Genesis 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Little Over a Lifetime

Will I learn what God intends?  If I listen, I will.  A little girl returned from her first day at school. Her mom asked, "Did you learn anything?" "I guess not," the girl responded.  "I have to go back tomorrow and the next day and the next day. . ."

Such is the case with learning. And such is the case with Bible study.

Understanding comes a little at a time over a lifetime. James said:  "The man who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and makes a habit of doing so is not the man who hears and forgets.  He puts that law into practice and wins true happiness." (James 1:25).

The Bible is not a newspaper to be skimmed but rather a mine to be quarried.  Proverbs 2:4 says to "search for it like silver, and hunt for it like hidden treasure."

And we need to do it today, and the next day, and the next….

From Just Like Jesus

Genesis 21

God visited Sarah exactly as he said he would; God did to Sarah what he promised: Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a son in his old age, and at the very time God had set. Abraham named him Isaac. When his son was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded.

5–6  Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.

Sarah said,

God has blessed me with laughter

and all who get the news will laugh with me!

7  She also said,

Whoever would have suggested to Abraham

that Sarah would one day nurse a baby!

Yet here I am! I’ve given the old man a son!

8  The baby grew and was weaned. Abraham threw a big party on the day Isaac was weaned.

9–10  One day Sarah saw the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, poking fun at her son Isaac. She told Abraham, “Get rid of this slave woman and her son. No child of this slave is going to share inheritance with my son Isaac!”

11–13  The matter gave great pain to Abraham—after all, Ishmael was his son. But God spoke to Abraham, “Don’t feel badly about the boy and your maid. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your descendants will come through Isaac. Regarding your maid’s son, be assured that I’ll also develop a great nation from him—he’s your son, too.”

14–16  Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food together and a canteen of water for Hagar, put them on her back and sent her away with the child. She wandered off into the desert of Beer-sheba. When the water was gone, she left the child under a shrub and went off, fifty yards or so. She said, “I can’t watch my son die.” As she sat, she broke into sobs.

17–18  Meanwhile, God heard the boy crying. The angel of God called from Heaven to Hagar, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy and knows the fix he’s in. Up now; go get the boy. Hold him tight. I’m going to make of him a great nation.”

19  Just then God opened her eyes. She looked. She saw a well of water. She went to it and filled her canteen and gave the boy a long, cool drink.

20–21  God was on the boy’s side as he grew up. He lived out in the desert and became a skilled archer. He lived in the Paran wilderness. And his mother got him a wife from Egypt.

22–23  At about that same time, Abimelech and the captain of his troops, Phicol, spoke to Abraham: “No matter what you do, God is on your side. So swear to me that you won’t do anything underhanded to me or any of my family. For as long as you live here, swear that you’ll treat me and my land as well as I’ve treated you.”

24  Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25–26  At the same time, Abraham confronted Abimelech over the matter of a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had taken. Abimelech said, “I have no idea who did this; you never told me about it; this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

27–28  So the two of them made a covenant. Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. Abraham set aside seven sheep from his flock.

29  Abimelech said, “What does this mean? These seven sheep you’ve set aside.”

30  Abraham said, “It means that when you accept these seven sheep, you take it as proof that I dug this well, that it’s my well.”

31–32  That’s how the place got named Beer-sheba (the Oath-Well), because the two of them swore a covenant oath there. After they had made the covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and his commander, Phicol, left and went back to Philistine territory.

33–34  Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba and worshiped God there, praying to the Eternal God. Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, February 15, 2025

by Bill Crowder

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 4:12-16

 God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.

The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain

14–16  Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Today's Insights

Scripture teaches that Jesus was a perfect priest who offered Himself to God without blemish for the forgiveness of all who accept His sacrifice as payment for their sins (Hebrews 9:12-14). The book of Hebrews is filled with the aroma of this good news! The permanence of Christ’s priesthood is noted in Hebrews 7:23-25. Then the author describes His perfection: “[He] is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever” (vv. 26-28).

Perfectly Perfect Savior

We have a great high priest . . . who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:14-15

The interior designer on the home improvement show raved about the handmade ceramic tiles selected for the home’s new shower area. Different from commercially manufactured tiles, which are all identical, these handcrafted pieces were “imperfectly perfect.” The imperfections gave each tile unique beauty, adding to the charm and style of an otherwise practical space.

I know little of style or charm, let alone how tiles might contribute positively or negatively to it. Yet while those tiles were imperfectly perfect, Jesus, in the incarnation (His coming to earth as a human being), was perfectly perfect. The writer of Hebrews affirmed, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). At no time during His earthly journey did Jesus speak a sinful word or commit a sinful act. He is perfectly perfect.

The encouragement for us, as Hebrews says, is to “hold firmly to the faith we profess” in Jesus (v. 14) because He understands and empathizes with the struggles we endure. He has been there and done that—but perfectly. Our perfectly perfect Savior can help us with all things.

Reflect & Pray

When have you seen your own imperfections on display? How can you give thanks for the perfect Savior who endured all as our perfect high priest before our Father?

Loving Father, I’m thankful for the incarnate experience of Jesus—that He lived, walked, and worked in our broken world, yet was without sin.

Discover more about Jesus, The Greater High Priest.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

For none of us lives for ourselves alone. — Romans 14:7

Has it ever dawned on you that you are spiritually responsible for other souls? If you ever find yourself turning away from God, even in private, watch out: you will cause harm to everyone around you. “There are many parts, but one body,” Paul wrote. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:20, 26).

If we care about our friends, families, and communities, we must set a close guard on our hearts and minds. To give in to physical selfishness, intellectual laziness, or spiritual stubbornness is to put everyone around us at risk. “But who is strong enough to meet a standard like that?” you say. Our strength comes from God, and God alone.

When Jesus called us to be his witnesses, he meant that we should spend every bit of our mental, moral, and spiritual energy for him (Acts 1:8). When we embrace this calling, we will find that we’ve been made entirely useless from every viewpoint but his. It takes time; we must be patient with ourselves. But we must also remember why we are here: not to be saved and sanctified but to give our all for his sake. This is how we say thank you to God for the unspeakable gift of our salvation.

Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 388 L

Genesis 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FOR OUR GOOD - February 14, 2025

“We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28 is one of the most helpful, comforting verses of the entire Bible, announcing God’s sovereignty in any painful, tragic situation we face. God works. Paul’s word for this is sunergeo—the great-great-grandfather of the term synergy. Paul is saying that God can make all things sunergeo for the good. Blending faith with the failings, triumphs with the tears.

