Zechariah 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WE COUNT - October 28, 2024

Value is now measured by two criteria: appearance and performance. Where does that leave the ugly or uneducated? What hope does that offer the unborn child? The aged? The handicapped? Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists. This is man’s value system, but not God’s. His plan is much brighter. In God’s book man is heading somewhere. He has an amazing destiny. We’re being prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Christ. We’re going to live with him, share the throne with him. We count. We’re valuable.

Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for him. If there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: a person is worth something simply because he is a person. That’s why Jesus treated people the way he did. You have value simply because you are! You are His.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 10

God’s Work of Rebuilding

1  10 Pray to God for rain—it’s time for the spring rain—

to God, the rainmaker,

Spring thunderstorm maker,

maker of grain and barley.

2–3  “Store-bought gods babble gibberish.

Religious experts spout rubbish.

They pontificate hot air.

Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke.

And so the people wander like lost sheep,

poor lost sheep without a shepherd.

I’m furious with the so-called shepherds.

They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.”

3–5  God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in

and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.

He’ll revive their spirits,

make them proud to be on God’s side.

God will use them in his work of rebuilding,

use them as foundations and pillars,

Use them as tools and instruments,

use them to oversee his work.

They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one,

their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud,

Courageous and vigorous because God is with them,

undeterred by the world’s thugs.

6–12  “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah;

I’ll save the people of Joseph.

I know their pain and will make them good as new.

They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened.

And why? Because I am their very own God,

I’ll do what needs to be done for them.

The people of Ephraim will be famous,

their lives brimming with joy.

Their children will get in on it, too—

oh, let them feel blessed by God!

I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running.

I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish!

Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth,

they’ll remember me in the faraway places.

They’ll keep the story alive in their children,

and they will come back.

I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west

and round them up from the Assyrian east.

I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead,

back to leafy Lebanon.

Every square foot of land

will be marked by homecoming.

They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves.

Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle.

Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare,

bully Egypt exposed as a fraud.

But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, God-strong!

and they’ll live my way.” God says so!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 28, 2024

Today's Scripture

Genesis 33:1–11

Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.

5  Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: “And who are these with you?”

Jacob said, “The children that God saw fit to bless me with.”

6–7  Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed; then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.

8  Esau then asked, “And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?”

“I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me.”

9  Esau said, “Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself.”

10–11  Jacob said, “Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me. Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough.” Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.

Insight

Jacob and Esau were twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Before their birth, God told Rebekah: “Two nations are in your womb . . . ; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). From Esau’s line sprang the Edomites (36:9), enemies of the Israelites. From Jacob, the younger, sprang the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob convinced Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew (25:29-34) and tricked his father into giving him the firstborn’s blessing that was due to Esau (27:1-29). Although they had a rocky relationship, we read of their reunion and Esau’s forgiveness in today’s text (33:1-9). By: Alyson Kieda

Getting Rid of Baggage

Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. Genesis 33:4

In college, I studied William Shakespeare’s writing for a semester. The class required a giant textbook containing everything Shakespeare had ever written. The book weighed several pounds, and I had to carry it for hours at a time. Lugging that weight around caused my back to hurt, and it eventually broke a metal fastener on my bookbag!

Some things are just too heavy for us to carry. Emotional baggage from past hurt, for example, can weigh us down with bitterness and hatred. But God wants us to have freedom through forgiving people and, when possible, reconciling with them (Colossians 3:13). The deeper the pain, the longer this may take. That’s okay. It took many years for Esau to forgive Jacob for stealing his birthright and blessing (Genesis 27:36).

When the two finally reunited, Esau graciously forgave his brother and even “embraced him” (33:4). Not a word was exchanged before they both burst into tears. Over time, Esau had let go of the anger that made him consider murder (27:41). And all those years gave Jacob the chance to see the magnitude of how he’d harmed his brother. He was humble and respectful throughout the reunion (33:8-11).

In the end, both brothers came to the place where neither required anything from the other (vv. 9, 15). It was enough to forgive and be forgiven and walk away free from the heavy baggage of the past. By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

What types of offenses are hardest for you to forgive? How does forgiving others reflect your relationship with your heavenly Father?

Dear God, please set me free from bitterness and anger.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 28, 2024

Justification by Faith

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! —Roman 5:10

I am not saved by believing; I realize I am saved by believing. Repentance isn’t what saves me; repentance is merely the sign that I realize what God has done in Jesus Christ.

The danger, when it comes to thinking about salvation, lies in identifying the wrong cause. I imagine that the cause of my being right with God is my own obedience. Never! I am put right with God because prior to everything—prior to all my beliefs, actions, and experiences—Christ died.

When I turn to God and, by belief, accept his revelation, the amazing atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me instantly into a right relationship with God. By the supernatural miracle of his grace, I stand justified—not because I’m sorry for my sins, not because I’ve repented, but because of what Jesus Christ has done. The Spirit of God brings this to my awareness with a dawning, allover light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.

The fact that I don’t understand logically how I’m saved is beside the point. Salvation doesn’t follow human logic. Salvation is based on the sacrificial death of Jesus. Only through his atonement can we be born again; only through the marvelous work of God in Jesus Christ can sinful men and women be changed into new creatures.

Praise God that the total, impregnable safety of salvation and sanctification lies not in us but in God himself. There’s nothing we have to do to bring it about, nothing we can do. Our salvation and sanctification have been worked out by the atonement, the miracle by which the supernatural becomes natural. They have been worked out long ago and for all time: “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Jeremiah 15-17; 2 Timothy 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them.

The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 28, 2024

Checking With God - #9861

My wife hit her 40th birthday without the trauma you're supposed to have - very well-adjusted lady. No big deal - 40th birthday. And then a couple of months later our oldest son, who was then 12 said, "Hey, Mom, you know you've been alive for 14,662 days?" Well, that's a different matter. Actually, life really isn't years; it is days. All the little choices, experiences, hurts, happiness's of each 24-hour period, isn't that what makes the years?

That's really true when it comes to parenting children. Their lives unfold in these 24-hour episodes. They're shaped by their days. I know our own kids' lives were filled with daily developments as they were growing up. Academic developments, frustrations, changes in friends, it seemed like there were soap operas that were changing daily. Questions, remarks! If I missed many days, well I'll never catch up with what I missed. See, it was tough when I traveled, so I was thankful for well, like phones and emails. When I was away, I would contact home frequently and get those important updates of what happened in that 24-hour period. I got out of step with my wife and children if I didn't stay in frequent contact. You just can't afford to be out of touch for very long in any relationship.

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

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 5 - I'm going to begin at verse 16. "The news about Jesus spread all the more so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Underscore these words, "...the crowds came, but Jesus withdrew." See, when you're besieged, when you're pressured, your only hope of staying on course is regular time out to touch God. Jesus knew that. He made frequent calls home.

There's a lot to learn from these simple few words we just read. First it says often. See, you've got to take many time-outs during the day. Not necessarily going in a room all by yourself; not necessarily stopping everything and saying, "Wait a minute, I've got to take an hour off." Just even a momentary, spiritual time-out many times during the day. You make too many choices in a day - there are too many needs.

