Judges 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT FEAR - February 2, 2026

In Matthew 8:26, Jesus asks his disciples, “Why are you afraid?” At first we wonder if he’s serious, but he’s dead earnest. Here is how Matthew remembered the trip: “Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him. A great storm arose on the lake so that waves covered the boat” (Matthew 8:23-24 NCV).

The story sends the not-so-subtle and not-too-popular reminder that getting on board with Christ can mean getting soaked with Christ. Disciples can expect rough seas and stout winds. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33 NKJV). Not might, may, or could, but you will.

But what if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? This is the possibility behind Jesus’ question. Imagine your life without fear.

Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear

Judges 5

 That day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

2  When they let down their hair in Israel,

they let it blow wild in the wind.

The people volunteered with abandon,

bless God!

3  Hear O kings! Listen O princes!

To God, yes to God, I’ll sing,

Make music to God,

to the God of Israel.

4–5  God, when you left Seir,

marched across the fields of Edom,

Earth quaked, yes, the skies poured rain,

oh, the clouds made rivers.

Mountains leapt before God, the Sinai God,

before God, the God of Israel.

6–8  In the time of Shamgar son of Anath,

and in the time of Jael,

Public roads were abandoned,

travelers went by backroads.

Warriors became fat and sloppy,

no fight left in them.

Then you, Deborah, rose up;

you got up, a mother in Israel.

God chose new leaders,

who then fought at the gates.

And not a shield or spear to be seen

among the forty companies of Israel.

9  Lift your hearts high, O Israel,

with abandon, volunteering yourselves with the people—bless God!

10–11  You who ride on prize donkeys

comfortably mounted on blankets

And you who walk down the roads,

ponder, attend!

Gather at the town well

and listen to them sing,

Chanting the tale of God’s victories,

his victories accomplished in Israel.

Then the people of God

went down to the city gates.

12  Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!

On your feet, Barak!

Take your prisoners, son of Abinoam!

13–18  Then the remnant went down to greet the brave ones.

The people of God joined the mighty ones.

The captains from Ephraim came to the valley,

behind you, Ben-jamin, with your troops.

Captains marched down from Makir,

from Zebulun high-ranking leaders came down.

Issachar’s princes rallied to Deborah,

Issachar stood fast with Barak,

backing him up on the field of battle.

But in Reuben’s divisions there was much second-guessing.

Why all those campfire discussions?

Diverted and distracted,

Reuben’s divisions couldn’t make up their minds.

Gilead played it safe across the Jordan,

and Dan, why did he go off sailing?

Asher kept his distance on the seacoast,

safe and secure in his harbors.

But Zebulun risked life and limb, defied death,

as did Naphtali on the battle heights.

19–23  The kings came, they fought,

the kings of Canaan fought.

At Taanach they fought, at Megiddo’s brook,

but they took no silver, no plunder.

The stars in the sky joined the fight,

from their courses they fought against Sisera.

The torrent Kishon swept them away,

the torrent attacked them, the torrent Kishon.

Oh, you’ll stomp on the necks of the strong!

Then the hoofs of the horses pounded,

charging, stampeding stallions.

“Curse Meroz,” says God’s angel.

“Curse, double curse, its people,

Because they didn’t come when God needed them,

didn’t rally to God’s side with valiant fighters.”

24–27  Most blessed of all women is Jael,

wife of Heber the Kenite,

most blessed of homemaking women.

He asked for water,

she brought milk;

In a handsome bowl,

she offered cream.

She grabbed a tent peg in her left hand,

with her right hand she seized a hammer.

She hammered Sisera, she smashed his head,

she drove a hole through his temple.

He slumped at her feet. He fell. He sprawled.

He slumped at her feet. He fell.

Slumped. Fallen. Dead.

28–30  Sisera’s mother waited at the window,

a weary, anxious watch.

“What’s keeping his chariot?

What delays his chariot’s rumble?”

The wisest of her ladies-in-waiting answers

with calm, reassuring words,

“Don’t you think they’re busy at plunder,

dividing up the loot?

A girl, maybe two girls,

for each man,

And for Sisera a bright silk shirt,

a prize, fancy silk shirt!

And a colorful scarf—make it two scarves—

to grace the neck of the plunderer.”

31  Thus may all God’s enemies perish,

while his lovers be like the unclouded sun.

The land was quiet for forty years.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, February 02, 2026

by Matt Lucas

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Matthew 18:1-4

Whoever Becomes Simple Again

1  18 At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who gets the highest rank in God’s kingdom?”

2–5  For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom.

Today's Insights

Companion passages in Mark 9:33-37 and Luke 9:46-48 shed light on today’s Bible reading from Matthew 18:1-4. Jesus and His disciples had been traveling to Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. When they arrived, Christ asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” (Mark 9:33). His question was merely rhetorical. He knew full well what they’d been discussing. Mark tells us that “they had argued about who was the greatest” (v. 34). In so doing, the disciples showed how badly they misunderstood what Jesus’ kingdom was about. Hence, they asked an unhelpful question: “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). It was then that Christ “called a little child to him” (v. 2). Children wielded neither the power nor the influence the disciples valued and sought. Jesus’ mission inverts our natural understanding of what’s important. He calls and helps believers in Him to be humble, like little children (vv. 3-5).