James makes the same point in James 1:2 when he says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” God is working…for our good!

Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions

Genesis 20

Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.”

2–3  So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, “You’re as good as dead—that woman you took, she’s a married woman.”

4–5  Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn’t so much as touched her. He said, “Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn’t he tell me, ‘She’s my sister’? And didn’t she herself say, ‘He’s my brother’? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this.”

6–7  God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that’s why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man’s wife back to him. He’s a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don’t give her back, know that it’s certain death both for you and everyone in your family.”

8–9  Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, “What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you’ve done to me ought never to have been done.”

10  Abimelech went on to Abraham, “Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?”

11–13  Abraham said, “I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they’d kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she’s my father’s daughter but not my mother’s. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father’s home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I’m your brother.’ ”

14–15  Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, “My land is open to you; live wherever you wish.”

16  And to Sarah he said, “I’ve given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You’re vindicated.”

17–18  Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, February 14, 2025

by 

Patricia Raybon

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

8–10  Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11  When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12  We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13  But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Today's Insights

In 1 Corinthians 13, the well-known chapter of love so often recited at weddings, Paul defines love not as an emotion but as an action (vv. 4-8). These verses call to mind the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23, also written by Paul. We can’t love as the apostle calls us to love without a relationship with Jesus and the work of the Spirit in our lives. This is the process of sanctification, whereby we grow to become more like God. Paul compares it to becoming an adult and leaving our childish ways behind (1 Corinthians 13:11-12). Just as we need to do today, the Corinthian church needed to learn to love as Christ called them to love and to use their gifts to serve others (see ch. 12). Spiritual gifts are temporary (13:8-12) and will disappear (v. 10), but “faith, hope and love” will remain and “the greatest of these is love” (v. 13).

Wedded to Love

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8

At Meredith’s wedding, her mother read a beautiful Scripture from 1 Corinthians. Often called “the love chapter” of the Bible, the thirteenth chapter sounded perfect for the occasion. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (v. 4). Listening, I wondered if modern brides and grooms knew what prompted the apostle’s stirring words. Paul wasn’t writing a love poem. The apostle penned a plea to a divided church in an effort to heal its raging divisions.

Simply put, the church at Corinth “was a mess,” says scholar Douglas A. Campbell. Seething problems included incest, prostitution, and rivalry among leaders. Lawsuits between members weren’t uncommon. Worship was often chaotic—with those speaking in tongues competing to be heard first, and others prophesying to look impressive (see 1 Corinthians 14).

Underlying this chaos, says Campbell, was “a basic failure in relating to one another in love.” To show the more excellent way, Paul preached love because “love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away” (13:8).

Paul’s loving reminders can certainly encourage a wedding party. May they also inspire all of us to live out love and kindness too.

Reflect & Pray

How do you show kindness and love in your relationships? How do you show love in the body of Christ?

Your love never fails, loving God, so please guide me in relating to all with the excellence of love.

What is love? Discover how love serves as the foundation of all spiritual gifts. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, February 14, 2025

The Discipline of Darkness

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. — Matthew 10:27

At times, God puts us into the shadow of his hand, holding us in darkness so that we might be still and learn to listen. Songbirds are taught to sing in the dark; we are taught to hear our Lord.

Are you in the dark right now, confused about your circumstances or your life with God? If you are, keep quiet: darkness is the time to listen. If you talk in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood. Don’t consult other people about your problem; don’t seek the answers in a book. Other people’s voices and opinions will drown out what God is trying to tell you. Listen to God in the dark, and he will give you a precious message for someone else when you get back into the light.

After every time of darkness, there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation. There is delight at finally hearing God, and humiliation at how long it took to listen. “How slow I’ve been in understanding!” you’ll say. “And yet, God has been saying it all these days and weeks.” If you feel only delight, it is doubtful you have heard him at all.

Learn to welcome the humiliation as a gift: it is God’s way of teaching you how to listen better in the future. If you do, you will develop the softness of heart that always hears God now.

Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. 

The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, February 14, 2025

God of Galaxies, God of Our Grief - #9940

I really hate it when a five-year-old makes me feel dumb, especially when it's my grandson. I mean, he didn't mean to make me feel dumb. He didn't know he was making me feel dumb. But he is really smart, and he knew a lot about a lot! Like the solar system. He had the planets down cold along with all kinds of facts about the universe. Things I either have forgotten or never knew. Another thing our grandson was really mastering was numbers. Man, could he count! He was working on thousands, millions, billions, and his favorite quantity, a google! When it comes to our universe, he was never going to be able to count that high!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God of Galaxies, God of Our Grief."

With the discoveries of new high-tech explorers like NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, and the Hubble Telescope, we are learning some absolutely staggering new things about the universe we live in. They counted at one point over 200 billion galaxies and I think it's maybe a couple trillion now. When we look up in the sky at night, it's estimated that we can see maybe 9,000 stars. But it's estimated that the average number of stars in a single galaxy is actually 200 billion stars! Let's see: 200 billion stars times 200 billion galaxies... oh for heaven's sake, that's a mental meltdown.

If you think that the vastness of the universe is amazing, fasten your seatbelt for something much more amazing. It's in Psalm 147:4, our word for today from the Word of God. It says of God, "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." What? I can't even remember the names of all the people I've met! But God calls each of the 200 billion stars in 200 billion galaxies by name!

Isaiah 40:26 says, "Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." Not only does He number all the stars and name all the stars, but He knows when any star goes out!

In the verse just before the one that says God numbers and names the stars, the Bible shows something else amazing about Him. It says, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Wow! This God who gives personal attention to countless billions of stars cares about your broken heart! He stands ready to heal what's broken in your life with the power that rules this mighty universe. Wow!

You may have felt very unnoticed and very insignificant in your life, but not to the most powerful person in the universe. He knows you, He cares about your wounds, He deeply, deeply loves you. For this awesome God left the throne room of heaven to come here to this little dirtball called earth on a rescue mission for you, to actually die on a cross for the sin you've done against Him, the sin that has cut you off from Him all these years. The sin no religion can remove. The Bible says of Him, He is "the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

And this very day, this awesome God may be knocking on the door of your heart. He's offering to come into your life with His infinite love, His infinite power - the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Why would you wait one more day to open up your heart to a Savior like this? Tell Him, "Jesus, it makes no sense for me to try to run my life any longer. I'm sorry for running a life you were supposed to run. I believe my only hope is your death for my sin on the cross. I turn from my sin today. I am yours, Lord Jesus!"