And then it says, "He withdrew" and I get the feeling you have to tear yourself away from the urgent demands. He had people all around Him at that point and they all needed Him. But you know, the time out might only be brief, but it's a quick moment in the middle of the battle to focus on your Father; to spiritually and mentally withdraw from every voice but one voice. And then it says He often withdrew "alone." We spend a lot of time listening to God's voice in Bible studies, and church, and group settings. But the key is time alone when there's no other voice. And then it says, "He prayed." He didn't get alone to plan, to listen to the radio, or listen to music. It was time to touch God.

Frankly, I've gone too many days where God and I consulted at the beginning and at the end, but not near enough in the heat of the battle. So many times a day we need deployment, or courage, or help with our priorities. We need an answer.

The greater your responsibilities, the more often you need to check with God even when it seems like you have less time than ever to do it. The daily rush? Well, it can quickly push you right out of the mainstream of the will of God. But take it from a Dad who's traveled.

You can't afford to be out of touch for long. So, make frequent calls home.

Zechariah 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: No Easy Solutions

Life turns every person upside down.  No one escapes unscathed. Not the woman who discovers her husband is in an affair. Not the teenager who discovers a night of romance has resulted in a surprise pregnancy.

We'd be foolish to think we're invulnerable. But we'd be just as foolish to think evil wins the day. The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith; God recycles evil into righteousness.

I don't have an easy solution or magic wand.  But I have found something-or Someone-far better.  God Himself. When God gets in the middle of life, evil becomes good. Trust God. No, really trust Him! He will get you through this. Will it be easy or quick?  I hope so.  But it seldom is. Yet God will make good out of this mess. That's His job.

From You'll Get Through This

Zechariah 9

The Whole World Has Its Eyes on God

1–6  9 War Bulletin:

God’s Message challenges the country of Hadrach.

It will settle on Damascus.

The whole world has its eyes on God.

Israel isn’t the only one.

That includes Hamath at the border,

and Tyre and Sidon, clever as they think they are.

Tyre has put together quite a kingdom for herself;

she has stacked up silver like cordwood,

piled gold high as haystacks.

But God will certainly bankrupt her;

he will dump all that wealth into the ocean

and burn up what’s left in a big fire.

Ashkelon will see it and panic,

Gaza will wring its hands,

Ekron will face a dead end.

Gaza’s king will die.

Ashkelon will be emptied out,

And a villain will take over in Ashdod.

6–8  “I’ll take proud Philistia down a peg:

I’ll make him spit out his bloody booty

and abandon his vile ways.”

What’s left will be all God’s—a core of survivors,

a family brought together in Judah—

But enemies like Ekron will go the way of the Jebusites,

into the dustbin of history.

“I will set up camp in my home country

and defend it against invaders.

Nobody is going to hurt my people ever again.

I’m keeping my eye on them.

A Humble King Riding a Donkey

9–10  “Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!

Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem!

Your king is coming!

a good king who makes all things right,

a humble king riding a donkey,

a mere colt of a donkey.

I’ve had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim,

no more war horses in Jerusalem,

no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.

He will offer peace to the nations,

a peaceful rule worldwide,

from the four winds to the seven seas.

11–13  “And you, because of my blood covenant with you,

I’ll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells.

Come home, hope-filled prisoners!

This very day I’m declaring a double bonus—

everything you lost returned twice-over!

Judah is now my weapon, the bow I’ll pull,

setting Ephraim as an arrow to the string.

I’ll wake up your sons, O Zion,

to counter your sons, O Greece.

From now on

people are my swords.”

14–17  Then God will come into view,

his arrows flashing like lightning!

Master God will blast his trumpet

and set out in a whirlwind.

God-of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them—

all-out war,

The war to end all wars,

no holds barred.

Their God will save the day. He’ll rescue them.

They’ll become like sheep, gentle and soft,

Or like gemstones in a crown,

catching all the colors of the sun.

Then how they’ll shine! shimmer! glow!

the young men robust, the young women lovely!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 3:1-9

Born from Above

1–2  3 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we all know you’re a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren’t in on it.”

3  Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.”

4  “How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”

5–6  Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.

7–8  “So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”

9  Nicodemus asked, “What do you mean by this? How does this happen?”

Insight

Jesus told Nicodemus, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Christ’s claim that a person needs to be born “again” confused Nicodemus: “How can someone be born when they are old?” (v. 4). The Greek word anothen, translated “again” (vv. 3, 7), has several meanings and can indicate either time or location. It can mean “from above” (heaven), “from the beginning,” “for a long time,” or “again.” Both “you must be born again” (niv) or “you must be born from above” (nrsv) are accurate translations of verse 7. Christ is telling Nicodemus that to enter heaven, a person must be made new. We can’t do this through our own efforts but only through the Spirit (v. 8). 

By: J.R. Hudberg

Born Again?

Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 

John 3:5

“Born again? What does that mean?” asked the funeral director. “I’ve never heard of that term before.” Grasping the opportunity, the son of the deceased father explained what it meant through the words of John chapter 3.

“It comes down to the fact that we are all born once into this world,” he said. “God doesn’t have a magic scale where He weighs our good deeds against the bad. God requires us to be born of the Spirit,” he continued. “That’s why Jesus died on the cross—He paid for our sins and made it possible for us to possess eternal life with Him. We can’t make it on our own.”

In John 3, Nicodemus began to doubt if he truly had it all figured out. A trained teacher in the Scriptures (v. 1), he recognized that Jesus was different and that His teaching had authority (v. 2). He wanted to find out for himself, so he approached Christ one night to get the matter settled. Nicodemus must have accepted Jesus’ statement “You must be born again” (v. 7) and believed, because he helped prepare the Savior’s body for burial after He was crucified (19:39).

The funeral director agreed to go home and read the third chapter of John’s gospel. Like the son who talked with the director, let’s take Jesus’ words to heart and share them with others as He helps us. By:  Brent Hackett

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean for you to be born again? How can you share what it means with others?

Dear Father, thank You for allowing me to be born again. May Your Spirit move in the hearts of those to whom I share the need to be born again.

Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, October 27, 2024

The Method of Missions

Go and make disciples of all nations. —Matthew 28:19

Jesus didn’t tell his disciples, “Go and save souls”; salvation is the sovereign work of God. He said, “Go and make disciples.” But you can’t make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself—that is, unless you are rightly related to Jesus Christ.

When the disciples came back from their first mission, they were filled with joy at what they’d been able to do: “Lord, even the demons submit to us” (Luke 10:17). Jesus replied, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v. 20). He was saying, “Do not rejoice in successful service. The great secret of joy is that you are rightly related to me.”

We have to keep this secret at the forefront of our minds, so that we may remain true to the call of God. God calls his missionaries to a single purpose: discipling men and women to Jesus Christ. If we aren’t rightly related to our Lord, we risk losing focus and giving in to a passion for winning souls that doesn’t spring from God but from the desire to make converts to our point of view.

The challenge the missionary faces isn’t that people are difficult to save or that the world is full of indifference. The missionary’s challenge lies in maintaining a relationship with Jesus Christ; it lies in believing that what he said is true. In every case we encounter as missionaries, our Lord asks us: “Do you believe I am able to do this?” In turn, we have to ask ourselves: “Am I wise enough in God’s sight, and foolish enough in the world’s sight, to bank on what Christ has said, or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of boundless confidence in him?” If I take up any method other than acting in total confidence on what Jesus Christ has said, I depart from the method he set down: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go” (Matthew 28:18–19).