Following Jesus in Humility

Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3

Near our home is a famous garden where we often take walks with a young boy our family cares for. His favorite area is the Children’s Garden, which has a small door large enough for him to run through but small enough to force me to crouch. He laughs as I drop to my knees and wiggle through the small opening to chase him.

The small garden gate reminds me of Jesus’ object lesson in Matthew 18, where He calls a little child to His side to explain the type of person who will enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 2). It was a bold example, for in Christ’s day to be a child was to be inconsequential and overlooked. Unlike today, their opinions and desires didn’t matter. Jesus uses this description to highlight our human tendency to be noticed and seek power and influence. 

Of course, Jesus wasn’t asking His disciples to become children again but rather pointing to the traits that mark those who serve him. The biggest marker is humility—the person who “takes the lowly position” (v. 4) and serves others. 

The small garden door is a reminder that humility doesn’t come naturally to us. Believers in Jesus, however, are to be this way. We’re to follow our Savior, who modeled this way of living by making “himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).

Reflect & Pray

In what areas of your life do you thrust yourself to the forefront and seek to be noticed? How can you learn to live more like Jesus?

Dear Father, please forgive me for my pride and self-interest. Help me to be a little child who runs to You.

Learn more about living like Christ by reading Going the Extra Mile.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, February 02, 2026

The Constraint of the Call

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16

Have you been called to preach the gospel as a disciple of Jesus Christ? If you have, beware of turning a deaf ear. The call to discipleship is a special kind of call. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to their salvation, but there is nothing easier than being saved. Salvation is God’s sovereign work; all we have to do is turn to him. “Turn to me and be saved” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never says that the conditions of discipleship are the same as the conditions of salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ, but discipleship has an option with it: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

To become a disciple is to be made broken bread and poured-out wine in Jesus’s hands; it is to experience the pain of being constrained. In 1 Corinthians 9:16, Paul describes the distress that would seize him if he tried to break free. Having accepted the conditions of discipleship, he is now “set apart for the gospel,” entirely kept and bound for God (Romans 1:1).

To lead a set-apart life is to suffer agonies worthy of the name disciple. Every personal ambition is nipped in the bud; every personal desire is erased; every perspective apart from God’s is blotted out. Discipleship is not for everyone. But if you have felt God grip you for it, beware: woe to the soul who puts a foot in any other direction once the call has come.

Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? 

Disciples Indeed, 389 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, February 02, 2026

THE LEADING OF A LIFETIME - #10191

If you're paying attention, a child will often tip you off very early as to what to expect from them later on in life. I've got movies of our daughter, and she was about five or six, maybe, singing for us using a spoon - a big wooden spoon - as a microphone and standing on something in the living room as a stage. Well, over the years, she's done singing, and a lot of speaking. It was really no great shock; we saw the first hints of that when she was little. When our son was five, he was tying our house together with string very imaginatively. I'd walk in, I'd open the back door, and it would open the drawer of my dresser in the bedroom. He had everything tied together. At the age of 13 he was the technician of the house, who loved to figure out how things work, how to take them apart, how to put them together, I hope - how to solve problems. You know what? He grew up to be a great planner and a very creative ministry technician. There's a pattern...a connective line from the past into the future in the life of every child; my child and God's child. In fact, that's true of you too.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Leading of a Lifetime."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 37. I'm going to begin reading in verse 4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Verse 23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in His way." Don't you get the feeling as you hear about how God is leading in these passages that His leading in our lives is a consistent, long-term pattern - not just some sudden departure. God usually leads in a straight line. He doesn't just go "boing" off on some tangent. It's a straight line from what He's been doing in your past, into the present, and consistently into your future.

Now, maybe you're at one of those crossroads right now. It's decision time; you've got a major choice to make. Well, one guideline in determining what God wants for the future is to see where He's been leading you and how He's been leading you in the past. For example, here it talks about Him giving you the desires of your heart. Could you trust your desires in this decision? Well, if you've kept the first part of the verse you can. "Delight yourself in the Lord."

Have you been, over the last months and years, having daily time with Him, where you're just enjoying Him?

Then it says, "Commit your way to the Lord." I wonder if you've said to Him over and over again about this area of your life, "Lord, anything goes. Whatever You say is okay." I'm committing to obey you, sight unseen. I don't know what it is but I will follow You. You're not giving Him a contract to sign; you're giving Him a blank piece of paper that you've already signed.

Well, with those understandings when you're trying to decide, look at those desires you've felt for a long time, especially the ones you've felt when you've been close to Him. Not just things you've felt for a few days. And if they line up with God's Word and with good counsel, and with the facts, those desires are probably God-planted.

Now, keep a spiritual diary of what He says to you through the Bible. I've been doing that for years. I'm so glad I've got that. Don't make a major decision based on one verse, but look at the things God has been saying to you over and over. Look for the pattern. God's will for tomorrow will pull together all He's been doing in your life up until now: the experiences, the fulfilling achievements, the talents, the desires, the themes that He's unfolded to you in His Word.

So before you look ahead, look back at God's pattern in your life. His will is the natural next step of following Him daily up until now. He's leading you in a straight line. So, don't just grab the impulse of a moment. Look for the leading of a lifetime.

Judges 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Max Lucado Daily: Just Like Jesus

When they were young, my daughters loved playing “dress-up.”  They’d put on their mom’s shoes, fill up a grown-up purse with crayons and pretend grown-up scenarios.  For the moment, they wanted to be just like mom.