If you want to make this day your "Jesus day," will you experience the greatness of His love in your heart, the greatness of His power in your life, would you just reach out to Him today? We'd love to help you do that. That's why we're here. Go to our website ANewStory.com.

He's who you were made by. He's who you were made for, and this very day, my friend, you can belong to Him!

Matthew 6:1-18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A SEASON OF SUFFERING - February 13, 2025

God uses our struggles for his glory. The last three years of my dad’s life were scarred by ALS. The disease took him from being a healthy mechanic to being a bed-bound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said, but more in what he didn’t say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered with dignity. His faith led one man to seek a like faith. This man sought me out and told me. Because of my dad’s example, he became a Jesus follower.

Did God orchestrate my father’s illness for that very reason? Knowing the value God places on one soul, I wouldn’t be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father is not complaining. A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the great reward!

Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions

Matthew 6:1-18

The World Is Not a Stage

1  6 “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

2–4  “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

5  “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6  “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7–13  “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what’s best—

as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You’re in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

14–15  “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.

16–18  “When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, February 13, 2025

by James Banks

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Numbers 6:22-27

The Aaronic Blessing

22–23  God spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons, This is how you are to bless the People of Israel. Say to them,

24  God bless you and keep you,

25  God smile on you and gift you,

26  God look you full in the face

and make you prosper.

27  In so doing, they will place my name on the People of Israel—

I will confirm it by blessing them.”

Today's Insights

In showering the people with His favor, God instructed the high priest to bestow on them the blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26. “The Lord make his face shine on you” (v. 25) is rendered “the Lord smile on you” in the New Living Translation. God smiling and turning “his face toward you” (v. 26) expresses the idea that the people have God’s special attention and approval. This benediction, pronounced by many pastors at the end of church services today, affirms that God provides for and protects His people, assuring us of His presence, pardon, and peace. The Hebrew concept of peace (shalom) is all-embracing and includes the concepts of completeness, security, health, wealth, tranquility, contentment, friendship, and peace with God and humanity.

Never Overlooked by God

The Lord make his face shine on you. Numbers 6:25

“Sometimes I just feel so . . . invisible.” The word hung in the air as Joanie talked to her friend. Her husband had left for another woman, leaving Joanie with young children still at home. “I gave him my best years,” she confided. “And now I don’t know if anyone would really see me or take the time to actually know me.”

“I’m so sorry,” her friend responded. “My dad walked out when I was six, and it was hard for us, especially Mom. But she said this thing when she tucked me in at night that I never forgot: ‘God never closes His eyes.’ When I was older, she explained she was trying to teach me that God loved me and watched over me always, even while I slept.”

The Bible presents words God gave Moses to share with His people during a challenging time, when they were wandering in Sinai’s desert: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). The blessing was to be spoken by the priests over the people.

Even in life’s wildernesses—those places where we wonder if anyone sees us or truly understands—God is faithful. God’s favor—His shining face and enduring love—is always turned toward those who love Him, even when we can’t feel Him because of our pain. No one is invisible to God.

Reflect & Pray

How does it comfort you to know that God truly sees you? Who can you share that comfort with today?

Thank You, Father, for seeing me, knowing me, and loving me. Please help me to turn my face to You always!

Hear more from James Banks on how God sees our needs and hears our prayers.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” — 1 Samuel 3:10

Am I hearing what God is saying? Perhaps I’ve listened well to one of his commands, but I’ve turned a deaf ear to the rest. This is how I show God that I don’t love or respect him: I act like I can’t hear him, even though he is speaking to me clearly. Samuel deliberately turned his attention to God, and assured God that his ears were open.

Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). Am I being a friend to the Lord, or am I disobeying his commands? If I’d been listening, I wouldn’t have consciously disobeyed. Most of us don’t care enough to listen. Our Lord might as well have said nothing at all.

The goal of my spiritual life is to be so closely identified with Jesus Christ that I always hear God and I know that he always hears me (John 17). When I am identified with the Lord like this, my ears are attuned to his voice at every moment and in every situation. A lily, a tree, the words of one of his servants: all may convey God’s message. If I haven’t cultivated this devotion of listening, his voice comes through to me only at certain times. Most of the time, caught up in serving or in my convictions, I pretend I’m too busy to listen. Serving is a good thing, but if it drowns out God’s voice, I know my devotion is running in the wrong direction.

Have I heard God’s voice today, or have I become deaf to him?

Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6).

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, February 13, 2025

You Win, I Win - #9939

Joey's story really touched me. Joey ran in the handicapped Olympics that were held in conjunction with the Olympics in Seoul, Korea some years ago. Of course it was at a separate location, and in his particular track event there were only two people competing. Well, Joey got off to a good start, but of course because of his handicaps, his arms and legs were flailing and he wasn't very graceful. The announcer was heard to say at the beginning of the race, "I'm glad I'm not like Joey."

Well, as Joey took the lead, his coach kept yelling over the sounds of a crowd who were basically dispersing for the day, "Come on, Joey, you're a winner! You can do it!" And as Joey continued to increase his lead, he would chant and say, "Come on, Joey, that's it! You're a winner! You're a winner!" Well, Joey was doing better and better, and his coach's cheers were getting louder and louder.

And then suddenly Joey stopped in his tracks. What happened after that melted that announcer's heart, and actually mine too when I heard about it. Maybe you'll be like me. Maybe you'll want to be like Joey.

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

Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 9. We'll get to that after you hear what Joey did when he stopped in his tracks during the race. Much to the consternation of his coach, he turned to his opponent; the only other guy in the race and yelled, "Come on! You're a winner too! You're a winner too!" His coach ran out to the track and yelled, "No! You don't want him to be a winner! You're the winner!"

Well, no matter what the coach said, Joey waited for that other boy to catch up. And then they crossed the finish line together with their arms raised in victory. The announcer who had said at the beginning of the race, "Sure glad I'm not like Joey" at the end was heard to say, "I sure wish I was more like Joey" and so do I.

See, in a competitive, I've-got-to-make-it world; the real heroes are the people who make other people winners. Acts 9 tells us about Barnabas, who we are told was the one who when the disciples didn't know what to do with Saul of Tarsus - this former Christian Persecutor - it says, "Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." And then we're told in Acts 11:25, "Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul." Then in chapter 13, God says, "Separate for me Barnabas and Saul for the work." And then by the end of that chapter it says, "Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue." Did you notice, Barnabas was in the front seat when we started here, and suddenly he's taken a back seat?