Jeremiah 12-14; 2 Timothy 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Not Knowing Whither, 867 L

Jude 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Heaven’s Throne Room

You sleep alone in a double bed. You walk the hallways of a silent house. You catch yourself calling out his name or reaching for her hand. Good-bye is the challenge of your life! To get through this is to get through this raging loneliness, this strength-draining grief.  Just the separation has exhausted your spirit. You feel quarantined, isolated.

May I give you some hope?  If heaven’s throne room has a calendar, one day is circled in red and highlighted in yellow. The Bible says that the The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder!  God’s trumpet blast! He will come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then the rest of us who are still alive will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. (I Thessalonians 4:15-17).

Oh, what a day that will be! We’ll be walking on air! And there will be one huge family reunion. I leave you with this reminder: You will get through this!

From You’ll Get Through This

Jude 1

 I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Today's Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not hand-made—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

6–8  That’s why we live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.

9–10  But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we’ll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what’s coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad.

Insight

During the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples He was leaving soon. But He assured them they’d be with Him again in heaven (John 14:1-4). He was going there to prepare a place for them in His “Father’s house” (v. 2), where they’d live eternally with Him (2 Corinthians 5:1). In that glorious place “there will be no more night. [We] will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give [us] light” (Revelation 22:5). And “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:4). We’ll be with Christ and all “whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (v. 27). By: Alyson Kieda

Hope in God

Our goal [is] to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 2 Corinthians 5:9

Jeremy didn’t realize what he was getting into when he arrived at the university for his three-year course and asked for the cheapest dorm room available. “It was awful,” he recounted. “The room and its bathroom were terrible.” But he had little money and little choice. “All I could do,” he said, “was think, I have a nice home to go back to in three years’ time, so I’ll stick with this and make the most of my time here.”

Jeremy’s story mirrors the everyday challenges of living in an “earthly tent”—a human body that will die (2 Corinthians 5:1), operating in a world that is passing away (1 John 2:17). Thus we “groan and are burdened” (2 Corinthians 5:4) as we struggle to cope with the many difficulties life throws at us.

What keeps us going is the certain hope that one day we’ll have an immortal, resurrected body—a “heavenly dwelling” (v. 4)—and be living in a world free of its present groaning and frustration (Romans 8:19-22). This hope enables us to make the most of this present life God has lovingly provided. He’ll also help us to use the resources and talents He’s given us, so we can serve Him and others. And that’s why “we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it” (2 Corinthians 5:9).  By:  Leslie Koh

Reflect & Pray

How can you start each day reminding yourself of the hope you have because of God? How can you encourage others with this hope?

Father, I look forward to being with You in Your heavenly home. Thank You for the promise and strength this hope gives me each day.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, October 26, 2024

What Is a Missionary?

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. —John 20:21

A missionary is one sent by Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ was sent by God. A missionary’s purpose isn’t serving the needs of humanity; it’s obeying the command of Jesus: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

The inspiration for the missionary’s work lies behind, not before. Today, the tendency is to put the inspiration out front; we look forward to our own success. In the New Testament, the inspiration for doing God’s work is found in Jesus Christ, in what he has already accomplished. The missionary’s ideal is to be true to the Lord and to carry out his enterprises.

Personal attachment to Jesus and his point of view is the one thing that must not be overlooked in the missionary’s work. The great danger is in getting so wrapped up in people’s needs that our sympathy drowns out God’s call and overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. Humanity’s needs are so enormous, and the conditions of human life so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails when confronted with them. It’s easy to forget that the great reason for the missionary enterprise isn’t educating people or meeting their needs but first and foremost obeying the command of Jesus Christ.

When looking back on the lives of missionaries who seem to have risen to every challenge and perplexity, we have the tendency to say, “What wonderful wisdom they had! How perfectly they understood what God wanted!” It wasn’t human wisdom at all; the astute mind behind what they did was the mind of God. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to divine guidance. If any man or woman seems to possess divine wisdom, it’s because they were childlike and simple enough to trust the supernatural guidance of God.

Jeremiah 9-11; 1 Timothy 6

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

Zechariah 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOU HAVE A CHOICE - October 25, 2024

Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you’ve seen raw evil, and now you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?

Healthy bodies, sharp minds, but retired dreams. Back and forth they rock in the chair of regret. Lean closely and you’ll hear them. If only I’d been born somewhere else… If only I’d been treated fairly… If only I’d had more opportunities… 

Put down the scrapbook of your life and pick up the Bible. Read Jesus’ words in John 3:6 (NCV): “Human life comes from human parents but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. You have a choice in the path you take. Choose well!

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 8

Rebuilding the Temple

1–2  8 And then these Messages from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“I am zealous for Zion—I care!

I’m angry about Zion—I’m involved!”

God’s Message:

3  “I’ve come back to Zion,

I’ve moved back to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem’s new names will be Truth City,

and Mountain of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

and Mount Holiness.”

4–5  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Old men and old women will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in.”

6  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Do the problems of returning and rebuilding by just a few survivors seem too much? But is anything too much for me? Not if I have my say.”

7–8  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“I’ll collect my people from countries to the east and countries to the west. I’ll bring them back and move them into Jerusalem. They’ll be my people and I’ll be their God. I’ll stick with them and do right by them.”

9–10  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Get a grip on things. Hold tight, you who are listening to what I say through the preaching of the prophets. The Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies has been reestablished. The Temple is being rebuilt. We’ve come through a hard time: You worked for a pittance and were lucky to get that; the streets were dangerous; you could never let down your guard; I had turned the world into an armed camp.

11–12  “But things have changed. I’m taking the side of my core of surviving people:

Sowing and harvesting will resume,

Vines will grow grapes,

Gardens will flourish,

Dew and rain will make everything green.

12–13  “My core survivors will get everything they need—and more. You’ve gotten a reputation as a bad-news people, you people of Judah and Israel, but I’m coming to save you. From now on, you’re the good-news people. Don’t be afraid. Keep a firm grip on what I’m doing.”

Keep Your Lives Simple and Honest

14–17  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“In the same way that I decided to punish you when your ancestors made me angry, and didn’t pull my punches, at this time I’ve decided to bless Jerusalem and the country of Judah. Don’t be afraid. And now here’s what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don’t cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don’t do or say what isn’t so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest.” Decree of God.

18–19  Again I received a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“The days of mourning set for the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be turned into days of feasting for Judah—celebration and holiday. Embrace truth! Love peace!”

20–21  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“People and their leaders will come from all over to see what’s going on. The leaders will confer with one another: ‘Shouldn’t we try to get in on this? Get in on God’s blessings? Pray to God-of-the-Angel-Armies? What’s keeping us? Let’s go!’

22  “Lots of people, powerful nations—they’ll come to Jerusalem looking for what they can get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, looking to get a blessing from God.”

23  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“At that time, ten men speaking a variety of languages will grab the sleeve of one Jew, hold tight, and say, ‘Let us go with you. We’ve heard that God is with you.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, October 25, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jonah 2:1-10

At the Bottom of the Sea

1–9  2 Then Jonah prayed to his God from the belly of the fish.

He prayed:

“In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God.

He answered me.

From the belly of the grave I cried, ‘Help!’

You heard my cry.

You threw me into ocean’s depths,

into a watery grave,

With ocean waves, ocean breakers

crashing over me.

I said, ‘I’ve been thrown away,

thrown out, out of your sight.