Don’t we do the same?  We look at ourselves, with our immaturity, our sinfulness, and we want to clothe ourselves in something better.  We want to be just like Jesus.  This seems like an impossible goal until we accept one simple truth:  God will help us.  He loves us. Not only does God love each of us exactly as we are, but he wants us, little by little, to become like him. Why?  Because he wants us to have a heart like his.

Need to hear that message a few more times? Don’t we all? God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way!  He wants you to be just like Jesus!

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26).

From Just Like Jesus

Judges 4

Deborah

1–3  4 The People of Israel kept right on doing evil in God’s sight. With Ehud dead, God sold them off to Jabin king of Canaan who ruled from Hazor. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim, was the commander of his army. The People of Israel cried out to God because he had cruelly oppressed them with his nine hundred iron chariots for twenty years.

4–5  Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge over Israel at that time. She held court under Deborah’s Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hills of Ephraim. The People of Israel went to her in matters of justice.

6–7  She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “It has become clear that God, the God of Israel, commands you: Go to Mount Tabor and prepare for battle. Take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulun. I’ll take care of getting Sisera, the leader of Jabin’s army, to the Kishon River with all his chariots and troops. And I’ll make sure you win the battle.”

8  Barak said, “If you go with me, I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

9–10  She said, “Of course I’ll go with you. But understand that with an attitude like that, there’ll be no glory in it for you. God will use a woman’s hand to take care of Sisera.”

Deborah got ready and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together at Kedesh. Ten companies of men followed him. And Deborah was with him.

11–13  It happened that Heber the Kenite had parted company with the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ in-law. He was now living at Zaanannim Oak near Kedesh. They told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Sisera immediately called up all his chariots to the Kishon River—nine hundred iron chariots!—along with all his troops who were with him at Harosheth Haggoyim.

14  Deborah said to Barak, “Charge! This very day God has given you victory over Sisera. Isn’t God marching before you?”

Barak charged down the slopes of Mount Tabor, his ten companies following him.

15–16  God routed Sisera—all those chariots, all those troops!—before Barak. Sisera jumped out of his chariot and ran. Barak chased the chariots and troops all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s entire fighting force was killed—not one man left.

17–18  Meanwhile Sisera, running for his life, headed for the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite. Jabin king of Hazor and Heber the Kenite were on good terms with one another. Jael stepped out to meet Sisera and said, “Come in, sir. Stay here with me. Don’t be afraid.”

So he went with her into her tent. She covered him with a blanket.

19  He said to her, “Please, a little water. I’m thirsty.”

She opened a bottle of milk, gave him a drink, and then covered him up again.

20  He then said, “Stand at the tent flap. If anyone comes by and asks you, ‘Is there anyone here?’ tell him, ‘No, not a soul.’ ”

21  Then while he was fast asleep from exhaustion, Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg and hammer, tiptoed toward him, and drove the tent peg through his temple and all the way into the ground. He convulsed and died.

22  Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out to greet him. She said, “Come, I’ll show you the man you’re looking for.” He went with her and there he was—Sisera, stretched out, dead, with a tent peg through his temple.

23–24  On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the People of Israel. The People of Israel pressed harder and harder on Jabin king of Canaan until there was nothing left of him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, February 01, 2026

by Amy Boucher Pye

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Philippians 1:3-11

A Love That Will Grow

3–6  Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

7–8  It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

9–11  So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Today's Insights

Paul writes to encourage his spiritual children whom he lovingly describes as “God’s holy people . . . who belong to Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1 nlt). He’s praying they’ll mature in their faith and become more like Christ (vv. 9-11; see 1 Thessalonians 3:12). The apostle doesn’t simply want them to love each other; he wants them to overflow with God’s love (Philippians 1:9 nlt). Because God is love and He’s demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die for our sins, the apostle John commands us to love one another just as God loved us (1 John 4:7-12): “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect” (vv. 16-17 nlt). Our identity as believers is rooted in knowing that God made us and loves us.

Abounding Love

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

At the last night of summer camp, my teenage self felt conspicuous as I stood alone in a group of campers. When one of them mocked me, I felt hurt. I ran back to my tent, pretending to sleep when the group leader checked on me. The next morning I avoided her attempt to talk about it. 

She later wrote to me, helping me understand that God truly cared for me. She quoted from the apostle Paul: We can be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). I felt like the apostle’s words were directed right to me.

Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, which he’d planted over a decade earlier, to encourage them to root their love for God and each other “in knowledge and depth of insight” (v. 9). God would carry on His work in and through them as He filled them “with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (v. 11). At the time I didn’t understand the original context, but I started to comprehend that my identity as one loved by God came from knowing and accepting the love of Jesus.

God desires that we receive His love and that it would abound in us more and more. As He fills us with His joy and peace, we’ll grow in the knowledge not only of Him but of His good work in us.

Reflect & Pray

How does knowing that God will complete His work in you shape you? How can you root your identity in Christ more deeply?

Creator God, You made me and love me. Please help me look to You always for love, joy, and help.

For further study, read Remade in the Image of Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, February 01, 2026

The Call of God

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. —1 Corinthians 1:17

If we are going to preach the gospel, we need to be clear about what the gospel is. In his letters to the Corinthians, Paul says that the gospel—the message God has called on him to deliver—is the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel isn’t Paul’s personal transformation or experience; it isn’t his salvation or sanctification. Paul shares his personal story, but only as an illustration: certain things happened to Paul because of the redemption, but they were not the ultimate reason for it. The ultimate reason Jesus suffered in redemption was to

redeem the whole world and place it unimpaired and rehabilitated before the throne of God. This is the gospel, and the only thing we are commissioned to preach.

