Genesis 40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PART OF GOD’S FAMILY - May 14, 2025

Were your growing up years your hard years? Family pain is the deepest pain because it was inflicted so early. It involves people who should have been trustworthy. You were too young to process the mistreatment. You didn’t know how to defend yourself. Besides, the perpetrators of your pain were so large. Your dad, mom, uncle, big brother—they towered over you, usually in size, always in rank. When they judged you falsely, you believed them.

As a result, you’ve been operating on faulty data. “You’re stupid, slow, dumb like your daddy, fat like your momma.” Decades later, these voices of defeat still echo in our subconscious. But they don’t have to. Romans 12:2 says, “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” You are God’s child. His creation. You’ll get through this! You’re part of his family.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Genesis 40

As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs.

4–7  After they had been in custody for a while, the king’s cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, “What’s wrong? Why the long faces?”

8  They said, “We dreamed dreams and there’s no one to interpret them.”

Joseph said, “Don’t interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams.”

9–11  First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s cup; I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.”

12–15  Joseph said, “Here’s the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you’ll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I’ve been here, I’ve done nothing to deserve being put in this hole.”

16–17  When the head baker saw how well Joseph’s interpretation turned out, he spoke up: “My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from the basket on my head.”

18–19  Joseph said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the birds will pick your bones clean.”

20–22  And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday and he threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph’s interpretations exactly.

23  But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

by Tom Felten

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Kings 19:14-20

Hezekiah took the letter from the envoy and read it. He went to The Temple of God and spread it out before God. And Hezekiah prayed—oh, how he prayed!

God, God of Israel, seated

in majesty on the cherubim-throne.

You are the one and only God,

sovereign over all kingdoms on earth,

Maker of heaven,

maker of earth.

16  Open your ears, God, and listen,

open your eyes and look.

Look at this letter Sennacherib has sent,

a brazen insult to the living God!

17  The facts are true, O God: The kings of Assyria

have laid waste countries and kingdoms.

18  Huge bonfires they made of their gods, their

no-gods hand-made from wood and stone.

19  But now O God, our God,

save us from raw Assyrian power;

Make all the kingdoms on earth know

that you are God, the one and only God.

20–21  It wasn’t long before Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah:

God’s word: You’ve prayed to me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria; I’ve heard your prayer.

Today's Insights

We learn much about Hezekiah from 2 Kings 18. At age twenty-five, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz and Abijah (daughter of Zechariah), began his reign as king of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) during Hoshea’s third year as king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) (vv. 1-2). Hezekiah reigned twenty-nine years, and during this time he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 3). This included removing the high places where the people offered sacrifices to pagan gods; cutting down Asherah poles used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah; and destroying the bronze snake made by Moses, which the people had begun to worship (v. 4; see Numbers 21:4-9). He “trusted in” and “held fast” to God and kept His commandments (2 Kings 18:5-6). He revolted against the king of Assyria and conquered the Philistines (18:7-8). And he sought God in prayer (19:14-19). God also invites us to spread out our concerns before Him in prayer.

Bring It to God

Hezekiah received the letter . . . and spread it out before the Lord. 2 Kings 19:14

Brian had been with the heart specialist for more than an hour. His friend remained in the waiting room, praying for wisdom and healing for his ailing friend. When Brian finally returned to the waiting room, he showed him the pile of papers he’d received. As he spread them out on a table, he discussed the various options being considered to treat his threatening condition. The two discussed the need to pray and ask God for wisdom for next steps. And then Brian said, “Whatever lies ahead, I’m in God’s hands.”

King Hezekiah “spread [a letter] out before the Lord” (2 Kings 19:14). The words in the letter didn’t address a threatening medical condition but the threat of a powerful enemy—Assyria—that had seized all the fortified cities of Judah and was preparing to attack Jerusalem, its capital. Hezekiah prayed, “You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. . . . Now, Lord our God, deliver us” (vv. 15, 19). Soon the prophet Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah, telling him, “The Lord . . . says: I have heard your prayer” (v. 20). And “that night” God destroyed the Assyrian army (v. 35).

Whatever you face today, spread it out before God. As you “present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6), He hears you and is with you. You can rest in His hands as you experience His wisdom, love, and hope.

Reflect & Pray

What will it mean for you to spread out before God the concerns on your heart today? How can you choose to rest in His power and presence?

Loving God, thank You for hearing me when I bring my concerns to You.

We can depend on God as our good shepherd. Learn more by reading The Wolf and the Shepherd.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

The Habit of Enjoying the Disagreeable

. . . so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.— 2 Corinthians 4:11

We have to form habits that express what God’s grace has done inside us. It isn’t a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to reveal the life of the Son of God in our own lives. We know whether or not we are revealing his life when we come up against disagreeable things. When I meet with a task or a person I find unpleasant, what do I express? Is it the essential sweetness of the Son of God or the irritability of my self apart from him?

The only thing that allows us to enjoy the disagreeable is the bright enthusiasm of the life of the Son of God. If we get into the habit of saying, “Lord, I am delighted to obey you in this matter,” the Son of God will come to the forefront, and we will glorify him by revealing his life.

There must be no argument or debate. The moment we obey, the light of the Son of God shines through us. The moment we object, we grieve the Spirit. We must keep ourselves in good shape spiritually if we want the life of the Son to reveal itself, and we can’t keep in shape if we give in to self-pity. Our circumstances are opportunities for demonstrating how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure the Son of God is. The thing that ought to make our hearts beat is a new way of revealing him. This doesn’t mean choosing the disagreeable; it means embracing the disagreeable when God places it in our path. Wherever God places us, he is sufficient.

Let the word of God be active and alive inside you, so that the life of Christ will reveal itself at every turn.

2 Kings 19-21; John 4:1-30

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. 

The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Having a Baby, Facing Life's Battles - #10003

Someone said the best cure for the population explosion would be if men had to have every other baby. That would slow it down considerably! I'll tell you, there's something that women know about that process, though, that leads to life. A woman, particularly in her first pregnancy, is introduced to a long, sometimes very difficult life process. She knows she wants the baby; there's no question about the results, but it's the process she has some questions about sometimes: nausea, discomfort, her body's doing things it never did before. And the months sometimes feel like years. And last but not least, there are the labor pains. That day alone can seem like one of the longest in her life. But then...then the baby comes.

You know, a lot of life is like child bearing. A long, sometimes unpleasant process is often the only route to the joyful result you want.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Having a Baby, Facing Life's Battles."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in John 16 - it's about that motherhood experience, and I'm reading from verse 21. Jesus said, "A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world." She was waiting for the baby, the process was painful, long, and difficult, but the baby came and erased all the bad memories of the process. A painful process that leads to a glorious result.