I’ll never again lay eyes

on your Holy Temple.’

Ocean gripped me by the throat.

The ancient Abyss grabbed me and held tight.

My head was all tangled in seaweed

at the bottom of the sea where the mountains take root.

I was as far down as a body can go,

and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—

Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive,

O God, my God!

When my life was slipping away,

I remembered God,

And my prayer got through to you,

made it all the way to your Holy Temple.

Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,

walk away from their only true love.

But I’m worshiping you, God,

calling out in thanksgiving!

And I’ll do what I promised I’d do!

Salvation belongs to God!”

10  Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore.

Insight

God’s pursuit of Jonah is remarkable because at first, everything and everyone obeyed God except the prophet Jonah! In chapter 1, the wind (v. 4), the tempest (v. 15), and the pagan sailors (vv. 12-15) obey God, as does the great fish (v. 17). In chapter 2, the fish still obeys (v. 10), and in chapter 3, the pagan population of Nineveh obey God in repentant faith (v. 5). In chapter 4, the wind and the worm obey Him (vv. 7-8). God pursued Jonah every step of the way, and when the second call came, the prophet himself finally obeyed (3:1-3). By: Bill Crowder

Running from God

From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. Jonah 2:2

Julie and Liz kayaked off the coast of California, scouting for humpback whales. Humpbacks are known for being active near the surface, making them easy to spot. The two women got the surprise of their lives when one surfaced directly underneath them. An onlooker caught footage of their encounter that showed the large mouth of the whale dwarfing the women and their kayaks. After briefly going underwater, the women escaped unharmed.

Their experience offers perspective on the biblical account of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a “huge fish” (Jonah 1:17). God had instructed him to preach to the Ninevites, but because they’d rejected God, Jonah didn’t feel they were worthy of His forgiveness. Instead of obeying, he ran away and took passage on a ship. God sent a dangerous storm, and he was thrown overboard.

God provided a way to preserve Jonah from certain death on the high seas, sparing him the far-worse consequences of his actions. Jonah “called to the Lord” and God listened (2:2). After Jonah admitted his wrongdoing and expressed his praise and acknowledgment of God’s goodness, he was—at His command—expelled from the fish “onto dry land” (v. 10).

By God’s grace, when we acknowledge our sin and express faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, we’re spared the spiritual death we deserve and experience new life through Him. By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

When have you “run away” from God? How have you experienced new life through Jesus?

Dear God, I acknowledge my sin and thank You for providing for me a new life through Jesus.

Hear the story of Jonah, who ran away from the Lord

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, October 25, 2024

All Things to All People

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. — 1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker must learn how to be God’s noble man or woman amid a crowd of ignoble things. Never make this plea: “If only I were somewhere else, then I would be noble.” You can be noble now, no matter the setting, no matter the limits of your natural abilities. All God’s workers are ordinary people, made extraordinary by what he has put into them.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you” (John 15:16). If you ever begin to doubt that you’re up to the task God has set for you, remember that it isn’t your own choice that has made you his worker. It isn’t that you’ve got hold of God, but that he has got hold of you. Keep this note of greatness in your creed. God is at work in you even now, bending, breaking, molding, doing just as he chooses. Why? For one purpose: that he will be able to say, “This is my man; this is my woman.”

We have to be in God’s hand so that he can plant others on the rock as he has planted us. Many people do deliberately choose to be God’s workers, but they have nothing in them of God’s mighty grace, nothing of his mighty word. Unless we have the right things in our minds intellectually and the right things in our hearts affectionately, we will be useless to God. Paul had the right things in his heart and mind and soul; he was entirely taken up with what Jesus Christ came to do. We, too, must focus on this one central fact: “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Never choose to be God’s worker, but never turn away when God’s call comes. He will do with you what he never did with you before. He will do something unique, something he isn’t doing with other people. Let him have his way.

Jeremiah 6-8; 1 Timothy 5

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.

So Send I You

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, October 25, 2024

The Spiritual Cure You Can Die From - #9860

I've really got to think of a better response when people tell me they have a headache and I say, "You know, pain always attacks at the weakest point." They really don't find that helpful. Actually, we all have our favorite headache remedy - one or two of this pill or that and we wait for the relief as those pills race through our system. I know they do. I saw it on a commercial once.

There was this twisted act of individual terrorism that happened back in 1982 when relief was turned into tragedy. Someone managed to put poison in some pain relief capsules and there were a series of sudden deaths. The victims had taken this brand of pain reliever. I remember reading about a flight attendant in particular who arrived home after a trip with a serious headache. She reached for a couple pain relief capsules. I'm sure she thought they would make her feel better soon. Instead, she died from them.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Spiritual Cure You Can Die From."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 14:12. It is one of the most sobering, unsettling statements in the Bible. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." God's trying to warn us here that we can be on a spiritual road that feels right, that we really believe will give us what we've been hoping for, but it will lead us to death.

In 1997, just before Good Friday, America was stunned by the mass suicide of 39 members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult. Then we saw some of the video testimonials made by those people just before they took their own lives. They talked about how at peace they were, how happy to be taking this next step - suicide. And we learned that these were not some religious freaks; they were bright, competent people. They believed very sincerely that they were graduating to something better.

But listen to Jesus, the Son of God. He says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved" (John 10:9). And it is Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." If you're counting on anything or anyone other than Jesus to get you to heaven, you're not going to make it. Sincerity doesn't make what you believe in right. That flight attendant sincerely believed that pain reliever would help her. Peaceful feelings don't validate what you're counting on either. The people who died from those poisoned capsules were expecting relief. Instead they died.

Our hearts are incurably spiritual. We need a spiritual answer, and we know it. We're looking for something bigger than ourselves, something that can give us significance, that can conquer the darkness inside of us; that can take us to something better someday. Ultimately, we are looking for a savior who can make us what we could never otherwise be and take us to a heaven we could never otherwise go to.

And there is only one Savior. There's only one person who died the death penalty for the sinning you and I have done, and that is Jesus Christ on the cross. And no belief, no religion, even if it's all about Jesus, can get you to heaven when you die. Only the Savior can do that. You may be on a beautiful spiritual road that looks right and feels right. But like pain relievers that contained poison it may lead you to death.

But Jesus is reaching out to you right now, "the way, the truth, and the life" man. He's urging you to put all your faith in Him; to make the Savior your Savior. Shouldn't that be today? Why would you risk another day without Him? Today you can say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

The information you need to be sure you belong to Him is right at our website. Just go to ANewStory.com.

Jesus died so you don't have to. Don't risk depending on a remedy that cannot cure sin, because only the Savior who died for that sin can do that. He is what your heart's been longing for your whole life.

Zechariah 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S GALLERY OF GRACE - October 24, 2024

Grace defines you! Society labels you like a can on an assembly line: stupid, unproductive. But as grace infiltrates, criticism disintegrates. You know you aren’t who they say you are. You are who God says you are: spiritually alive, heavenly positioned, seated with him in the heavenly realms, one with Jesus Christ!

Of course, not all labels are negative. Some people regard you as clever, successful. But it doesn’t compare with being seated with him in the heavenly realms! You see, God creates the Christian’s resume. Grace defines who you are. The parent you can’t please is just as mistaken as the doting uncle you can’t disappoint. People hold no clout. Only God does.