The difference between Jesus’s act of redemption and our personal holiness is stark: one is cause and the other effect. When we preach, we must be careful where we place the emphasis. Are we placing it on Jesus, or on ourselves? Are we lifting up his holiness, or our own?

When we truly understand the reality of the gospel, we will stop bothering God with questions about ourselves. Imagine, if God were human, how heartsick and tired he would be, listening to the constant requests for our salvation and sanctification! We trouble him day and night, when we should be thanking him. Paul welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for one reason only: they kept him in unmoved devotion to the gospel of God.

Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.

Luke 12:32-59, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Big News

The big news of the Bible is not that you love God, but that God loves you; not that you can know God, but that God already knows you!

God tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. He sees the worst of  you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him, he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and reached his verdict: He loves you still!

No discovery will disillusion him, no rebellion will dissuade him. You need not win his love.  You already have it. And since you can't win it, you can't lose it! He loves you with an everlasting love!

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Luke 12:32-59

Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33–34  “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

When the Master Shows Up

35–38  “Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!

39–40  “You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don’t you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don’t expect him, the Son of Man will show up.”

41  Peter said, “Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?”

42–46  The Master said, “Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he’s doing his job. But if he says to himself, ‘The master is certainly taking his time,’ begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes.

47–48  “The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

To Start a Fire

49–53  “I’ve come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be—

Three against two,

and two against three;

Father against son,

and son against father;

Mother against daughter,

and daughter against mother;

Mother-in-law against bride,

and bride against mother-in-law.”

54–56  Then he turned to the crowd: “When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, ‘Storm’s coming’—and you’re right. And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, ‘This’ll be a hot one’—and you’re right. Frauds! You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don’t tell me you can’t tell a change in the season, the God-season we’re in right now.

57–59  “You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you’d probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the kind of decision I’m asking you to make.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, January 31, 2026

by Katara Patton

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 26:1-5

Stretch the Borders of Life

1–6  26 At that time, this song

will be sung in the country of Judah:

We have a strong city, Salvation City,

built and fortified with salvation.

Throw wide the gates

so good and true people can enter.

People with their minds set on you,

you keep completely whole,

Steady on their feet,

because they keep at it and don’t quit.

Depend on God and keep at it

because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.

Those who lived high and mighty

he knocked off their high horse.

He used the city built on the hill

as fill for the marshes.

Today's Insights

Isaiah 26 begins, “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah” (v. 1). What does “that day” refer to? By looking back at chapter 25, we find that Israel will be singing this song upon the ultimate arrival of her Messiah, declaring, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation” (v. 9). The Messiah will then deal with those who oppressed Israel and brought her great suffering (pictured by Moab). This will be fulfilled when Jesus comes to earth the second time and establishes His kingdom. As we await His return, we can also be comforted in the abiding presence of the one who promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Focused on God

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

My coworker made a quick call to discuss an issue. She asked how I was doing, and I admitted that I had a really painful sinus infection, and the medicine wasn’t working. My coworker simply asked, “May I pray for you?” After I agreed, she offered a thirty-second prayer to God for my healing. I admitted, “Sometimes I forget to pray. I was so focused on the pain I didn’t turn to God.”

My confession made me think about where I place my focus—on my struggles and problems or on God. On this day, my thoughts centered on the pain because of its intensity. But Isaiah 26:3 reminds us that when we keep our minds focused on God, our healer and sustainer, we can find peace: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” While the pain may not go away instantly, or perhaps ever in this life, the prophet reminds us to place our “trust in” the one who is faithful and able to provide what we need (v. 4).

This passage from Isaiah pointed the Israelites to God’s promises during and after their exile. They would sing songs of praise to Him again as they clung to their faith and hope in what He would provide (vv. 1-2). And the prophet’s words also remind us that whatever pain we may endure, we too can find comfort as we focus on trusting in God and calling out to Him.

Reflect & Pray

Where are your thoughts focused? How can you turn your concerns into praise and prayers to God?

Dear God, please remind me to keep my mind focused on You, regardless of what situations I face.

Learn more about praising God by watching this video.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Abiding Reality

Set apart for the gospel of God . . . —Romans 1:1

The one abiding reality is the gospel of God. Other things may be real; the gospel is reality itself. We are brought into this reality through the redemption; the cross is our bridge and our entry point. Our access to it is a gift, purchased for us by Jesus Christ. We cannot get at it through any action of our own.

This is a crucial thing for us to understand. The reason God calls us is so that we will proclaim his gospel. God isn’t asking us to go out and play the part of holy men or holy women. Personal holiness is an effect, not a cause. If we place our faith in our own holiness, we will stumble when the test comes.

In Romans 1, Paul doesn’t say that he set himself apart from his previous life; he says that God set him apart. Paul doesn’t need to take the credit. He isn’t hypersensitive about his character; he’s unconscious of it, recklessly abandoned to God. As long as our eyes are fixed on our own holiness, rather than Christ’s, we’ll never get to the reality of redemption. It’s as though we’re asking God to keep us away from the ruggedness of human life as it is, away from the filth and decay and corruption and mess, so that we can spend time in our own perfectly ordered company and be made more desirable in our own eyes.