Now, that's what might be going on with the "baby" in your life right now. I don't mean some little infant, but for you, maybe it's the goal you've been striving for, the dream you've hoped would happen and you thought would happen, the outcome you've been praying for - you've been believing God for. Maybe it's an outcome for one of your children, or a dream related to your career, something you've prayed for in your ministry, or your marriage. Maybe it's a financial recovery that you've been counting on happening and trusting God for, or a physical recovery; an answer to some fervent prayer; a cry from your heart. But it's taking so long, just like a baby.

It's causing so much pain - you didn't know it would be this tough, just like a baby. It's causing things to happen to your feelings, and to your life that you never counted on, just like a baby. The process that will get you to that result has caused you to lose sight of that result that you were hoping for. Maybe you're questioning whether or not it will ever happen. You've prayed for it, but you've got doubts now.

Well, I'm going to tell you today, "Hang in there!" Jesus was saying to His disciples, "You're going to go through some times when the process is going to be so difficult, so long, you'll despair that the result will ever happen. Hang in there, guys! Remember, the God of the outcome is also the God of the process. You're trusting Him for the result. Well, can you trust Him for the process even though it's difficult; even though it's longer than you thought? Trust the processes of God, not just the results. He's working through this process right now.

And as confusing as it may seem to you, He's trying to prepare you, to prepare others, and to do it in a way that will call everyone's attention to His love and power. When the baby comes, there'll be no question that God gets the glory for it.

That means that sometimes it even has to get worse before it gets better. Just ask any woman who has been through labor. The process is difficult but right on schedule. And when that baby comes, well it will make the process worth it all.

Genesis 39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A CUP OF BLESSINGS - May 13, 2025

My friend Rob cried freely telling his story about his young son’s challenging life. Daniel was born with a double cleft palate, dramatically disfiguring his face. He had surgery, but the evidence remains, so people constantly notice and occasionally make remarks. Daniel, however, is unfazed. He just tells people God made him this way so, what’s the big deal?

He was named student of the week and was asked to bring something to show his classmates for show and tell. Daniel told his mom he wanted to take the pictures that showed his face prior to the surgery. His mom was concerned. “Won’t that make you feel a bit funny?” she asked. But Daniel insisted, “Oh, no, I want everyone to see what God did for me!”

Try Daniel’s defiant joy and see what happens. God has handed you a cup of blessings. Sweeten it with a heaping spoonful of gratitude!

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Genesis 39

After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them.

2–6  As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.

6–7  Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”

8–9  He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”

10  She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.

11–15  On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: “Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside.”

16–18  She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same story. She said, “The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside.”

19–23  When his master heard his wife’s story, telling him, “These are the things your slave did to me,” he was furious. Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

by Katara Patton

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Leviticus 25:35-38

“If one of your brothers becomes indigent and cannot support himself, help him, the same as you would a foreigner or a guest so that he can continue to live in your neighborhood. Don’t gouge him with interest charges; out of reverence for your God help your brother to continue to live with you in the neighborhood. Don’t take advantage of his plight by running up big interest charges on his loans, and don’t give him food for profit. I am your God who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

oday's Insights

Every seven years, the people of Israel and all who lived with them were to stop their agricultural pursuits and live off only what the ground yielded (Leviticus 25:1-7). This was called the Sabbath Year. They let the land rest and enjoyed the fruit of that rest for a full year as they depended on God to provide for them. 

In addition, every fifty years (after the seventh sabbath year), they observed the Year of Jubilee (vv. 8-55). Not only were the people to let the land rest, but they were also to cancel all debts across the nation and return all ancestral property to the families and tribes to whom it originally belonged. The Year of Jubilee compassionately prevented families from getting stuck in cycles of poverty so that all God’s people could enjoy the blessings of the land that He alone had given them.

A Helping Hand

Help [the poor] as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. Leviticus 25:35

Today's Devotional

In the early 1900s, laws restricted Black people and immigrants in the United States from renting or buying property in Coronado, California. A Black man named Gus Thompson (who'd been born into slavery) had purchased land earlier and built a boarding home in Coronado before the discriminating laws were passed. In 1939, Gus rented to an Asian family, and eventually sold the land to them. Nearly eighty-five years later, after selling the property, some members of the Asian family are donating their proceeds from the sale to help Black college students. They’re also working to name a center at San Diego State University after Gus and his wife, Emma.

Leviticus also speaks of what it means to treat others well. God instructed His people, “Help [the poor] as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you” (25:35). He instructed the people to treat each other well and fairly, especially those in need. Out of reverent “fear” (v. 36) for Him, they were to help those who’d fallen on hard times and weren’t able to take care of themselves. They were to treat them just as they would treat a “foreigner and stranger” (v. 35)—with hospitality and love.

Gus Thompson and his wife helped a family that didn’t look like them. In return, that family is blessing many other people. Let’s extend God’s compassion to those in need as He helps us reveal His love for them.

Reflect & Pray

Who needs help in your community? How can you extend care to them?

Caring Father, please open my eyes so I can see how to help others.

For further study, read Going the Extra Mile: Learning to Serve Like Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

The Habit of a Good Conscience

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. — Acts 24:16

Conscience is the faculty inside us which attaches itself to the highest ideal we know. Either this ideal is God, or it’s something else. If we are in the habit of steadily facing God, our conscience will always guide us toward his perfect law and indicate what we should do.

The question is, Will I obey what my conscience shows me? It is difficult—too difficult—for human nature to keep God’s commands. But God didn’t give his commands to our human nature; he gave them to the life of Jesus inside us. When I lean on the life of Christ within, following God’s commands becomes divinely easy. I should be living in perfect sympathy with Christ. If I am, my mind will be renewed in every circumstance, and I will be able to discern at once what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2 KJV).

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30). God educates us down to the scruple. Is my ear able to hear the tiniest whisper of the Spirit? The Spirit doesn’t come with a voice like thunder, but with a voice so gentle it is easy to ignore. The one thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to him is the continual habit of being open to God on the inside.

If I sense myself beginning to debate with the Spirit, I must stop immediately. There is no debate possible when conscience speaks. If I allow anything, however small, to obscure my inner communion with God, I do so at my own risk. I must drop the thing, whatever it is, and keep my inner vision clear.

2 Kings 17-18; John 3:19-38

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

NEXT GENERATION FIRE - #10002

Beware of the third generation! Yeah! That's an intriguing phenomenon that often takes place in a family business. The first generation starts it with nothing but a dream. They work long hours, they sacrifice, and they keep their vision alive. Then, the second generation starts to take over the business, and well, they may improve it a little; they might expand it a little bit, but they basically tend to maintain the vision of the founding generation.