Listen, God wrote your story. He cast you in his drama. You hang as God’s work of art, a testimony in his gallery of grace. According to him, you are his. Period.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 7

“You’re Interested in Religion, I’m Interested in People”

1  7 On the fourth day of the ninth month, in the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, God’s Message again came to Zechariah.

2–3  The town of Bethel had sent a delegation headed by Sarezer and Regem-Melech to pray for God’s blessing and to confer with the priests of the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and also with the prophets. They posed this question: “Should we plan for a day of mourning and abstinence next August, the seventieth anniversary of Jerusalem’s fall, as we have been doing all these years?”

4–6  God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave me this Message for them, for all the people and for the priests: “When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy years, were you doing it for me? And when you held feasts, was that for me? Hardly. You’re interested in religion, I’m interested in people.

7–10  “There’s nothing new to say on the subject. Don’t you still have the message of the earlier prophets from the time when Jerusalem was still a thriving, bustling city and the outlying countryside, the Negev and Shephelah, was populated? [This is the message that God gave Zechariah.] Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now:

“ ‘Treat one another justly.

Love your neighbors.

Be compassionate with each other.

Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.

Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’

11–13  “But did your ancestors listen? No, they set their jaws in defiance. They shut their ears. They steeled themselves against God’s revelation and the Spirit-filled sermons preached by the earlier prophets by order of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. And God became angry, really angry, because he told them everything plainly and they wouldn’t listen to a word he said.

13–14  “So [this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said] if they won’t listen to me, I won’t listen to them. I scattered them to the four winds. They ended up strangers wherever they were. Their ‘promised land’ became a vacant lot—weeds and tin cans and thistles. Not a sign of life. They turned a dreamland into a wasteland.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 58:3-9

But they also complain,

‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?

Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’

3–5  “Well, here’s why:

“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.

You drive your employees much too hard.

You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.

You fast, but you swing a mean fist.

The kind of fasting you do

won’t get your prayers off the ground.

Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:

a day to show off humility?

To put on a pious long face

and parade around solemnly in black?

Do you call that fasting,

a fast day that I, God, would like?

6–9  “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:

to break the chains of injustice,

get rid of exploitation in the workplace,

free the oppressed,

cancel debts.

What I’m interested in seeing you do is:

sharing your food with the hungry,

inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on,

and your lives will turn around at once.

Your righteousness will pave your way.

The God of glory will secure your passage.

Then when you pray, God will answer.

You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

9–12  “If you get rid of unfair practices,

quit blaming victims,

quit gossiping about other people’s sins,

Insight

In calling out ancient Israel’s sin, Isaiah is told: “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet” (58:1). The word translated “trumpet” refers to a musical instrument made from a ram’s horn, which was used to call entire communities to hear urgent announcements. The nation had turned their religious activities into a way of serving themselves and hoping to gain personal benefit from God, even while exploiting those with less power than them (vv. 3-4). This was a failure so serious, it should be exposed with a trumpet call. To serve God faithfully, the prophet proclaimed, required them to “loose the chains of injustice” (v. 6). Failing to do so was “rebellion” (v. 1). By: Monica La Rose

Food for the Hungry

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter? Isaiah 58:7

For years, the Horn of Africa has suffered from a brutal drought that has devastated crops, killed livestock, and imperiled millions. Among the most vulnerable—like the people at Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp who’ve fled from wars and oppression—it’s even more dire. A recent report described a young mother bringing her baby to camp officials. The infant suffered from severe malnutrition, leaving “her hair and skin . . . dry and brittle.” She wouldn’t smile and wouldn’t eat. Her tiny body was shutting down. Specialists immediately intervened. Thankfully, even though the needs are still great, an infrastructure has been built to provide immediate, life-or-death necessities.

These desperate places are exactly where God’s people are called to shine His light and love (Isaiah 58:8). When people are starving, sick, or threatened, God summons His people to be the first to provide food, medicine, and safety—all in Jesus’ name. Isaiah rebuked ancient Israel for thinking they were being faithful with their fasting and prayers while ignoring the actual compassionate work the crisis required: sharing “food with the hungry,” providing “the poor wanderer with shelter,” and clothing “the naked” (v. 7).

God desires for the hungry to be fed—both physically and spiritually. And He works in and through us as He meets the need. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What kinds of hunger do you see around you? Where is God inviting you to offer help?

Dear God, please help me be part of how You bring food, love, and comfort to those who are hungry and in distress.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, October 24, 2024

The Viewpoint

Thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession. — 2 Corinthians 2:14

For God’s workers, the viewpoint we have to maintain isn’t one that comes near the highest. It is the highest—the viewpoint of God himself. God’s viewpoint, according to Paul, is that we are here for a single purpose: to be “captives in Christ’s triumphal procession.”

Be careful to maintain God’s viewpoint rigorously, every day, minute by minute. Don’t think on the finite. God’s viewpoint is infinite and inviolable; no outside power can touch it. How small are other points of view in comparison! They always place the wrong thing at the center: “I am standing alone, battling for Jesus,” we say. Or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold this fort for him.” Paul knows who comes first. He says that he is in the procession of a conqueror, and that it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are. He knows that he is always led in triumph.

Is this idea being worked out practically in your life? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him—a red-handed rebel against Jesus Christ—and turned him into a captive. Once Paul belonged to God, he had no other interest; he was here for one thing and one thing only. It is shameful for a Christian to talk about winning a victory. We ought to belong so completely to the Victor that we know it’s his victory, all the time, that only through him are we “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). Once we’ve learned this, we become a wonderful refreshment to God, a delight to him wherever we go.

Jeremiah 3-5; 1 Timothy 4

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. 

Disciples Indeed, 386 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, October 24, 2024

The Power of Joy - #9859

So what do you do when Murphy's Law hits all in one day? You know, Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong"? Well, we've all had plenty of those at our house. I remember one right now that hit my family. We were trying to get ready to go on vacation; we were leaving the next morning. The first thing that happened was that the freezer had gone on the blink and all of our food had spoiled. Oh, that was nice.

And then we developed a little car trouble. Well, that was two hits; we could handle that. We had a mountain of laundry that had to be done before we left on vacation. Oh, of course, the dryer then broke that day. And then I was standing in the basement just trying to figure out what to do, and suddenly I noticed it was unusually moist around my feet. Sure enough, some of the sewer system in our house had backed up into a sink, overflowed, and there I was standing in the middle of it. At which point my wife came down the stairs and took a look at this entire falling-apart situation. Mr. Murphy had won!

Now, you know what I needed while I was standing in my own personal swamp? Well, my wife said, "Welcome to Haiti." See, we had just been to Haiti where there's sewage in the street, and it's not funny there. But for some reason it just cracked me up, and that's exactly what I needed to get through it. What I needed in my own personal swamp might be the same thing you need right now.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 17:22 - "A cheerful heart is good medicine." That's what I needed in the middle of my swamp. In a tense situation, you need God's perspective pill - a merry heart, a good laugh. A sense of humor enables you to not take yourself so seriously. When you get all wrapped up tightly in a problem (or a swamp in the basement) well, you lose your sense of perspective; the ability to laugh at yourself in your situation takes you out of the mess for a moment and sort of takes you up on a hill where you can look down on it a little bit. You get perspective. You'll probably make better choices. Now, maybe you're a perfectionist; you're just driven to get everything right. You need to be able to joke about your weaknesses and your imperfections once in a while rather than just be choked on them.

