You know what? I'm actually beginning to understand the peace-giving power of those two words, "Lord willing."

James says here, "When you make your plans say, 'If the Lord wills, we will.'" See, now, I'm a planner. I want to make every time, space, and every segment of my life count. So I schedule very well, and we should do that. Psalm 90:12 says, "Lord, teach us to number our days aright so we may apply our hearts to wisdom." But in our wall-to-wall schedules, is there any room or God in there? We rule out God's right to reschedule our day, to interrupt, to slow us down, to cancel, and He often does.

I began to realize how much of my own stress I create by not saying, "Lord, here's my list, here's my goal, here's my plan, here's my schedule. Now, Lord, you have every right to change it, and I'll assume if it changes, the changes are from you." There is so much frustration when car trouble wrecks the plan, or illness, or a tragedy you have to respond to, or a flooded airport. But I can avoid so much frustration if I allow the God of heaven to be the Lord of my almighty, untouchable schedule. And I do that with two words, "Lord willing" spoken or unspoken, but consciously recognizing the sovereignty of Almighty God.

You can actually relax if you'll turn over the schedules and the lists of your life to Him. "Lord willing." It is for us stress filled planners a powerful two-word tranquilizer.

2 Timothy 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A STUNNING CREATION - August 29, 2024

“Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7 NLT). Out of the soil of the garden, God shaped Adam’s torso. He rounded the head and formed a nose. The same hand that flung stars in the heavens and scooped the floor for the ocean sculpted the first person.

Then, “He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7 NLT). God exhaled. And Adam inhaled. And Adam had life. But he had more than oxygen in him. He had God’s breath in him. What a sterling, stunning creation he must have been. Unsullied by greed. Uncorrupted by hate. Untainted by guilt. Unacquainted with fear.

That is how we were intended to be. And that is how we will be, when Christ comes again.

What Happens Next

2 Timothy 4

 I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.

3–5  You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.

6–8  You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming.

9–13  Get here as fast as you can. Demas, chasing fads, went off to Thessalonica and left me here. Crescens is in Galatia province, Titus in Dalmatia. Luke is the only one here with me. Bring Mark with you; he’ll be my right-hand man since I’m sending Tychicus to Ephesus. Bring the winter coat I left in Troas with Carpus; also the books and parchment notebooks.

14–15  Watch out for Alexander the coppersmith. Fiercely opposed to our Message, he caused no end of trouble. God will give him what he’s got coming.

16–18  At my preliminary hearing no one stood by me. They all ran like scared rabbits. But it doesn’t matter—the Master stood by me and helped me spread the Message loud and clear to those who had never heard it. I was snatched from the jaws of the lion! God’s looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven. All praise to him, praise forever! Oh, yes!

19–20  Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila; also, the family of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed behind in Corinth. I had to leave Trophimus sick in Miletus.

21  Try hard to get here before winter.

Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all your friends here send greetings.

22  God be with you. Grace be with you.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Today's Scripture

Amos 2:6-16

  God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Israel

—make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.

They buy and sell upstanding people.

People for them are only things—ways of making money.

They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.

They’d sell their own grandmother!

They grind the penniless into the dirt,

shove the luckless into the ditch.

Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—

a sacrilege against my Holy Name.

Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor

is piled up at the shrine of their god,

While they sit around drinking wine

they’ve conned from their victims.

9–11  “In contrast, I was always on your side.

I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,

Amorites with the stature of great cedars,

tough as thick oaks.

I destroyed them from the top branches down.

I destroyed them from the roots up.

And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,

led you safely through the wilderness for forty years

And then handed you the country of the Amorites

like a piece of cake on a platter.

I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,

set aside your best youth for training in holiness.

Isn’t this so, Israel?”

God’s Decree.

12–13  “But you made the youth-in-training break training,

and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’

You’re too much for me.

I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point.

I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded,

creaking and groaning.

14–15  “When I go into action, what will you do?

There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run.

The strength of the strong won’t count.

Fighters won’t make it.

Skilled archers won’t make it.

Fast runners won’t make it.

Chariot drivers won’t make it.

Even the bravest of all your warriors

Won’t make it.

He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.”

God’s Decree.

Insight

Amos was a prophet from Judah sent by God to warn Israel of her sins and impending judgment (Amos 7:12). In chapters 1-2, the prophet proclaims God’s judgment on seven neighboring nations (Judah included) and upon Israel itself to show His sovereignty and impartiality. God would punish Damascus (capital of Aram), Gaza (Philistia), Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab for their cruelty toward His people (1:3-2:3). Judah would be judged for her idolatry (2:4-5). Israel was condemned for her covenantal unfaithfulness: lack of social economic justice (v. 6), perversion of the law and sexual immorality (v. 7), and oppression of the poor and idolatry (v. 8). By: K. T. Sim

God of Justice

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Amos 5:14

As a teenager, Ryan lost his mom to cancer. He found himself homeless and soon dropped out of school. He felt hopeless and often went hungry. Years later, Ryan founded a nonprofit that empowers others, especially young children, to plant, harvest, and prepare their own garden-grown food. The organization is built on the belief that nobody should go without food and that those who have something should care for those who don’t. Ryan’s concern for others resonates with the heart of God for justice and mercy.