Then along comes the grandchildren, and they begin to take over. Now, they've never had to sacrifice for the cause, they didn't see their parents sacrifice much. For them, it's like just an income source, not a vehicle for a vision they want to carry out. Many management people know that if the business can survive that third generation, it may make it. But often, every time you pass the torch, the flame burns a little lower, and sometimes it burns out.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Next Generation Fire."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 1. Realize that Paul is writing his last letter before he is martyred for the cause of Christ. He's concerned about the next generations of Christians, all that he bled for and all he's soon going to die for. More importantly, all that Jesus died for. The torch must be passed!

In 2 Timothy 1:14, he says to young Timothy - the next generation, "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." Then in chapter 2, verse 2, he says, "Don't stop there." He even talks about a third generation: "and the things you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, you entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

Now, Paul is saying here, "Don't drop my life's work. Don't drop the torch, man!" See, something insidious is happening, I think, as our faith in Christ passes from one generation to the next. I had a woman tell me not too long ago, "Our grandparents reordered their lives." They just understood that you organized your life differently in order to have a lot of money to give to the Lord's work. You just live that way; that becomes the center of your financial planning. As you look at the studies now you find out that the parent's generation is giving less than their parent's generation to God's work, and the grandchildren's generation is holding on to what they've got more than ever.

See, that first generation of believers may have a lot of vision; they started things in Jesus' name. They gave to the Lord's work first. And then the next generation, just like in a business, sort of maintained the vision, the programs of the founders. Then comes the third generation, and they kind of yawn and sort of take it all for granted. Meet the spiritual minimums, and the flame starts to flicker and die. Don't let that happen.

What God urgently needs right now is a new generation of spiritual pioneers who will become a new first generation with a new vision - risk takers, people who pray for miracles again, people who think up daring new ways to reach the lost. He's looking for some modern heroes who will lead the church into a new era of boldness, who will resist the seduction of material comfort and security. We need a new dream! We need young leaders to lead it!

Has the torch started to flicker just a little in your hands; a torch passed by some folks who sacrificed to make a difference? Well, commit yourself to a holy, new fire so the flame that has been fueled by the lives of those who ran before us can burn more brightly than ever in your hands.

Matthew 21:1-22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FIND A WAY TO GIVE THANKS - May 12, 2025

God notices the grateful heart. He took a praise-singing shepherd boy and made him a king. There’s no hint of God getting out of sorts if we aren’t thankful, but there is evidence we’re affected by our own ingratitude. What of the disastrous days? The nights I can’t sleep and the hours I can’t rest. Are we still grateful then?

Jesus was. The Bible records, “On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24 NLT). It’s not often you see the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. In the midst of the darkest night of the human soul, Jesus found a way to give thanks. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night. He says to us, “you’ll get through this!” And we will.   

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Matthew 21:1-22

The Royal Welcome

1–3  21 When they neared Jerusalem, having arrived at Bethphage on Mount Olives, Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions: “Go over to the village across from you. You’ll find a donkey tethered there, her colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you’re doing, say, ‘The Master needs them!’ He will send them with you.”

4–5  This is the full story of what was sketched earlier by the prophet:

Tell Zion’s daughter,

“Look, your king’s on his way,

poised and ready, mounted

On a donkey, on a colt,

foal of a pack animal.”

6–9  The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, “Hosanna to David’s son!” “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!” “Hosanna in highest heaven!”

10  As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, “What’s going on here? Who is this?”

11  The parade crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.”

He Kicked Over the Tables

12–14  Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:

My house was designated a house of prayer;

You have made it a hangout for thieves.

Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.

15–16  When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, “Hosanna to David’s Son!” they were up in arms and took him to task. “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?”

17  Fed up, Jesus turned on his heel and left the city for Bethany, where he spent the night.

The Withered Fig Tree

18–20  Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree alongside the road, he approached it anticipating a breakfast of figs. When he got to the tree, there was nothing but fig leaves. He said, “No more figs from this tree—ever!” The fig tree withered on the spot, a dry stick. The disciples saw it happen. They rubbed their eyes, saying, “Did we really see this? A leafy tree one minute, a dry stick the next?”

21–22  But Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you’ll tell, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, May 12, 2025

by 

John Blase

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Luke 12:13-21

The Story of the Greedy Farmer

13  Someone out of the crowd said, “Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.”

14  He replied, “Mister, what makes you think it’s any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?”

15  Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

16–19  Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’

20  “Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’

21  “That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”

Today's Insights

Jesus’ warnings against “all kinds of greed” (Luke 12:15) connect to a broader emphasis in Luke’s gospel on the dangers of wealth, as well as God’s concern for the poor. In Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55, she praises God as the one who “filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” (v. 53). In chapter 6, Christ says, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry” (vv. 24-25).

In Jesus’ parable of a wealthy farmer building larger barns to store excess produce, we’re given a look into the man’s inner thoughts (12:18-19). There we find someone with no concern for those around him who were in need; his only plans were for himself—to “take life easy; eat, drink and be merry” (v. 19). God can help us live wisely without regret.

No Regrets

You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Luke 12:20

There was no mention made of the stuff we often spend our lives chasing. That’s what palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware discovered as she sat with the dying. She intentionally questioned them: “Would you do anything differently if you could do it again?” Common themes surfaced, and she compiled a list of the top five regrets of the dying: (1) I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself. (2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. (3) I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. (4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. And (5) I wish I’d let myself be happier.    

Ware’s list brings to mind the parable Jesus tells in Luke 12. A rich man decides to build bigger barns to store his great harvest, after which he tells himself he’ll retire in style, sit back and relax, and live until he dies (vv. 18-19). But in that moment, God demands his life with a rather harsh address: “You fool!”—followed by a haunting question: in essence, “And what will become of all your stuff?” (v. 20).

Is it possible to die with zero regrets? That’s hard to know for certain. But what we do know is clearly expressed in Scripture—storing up stuff for ourselves is a dead end. True riches come from a life invested in God. 

Reflect & Pray

What if your life was demanded of you today? Would wise or foolish be applied to you? Why?

Dear Jesus, when the time comes, I want to have as few regrets as possible. Please help me to live wisely, building a life rich in You.

For further study, read Die First, Then Comes the End.

Learn to store up heavenly treasures instead of earthly treasures by reading The Fool's Greed and God's Generosity.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, May 12, 2025

Make a Habit of Having No Habits

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. — 2 Peter 1:8

When we first begin to form a habit, we are highly aware of what we are doing. If we are cultivating habits of patience and godliness, we might consciously think, “Look at how patient and godly I’m being!” This kind of conscious awareness is a stage we must pass through. If we get stuck in it, we’ll become spiritual snobs.