Nowhere is a sense of humor needed more than in parenting. Parents often come to me with deep concerns about their kids - great fears. And we, of course, try to work on a practical strategy to work with them. But one point of the strategy is usually just two words. Often I'll just say at the end, "By the way, lighten up." See, we want so badly to be effective parents, to get this problem solved. We worry so deeply that our children are going to be seduced by this godless world, and those are serious concerns. But if we think about our performance and their problems all the time, we're going to be paralyzed. We'll over-react. We'll talk a lot and listen little. We'll fear something so much we may actually make it happen.

You know, could it be that your family could use a few laughs, some crazy, impulsive experiences, a parent who can kid himself about his own weaknesses. Laughing gets people to laugh, and relaxed kids communicate more, and relaxed parents make better decisions.

"A merry heart is good medicine." Is that the medicine for the tension in you and maybe in your family? Don't be afraid to ask the Lord, "Lord, help me lighten up a little."

Zechariah 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A GODLY TOUCH - October 23, 2024

The power of a godly touch. Have you known it? The doctor who treated you or the teacher who dried your tears? Was there a hand holding yours at a funeral? Haven’t we known the power of a godly touch? Can’t we offer the same? Some of you use your hands to pray for the sick. If you aren’t touching them personally, you’re writing notes, calling, baking pies. You’ve learned the power of a touch.

But others tend to forget. Our hearts are good; it’s just that our memories are bad. We forget how significant one touch can be. We fear saying the wrong thing, or using the wrong tone, or acting the wrong way. So rather than do it incorrectly, we do nothing at all. Aren’t we glad Jesus didn’t make the same mistake? Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same? 

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 6

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

1  6 Once again I looked up—another strange sight! Four chariots charging out from between two mountains. The mountains were bronze.

2–3  The first chariot was drawn by red horses, the second chariot by black horses, the third chariot by white horses, and the fourth chariot by dappled horses. All the horses were powerful.

4  I asked the Messenger-Angel, “Sir, what’s the meaning here?”

5–7  The angel answered, “These are the four winds of heaven, which originate with the Master of the whole earth. The black horses are headed north with the white ones right after them. The dappled horses are headed south.” The powerful horses galloped out, bursting with energy, eager to patrol through the earth. The Messenger-Angel commanded: “On your way! Survey the earth!” and they were off in every direction.

8  Then he called to me and said, “Look at them go! The ones going north are conveying a sense of my Spirit, serene and secure. No more trouble from that direction.”

A Man Named Branch

9–12  Then this Message from God came to me: “Take up a collection from the exiles. Target Heldai, Tobiah, and Jedaiah. They’ve just arrived from Babylon. You’ll find them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Collect silver and gold from them and fashion crowns. Place one on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and give him this message:

12–13  “ ‘A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Be alert. We have a man here whose name is Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of God. Yes, he’s the one. He’ll build the Temple of God. Then he’ll assume the role of royalty, take his place on the throne and rule—a priest sitting on the throne!—showing that king and priest can coexist in harmony.’

14  “The other crown will be in the Temple of God as a symbol of royalty, under the custodial care of Helem, Tobiah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah.

15  “People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. This will confirm that God-of-the-Angel-Armies did, in fact, send me to you. All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 14:16, 23-27

“Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.

25–27  “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you.

Insight

Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as the “Advocate” (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Other translations use the word Comforter (kjv) or Counselor (rsv). Christ told His disciples that the Spirit would teach them “all things” and remind them of “everything” Jesus had said and taught (14:26). The Spirit is the very presence of God and will be with us “forever” (v. 16). On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Christ’s resurrection, God sent the Holy Spirit to all believers in Jesus (Acts 2:1-4). Today, everyone receives the Holy Spirit when they receive Christ as Savior (10:44). We can trust what “the Spirit of truth” (John 15:26) speaks into our hearts and minds. The Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts to serve Jesus and to help us grow more like Him (1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Galatians 5:22-23). The Spirit also convicts unbelievers of sin and the need for salvation (John 16:7-11). By: Alyson Kieda

The Holy Spirit Is Present

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. John 14:16

Making his preflight checks for a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to New York City, a flight attendant noticed a passenger visibly anxious and concerned about flying. He sat in the aisle, held her hand, explained each step of the flight process, and reassured her that she was going to be fine. “When you get on an aircraft, it's not about us, it's about you,” he said. “And if you’re not feeling good, I want to be there to say, ‘Hey, what’s wrong? Is there something I can do?’ ” His caring presence can be a picture of what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do for believers in Him.

Christ’s death and resurrection and ascension were necessary and beneficial to save people from their sins, but it would also create emotional turbulence and deep sorrow in the disciples’ hearts (John 14:1). So He reassured them that they wouldn’t be left alone to carry out His mission in the world. He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them—an “advocate to help [them] and be with [them] forever” (v. 16). The Spirit would bear witness about Jesus and remind them of all Christ did and said (v. 26). They would be “encouraged by” Him during difficult times (Acts 9:31).

In this life, everyone—including believers in Christ—will experience the turbulence of anxiety, fear, and grief. But He’s promised that, in His absence, the Holy Spirit is present to comfort us.  By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What’s been troubling you in your life? How can you seek the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit?

Dear Jesus, thank You for the Spirit’s comfort and counsel.

Learn how to walk daily with the Holy Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Not a Bit of It!

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! — 2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never nurses our prejudices; he destroys them. We imagine that God has a special interest in our personal preferences. We’re sure he’ll never deal with us as he does with others. We think, “Well, of course God has to handle those people in a very stern way, but he knows my prejudices are OK.” Not a bit of it! Instead of God being on the side of our prejudices, he is deliberately wiping them out. It’s part of our moral education to have our prejudices pierced straight through by his providence.

God wants only one thing from us: unconditional surrender. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work his new creation inside us, and a time will come when the old life will have gone entirely—the old sense of self-importance, the old attitudes and bigotries. Then we will be a “new creation,” knowing that “all this is from God” (2 Corinthians 5:17–18).

How are we to get this new life? The life that has no lust, no self-interest, no oversensitivity? How will we get the love that is not easily angered, that thinks no evil, that is always kind (1 Corinthians 13:4–6)? The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain—only simple, perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, only God himself. Have we come to the place where God can withdraw his blessings and it doesn’t shake our trust in him? Once we’ve seen God at work, we will never again worry ourselves about what happens. All our trust will be in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.

Jeremiah 1-2; 1 Timothy 3

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

The Effect You Have - #9858

I think there was a time when people thought workers were demonstrating loyalty and nobility if they showed up for their job even if they felt sicker than a dog. More and more, people think you're not very smart if you do that! You may be one of those who drags yourself into work no matter how sick you are. You're there, all right, but so are your coughs, your sneezes, and your "cooties." Strangely, over the next few days, one co-worker after another comes down with symptoms that look suspiciously like what you brought to work with you. The poet was right, "no man is an island!" You're contagious!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Effect You Have."

The truth is we're all contagious even when we're healthy. It's not just physical germs we spread; we spread an attitude wherever we are! And while the process of people around you catching your attitude may be as invisible as the transmission of germs, the results are just as real. They can get "sick" from being around you, or they can actually feel better because they've been around you.