See, Barnabas? Well, he was like Joey. He didn't have to come out on top; he didn't care if they remembered his name. He just wanted others to win. Are you like that? Your Master was. He gave up His life for ours so we can win eternal life. Your friends need someone who's willing to put aside their own interests and to say, "You're a winner! You can make it!"

You see, your children need that kind of encouragement from you. They need to know not just what needs improving. We're really good as parents at talking about that. They need to know what they are doing right. "You can do it! You're a winner, my daughter! You're a winner, my son!" And the people at work starved for encouragement, the people at your church; again there could be a lot of shame, there could be a lot of guilt, there could be a lot of condemnation. A lot of people don't feel very important. A lot of people feel on the edges - excluded. Will you be the one who pushes other people to the front? You won't lose if you stop promoting you and start promoting others. You'll both win.

So, be like your Master. Enable someone else to be a winner. Look at the people close to you and quit trying to beat them, or use them, or to control them. Look at them and say, "Hey, if you win, I win."

Genesis 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A LIFESTYLE OF REPENTANCE - February 12, 2025

My college roommate, Steve, was neat. Not just neat in the sense of a lot of fun, but neat in the sense of not sloppy. I, on the other hand, tend to be sloppy. Why make up a bed you’re going to sleep in that night? Steve was very gracious. Little by little he helped me change. I learned the purpose of hangers, the reason for toothpaste lids. Our four years of rooming together were four years of regular repentance. Then he turned me over to Denalyn, and she’s still working on me.

The same thing happens to Christians. As Christ moves in and takes up residence in his life, the Christian sees how sloppy he is. Over time, his language changes. His habits change. He lives a lifestyle of repentance. The longer we hang out with Jesus, the more we see what needs to change. Repentance becomes a lifestyle!

Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions

Genesis 19

 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the city gate. He saw them and got up to welcome them, bowing before them and said, “Please, my friends, come to my house and stay the night. Wash up. You can rise early and be on your way refreshed.”

They said, “No, we’ll sleep in the street.”

3  But he insisted, wouldn’t take no for an answer; and they relented and went home with him. Lot fixed a hot meal for them and they ate.

4–5  Before they went to bed men from all over the city of Sodom, young and old, descended on the house from all sides and boxed them in. They yelled to Lot, “Where are the men who are staying with you for the night? Bring them out so we can have our sport with them!”

6–8  Lot went out, barring the door behind him, and said, “Brothers, please, don’t be vile! Look, I have two daughters, virgins; let me bring them out; you can take your pleasure with them, but don’t touch these men—they’re my guests.”

9  They said, “Get lost! You drop in from nowhere and now you’re going to tell us how to run our lives. We’ll treat you worse than them!” And they charged past Lot to break down the door.

10–11  But the two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door. Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark.

12–13  The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other family here? Sons, daughters—anybody in the city? Get them out of here, and now! We’re going to destroy this place. The outcries of victims here to God are deafening; we’ve been sent to blast this place into oblivion.”

14  Lot went out and warned the fiancés of his daughters, “Evacuate this place; God is about to destroy this city!” But his daughters’ would-be husbands treated it as a joke.

15  At break of day, the angels pushed Lot to get going, “Hurry. Get your wife and two daughters out of here before it’s too late and you’re caught in the punishment of the city.”

16–17  Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot’s arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters—God was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, “Now run for your life! Don’t look back! Don’t stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you’ll be swept away.”

18–20  But Lot protested, “No, masters, you can’t mean it! I know that you’ve taken a liking to me and have done me an immense favor in saving my life, but I can’t run for the mountains—who knows what terrible thing might happen to me in the mountains and leave me for dead. Look over there—that town is close enough to get to. It’s a small town, hardly anything to it. Let me escape there and save my life—it’s a mere wide place in the road.”

21–22  “All right, Lot. If you insist. I’ll let you have your way. And I won’t stamp out the town you’ve spotted. But hurry up. Run for it! I can’t do anything until you get there.” That’s why the town was called Zoar, that is, Smalltown.

23  The sun was high in the sky when Lot arrived at Zoar.

24–25  Then God rained brimstone and fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah—a river of lava from God out of the sky!—and destroyed these cities and the entire plain and everyone who lived in the cities and everything that grew from the ground.

26  But Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

27–28  Abraham got up early the next morning and went to the place he had so recently stood with God. He looked out over Sodom and Gomorrah, surveying the whole plain. All he could see was smoke belching from the Earth, like smoke from a furnace.

29  And that’s the story: When God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham and first got Lot out of there before he blasted those cities off the face of the Earth.

30  Lot left Zoar and went into the mountains to live with his two daughters; he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He lived in a cave with his daughters.

31–32  One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is getting old and there’s not a man left in the country by whom we can get pregnant. Let’s get our father drunk with wine and lie with him. We’ll get children through our father—it’s our only chance to keep our family alive.”

33–35  They got their father drunk with wine that very night. The older daughter went and lay with him. He was oblivious, knowing nothing of what she did. The next morning the older said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Tonight, it’s your turn. We’ll get him drunk again and then you sleep with him. We’ll both get a child through our father and keep our family alive.” So that night they got their father drunk again and the younger went in and slept with him. Again he was oblivious, knowing nothing of what she did.

36–38  Both daughters became pregnant by their father, Lot. The older daughter had a son and named him Moab, the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. The younger daughter had a son and named him Ben-Ammi, the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 55:8-12

 “I don’t think the way you think.

The way you work isn’t the way I work.”

God’s Decree.

“For as the sky soars high above earth,

so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

not come back empty-handed.

They’ll do the work I sent them to do,

they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

12–13  “So you’ll go out in joy,

you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.

The mountains and hills will lead the parade,

bursting with song.

All the trees of the forest will join the procession,

exuberant with applause.

Today's Insights

The book of Isaiah is the first of the five books referred to as the Major Prophets, so named because of their length, not their importance. The other Major Prophets are Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Isaiah is the sixth longest book of the Bible, and two other prophetical books—Jeremiah and Ezekiel—are even longer. Isaiah contains many prophecies related to divine judgment and many others about the coming Messiah. J. A. Martin in The Bible Knowledge Commentary points out: “Isaiah had a lofty view of God. The Lord is seen as the Initiator of events in history. He is apart from and greater than His Creation; yet He is involved in the affairs of that Creation. Whether in his dealings with sin or his promise of redemption, Isaiah portrays God’s greatness as above all that he has created.”