Our spiritual life continually calls us to look within ourselves. When we do, we see that there are some qualities we’re still missing. Our god may be our little Christian habit—praying at bedtime or reading the Bible in the morning. “I can’t do that right now; it’s my hour with God,” you say. No, it’s your hour with your habit. Watch how the Father will upset these times if you begin to worship your habit instead of him. If this is the case in your life, recognize that there is a quality missing in you, and look for the opportunity to set things right.

The right thing to do with habits is to lose them in the life of the Lord, until every habit is so automatic that there is no awareness of it at all. Ultimately, the relationship between our souls and Christ should be very simple: it should be based on love. Love means that there is no detectable habit. You have come to the place where the habit has been lost in the bliss of unconscious devotion. If you are consciously holy, there are certain things you think you can’t do, certain places you feel you can’t go. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and Jesus was at home with God anywhere.

Where do you not feel at home with God? Let God press through in that place until you find him, and your life will become the simple life of the child.

2 Kings 15-16; John 3:1-18

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.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, May 12, 2025

The Wall in Your Heart - #10001

I was speaking for an Easter Sunrise Service in the Ozarks, and I saw something that seemed strangely out of place. In front of this church, there's a ten-foot section of a brick wall with a sign in front of it that says, "Berlin Wall." I was thousands of miles from Berlin, but here was a chunk of what used to be the most famous, and maybe the most infamous wall in the world. Many of us remember how the Berlin Wall represented for decades the Cold War division of our world into Communists on one side and free on the other. The Communists built it on the border between East Berlin and free West Berlin. In spite of that wall, many people still risked everything to scale it and escape to freedom. A few made it. Many died trying.

Then came that amazing day - a day few of us could have ever imagined - when the revolution taking place against Communist rule allowed Berliners to start tearing down that wall. All night long, they went after that wall with everything from sledge hammers to their bare hands. And then there were 100,000 Berliners, celebrating in the square, and they were chanting four incredible words over and over again, "The wall is gone! The wall is gone!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wall In Your Heart."

For many of us, there's a wall that's still standing that is costing us the most important things in life. It's a wall between us and the God who made us. In fact, you probably didn't need me to tell you there's a wall. We know there's something between us and God. What we may not know is what that wall is keeping us from; like the meaning and purpose of your life. The only person who can show you why you're here is the One who put you here, and He's on the other side of the wall. The only love that can ultimately satisfy the loneliness in your heart is God's love. If we die with that wall still there, it's there forever. The Bible calls that hell.

The Bible describes the wall this way: "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). The bricks in the wall between me and God are all the countless times that I've chosen to do things my way instead of His way - my sins. Every wrong thing I've ever done, every lie I've ever told, every person I've ever hurt, every mean thing I've ever said, every selfish thing I've ever done, every dirty thing I've ever thought or done, and everything and everyone I've ever let be more important than God in my life. Those are my sins. I'm cut off from God because of that sin-wall. And there's no way you or I can tear it down no matter how decent, how religious, or how sincere we are.

The only One who can do that is the very God we've rebelled against, and that's what He did the day His Son, Jesus, paid for our sin on the cross. For centuries, God's people, the Jews, had worshipped in a temple or tabernacle which had at its core, the Holy of Holies - God's place. Between them and that place was a curtain through which no man could ever go, except once a year when the High Priest entered to offer a sin sacrifice on behalf of the people. Our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 27:51, describes the astonishing thing that happened the moment Jesus died: "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

The curtain separating man from God could never have been removed by man from the bottom to the top. Only God could let us into His presence. So He split the curtain from top to bottom. There's the picture of what can happen to the wall between you and God this very day. God will tear it down forever if you'll bring the sins of your life to Jesus to be forgiven; if you'll tell Him you're putting your total trust in Him and what He did on the cross for you.

If that's what you want, I want to be all the help I can at this decisive moment in your life. Go to our website. It's ANewStory.com. Right there you can be sure the wall is gone between you and Him.

This could be the day you celebrate the greatest, most liberating miracle of your life; the day you can finally say, "The wall is gone!"

Genesis 38, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God So Loved Us

“If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11, NKJV

Jesus humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier.

Why? Because that’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.

Genesis 38

About that time, Judah separated from his brothers and hooked up with a man in Adullam named Hirah. While there, Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua. He married her, they went to bed, she became pregnant and had a son named Er. She got pregnant again and had a son named Onan. She had still another son; she named this one Shelah. They were living at Kezib when she had him.

6–7  Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar. But Judah’s firstborn, Er, grievously offended God and God took his life.

8–10  So Judah told Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother’s widow; it’s the duty of a brother-in-law to keep your brother’s line alive.” But Onan knew that the child wouldn’t be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s widow he spilled his semen on the ground so he wouldn’t produce a child for his brother. God was much offended by what he did and also took his life.

11  So Judah stepped in and told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow at home with your father until my son Shelah grows up.” He was worried that Shelah would also end up dead, just like his brothers. So Tamar went to live with her father.

12  Time passed. Judah’s wife, Shua’s daughter, died. When the time of mourning was over, Judah with his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah for the sheep shearing.

13–14  Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law has gone to Timnah to shear his sheep.” She took off her widow’s clothes, put on a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the road to Timnah. She realized by now that even though Shelah was grown up, she wasn’t going to be married to him.

15  Judah saw her and assumed she was a prostitute since she had veiled her face. He left the road and went over to her. He said, “Let me sleep with you.” He had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law.

16  She said, “What will you pay me?”

17  “I’ll send you,” he said, “a kid goat from the flock.”

She said, “Not unless you give me a pledge until you send it.”

18  “So what would you want in the way of a pledge?”

She said, “Your personal seal-and-cord and the staff you carry.”

He handed them over to her and slept with her. And she got pregnant.

19  She then left and went home. She removed her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.

20–21  Judah sent the kid goat by his friend from Adullam to recover the pledge from the woman. But he couldn’t find her. He asked the men of that place, “Where’s the prostitute that used to sit by the road here near Enaim?”

They said, “There’s never been a prostitute here.”

22  He went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. The men there said there never has been a prostitute there.”

23  Judah said, “Let her have it then. If we keep looking, everyone will be poking fun at us. I kept my part of the bargain—I sent the kid goat but you couldn’t find her.”

24  Three months or so later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law has been playing the whore—and now she’s a pregnant whore.”

Judah yelled, “Get her out here. Burn her up!”

25  As they brought her out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, “I’m pregnant by the man who owns these things. Identify them, please. Who’s the owner of the seal-and-cord and the staff?”

26  Judah saw they were his. He said, “She’s in the right; I’m in the wrong—I wouldn’t let her marry my son Shelah.” He never slept with her again.

27–30  When her time came to give birth, it turned out that there were twins in her womb. As she was giving birth, one put his hand out; the midwife tied a red thread on his hand, saying, “This one came first.” But then he pulled it back and his brother came out. She said, “Oh! A breakout!” So she named him Perez (Breakout). Then his brother came out with the red thread on his hand. They named him Zerah (Bright).