If this is what we want, it’s a sign that we ourselves are still unreal—the gospel hasn’t begun to touch us. When it does, when we enter into reality, then we are able to abandon all to God.

Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word.

Not Knowing Whither, 901 R

Judges 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MERCY THAT ABOUNDS - January 30, 2026

Scripture says in Romans 5:20 that “the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace.” To abound is to have a surplus, an abundance, an extravagant portion.

Should the fish in the Pacific worry that it will run out of ocean?  No, why? Because the ocean abounds with water. Need the lark be anxious about finding room in the sky to fly?  No, the sky abounds with space.  So should the Christian worry that the cup of mercy will run empty?  He may. For he may not be aware of God’s abounding grace. Are you?

Are you aware that the cup God gives you overflows with mercy?  Or are you afraid your cup will run dry? Or your mistakes are too great for God’s grace? God is not a miser with his grace. Your cup may be low on cash or clout, but it is overflowing with mercy!

From More to Your Story

Judges 3

These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars. He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war. He left the five Philistine tyrants, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Hamath’s Pass. They were there to test Israel and see whether they would obey God’s commands that were given to their parents through Moses.

5–6  But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They married their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage. And they worshiped their gods.

Othniel

7–8  The People of Israel did evil in God’s sight. They forgot their God and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses. God’s hot anger blazed against Israel. He sold them off to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The People of Israel were in servitude to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.

9–10  The People of Israel cried out to God and God raised up a savior who rescued them: Caleb’s nephew Othniel, son of his younger brother Kenaz. The Spirit of God came on him and he rallied Israel. He went out to war and God gave him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. Othniel made short work of him.

11  The land was quiet for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

12–14  But the People of Israel went back to doing evil in God’s sight. So God made Eglon king of Moab a power against Israel because they did evil in God’s sight. He recruited the Ammonites and Amalekites and went out and struck Israel. They took the City of Palms. The People of Israel were in servitude to Eglon fourteen years.

15–19  The People of Israel cried out to God and God raised up for them a savior, Ehud son of Gera, a Ben-jaminite. He was left-handed. The People of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab. Ehud made himself a short two-edged sword and strapped it on his right thigh under his clothes. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Eglon was grossly fat. After Ehud finished presenting the tribute, he went a little way with the men who had carried it. But when he got as far as the stone images near Gilgal, he went back and said, “I have a private message for you, O King.”

The king told his servants, “Leave.” They all left.

20–24  Ehud approached him—the king was now quite alone in his cool rooftop room—and said, “I have a word of God for you.” Eglon stood up from his throne. Ehud reached with his left hand and took his sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s big belly. Not only the blade but the hilt went in. The fat closed in over it so he couldn’t pull it out. Ehud slipped out by way of the porch and shut and locked the doors of the rooftop room behind him. Then he was gone.

When the servants came, they saw with surprise that the doors to the rooftop room were locked. They said, “He’s probably relieving himself in the restroom.”

25  They waited. And then they worried—no one was coming out of those locked doors. Finally, they got a key and unlocked them. There was their master, fallen on the floor, dead!

26–27  While they were standing around wondering what to do, Ehud was long gone. He got past the stone images and escaped to Seirah. When he got there, he sounded the trumpet on Mount Ephraim. The People of Israel came down from the hills and joined him. He took his place at their head.

28  He said, “Follow me, for God has given your enemies—yes, Moab!—to you.” They went down after him and secured the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites. They let no one cross over.

29–30  At that time, they struck down about ten companies of Moabites, all of them well-fed and robust. Not one escaped. That day Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel.

The land was quiet for eighty years.

Shamgar

31  Shamgar son of Anath came after Ehud. Using a cattle prod, he killed six hundred Philistines single-handed. He too saved Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, January 30, 2026

by Adam R. Holz

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Proverbs 6:6-11

A Lesson from the Ant

6–11  You lazy fool, look at an ant.

Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.

Nobody has to tell it what to do.

All summer it stores up food;

at harvest it stockpiles provisions.

So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?

How long before you get out of bed?

A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,

sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?

Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,

poverty your permanent houseguest!

Today's Insights

In Proverbs 6, the reader is warned against folly and receives a call to action: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” (v. 6). God calls us to be active, engaged, and industrious. An ant is all of that. Most of us have seen a line of ants scurrying about their business of searching for food and building their nest. The only other biblical reference to ants also tells us to follow the ant’s example: “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (30:25). Like an ant, God desires for us to be faithful in our everyday activities. In Colossians 3:23, Paul tells us: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” In all we do, we can strive to be faithful and look for His presence throughout the day—even in our mundane tasks.

In God’s Presence

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! Proverbs 6:6

In 1692, Brother Lawrence’s work The Practice of the Presence of God was first published. In it, he described how he invited God into his mundane daily activities. Brother Lawrence’s words still challenge us to prayerfully seek God in everything we do, like mowing the yard, getting groceries, or walking the dog.

Each day, I take our dog, Winston, for a walk. My goal for him is to exercise. Winston’s goal? Sniffing everything. Calling this time “a walk” is a generous fiction. More often, we’re going for a . . . stop. Lately, instead of getting frustrated by a lack of forward progress, I’ve been asking God to help me see these moments as a reminder that life is a lot like walking a dog. We experience God’s presence as we faithfully obey Him in life’s everyday activities, including their unexpected interruptions.