God cares deeply about the pain and suffering we face. When He observed terrible injustice in Israel, He sent the prophet Amos to call out their hypocrisy. The people God once rescued from oppression in Egypt were now selling their neighbors into slavery over a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6). They betrayed innocent people, denied justice to the oppressed, and trampled “on the heads” of the poor (vv. 6-7), all while pretending to worship God with offerings and holy days (4:4-5).

“Seek good, not evil, that you may live,” Amos pleaded with the people. “Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is” (5:14). Like Ryan, each of us has experienced enough pain and injustice in life to be able to relate to others and to be of help. The time is ripe to “seek good” and join Him in planting every kind of justice. By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

What injustice do you see others enduring that resonates with your own experience? How might God use you to help them?

God of justice, thank You for not turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering in our world.

For further study, read Did Jesus Care about Justice?.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Sublime Intimacy

Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? — John 11:40

Every time you venture out in the life of faith, you will find something which, from a commonsense standpoint, flatly contradicts your faith. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. They stand in the relation of the natural to the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ when your common sense fails? Can you venture heroically on his words when the facts of your life shout, “It’s a lie”? Up on the mountaintop with God, it’s easy to say, “I believe God can do anything.” But you have to come down from the heights into the valley and meet with facts that laugh ironically at your belief.

Every time my program of belief is clear to my own mind, I will come across something that contradicts it. Let me say to myself, “I believe God will meet all my needs,” then my provisions run dry; I have no idea how they’ll be replenished. Then let me see whether I will go through the trial of faith or whether I will sink back to a lower level.

Faith must be tested. It can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict. What is your faith up against just now? Either the test will prove that your faith is right, or it will kill it. “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me” (Matthew 11:6). The supreme thing is confidence in Jesus. Believe steadfastly in him, and all you come up against will strengthen and develop your faith. There’s continual testing in the life of faith, and the last great test is death.

May God keep us in fighting shape! Faith is indescribable trust in God, trust which never dreams he will not stand by us.

Psalms 126-128; 1 Corinthians 10:19-33

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.

The Place of Help

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, August 29, 2024

SUPERMEN ARE BREAKABLE - #9819

So there have been several Supermen, well, you know, men who have played Superman over the years. From TV to all the movies. The first one was George Reeves, on the TV show many years ago. Some supermen have had tragic lives. George Reeves who played Superman from 1951 to 1958 actually committed suicide after his career had stalled. He was forever typecast as Superman. Then another actor, Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in five films, became paralyzed in 1995 from an equestrian accident where he was thrown from his horse. These actors played the part of a man who was invincible, but "behind the role" was the awful reality.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Supermen Are Breakable"!

Actually, many men have discovered that fact in their own lives. Our half of the human race has been raised to believe that we've got to be super men. The world thinks we've got it together; we feel no pain, we've got it under control. But as a man, you know there's a "real you" behind the part - a wounded warrior; maybe bleeding a lot on the inside; maybe a scared little boy underneath a mask of macho confidence; and you don't have it all under control. Superman, in reality, is breakable or broken.

Our word for today from the Word Of God introduces us to a "Superman" of another time and the dark secret that was beyond all his "Superness." 2 Kings 5:1 - "Now Naaman was commander of the army of the King of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier..." Okay, this guy was a "Superman" of his time, but he had a secret, a dark secret: he was dying of leprosy.

In verse 3, one of his servants said, "If only my master would see the prophet who's in Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy." So Naaman goes for that cure, but it requires humility. He didn't like the cure prescribed: he had to wash in the dirty Jordan River. He says, "Couldn't I wash in one of the streams back home and be cleansed?" It says he went off in a rage!

He was proud, and he was dying from it. Finally, he chose to be well rather than be in charge. In chapter 5, verse 14, it says, "He dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy."

I wonder if God brought us together today because He knows you're a modern day Naaman. He knows the dark spot behind the mask and He wants to cure it. But you first have to accept His diagnosis and His cure. The diagnosis is that you've got terminal spiritual cancer. It's called sin! No matter how religious, no matter how respected you may be, you've broken God's laws and you've run the life that your Creator was supposed to run and your "my way" of living has left you fatally separated from God.

The cure requires humility - the admission that you cannot save yourself - and then a trip, not to a dirty river, but to a dying Savior's cross. There you say, "Jesus, it's my sin You're dying for, isn't it? I need to be forgiven. I need a Savior. I can't be my own savior, I want You as my savior. I belong to You from this day on." The result - the same as it was for Naaman: you're restored, you're clean, you're new! Haven't you run from Jesus or put Him off long enough? Let this be the day you run to Him! Discover in the man Jesus, who walked 33 years as a man. He gets us guys.

When you discover in Him all the love and all the power that has eluded you, all the peace, all the fulfillment, all the worth and the ability to change what you could never change, you discover that when you get to Jesus and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

This could be your day to get started with Him. Will you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." It'll change everything. Go to our website. I think it'll help. It's ANewStory.com.

Superman really is breakable or broken. Don't make that eternally fatal mistake of being so proud you die from it. Your Savior is waiting!