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, May 11, 2025

by Tim Gustafson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Genesis 29:31-35

When God realized that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben (Look-It’s-a-Boy!). “This is a sign,” she said, “that God has seen my misery; and a sign that now my husband will love me.”

33–35  She became pregnant again and had another son. “God heard,” she said, “that I was unloved and so he gave me this son also.” She named this one Simeon (God-Heard). She became pregnant yet again—another son. She said, “Now maybe my husband will connect with me—I’ve given him three sons!” That’s why she named him Levi (Connect). She became pregnant a final time and had a fourth son. She said, “This time I’ll praise God.” So she named him Judah (Praise-God). Then she stopped having children.

A Mom Looks Back

“This time I will praise the Lord.” So [Leah] named him Judah. Genesis 29:35

“I really didn’t like Mother’s Day,” said Donna, a mom of three. “It brought back to me all the inadequacies and failures I felt and feel as a mother.”

Donna started her parenting life with high expectations. Reality lowered the bar. “Being a mother was really the hardest thing I ever did,” she said. And one particular child “pushed every button I had.”

When God chose Leah to be a matriarch of Israel, no doubt she had high expectations for each of her children. She gave her first four sons names with relevance to her difficult situation (Genesis 29:32-35). Yet when it comes to dark stories in the Bible, these sons have starring roles as the bad guys. Some were guilty as murderers (34:24-30) and slavers (37:17-28). Leah’s son Judah is the villain in one of the uglier accounts in Scripture (ch. 38).

How like God to bring the Messiah through Leah’s descendants—including Judah. In the most difficult circumstances and through the most unexpected people, God works out redemption.

Donna learned this too. As she faced all her parenting challenges, she never found an answer “except to keep going and keep praying.” And that kid who pushed all her buttons? He’s grown now, and he loves and respects his mom. Looking back, Donna says, “Perhaps he was sent to me to teach me something about myself and something about my God.”

Reflect & Pray

Where have you sensed the keenest disappointments in your life? What do you find you’re learning about God through this?

Heavenly Father, please help me to trust You in everything.

Find out how to share in God's joy by reading Learning the Joy of the Lord by Reclaim Today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, May 11, 2025

The Bedrock of God’s Love

Add to your faith goodness . . . and to mutual affection, love. — 2 Peter 1:5, 7 (see moffatt)

Most of us don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the supreme preference of one person for another. Spiritually, Jesus demands that our preference be for him (Luke 14:26). When the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God, we easily place Jesus first. But we must also learn to work out what God has worked in: we must act on the love he has placed in our hearts.

Before we can do this, God has to knock our pretensions out of us. Through the Holy Spirit, he reveals to us why he loves us: not because we’re lovable, but because love is his nature. God asks us to show this same love to others. He brings people we neither like nor respect into our lives, then asks that we love them as he has loved us.

We can’t reach this kind of love on tiptoe. Some of us have tried, but we were soon exhausted by the effort. Look within and see how the Lord has dealt with you. The knowledge that God has loved you to the utmost—to the end of all your sin and selfishness and wrongness—will send you out into the world to love in the same way. God’s love for you is inexhaustible. You must love others from the bedrock of this love, not on tiptoe but in a great, abandoned leap.

Neither natural love nor divine love will remain unless you cultivate it. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline. Growth in grace stops the moment you get irritated. You get irritated because there is a person in your life you don’t particularly like. Just think how disagreeable you are to God! Are you prepared to be so closely identified with Jesus that his life and sweetness shine through you all the time?

2 Kings 13-14; John 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally.

The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R

Genesis 37, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Trash Talk

The Garbage Project was conducted by a researcher convinced we can learn a lot from the trash dumps of the world.  He was called a garbologist! What’s it like to be a “garbologist?”  When he gives a speech, is it referred to as “trash talk?”  Are his business trips called “junkets?” Though I prefer to leave the dirty work to the garbologist, his attitude toward trash intrigues me.

Suppose we changed the way we view the garbage that comes our way?  The days that a dumpster couldn't hold all the garbage we face:  hospital bills, divorce papers, pay cuts. What do you do when an entire truck of sorrow is dumped on you?  Jesus said, “If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.” (Matthew 6:22-23 MSG).

How we look at life–even the garbage of life– determines how we live life!

from Just Like Jesus

Genesis 37

 Meanwhile Jacob had settled down where his father had lived, the land of Canaan.

Joseph and His Brothers

2  This is the story of Jacob. The story continues with Joseph, seventeen years old at the time, helping out his brothers in herding the flocks. These were his half brothers actually, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought his father bad reports on them.

3–4  Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him—they wouldn’t even speak to him.

5–7  Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had. We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine.”

8  His brothers said, “So! You’re going to rule us? You’re going to boss us around?” And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked.

9  He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: “I dreamed another dream—the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!”

10–11  When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: “What’s with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?” Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business.

12–13  His brothers had gone off to Shechem where they were pasturing their father’s flocks. Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are with flocks in Shechem. Come, I want to send you to them.”

Joseph said, “I’m ready.”

14  He said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing and bring me back a report.” He sent him off from the valley of Hebron to Shechem.

15  A man met him as he was wandering through the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16  “I’m trying to find my brothers. Do you have any idea where they are grazing their flocks?”

17  The man said, “They’ve left here, but I overheard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph took off, tracked his brothers down, and found them in Dothan.

18–20  They spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them they had cooked up a plot to kill him. The brothers were saying, “Here comes that dreamer. Let’s kill him and throw him into one of these old cisterns; we can say that a vicious animal ate him up. We’ll see what his dreams amount to.”

21–22  Reuben heard the brothers talking and intervened to save him, “We’re not going to kill him. No murder. Go ahead and throw him in this cistern out here in the wild, but don’t hurt him.” Reuben planned to go back later and get him out and take him back to his father.

23–24  When Joseph reached his brothers, they ripped off the fancy coat he was wearing, grabbed him, and threw him into a cistern. The cistern was dry; there wasn’t any water in it.

25–27  Then they sat down to eat their supper. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way from Gilead, their camels loaded with spices, ointments, and perfumes to sell in Egypt. Judah said, “Brothers, what are we going to get out of killing our brother and concealing the evidence? Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not kill him—he is, after all, our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28  By that time the Midianite traders were passing by. His brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites who took Joseph with them down to Egypt.

29–30  Later Reuben came back and went to the cistern—no Joseph! He ripped his clothes in despair. Beside himself, he went to his brothers. “The boy’s gone! What am I going to do!”