In Proverbs 6, Solomon offers a similar lesson, using the everyday, humble example of the ant to call us to work faithfully: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise” (v. 6). Solomon used ants as an example of everyday, patient labor (vv. 7-8).

Our relationship with God needn’t be compartmentalized into designated “spiritual” times alone, like church or a quiet time. Instead, as we faithfully obey Him, God invites us to see His divine fingerprints throughout each day.

Reflect & Pray

When has God used something mundane to help you see Him better? In what everyday task is He calling you to be faithful?

Dear Father, thank You for reminders everywhere that You’re a part of every moment.

For further study, read Relationship or Religion? What It Means to Follow Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, January 30, 2026

The Dilemma of Obedience

Samuel . . . was afraid to tell Eli the vision. —1 Samuel 3:15

When God speaks, it is never startling, seldom obvious. He comes to us in our circumstances, moving so subtly and mysteriously through our lives that we wonder, “Is that God’s voice?” Isaiah said that God spoke to him with a “strong hand”—the all-encompassing hand of circumstance, holding and guiding him (Isaiah 8:11). Nothing touches our lives that God isn’t speaking through.

What do we see in our own circumstances? The hand of God, or simply accidents? When we begin to understand that there are no accidents, that all is God, life begins to change. We begin to say, “Speak, Lord,” and to listen. We begin to realize that difficulty does more than discipline us; it brings us to the place where, attentive and hungry, we say, “Speak, Lord.” Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life becomes a romance.

Perhaps we’ve already heard the call, but we were afraid to answer, fearing that answering would hurt someone we love. God called to Samuel, and Samuel hesitated, wanting to protect Eli. But Eli knew that Samuel must obey; if he did not, he would turn himself into an amateur providence. As cruel as it may seem, we must not prevent the gouging out of the eye, the cutting off of the hand (Matthew 5:29–30). We too are circumstances God is using to speak to others.

Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak, Lord,” and make time to listen. As you listen, your ears grow sharp, until, like Jesus, you hear God all the time.

Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own. 

Biblical Ethics, 99 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, January 30, 2026

THE SECRET THAT KEEPS YOU FROM SINGING - #10190

"Family Secrets" - that was the bold headline on a Newsweek magazine. The story was inspired by what happened in the life of then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was, as she was being considered for that position, learning a secret her family had kept for decades. She thought her grandparents had been Czechoslovakian Catholics who died peaceful deaths. But they were, in fact, Jews who'd been murdered in a Nazi concentration camp. But Newsweek was using that incident to point out how many families have secrets in their closets, from hidden adoptions to hushed-up romances, sometimes with painful consequences. Like one lady the story told about, a lady named Deborah. She was a student at a music conservatory when she married an African American man. She's white and she had two sons. Later that marriage ended in divorce.

When Deborah moved back to her parents' white neighborhood, her sons were not accepted there, so she decided they'd be better off living with an African American family. She put them up for adoption and tried to resume her life. But she was tormented by that decision. In fact, she lost her trained lyric-soprano voice. She said, "I was never able to sing after that." When she remarried, she kept her past a secret for ten years. When she finally confessed it to her husband, he responded compassionately, they went on a search for her sons and there's a happy ending. In the magazine's words, "The family was reunited, the secrets were told, and almost miraculously, her singing voice came back."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Secret That Keeps You From Singing."

It's amazing the torment that can come from a dark secret. Maybe you know that firsthand. In a sense, it can keep you from singing, from experiencing all the joy and all the freedom that you were created to have. It's even more amazing the release that can come from dealing with the dark secret.

Maybe there's a dark secret or more than one secret that are tying you up inside. It may be your secret sins, or the sins of someone else against you. But as long as it's a secret, you're a prisoner to it. And even though others may not know the dark secrets you carry, they're feeling the effects of it. They feel it in your anger, your depression, or some other way it comes out in your personality. Usually when you continue to store a dark secret, it just continues to multiply the pain and keep you from singing.

Well, our word for today from the Word of God, it's got hope in it! John 8:32 - "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Now we live like this: "the truth will scare you to death, or the truth will ruin you." Jesus said no, it will "Set you free." Like that woman who could no longer sing, you can't be free until you face and deal with the dark secrets. Jesus goes on to say, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin, if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Jesus is the Liberator from the bondage of your past! Maybe it's time for you to open up your hurting heart to the Liberator so He can do what only He can do.

If you're going to face the dark secret, you need someone to go with you there who will not condemn you, and that would be Jesus. He's known your secret all along. He died to pay for all that sin. He died to forgive it. You need someone who is also strong enough to carry that secret, to heal its wounds, to restore you. Isaiah 53 says of Jesus, "He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." That actually happened on Jesus' cross where every sin and every secret of your life was dealt with and paid for.

And today He's saying, "I'm ready to help you face it, to make you clean, to become your personal Savior." Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Our website will help you cross that line. It's ANewStory.com.

You've been a slave to those secrets long enough, haven't you? Maybe this is your day to finally be free and to finally sing again.

Judges 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD DECIDES WHEN IT’S OVER - January 29, 2026

In Jeremiah 32:27 God says, “I am the Lord, the God of every person on the earth, nothing is impossible for me.”

We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it’s not over until he says so. We need to hear that life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. Corrie ten Boom used to say, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.”

The way to deal with discouragement? The cure for disappointment? Go back and read the story of God. Read it again and again. Be reminded that you aren’t the first person to weep and you aren’t the first person to be helped. Read the story and remember the story is yours!