Discover more from the book of Isaiah.

Our Plans and God’s Plans

“Neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

Many years ago, my husband decided to take a trip to Africa with a group of people from his church. At the last minute, the group was prevented from going on its journey. Everyone was disappointed, but the money they’d collected for airfare, lodging, and food was donated to the people they’d tried to visit. The people used it to construct a building that would shelter victims of abuse.

Recently, at a prayer breakfast, my husband met someone who lived in the village he’d almost traveled to so many years ago. This person was a teacher who said he walked by the building every day. He confirmed that God had used it to provide for the most vulnerable people in the area.

Our plans and desires don’t always match what God has in mind. For His “thoughts are not [our] thoughts, neither are [our] ways [His] ways” (Isaiah 55:8). God’s ways aren’t just different from ours; His ways are “higher” and better because what He does is consistent with who He is (v. 9). This truth gives us hope when our efforts to serve Him don’t turn out the way we’d planned.

It might be years before we’re able to look back and trace God’s influence through certain situations. For now, though, as we continue to reach out to the world in His name, we can remember that God is always powerfully at work (v. 11).

Reflect & Pray

When have you felt disappointed with an experience? How might God use this to teach you something about Himself?

Dear God, You’re the all-knowing one. When I don’t understand what’s happening, please help me to trust You.

We can trust God to nourish us better than anything else can. Discover more by reading Better than Money Can Buy.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Must I Listen?

They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” — Exodus 20:18-19

There are times when we’re not consciously disobeying God; we’re just not paying attention. God has given us his commandments: there they are, set down in Scripture, along with a clear directive that we should follow them. “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). And still, we look the other way. We don’t do this out of willful disobedience. We do it because we don’t love and respect God.

“Speak to us yourself,” the Israelites told Moses. “But do not have God speak to us.” We show God how little we love him when we prefer to listen only to his servants. We’ll listen to personal testimonies, but we won’t listen to God himself. Why are we so terrified of him speaking directly to us? Because we know that if he does, we’ll have a choice to make: obey or disobey. If it’s only a servant’s voice we hear, we feel free to disregard it. “Well, that’s just your own idea,” we say. “Even though I don’t deny it’s probably God’s truth.”

Am I putting God in the humiliating position of having treated me as his child, while I’ve been ignoring him? When I do finally listen, the humiliation I’ve been putting on him comes back on me, and my delight at hearing him is tempered by the shame of having shut him out for so long.

Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Recycling Your Personal Garbage - #9938

It was exciting the first time I landed at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. There's the skyline of Manhattan out the window, and water all around us as the plane touched down on the runway. It was only after I had landed that my host in New York told me how they built LaGuardia Airport. He said, "Oh, they built it on the garbage of New York." Landfill in the bay created a base on which an airport could be built.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Recycling Your Personal Garbage."

It's amazing what they can do with garbage, isn't it? They recycle what seems vile and useless and they make it into something useful. That's the very kind of miracle God's been doing for people for a long time, and He wants to do it for you.

In a past summer God used the brokenness, the courage of a team of young Native Americans to bring unprecedented numbers of reservation young people to a commitment to Jesus Christ. I've seen it for like 32 summers. Some of the most powerful moments we experienced with our "On Eagles' Wings" team were when some of these young people, representing some 20 or more different tribes, stood in the middle of Indian villages and shared what they call their Hope Story. They poured out the pain of some horrific backgrounds, and then the incredible hope they have found in Jesus Christ. And kids who listen to no one listened to them, and over the summer hundreds gave themselves publicly to Jesus Christ.

One night, at a reservation outreach, Mary shared her heart-wrenching story of sexual abuse and the drugs and alcohol she used to sedate her pain. It's a story that's always hard for her to tell, but one which powerfully turns young people's hearts to Jesus. After telling her story at a second outreach, Mary came to me and said, "I can't believe how God uses the stuff I've been through to change so many lives."

That's it. Garbage, recycled by God, to help other people find life and find hope. In Genesis 50:20, our word for today from the Word of God, Joseph summarizes the perspective God has given him on the junk of his life. He's been nearly murdered by his brothers as a teenager, he's been sold into slavery, unjustly imprisoned in a foreign land, but ultimately rescued by God and made the assistant Pharaoh of Egypt, the second most powerful man in the world. In that position, his God-directed plans to prepare for a coming famine, saves many lives in Egypt and even the lives of the brothers who betrayed him many years before. No betrayal and he never would have been in Egypt. No Egypt and many would have died, possibly even his own family.

So here's Joseph's summary of it all, explained to his brothers: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish...the saving of many lives." See, that's what God wants to do with all the garbage of your life - make it into something that can touch and heal many other lives.

If you'll release all that junk, all that pain to Jesus, He alone can heal it and He alone can redeem it, and He'll make it into a magnet for some other hurting lives. If you harbor it, it's just going to make you hard and bitter and largely useless in a wounded world. But if you surrender all that garbage to Jesus, He can turn it into a beautiful compassion, because you know how it feels. And that will cause many other struggling people to identify with you, to open their hearts to you, to trust you, and perhaps to let you lead them to your Jesus. He's the One who was "a man of sorrows," the Bible says, "familiar with suffering" who "took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows." And the Bible says it is, "by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Or in the words of a broken young native woman who has experienced His healing, He will "use the things you've been through to change so many lives."

Matthew 5:27-48, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD CAN USE YOU - February 11, 2025

If God chose only righteous people to change the world, you could count them all on one finger—Jesus! Instead he included others in his plan—sinners, the ungodly, the imperfect. God used and uses people to change the world. People! Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all! If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used, and take heart.

No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God can use you. Because you’re imperfect, you can speak of making mistakes. Because you’re a sinner, you can speak of forgiveness. God restores the broken and the brittle, then parades them before the world as trophies of his love and strength. And when the world sees the ungodly turn godly, they know God must love them too. God can use you, my friend.

Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions

Matthew 5:27-48

Adultery and Divorce

27–28  “You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ‘Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.

29–30  “Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.

31–32  “Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure.

Empty Promises

33–37  “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

Love Your Enemies

38–42  “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

43–47  “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48  “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

by Leslie Koh

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ezekiel 34:11-16

 ‘God, the Master, says: From now on, I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms. I’ll bring them back from foreign peoples, gather them from foreign countries, and bring them back to their home country. I’ll feed them on the mountains of Israel, along the streams, among their own people. I’ll lead them into lush pasture so they can roam the mountain pastures of Israel, graze at leisure, feed in the rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest. I’ll go after the lost, I’ll collect the strays, I’ll doctor the injured, I’ll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong ones so they’re not exploited.