31–32  They took Joseph’s coat, butchered a goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. They took the fancy coat back to their father and said, “We found this. Look it over—do you think this is your son’s coat?”

33  He recognized it at once. “My son’s coat—a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph torn limb from limb!”

34–35  Jacob tore his clothes in grief, dressed in rough burlap, and mourned his son a long, long time. His sons and daughters tried to comfort him but he refused their comfort. “I’ll go to the grave mourning my son.” Oh, how his father wept for him.

36  In Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, manager of his household affairs.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, May 10, 2025

by Xochitl Dixon

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 1:3-9

A New Life

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

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

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

Today's Insights

The reality of suffering experienced by believers in Jesus is highlighted by Peter and others in the New Testament. By faith, believers embrace “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4) but they’re also faced with “all kinds of trials” (v. 6). The Greek word translated “trials” speaks of adverse circumstances, afflictions, or troubles. The word is likewise used in James 1:2: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Paul’s unforgettable words in Romans 8 are similar: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (v. 18). Our weary souls can continue to find joy and hope in our salvation in Jesus as we’re encouraged by 2 Corinthians 4:16-17: “Therefore we do not lose heart. . . . For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

Living with Full Faith

In all this you greatly rejoice, though . . . you . . . suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 1 Peter 1:6

Thousands of people around the world prayed for Sethie’s three-year-old son, who’d been hospitalized for months. When doctors said Shiloh had “no meaningful brain activity,” Sethie called me. “Sometimes, I’m scared I’m not living with full faith,” she said. “I know God can heal Shiloh and let him come home with us. I’m also at peace if God heals him by taking him to heaven.” Assuring her that God understands like no one else can, I said, “You’ve surrendered to God. That is full faith!” A few days later, God took her precious son to heaven. Though struggling with the grief of losing him, Sethie thanked God and the many people who prayed. She said, “I believe God is still good and still God.”

In this world, until Jesus comes again, we’ll “suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6). We’ll need to process real emotions caused by real pain. However, everyone who experiences “new birth” in Christ (v. 3) can be anchored in life by love for Jesus and be “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (v. 8). The end result of our faith in Christ is this: “the salvation of [our] souls” (v. 9).

The Holy Spirit empowers us to have full faith—living with our prayers and our situations confidently surrendered to Christ.

Reflect & Pray

When has God helped you rejoice in the hope of salvation in Jesus while facing devastating circumstances? How has your confidence in Him changed the way you pray?

Dear Jesus, please help me trust You as I wait for Your promised return when You’ll make all things new.

For further study, read A Season of Suffering—Meeting Jesus in Our Pain.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Take the Initiative

Add to your faith goodness. — 2 Peter 1:5

“Add” indicates something we have to do. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God won’t do what we can. We cannot save or sanctify ourselves; God will not give us good habits or character. We have to develop habits and character on our own, working out the salvation God has worked in.

“Add” suggests we have to get into a habit. Habits are difficult to establish. To take the initiative is to make a beginning, to instruct yourself in the way you have to go. Beware of asking for directions when you know the way perfectly well. Take the initiative; stop hesitating; be decisive. Whenever God speaks, act in faith immediately on what he says, and never go back on your decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you endanger your position in grace. Will yourself to take the first step—I will write that letter; I will pay that debt—then burn your bridges behind you. Make it impossible to go back.

We can only take initiative where we are, not where we aren’t. We have to get into the habit of seeking the mind of God about anything and everything. If when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to him, we will know the habit has been formed.

2 Kings 10-12; John 1:29-51

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Genesis 36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: REASONS FOR GRATITUDE - May 9, 2025

If you feel the world owes you something, brace yourself – you’ll never get reimbursed. Henry Ward Beecher said, “A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” The sky’s never blue enough, the steak isn’t cooked enough, the universe isn’t good enough to deserve a human being like you.

Pursue gratitude. The grateful heart is like a magnet, sweeping over the day, collecting reasons for gratitude. Thank you, God. Your lungs inhale and exhale 11,000 liters of air every day. Thank you, God. For the jam on our toast, and the milk on our cereal, and the blanket that calms us, and the joke that softens us, and the warm sun that reminds us of God’s love. Gratitude leaves us looking at God and away from dread. It does to anxiety what morning sun does to valley mist. It burns it up! Thank you, God.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Genesis 36

 This is the family tree of Esau, who is also called Edom.

2–3  Esau married women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

4  Adah gave Esau Eliphaz;

Basemath had Reuel;

5  Oholibamah had Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6–8  Esau gathered up his wives, sons and daughters, and everybody in his household, along with all his livestock—all the animals and possessions he had gotten in Canaan—and moved a considerable distance away from his brother Jacob. The brothers had too many possessions to live together in the same place; the land couldn’t support their combined herds of livestock. So Esau ended up settling in the hill country of Seir (Esau and Edom are the same).

9–10  So this is the family tree of Esau, ancestor of the people of Edom, in the hill country of Seir. The names of Esau’s sons:

Eliphaz, son of Esau’s wife Adah;

Reuel, son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

11–12  The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Eliphaz also had a concubine Timna, who had Amalek.) These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.

13  And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah—grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

14  These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah the son of Zibeon. She gave Esau his sons Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15–16  These are the chieftains in Esau’s family tree. From the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn, came the chieftains Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek—the chieftains of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; all of them sons of Adah.

17  From the sons of Esau’s son Reuel came the chieftains Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the chieftains of Reuel in the land of Edom; all these were sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

18  These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: the chieftains Jeush, Jalam, and Korah—chieftains born of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.

19  These are the sons of Esau, that is, Edom, and these are their chieftains.

20–21  This is the family tree of Seir the Horite, who were native to that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chieftains of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

22  The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; Lotan’s sister was Timna.

23  The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24  The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah—this is the same Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness while herding his father Zibeon’s donkeys.

25  The children of Anah were Dishon and his daughter Oholibamah.

26  The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

27  The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28  The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29–30  And these were the Horite chieftains: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan—the Horite chieftains clan by clan in the land of Seir.

31–39  And these are the kings who ruled in Edom before there was a king in Israel: Bela son of Beor was the king of Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah. When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became the next king. When Jobab died, he was followed by Hushan from the land of the Temanites. When Hushan died, he was followed by Hadad son of Bedad; he was the king who defeated the Midianites in Moab; the name of his city was Avith. When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah became the next king. When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth-on-the-River became king. When Shaul died, he was followed by Baal-Hanan son of Acbor. When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king; the name of his city was Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-Zahab.

40–43  And these are the chieftains from the line of Esau, clan by clan, region by region: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram—the chieftains of Edom as they occupied their various regions.

This accounts for the family tree of Esau, ancestor of all Edomites.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, May 09, 2025

by James Banks

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

John 20:11-18

But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?”