General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in World War II, revealed an important understanding of the leadership that we all exercise when he said this: "Optimism and pessimism are infectious and they spread more rapidly from the head downward than in any other direction." A husband infects his wife with whatever attitude he brings home - positive or negative. If you're wondering why she's acting in a way you don't like, maybe you should look in the mirror for the answer. A parent spreads their attitude to their children, a boss to his employees, a worker to his or her co-workers, a Christian leader to those who serve with him. A friend infects other friends with the health or the sickness of their attitude.

In 1 Samuel 30, beginning with verse 6, our word for today from the Word of God, we can see a vivid picture - both positive and negative - of how the attitude contagion works. In this case, the sick attitude almost destroyed David's little band of soldiers. But one healthy attitude saved the day and it turned the tide of the battle. While David and his men have been gone, their bitter enemies, the Amalekites, have invaded their camp, captured their families, and plundered their camp. Verse 6 tells us that "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters." You've got bitterness here, blaming, despair - those deadly viruses were spreading from one soldier to another because of the way they responded to this tragedy, to this defeat.

"But," the Bible says, "David found strength in the Lord his God." He spread that strength to his men and he led them in a surprise attack that routed the Amalekites and took back everything the enemy had stolen. When you get your perspective on the situation from God rather than your feelings or the circumstances, you can turn the tide with a winning attitude.

Which leads to the question of the day: "What kind of attitude are you spreading where you are?" Are you spreading joy or discouragement? Are you spreading confidence or fear? Is it encouragement or negativity? Are you leaving a trail of tenderness, or is it harshness? Stress or peace? Do you spread faith or do you spread unbelief? Do you spread prayer or do you spread worry?

You are affecting the people you live with, the people you work with, the people you serve with. You are contagious, whether you realize it or not. Make their hearts lighter, not heavier. Give them reason to hope, reason to believe, not reason to despair. Those in whom the living Christ dwells have no excuse for spreading germs that make people feel sick in their heart and their soul!

Zechariah 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NOTHING COMPARES WITH GOD - October 22, 2024

To what can we compare God? Who is like the Lord? What you are to a paper airplane, God is to you. Make one. Challenge it to race you around the block. Who’s faster? Invite the airplane to a game of one-on-one basketball. Will you not dominate the court? And well you should. The thing exists only because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it.

God asks Isaiah, “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” (Isaiah 40:25). As if his question needed an answer, he gives one: “I am God. I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me” (Isaiah 46:9). King David marveled, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

You and I may have power. But God is power. No one and nothing compares with him!

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 5

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

1  5 I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

2  The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

3–4  He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket

5  The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

6  I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

7  Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

8  He said, “This is Miss Wicked.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

9  Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

10  I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

11  He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Today's Scripture

Matthew 23:23-33

“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

25–26  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.

27–28  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.

29–32  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your ancestors, no blood would have been on your hands. You protest too much! You’re cut from the same cloth as those murderers, and daily add to the death count.

33–34  “Snakes! Reptilian sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper?

Insight

Each of the four paragraphs in Matthew 23:23-32 begin with a warning against hypocrisy: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” The religious leaders were condemned for bringing sacrifices while ignoring “more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23). These words are similar to what God said through the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require . . . ? To act justly and to love mercy” (Micah 6:8). Micah’s audience was also offering sacrifices without being truly committed to God; they were shiny on the outside but dead inside. By: J.R. Hudberg

Transformed from the Inside

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:25

In the worst UK residential fire since World War II, fire engulfed the twenty-four story Grenfell Tower building in West London, claiming the lives of seventy people. Investigations revealed a primary reason the flames spread so quickly was the cladding used as part of renovation that covered the building’s exterior. The material was aluminum on the outside but had an extremely flammable plastic core.

How was such a dangerous material allowed to be sold and installed? The product’s sellers failed to disclose poor fire safety test results. And buyers, drawn by the material’s cheap price tag, failed to heed warning signs. The shiny cladding looked nice on the outside.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed at religious teachers He accused of covering corruption behind a nice-looking exterior. He said they were like “whitewashed tombs”—“beautiful on the outside” but inside full of dead bones (Matthew 23:27). Instead of pursuing “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23), they were focused on looking good—cleaning “the outside of the cup” but not the “greed and self-indulgence” inside (v. 25).

It’s easier to focus on looking good than to bring our sin and brokenness honestly before God. But a nice-looking exterior doesn’t make a corrupt heart any less dangerous. God invites us to let Him transform all of us from the inside (1 John 1:9). By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

When have you tried to disguise corruption? How can you prioritize internal change?

Gracious God, please help me not to hide my brokenness but let You transform all of me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Testimony of the Spirit

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit. — Romans 8:16

We are in danger of getting into a negotiating mindset with God, of trying to haggle him into giving us the testimony of the Spirit before we’ve done what he tells us to do. “Why isn’t the Spirit testifying with my spirit?” you ask. “Why doesn’t God reveal himself to me?” The answer is that he won’t, not as long as you are in his way, refusing to abandon yourself to him. The instant you do abandon, God begins to testify to himself. He can’t testify to you—that is, to your human nature. Rather, he testifies to his own nature inside you, the nature you received when you were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

If you were to receive the testimony of the Spirit before the Spirit was a reality inside you, it would end in sentimental emotion. But the moment you stop debating and complete the spiritual transaction, the moment you ask for the Holy Spirit and receive him, God gives you the testimony. When you abandon intellectual reasoning and argument and hand yourself in faith to God, you will be amazed at your impertinence in having kept him waiting so long.

If you are debating the question of whether God can deliver you from sin, either let him do it or tell him he can’t. Don’t come at him with evidence, quoting this or that expert. Instead, try Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” Come, when you are burdened with doubt. Ask, if you know you are evil: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

The simplicity that characterizes commonsense decisions is easy to mistake for the testimony of the Spirit. But the Spirit testifies only to his own nature and to the work of redemption, never to our human reason. If we try to make him testify to our reason, it is no wonder we remain in darkness and perplexity. Fling your doubting and debating overboard, trust in God, and his Spirit will give the testimony.

Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

How To Be The One God Can Trust - #9857

I always knew that if my teenage son ever did with stocks what he did with baseball cards, he'd be a millionaire someday. And then maybe I could go on a cruise...you know, who knows? Well, a lot of young guys, when they go looking for baseball cards, just look for the card of people who are already famous. But, of course, those cards have already done a lot of their appreciating while he was becoming famous.

Now, oldest son looked for players who very few people had ever heard of. He would go back into college and see who looked promising while they were in college. Then he'd monitor their minor league statistics, and he seemed to know a couple of specific statistics to look for as clues to future greatness. Then, when that man issued a rookie card (of course the rookie card is the only one you want to have; that's the really valuable one), then my son bought the rookie card.

Then he just watched it appreciate, and then he would go and sell it and reinvest in some other surprising prospects. Now a lot of people were surprised by that players' greatness and they said, "Hey, who's he?" My son wasn't. He knew what to look for. Now, when it comes to picking God's future stars, there's one clue to future greatness that God looks for.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How To Be The One God Can Trust."

Simon Peter - not a likely prospect to be a future star. Hey, if you were looking in the minor league to see who would become a major league leader for Jesus Christ, I'm not sure you would have picked Simon Peter. Why would God use him? What did He see in him? I mean, he sleeps when you need him to be awake - he talks big, he doesn't deliver on his promises - he takes matters in his own hands and does ear surgery. He denied Jesus to a 12-year-old girl. That's all true, but he had the one trait that Jesus looks for, and that's what makes a disciple's heart.