Today's Insights

Ezekiel was both a priest and a prophet, prophesying from 593 to 571 bc. He was among the ten thousand captives brought out of Judea to Babylon in 597 bc, which included officers, soldiers, skilled workers, artisans, and eighteen-year-old King Jehoiachin and his family (2 Kings 24:10-15; 2 Chronicles 36:9). In Babylon, Ezekiel had his first vision at age thirty by the Kebar River (Ezekiel 1:1-3). He prophesied to a people who desperately needed to hear from God. The book’s main themes include the holiness of God and the sin of the people (36:22-23), which included judgment on those who turn away from God and mercy and hope for those who repent and trust in Him. During Ezekiel’s captivity (586 bc), Babylon besieged Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and burned down the city, carrying away the remnant of the people. The captivity lasted seventy years (2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36:21).

God Runs After Us

The Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. Ezekiel 34:11

For years, Evan struggled with an addiction that kept him from drawing close to God. How can I be worthy of His love? he wondered. So, while he kept going to church, he felt that there was an unbridgeable chasm that kept him separated from God.

Yet, whenever Evan prayed earnestly for something, God seemed to answer him. God also sent people to encourage and comfort him in difficult times. After some years, Evan realized God was constantly pursuing him and showing that He’d always loved and cared for him, and that’s when he began to trust in God’s forgiveness and love. “Now, I know that I’m forgiven and can let God draw me close to Him, even though I’m still struggling with my addiction,” he said.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 tells us of a God who pursued His people. “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them,” He said, vowing to rescue them and provide for them abundantly (v. 11). This was after their human leaders had abandoned them, and they themselves disobeyed their true Shepherd (vv. 1-6). Whether we’re helpless victims of circumstances or struggling with the consequences of our own sin, God pursues us in love. In His mercy and grace, He draws us back to Him. If you’ve forgotten God, turn back to Him. Then, as He leads, continue to walk with Him each day.

Reflect & Pray

How has God shown you that He cares for you and loves you? How can you let Him draw you closer to Him?

Dear God, thank You for always loving me despite my struggles and doubts. Please teach me to trust in Your love anew.

Learn more about God's Dependable Faithfulness.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Is Your Hope in God Faint and Dying?

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. — Isaiah 26:3 (kjv)

Is your imagination stayed on God, or is it starved? A starved imagination is one of the greatest sources of exhaustion in a disciple’s life. To attain the perfect peace Isaiah describes, we must set our minds steadfastly on God, trusting entirely in him.

If you have never used your imagination to put yourself deliberately before God, begin to do it now. It is no use waiting for God to come to you: you must go to him, turning your gaze away from the faces of idols. Imagination is the greatest gift God has given us, and it ought to be devoted entirely to him. If you learn to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, it will be one of the greatest assets to your faith when the time of trial comes, because your faith and the Spirit of God will work together.

“We have sinned, even as our ancestors did. . . . They did not remember your many kindnesses” (Psalm 106:6–7). If you find that your mind is not steadfastly set on God, if you cannot remember his kindness and love, drive a stake through the heart of your forgetfulness. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. If you do, your affection for God will increase tenfold, your imagination will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.

Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26:1-25

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, 199 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

When God's Messenger Messes Up the Message - #9937

There are five Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John - and the Christian. Most people never read the first four. That observation, made a long time ago, could not be more true today.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When God's Messenger Messes Up the Message."

If our world's getting darker, then something must be wrong with what folks are "reading," in the Christians - the messengers - they know. We talked about that yesterday. And then there must be something wrong with their message. No, wait! Actually, with the way they represent the message.

That message is, as the Bible says, the "good news about Jesus" - the love that died for us, the power that crushed death. So the problem sure isn't the message. But the Good News doesn't sound as good when it's obscured by three mistakes that we messengers make.

Number one, our tone. So many unbelievers I know use some unwelcome words to describe Christians. You may have heard them: "angry," "you're judgmental," "you're condemning." Did you know up to 80% of communication is tone? Not what we say, but how we say it. So is our tone drowning out our message?

Jesus' main man, Simon Peter, seemed to learn that over time. Earlier, he was brash, he was explosive. But later, he said we should "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone...with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). Is that how people feel when they're with us - "gentled" and "respected?" Is it our message folks are rejecting or our tone? This isn't about winning an argument. It's about winning a heart.

Then secondly, our retreat may be part of the problem. Our message gets obscured. We Jesus-followers have one authority for the message that changes eternities. It's God's Word. "All Scripture" the Bible calls it. He says it is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16).

But as our culture moves, Christians tend to move with it. Always keeping an apparently "righteous distance" but quickly ending up where non-believers were as little as ten years ago. And reinterpreting, rationalizing, diluting their source, the Bible, to justify their flexible "truth."

When we adjust our beliefs to placate our culture, we are no longer the choice Jesus called us to be. We're just an echo of our culture; losing the power of God's voice for some wimpy blend of Christianity and cultural appeasement.

As Martin Luther essentially stood against the whole world in his day, here was his anchor verse: "Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89). If it stands firm in the heavens, I can't change it on earth.

Thirdly, I think our message can be obscured by our baggage. The Gospel is compelling when it's just the Gospel. But some people never get to the Gospel because of the baggage we encumber it with: politics, church, denomination, culture wars, rules, condemning people's lifestyles.

It's all about Jesus. Jesus made it all about Jesus with His simple invitation, "Follow Me" (Mark 1:17). "Come to Me" (Matthew 11:28). "Trust in Me" (John 14:1). That's why Paul, Jesus' greatest ambassador, said in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 2:2, "I resolved when I was among you to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Charles Spurgeon said the Cross is God's "magnificent magnet." Because "if they perceive, "Spurgeon said, "that He loved them and gave Himself for them, their hearts are stolen away."

That message, uncompromised, unencumbered, delivered with love, is what it has always been. According to Romans 1:16, "The power of God at work, saving everyone who believes." It's all about Jesus and His Cross. Stick to that my friend!

Messengers who act like Jesus, a message that's all about Jesus. That is a bright light on an otherwise dark and dangerous stretch of beach.