13–14  “They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.

15  Jesus spoke to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?”

She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, “Mister, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him.”

16  Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!”

17  Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’ ”

18  Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her.

Today's Insights

Each of the gospel writers tell the story of Jesus’ resurrection with varying details. Mary Magdalene is the only woman who’s named in all four gospels (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; John 20:1). When she saw Christ standing outside the tomb, she thought He was a gardener (John 19:41; 20:15). But He surprised her when He called her by name (20:16); she then knew she was in His presence and embraced Him (v. 17; see Matthew 28:8-10). Yet Jesus told her, “Do not hold on [or cling] to me” (John 20:17). She was to tell His disciples Christ said He was “ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (v. 17). One commentator notes that she “had a task to perform—to inform [Jesus’ disciples] (cf. 20:18) that he was now returning to the Father. This was not a time to [hold] him; there was a job to do.”

Love’s Great Surprise

I have seen the Lord! John 20:18

In the classic sports fantasy film Field of Dreams, the character Ray Kinsella encounters his late father as an athletic younger man. Upon seeing him for the first time, Ray comments to his wife, Annie, “I only saw him years later when he was worn down by life. Look at him. . . . What do I say to him?” The scene raises a question: What would it be like to see someone we have loved—but now has died—vital and strong again?

Mary Magdalene had that experience when she first met Jesus after He rose from the dead. Mary was weeping beside the empty tomb when she turned “and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus” (John 20:14). Why didn’t she recognize Him? Perhaps because of the tears in her eyes or because it “was still dark” (v. 1). More likely, it was because when she last saw Him, He’d been bloodied and beaten and tortured to death. She never expected to see Him alive again; He was so alive that it took time for the magnificent truth to sink in.

Yet there Jesus stood, “raised imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42)! And the moment He called her by name, Mary recognized Him, not only as her faithful friend and “Teacher” (John 20:16), but also as the risen Lord of life. God always has ways of astounding us with His wonders. His conquering death for us is the greatest surprise of all.

Reflect & Pray

How has God surprised you? How can you share His kindness to you with someone today?

Abba, Father, I praise You for raising Jesus from the dead! Please help me live in the life You give today!

Learn more about the appearances Jesus made after the resurrection.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, May 09, 2025

Grasp without Reach

Where there is no vision, the people perish. — Proverbs 29:18

There is a difference between an ideal and a vision. An ideal has no moral inspiration; a vision does. People who give themselves over to ideals rarely do anything. People who have vision are constantly inspired to go above and beyond.

    Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,

    Or what’s a heaven for?

    —Robert Browning

An idealistic notion of God may be used to justify a neglect of duty. Jonah argued that because God was a God of justice and mercy, everything would be all right, no matter what Jonah did (Jonah 4). Jonah’s idea about God was correct—God is just and merciful—yet this was the very idea that stopped Jonah from doing his duty.

If we have a vision of God, we will lead a life of virtue, because the vision brings with it a moral incentive. Ideals, on the other hand, may lull us into ruin by causing us to lose sight of God. When we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We stop exercising self-control; we stop praying; we no longer look for God in the little things. If we are eating out of our own hand—doing things on our own initiative, never expecting God to come in—we have lost vision and are on a downward path.

Is your attitude today one that springs from a vision of God? Are you expecting him to do greater things than he has ever done? Is there freshness and energy in your spiritual outlook? Take stock of yourself spiritually and see whether you have vision or merely ideals.

2 Kings 7-9; John 1:1-28

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 388 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, May 09, 2025

Constant Change and an Unchanging Constant - #10000

I keep finding these notes and cards I wrote my wife. The love of my life since I was 19! She's been with Jesus for nine years now and I never stop missing her but these notes are great. All these things I wrote to her came from all the stages of our life. There's the predictably mushy love letters from our courtship and engagement. The little notes I left for her in the morning over the years. The things I wrote in holiday cards, for birthdays and anniversaries. Lots of different seasons, lots of different ages - before kids, with kids, after kids. Everything from fancy cards to stationery, yeah, scraps of paper too. Many shapes and sizes - but always the same unchanging message. "I love you, baby!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Constant Change and an Unchanging Constant."

I walked into this radio studio the other day, and I had a crowd. Usually it's me and our dedicated engineer. I think half our staff was jammed in here - and there was a big cake on the table where my Bible and notes were. Uh, I love doing these radio programs. But it's never been a party before!

I hadn't been keeping track, but they had. I was about to record "A Word With You" number 10,000! Hard to believe! But it's true! What you're listening to today is our 10,000th program! Sorry, the cake is all gone!

This is a testimony to the God we sing about often in that classic hymn - "Great is Thy faithfulness." When we'd get to the last verse of that song in church, I'd reach for Karen's hand or slip my arm around her waist when we got to these words: "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow - blessings all mine with 10,000 beside. Great is Thy faithfulness."

I've recorded these programs before children came, while they grew, before grandchildren came, now that they're growing or grown, with Karen by my side, and in the years since she's been gone. Like all those love notes I've found, many seasons. But the message has never changed.

Our word for today from the Word of God - from Galatians 2:20.

About our Jesus. "He loved me, and gave Himself for me." The greatest news on the planet. The God I have sinned against again and again and again loves me so much that He sent His Son to do the dying for the sinning I've done. That you've done.

Good Friday was for me. Good Friday was for you. Not just a historical or religious event. A deeply personal event. He loves me. He gave Himself for me. Then, conquering death on Easter morning, He offered eternal life to me.

This morning, I heard a song that I haven't heard for many, many years. And it took me back to some of the first times I ever preached this Good News. With a Gospel team in college. I was just 18. And when I gave people the opportunity to publicly respond to an invitation to begin a relationship with Jesus, my friend Dave would sing this song. Hearing it again today, took me back to my first days proclaiming this invitation from Jesus that I've now preached across the country and the world.

The chorus simply says - "There's room at the cross for you. Though millions have come, there's still room for one. There's room at the Cross for you."

That was His invitation then. It's His invitation today. To you, my friend. Your sins forgiven, your heaven secured. Just tell him, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on you to have my sins forgiven. To be in heaven with you someday. Beginning today, I'm Yours." My invitation to you today is to please go to our website, because there you'll find what you need to know to be sure you belong to Jesus from this day on. Our website is ANewStory.com.

Because, today-the day Jesus is reaching out His hand to you - there's room at the Cross for you!

Matthew 20:17-34, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE GRATEFUL HEART - May 8, 2025

Some things were not made to co-exist. Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bad combination. Bulls in a china closet? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? That’s the mixture that doesn’t go over well with God. Perhaps you’ve sampled it? Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Belly aches do. Yet they do not mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.