Luke 5:4-6, our word for today from the Word of God - here's what it says: "When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon said, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.' And when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish their nets began to break."

Okay, yes Peter's inconsistent, he's proud, he's unpredictable, impulsive, but he had the one trait out of which Jesus can build a disciple. When He can think of no other reason to do what Jesus said, he replies, "Just because You say so, I'll do it." Unquestioning obedience - that's the core of a disciple's heart. Now, he already failed to bring in any harvest. That was a reason not to go out as Jesus told him to. It was going to be inconvenient; he'd have to clean his nets again. Everything in his experience was against it; he knew it shouldn't work. You're not going to catch them in the middle of the day if you didn't catch them in the middle of the night. But he does it because Jesus said so, and that's the thing God looks for in His future stars.

So, everything around you might say, "uh... Have sex now." But you're going to keep it pure just because Jesus says so. Everything that seems to make sense says, "Oh, let your marriage go. Get out of it while you can." You might even have people advising you that way. But you're going to fight to keep it together because Jesus says so. You're going to be honest. When it looks like fudging a little bit, a little deceit, a little playing games with the truth might get you where you want to go, but you're going to tell the truth no matter what the cost. You're going to give generously even if the money isn't there. You're going to forgive and restore that relationship you don't feel like restoring because Jesus says so.

Are you someone that Jesus can build into one of His trusted disciples? Oh, maybe you've got a lot of weaknesses, I do. But once you know what Jesus says, you just do it.

See, then in the major leagues of God's usefulness, you may be destined for greatness.

3 John 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SPIRITUAL FAMILY - October 21, 2024

Is your fantasy that your family will be like the Waltons? An expectation that your dearest friends will be your next of kin? Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how Jesus defined his family in Mark 3:35: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.” He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family did not.

If Jesus himself couldn’t force his family to share his convictions, what makes you think you can force yours?  We can’t control the way our family responds to us. We have to move beyond the naïve expectation that if we do good, our family will treat us right. I can’t assure you that your family will ever give you the blessing you seek, but I know this much: God will. Accept God as your Father, and let God give you what your family does not.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

3 John 1

1–4  The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 21, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jeremiah 33:14-16

A Fresh and True Shoot from the David-Tree

14–18  “ ‘Watch for this: The time is coming’—God’s Decree—‘when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “God Has Set Things Right for Us.”

Insight

Despite David’s general success as king over Israel, the story of his successors grew increasingly problematic. King after king failed to live in obedience to the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave them a home in Canaan. The books of 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles describe the spiraling descent of the nation’s rulers, punctuated only with a handful of bright spots.

By the time of Jeremiah, the rulers of Israel and many of the kings of Judah were thoroughly corrupt and the nations were facing exile. The mighty tree of David’s dynasty may have seemed like it had been hewn to the root. The promise of Jeremiah’s prophecy, however, was that God wouldn’t give up. He would bring forth a righteous king out of a seemingly dead dynasty who would make Jerusalem and the people righteous once again. Both Matthew (1:1-17) and Luke (3:23-38) trace Jesus’ lineage back to David, the once-great king. By: Jed Ostoich

Jesus the Branch

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right. Jeremiah 33:15

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.  

The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.

The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.  By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

What are other significant promises from God that Jesus fulfilled? How does their fulfillment encourage you?

Thank You, Almighty God, that You fulfill all Your promises.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 21, 2024

Impulse

Building yourselves up in your most holy faith . . . — Jude 1:20

There was nothing impulsive and nothing cold-blooded about our Lord, just a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the line of our own impulses rather than along the line of God. Impulsiveness is a natural human trait, but our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple.

Watch how the Spirit of God checks our impulses. His checks bring a rush of self-consciousness that instantly makes us want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is fine in a child but disastrous in a man or a woman; an impulsive adult is always a petulant adult. Impulsiveness has to be trained into intuition by discipline.

Discipleship has no impulsiveness in it; it is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy in an impulsive burst of courage, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:29)—but he also walked far with Jesus on the land. We don’t need the supernatural grace of God in order to weather crises; human nature and pride are sufficient for that. But we do need his grace in order to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a child of God, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We think that we have to do exceptional things for God, but this isn’t true. We have to be exceptional in ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, and this isn’t learned in five minutes.

Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.

Biblical Psychology

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 21, 2024

The Storm Your Ship Can't Handle - #9856

I've been in three hurricanes, but always on land. I can't imagine what it would be like to face it out on the water.

The crew of the container ship El Faro were on pace to be well ahead of Hurricane Joaquin, until they suddenly found themselves with no propulsion system directly in the path of a Category 4 Hurricane: 50-foot waves, 140-mile-an-hour winds, zero visibility. The crew's families asked for people to pray for them and for their missing loved ones.

A Coast Guard officer said, "No matter how big the ship is, when you're disabled and you're at sea, and you're in the middle of a storm, the size and strength of that storm is just enough to overcome just about anything."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Storm Your Ship Can't Handle."

I've never been on a ship in a storm. But in a more personal way, I kind of get what he's saying. Because storms - the physical and emotional kind - are part of everyone's story. I've felt the blows of medical crises that threatened the lives of people I cherish. I've experienced the pain of someone I love being here one day, and then suddenly gone. I've had trust betrayed. And there are the consequences of choices that I made and I wish I could have back.

And, like most people, I want to think I'm smart enough and strong enough to navigate the brutal winds and the surging waves. But, truth be told, it's like the Coast Guard captain said, "Sometimes the size and strength of that storm is just enough to overcome just about anything." And that's when people go under. Marriages break apart. Panic drives us to choices that will even sink us more. Fear, despair, and desperation take us down.

I'd like to think I'm pretty strong emotionally, but not strong enough to hold things together when I'm blindsided by a really brutal storm. But, thank God, I belong to Someone who is.

When Jesus was here, the team He built included some seasoned fishermen who had weathered many a storm, until the night that all their experience and strength wasn't enough to keep their boat from starting to go under. That's when Captain Jesus stepped to the stern, raised His hand and shouted a command, "Peace! Be still!" The Bible says, "The wind died down and it was completely calm." Because whatever storm is bigger than we are, Jesus is bigger than it is. After all, He had the power to walk out of His grave three days after He died on a cross to pay for our sin.

Jesus hasn't always stopped the storm around me. But He's calmed the storm inside me, beginning with the turbulence in my soul from battling with God for the control of my life. But, thanks to Jesus' life-giving love, I have, as it says in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 5:1, "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." That peace is my unshakeable anchor and that anchor has always held. The storm we can't handle finally confronts us with a truth we've never wanted to face. We were never meant to be at the helm in the first place.

This may be the day when you finally surrender your heart and life and the control of your life to the One who gave it to you in the first place. The Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him." Jesus had to die on a cross to pay for our rebellion against God. But today He's ready to bring you home into that relationship you were made for. And that peace with God that comes through Jesus; you can go to sleep with that in your heart tonight and every night for the rest of your life.

There's some wonderful information I'd love to give you at our website so you can be sure you've begun this relationship with the only One who can rescue you from your sin. It's ANewStory.com.

Maybe the storm that you've been in has been for an ultimately eternal purpose. Because for many of us, the storm that almost sank us was the storm that finally blew us Home.