Genesis 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE FRUIT OF PATIENCE - February 10, 2025

Impatience is selfishness with time. We don’t like to waste it. People get in our way and slow things down, so we burn them with impatience!

Patience recognizes that we share time with others; it’s not just our time. Patience knows other factors are at work—that some things can be sped up with encouragement, not flames of retribution. The best way to turn down the flame of impatience is with love.

“Love is patient.” Love is a fruit hanging from the tree of Galatians 5:22. It’s the first-fruit, and some say the most important. The seeds of love produce the harvest of all the other fruits: joy, peace, patience… So if you have the Holy Spirit, then you have the potential of making patience a part of your life. Thankfully, God is patient while you find that patience.

Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions

Genesis 18

God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

3–5  He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”

They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”

6  Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”

7–8  Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.

9  The men said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

He said, “In the tent.”

10  One of them said, “I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.

11–12  Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?”

13–14  God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?’ Is anything too hard for God? I’ll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.”

15  Sarah lied. She said, “I didn’t laugh,” because she was afraid.

But he said, “Yes you did; you laughed.”

16  When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.

17–19  Then God said, “Shall I keep back from Abraham what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him.”

20–21  God continued, “The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.”

22  The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in God’s path, blocking his way.

23–25  Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”

26  God said, “If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them.”

27–28  Abraham came back, “Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?”

He said, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.”

29  Abraham spoke up again, “What if you only find forty?”

“Neither will I destroy it if for forty.”

30  He said, “Master, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?”

“No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.”

31  He pushed on, “I know I’m trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?”

“I won’t destroy it for twenty.”

32  He wouldn’t quit, “Don’t get angry, Master—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?”

“For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”

33  When God finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, February 10, 2025

by Kirsten Holmberg

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Matthew 4:18-22

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.

21–22  A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.

Today's Insights

Christ’s calling of His disciples to follow Him was strategic. He started His public ministry when He “was about thirty years old” (Luke 3:23) and many scholars believe He ministered for approximately three years before He was crucified. During this time, He called and taught His disciples. In addition to His invitation to two sets of brothers from Galilee to join Him—Simon Peter and Andrew; James and John (Matthew 4:18-22)—He called Matthew (Levi), a tax collector: “Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them” (Luke 5:27-29). Matthew’s example of friends reaching friends is worth emulating today.

Fishing for Friends

[Jesus said], “I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19

Patty spent the afternoon on the banks of a local river, using her fishing pole to cast bait into the water. Having only recently moved to the area, she wasn’t hoping to catch fish; she was angling for some new friends. Her line wasn’t baited with worms or any other traditional lure. Instead, she used her heavy-duty sturgeon rod to extend packets of cookies to people who were floating down the river in rafts on a hot summer day. She used this creative way to meet her new neighbors, who all seemed to enjoy the sweet treat!

Patty went “fishing for friends” in a much more literal way than Jesus intended when He invited Peter and Andrew to walk with Him through life. The two brothers were hardworking fishermen, casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee. Jesus interrupted their labors with a call to follow Him, saying He would send them out to “fish for people” instead of fish (Matthew 4:19). He made the same invitation to two other fishermen, James and John, shortly thereafter. They all left their nets and boats immediately to journey with Jesus.

Like the fishermen who became His first disciples, Christ invites us to follow Him and focus our attention on eternal matters: the spiritual lives of those with whom we interact. We can offer those around us what really satisfies—the enduring hope of life with Jesus (John 4:13-14).

Reflect & Pray

Who first shared with you about Jesus? How might you offer others the hope He provides?

Dear Jesus, please help me to become a fisher of people so that others will know You better.

Learn more about discipleship from the early followers of Jesus. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, February 10, 2025

Is Your Imagination of God Starved?

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. — Isaiah 40:26

In Isaiah’s day, God’s people had starved their imaginations by looking on the faces of idols. Isaiah told them to look to God, to the author of everything created and imagined. He made them lift their eyes to the heavens, so that they might begin to use their imaginations aright.

Nature to a child of God is sacramental. In every wind that blows, in every night and every day, in every sign of the sky, in every blossoming and withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us, if we will only use our starved imaginations to realize it. If we learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in nature—with the sunrises and the sunsets, with the moon and the stars, with the changing seasons—our imaginations will never be at the mercy of our impulses but will always be at his service.

Is your imagination looking on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Your work? Your experiences of salvation and sanctification? If your imagination is God-starved, you will have no power when difficulties arise. When you need strength, don’t look to your own experience or understanding; it is God you need. Go out of yourself—away from your idols, away from everything that has been starving your imagination. Take Isaiah’s words to heart: lift your eyes to the heavens and deliberately turn your mind to God.

Leviticus 8-10; Matthew 25:31-46

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. 

My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, February 10, 2025

The Trouble With Christians - #9936

Boom! Suddenly all the lights went out in the conference center where we were staying, just as we were all making our way out of our rooms and down this long hallway to breakfast. No windows. The hallway was longer than usual that morning because it was totally dark. Turns out the entire region experienced a power failure that morning. Because a squirrel got into a relay station and gnawed through a cable. That's fried squirrel and lights out.

The problem that day really wasn't the darkness. Darkness is always dark, right? The problem was the failure of the light. A lot of us Christians have been lamenting what we perceive as the growing spiritual darkness around us: Fewer people identifying themselves as Christians, more people identifying themselves as nonbelievers, long-time moral boundaries that are eroding or collapsing.

When it's dark, the problem isn't the darkness. It's the failure of the light. And Jesus said to His followers, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). It appears something's wrong with the light.

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

I can think of two ways that we're failing our world and our Lord. One has to do with a flawed message that obscures the true Message. That part's for tomorrow, but here are three reasons why I think the light is so often obscured.

First, flawed messengers. Over and over, a watching world sees well-known Christians suddenly disgraced by a dark secret. You can probably think of some pastors, mega church "stars," TV personalities, athletes, politicians. And folks who don't like the message can now find another "hypocrite" to hide behind.

The sad fall of a prominent Christian is a teachable moment, underscoring three critical realities.

First, each Jesus-follower's life is either a reason for someone to check out Jesus or rule out Jesus. If I drift away from Him, I take watching unbelievers with me. That's why Paul said in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 9:12, "We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ." And Peter said, "Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then, if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God" (1 Peter 2:12). So, my little "sin fling" or spiritual detour will cost me God's blessing. It could cost those watching me their eternity.