I attended a banquet where a soldier was presented with the gift of a free house. He nearly fell over with gratitude. He hugged the guitar player in the band, the woman on the front row. He thanked the waiter, the other soldiers. He even thanked me and I didn’t do anything! Shouldn’t we be equally thankful?

John 14:2 says God is building a house for us, and our deed of ownership is every bit as certain as that of the soldier. The grateful heart sees every day as a gift.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Matthew 20:17-34

To Drink from the Cup

17–19  Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.”

20  It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.

21  “What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”

22  Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”

They said, “Sure, why not?”

23  Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”

24–28  When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

29–31  As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!”

32  Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?”

33  They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!”

34  Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, May 08, 2025

by Amy Boucher Pye

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 3:14-21

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

20–21  God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!

Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!

Glory down all the generations!

Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Today's Insights

Scattered throughout the Scriptures are both benedictions and doxologies, but there’s an interesting difference. A benediction is a horizontal statement of blessing bestowed by a person upon another person. A classic example is the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:22-26. A doxology, however, is a vertical statement of worship to God. The word doxology comes from two Greek words—doxa (“glory”) and logia (“word” or “saying”). It’s a declaration of the glory of God. An example is the angels’ doxology on the night of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:13-14.

In Ephesians 3:14-21, we find Paul blending elements of both. In verses 14-19, he prays for God’s blessing on the Ephesian church, and in verses 20-21, he declares God’s “glory in the church.” As you read the Scriptures, look for both the horizontal statements of blessing upon God’s people and the vertical calls to give glory to God.

Deeply Rooted in Christ

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power. Ephesians 3:17-18

Beloved pastor Andrew Murray (1828-1917) shared how in his native South Africa, various diseases affect the orange trees there. To the unpracticed eye, all may seem fine, but an expert arborist can spot the rot that heralds the tree’s slow death. The only way to save the diseased tree is to remove the stem and branches from the root and graft them onto a new one. Then the tree can thrive, producing fruit.

Murray connected this illustration to the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. From prison in Rome, Paul wrote a letter that wonderfully summarizes the gospel of Jesus Christ. His pastoral heart shines through when he prayed that the believers would be strengthened with power through Christ’s Spirit in their inner being so that He would dwell in their hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:16-17). Paul longed that they’d be “rooted and established in love” and would grasp the full measure of God’s abundant love (vv. 17-18).

As believers in Jesus, our roots sink deeply into the rich soil of God’s love, where the nutrients fortify us and help us grow. And as we’re grafted onto Jesus, His Spirit helps us to produce fruit. We may have to weather storms that bend us one way or another, but we can withstand them when we’re rooted in the Source of life and love.

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean to you to be grafted into Jesus, the Vine? How can you ensure you’re receiving enough nutrients in your life with God to flourish? 

Loving God, please establish me in Your love so that I bear fruit and bring You glory.

Struggling to read the Bible? Check out this video to learn more about the Immerse Bible.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, May 08, 2025

The Patience of Faith

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. — Hebrews 6:12

Patience is more than endurance. Our lives are in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something we cannot see. He stretches and strains, and every now and again we say, “I can’t take it anymore.” God doesn’t waver. He goes on stretching until his purpose is in sight. Then he lets the arrow fly.

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). Trust yourself in God’s hands. Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ through the patience of faith. Faith is not a pathetic sentiment. It is vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. It is the heroic effort of your life.

A mental poise comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Is there something you need patience for just now? Maybe you can’t see God, can’t understand what he’s doing. But you know him. God has given everything in Jesus Christ to save you. Now he wants you to give everything for his sake. He wants you to fling yourself out in reckless abandonment to him.

There are parts of us that this kind of abandoned faith hasn’t reached yet, places that remain untouched by the life of God. There were no such places in Jesus’s life, and there must be none in ours. “Now this is eternal life: that they know you” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes a great romance, an opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to bring us to this central place of power.

2 Kings 4-6; Luke 24:36-53

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, 1459 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, May 08, 2025

Homeland Security For Your Home - #9999

The Department of Homeland Security is a fairly new idea in American history. Of course, we live in pretty dangerous times and we need an agency that coordinates our efforts to keep our country safe from growingly hostile forces that could hurt us. But "homeland security" is hardly a new idea. It's been the job of every parent since children were invented. It's a sacred assignment - guarding our family from the things that could hurt them, and the job's never been more difficult.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Homeland Security For Your Home."

Not all the things that can hurt our children are from the outside. Some of them are from the darkness inside us; selfishness, anger, a critical or negative attitude, hurting words, praise that's really needed but never given, affection that's not shown, words that should be said but are left unsaid, and the words that should have been left unsaid. Those are some of the deadliest missiles that can hit a child's heart. And the same mom or dad who is in such a wonderful position to protect them from harm can be the same mom or dad who is in a position to inflict so much hurt.

Our families need our own Department of Homeland Security, right? Something or someone who will keep our family safe and who can make us the mom or dad that our children so need us to be.

Jesus Christ wants to be that for you. He describes the unique security He offers in Isaiah 40:11, our word for today from the Word of God; one of my favorite verses as a Dad. "He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms" (you can put the names of your children where it says "lambs") "and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads those that have young." Whoa! That's you, Mom! That's you, Dad! The dark side of each of us could be the single greatest threat to the security of our personal homeland. The battle against that dark side is going to have to be won by someone stronger than we are - because most of us have tried to change the things we don't like about ourselves and we know that hurt other people, and there's still way too much dark stuff.

Good news! There are three wonderful miracles that Jesus does in the heart and life of a mom or dad who will allow Him to be their shepherd; to decide the direction they go. First, He forgives you for every mistake, every sin, every wound you've ever inflicted, everything you wish you'd done differently, and every hurting thing you've ever done. That forgiveness was not cheap. It meant paying the price to remove the huge wall that we've all built between us and God. We built that wall by our sins. And paying that price meant being separated from God himself on that awful cross. Jesus was, so you would never have to be, separated from Him again. When you open your life to Jesus, He brings with Him the new beginning of being totally forgiven and clean.

Secondly, Jesus will change you from the inside out. The Bible calls it becoming "a new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17). If He had the power to conquer death, He surely has the power to conquer the darkness in you and me. And then, Jesus protects those who belong to Him, like a shepherd protects His sheep.

And right now, this Jesus is waiting for you to put your life in His hands. He's probably been waiting a long time. I don't know how much longer He'll wait, but I can tell you, Jesus is a Daddy's Savior. He's a Mommy's Savior. He wants to be your Savior. And He will be from the moment you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm not running things anymore. You died for me! I am all yours."

I would love to help you get started in this relationship with Him. In fact, we've set up our website just for that purpose. It's ANewStory.com.

There's no home that is more secure than a home where Jesus Christ lives, and He wants to live in your home because you've asked Him to live in you.