Then secondly, every time a public Christian is discredited, the importance of the everyday Christian is elevated. The Christian who is in a seeker's life every day has far more impact than any Christian in the spotlight. I am the face, the voice, the proof of Jesus to the unbelievers in my personal world for better or for worse. It's always important that I walk the talk. It's exponentially important that I'm consistent when there's been a public Christian disgrace. When they see me, they've got to be able to see Jesus all day every day.

Here's one other very vital reality. The failure of the messenger does not change the truth of the message. Jesus said, "Follow Me." Not follow My followers. He said, "I am the Way" (John 14:6). Not, "I will show you the way." He told us, "I am the resurrection and the life...he who believes in Me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25). Not, believe in someone who practices the Christian religion. No, He said, "Believe in Me. Follow Me."

Jesus made it all about Jesus. So while a hypocrite might provide an excuse for not believing, they don't provide a valid reason. Because it's what we do with Jesus that determines our eternity. In fact, that's the question you will face when you see God. "What did you do with My Son who died on a cross for you?"

If you've never taken Him for you to be your Savior from your sin, this would be the day to do that. If you want to begin your relationship with Jesus, we would love to walk you through that. You can go to our website: ANewStory.com.

You know, in the end, it isn't about Christians. It isn't about Christianity. It's all about Jesus. That's such good news! Because He's the Man who loved me enough to die for me; who's powerful enough to walk out of His grave. Jesus - He is the unfailing Light.

Genesis 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Let your light shine

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16, NIV

Did you notice the first five letters of the word courteous spell court? In old England, to be courteous was to act in the way of the court. The family and servants of the king were expected to follow a higher standard.

So are we. Are we not called to represent the King? Then “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Genesis 17

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.”

3–8  Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.

Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: You’ll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that ‘I’m making you the father of many nations.’ I’ll make you a father of fathers—I’ll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I’m giving you and your descendants this land where you’re now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I’ll be their God.”

9–14  God continued to Abraham, “And you: You will honor my covenant, you and your descendants, generation after generation. This is the covenant that you are to honor, the covenant that pulls in all your descendants: Circumcise every male. Circumcise by cutting off the foreskin of the penis; it will be the sign of the covenant between us. Every male baby will be circumcised when he is eight days old, generation after generation—this includes house-born slaves and slaves bought from outsiders who are not blood kin. Make sure you circumcise both your own children and anyone brought in from the outside. That way my covenant will be cut into your body, a permanent mark of my permanent covenant. An uncircumcised male, one who has not had the foreskin of his penis cut off, will be cut off from his people—he has broken my covenant.”

15–16  God continued speaking to Abraham, “And Sarai your wife: Don’t call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I’ll bless her—yes! I’ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I’ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her.”

17  Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?”

18  Recovering, Abraham said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!”

19  But God said, “That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I’ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.

20–21  “And Ishmael? Yes, I heard your prayer for him. I’ll also bless him; I’ll make sure he has plenty of children—a huge family. He’ll father twelve princes; I’ll make him a great nation. But I’ll establish my covenant with Isaac whom Sarah will give you about this time next year.”

22  God finished speaking with Abraham and left.

23  Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his servants, whether house-born or purchased—every male in his household—and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins that very day, just as God had told him.

24–27  Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised the same day together with all the servants of his household, those born there and those purchased from outsiders—all were circumcised with him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, February 09, 2025

by Mike Wittmer

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 2:11-18

But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

14–15  The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.

16–18  Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

Today's Insights

Ephesians 2:11-22 is theologically rich. Like a cord of three strands, this passage brings together three key doctrines of the faith in Jesus: teaching about Christ (Christology), the church (ecclesiology), and the Holy Spirit (pneumatology). Jesus, through His reconciling work, is the source of our peace with God (vv. 14, 16) and through Him two disparate groups—Jews and gentiles—could become one new humanity (vv. 14-15). The church is indeed one body and a new family (vv. 14-18) “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (v. 20). The Holy Spirit has been and is at work in forming and sustaining the church. He facilitates our decision for salvation (v. 18) and indwells the church that Jesus is building (v. 22).

Jesus Our Peace

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. Ephesians 2:17

Joan groaned when she saw Susan’s social media post. The photo showed ten church friends smiling around a restaurant table. For the second time this month, they were having a grand time—without her. Joan blinked away tears. She didn’t always get along with the others, but still. How strange to attend church with people who didn’t include her!

How strangely first century! But Jesus desires unity and came to heal our division. From the church’s beginning, people who didn’t get along were to find common ground in Him. Jews looked down on gentiles for not keeping the law, and gentiles loathed Jews for thinking they were better. Then Jesus “made the two groups one”; He “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands” (Ephesians 2:14-15). Keeping the law no longer mattered. What counted was Jesus. Would Jew and gentile unite in Him?

That depended on their response. Jesus “preached peace to” gentiles “who were far away and peace to [Jews] who were near” (v. 17). Same message, different application. Self-righteous Jews needed to admit they weren’t better, while snubbed gentiles needed to believe they weren’t worse. Both needed to stop fretting about the other and focus on Christ, who was creating “in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace” (v. 15).

Feeling snubbed? That hurts. It’s not right. But you can be a peacemaker as you rest in Jesus. He’s still our peace.

Reflect & Pray

When have you felt snubbed? How can you be a peacemaker?

Dear Father, when I’m snubbed, I’ll rest in Your Son.

Learn more about the beauty and unity of the community God has brought together through Jesus.  

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, February 09, 2025

The everlasting God . . . will not grow tired or weary. — Isaiah 40:28

When we are physically exhausted, it’s as though all our strength and vitality have left us. Spiritual exhaustion is similar: we feel as though we’ve come to the end of our ability to be of service to God. This kind of tiredness never arises through sin, always through service, and it happens when we’re getting our supply from the wrong source.

Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17), but he didn’t give Peter anything to feed them with. The nourishment was Peter himself. He had to be made broken bread and poured-out wine for souls who hadn’t yet learned to draw directly on God. We must offer ourselves like this as well, because other souls must draw from us before they draw directly on the Lord. But we must be very careful about where we find our own nourishment. If we don’t get it from God, before long we will be completely exhausted.

Have you betrayed yourself into exhaustion by the way you’ve been serving God? Continually go back to your motivations and examine the source of their power. If you find yourself saying, “Oh, God, I’m so exhausted,” remember that he saved and sanctified you in order to exhaust you. Exhaust yourself in service for God, but remember to take your supply from him: “All my fountains are in you” (Psalm 87:7).

Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25:1-30

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6).

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L