More to Your Story

Judges 2

God’s angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I’ll never break my covenant with you—never! And you’re never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven’t obeyed me! What’s this that you’re doing?

3  “So now I’m telling you that I won’t drive them out before you. They’ll trip you up and their gods will become a trap.”

4–5  When God’s angel had spoken these words to all the People of Israel, they cried out—oh! how they wept! They named the place Bokim (Weepers). And there they sacrificed to God.

6–9  After Joshua had dismissed them, the People of Israel went off to claim their allotted territories and take possession of the land. The people worshiped God throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the time of the leaders who survived him, leaders who had been in on all of God’s great work that he had done for Israel. Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of God, died. He was 110 years old. They buried him in his allotted inheritance at Timnath Heres in the hills of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

10  Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

11–15  The People of Israel did evil in God’s sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte! God’s anger was hot against Israel: He handed them off to plunderers who stripped them; he sold them cheap to enemies on all sides. They were helpless before their enemies. Every time they walked out the door God was with them—but for evil, just as God had said, just as he had sworn he would do. They were in a bad way.

16–17  But then God raised up judges who saved them from their plunderers. But they wouldn’t listen to their judges; they prostituted themselves to other gods—worshiped them! They lost no time leaving the road walked by their parents, the road of obedience to God’s commands. They refused to have anything to do with it.

18–19  When God was setting up judges for them, he would be right there with the judge: He would save them from their enemies’ oppression as long as the judge was alive, for God was moved to compassion when he heard their groaning because of those who afflicted and beat them. But when the judge died, the people went right back to their old ways—but even worse than their parents!—running after other gods, serving and worshiping them. Stubborn as mules, they didn’t drop a single evil practice.

20–22  And God’s anger blazed against Israel. He said, “Because these people have thrown out my covenant that I commanded their parents and haven’t listened to me, I’m not driving out one more person from the nations that Joshua left behind when he died. I’ll use them to test Israel and see whether they stay on God’s road and walk down it as their parents did.”

23  That’s why God let those nations remain. He didn’t drive them out or let Joshua get rid of them.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 29, 2026

by Nancy Gavilanes

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 6:10-20

A Fight to the Finish

10–12  And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13–18  Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

19–20  And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

Today's Insights

Speaking to gentile (non-Jewish) believers in Jesus (Ephesians 2:11-12), Paul uses the metaphor of a Roman soldier’s armor—compelling imagery for that audience. Although drawing on militaristic imagery to highlight a struggle against “the powers of this dark world” (6:12), the apostle also emphasizes that this isn’t a fight against human beings—“against flesh and blood”—but against “spiritual forces of evil” (v. 12). It’s a conflict in which believers follow our suffering Savior, who died out of love to reveal “the gospel of peace” (v. 15). He’s equipped us with spiritual armor (vv. 10-17) so we can stand strong when we face spiritual battles.

Standing Strong in Christ

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11

Recently, my mom gave me a play-by-play of a surprising confrontation she saw on a live webcam feed from a watering hole in Africa. The Gemsbok, a large antelope, has horns that can be more than two feet long, making it a formidable animal that doesn’t seem to scare easily. That is, unless it comes across a group of brave and rowdy ostriches.

The lead ostrich, which was taller than its foes, shook its large feathers, roared, and stomped toward three Gemsbok, causing them to flee.

“I guess they didn’t realize how powerful their horns are,” I said to my mom.

Believers in Jesus can forget the power we have when faced with attacks from our spiritual enemy, Satan. We have the Holy Spirit who lives inside us (Romans 8:11) and the armor of God to help us: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). Satan wants to challenge our belief in God’s Word, question our identity in Christ, and tempt us to sin.

But we can stand strong because God’s armor includes “the belt of truth, . . . the breastplate of righteousness, . . . the shield of faith, . . . the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (vv. 14-17).

When the enemy attacks us with feelings of fear, condemnation, or despair, let’s remember we’re God’s children and are well equipped to stand strong.

Reflect & Pray

Why do you sometimes forget to use the armor of God? How can you stand firm in your battles?

Dear God, thank You for giving me Your divine protection.

Learn more about the armor of God by watching this video.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 29, 2026

The Unmistakable Voice of God

Who are you, Lord? —Acts 26:15

Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken. It comes to you in the language you know best, not through your ears but through your circumstances.

When we have gone astray, when we have grown too sure of ourselves, God has to come in and set us right. He has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. In these moments, his voice is overwhelming. He speaks to us as he spoke to Isaiah, with a “strong hand,” revealing to us the depths of our ignorance (Isaiah 8:11). He tells us that we’ve been serving Jesus in a spirit that is not his, pushing his message in the spirit of the devil. The words we’ve been speaking might have sounded right, but our spirit was that of the enemy: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

There is no escape when our Lord speaks. I must take his rebuke to heart: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55 kjv). Have I been persecuting Jesus by a zealous determination to serve him in my own way? To do God’s work in the Spirit of Jesus is to have the humble and gentle Spirit kindled inside me. If instead I am filled with self-satisfaction or a grim sense of having “done my duty,” I know that in fact I have not done it. We imagine that anything unpleasant is our duty! Is that at all like the Spirit of the Lord? “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8 kjv).

Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance.

Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 29, 2026

TWO WORDS THAT LIGHTEN THE LOAD - #10189

It's amazing what a difference two words can make. For example if you're a teenager, your life can change dramatically when you hear just two words, "You're grounded!" Or if you're working, "You're fired." Or those two words that changed my life forever. You know what those two words were? "I do." It's amazing what two words can do.

Now, if you're in a down time right now, there are two words that can make all the difference to you. And then there are two words you may not feel like saying at all.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Two Words That Lighten the Load."

Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Thessalonians 5:18. For those of us who are wondering what God's will is right now, here it is. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Paul says here that the giving of thanks in all circumstances is really tied to our destiny in being in the center of God's will. I think that the suggestion here is that two of the most powerful words we can speak are "Thank you." Or more precisely, "Thank God."

We all know that we like to be thanked, and we all know how it feels to do a lot for someone and never get a thank you. Right? Of course God is an expert in that field. But when you say, "Thank God," that's when I think it does more for you than it does for Him, especially if you're in a time in your life when you don't feel like saying thanks, because the specific present circumstances aren't very pleasant.

There are a few benefits, I think, that come from saying those two powerful words, "Thank God!" First of all - contentment. Even in the midst of an ugly situation like Paul being in prison, you can find contentment by saying the words, "Thank you." Paul certainly knew about that when he wrote the book of Philippians 4.

Remember what he said? "The peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus." He had experience to write that. And then he says in verse 6, "In everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Say, "Thank God" and a marvelous sense of contentment will come over you, even in one of life's prisons. The secret of contentment in a crummy situation - a terrible situation - is to focus on the Lord - the good things that He has been doing in the middle of the bad. It means focusing on what you have, not what you don't have. Thank God!

The second thing that it does is you don't need to be noticed. See, pride gets stamped out at the gate when you give credit where credit is due and is properly given to God right away. "God, I know this was You. Thank You." When you start to take the glory for what God has done, stop. Send it up to God, "Thank God." Don't let your ego start to inflate.

The third benefit of thanking God is confidence. Because, you see, the same God who blessed your life in the past, who brought you through other things in the past, is going to meet you today. Look at His track record. Look at His history. The same God who I just thanked for moving a mountain yesterday, He is going to move mountains again for you. He'll do it all again! He's done it all these years for all His people. He's the same yesterday. He's the same today. He's the same forever. He's going to meet your needs today.

Rejoicing is really the habit of looking for God at work and acknowledging it when you see it. Thanking God is sort of like putting sweetener in a bitter drink. Negative thoughts are just going to make the drink that much more bitter. A thankful heart, a joyful heart, a heart that believes that God has said, "I know the plans I have for you. They are for good and not for evil; to give you a future and a hope."

In the midst of this small dot in your life, look at the big picture and say, "Thank You, Lord."

Judges 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: VALUED BY JESUS - January 28, 2026

Jesus’ love does not depend upon what we do for him.  Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well.  Your value is inborn. Period.

Think about that for just a minute. You’re valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you’ve done, but simply because you are. Remember that, the next time you are left bobbing in the wake of someone’s steamboat ambition. Or some trickster tries to hang a bargain basement price tag on your self-worth. Remember that, the next time someone tries to pass you off as a cheap buy.

Just think about the way Jesus honors you—and smile. I do.  Because I know, I don’t deserve a love like that. None of us do!

More to Your Story

Judges 1

A time came after the death of Joshua when the People of Israel asked God, “Who will take the lead in going up against the Canaanites to fight them?”

2  And God said, “Judah will go. I’ve given the land to him.”

3  The men of Judah said to those of their brother Simeon, “Go up with us to our territory and we’ll fight the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you to your territory.” And Simeon went with them.

4  So Judah went up. God gave them the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They defeated them at Bezek—ten military units!

5–7  They caught up with My-Master-Bezek there and fought him. They smashed the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My-Master-Bezek ran, but they gave chase and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. My-Master-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to crawl under my table, scavenging. Now God has done to me what I did to them.”

They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.

8–10  The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city by sword and then sending it up in flames. After that they had gone down to fight the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the foothills. Judah had gone on to the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba) and brought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to their knees.

11–12  From there they had marched against the population of Debir (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher). Caleb had said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I’ll give my daughter Acsah to him as his wife.”

13  Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it, so Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as his wife.

14–15  When she arrived she got him

to ask for farmland from her father.

As she dismounted from her donkey

Caleb asked her, “What would you like?”

She said, “Give me a marriage gift.

You’ve given me desert land;

Now give me pools of water!”

And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.

16  The people of Hobab the Kenite, Moses’ relative, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah at the descent of Arad. They settled down there with the Amalekites.

17  The people of Judah went with their kin the Simeonites and struck the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They carried out the holy curse and named the city Curse-town.

18–19  But Judah didn’t manage to capture Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron with their territories. God was certainly with Judah in that they took over the hill country. But they couldn’t oust the people on the plain because they had iron chariots.

20  They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had directed. Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak.

21  But the people of Ben-jamin couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Benjaminites and Jebusites live side by side in Jerusalem to this day.

22–26  The house of Joseph went up to attack Bethel. God was with them. Joseph sent out spies to look the place over. Bethel used to be known as Luz. The spies saw a man leaving the city and said to him, “Show us a way into the city and we’ll treat you well.” The man showed them a way in. They killed everyone in the city but the man and his family. The man went to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz; that’s its name to this day.

27–28  But Manasseh never managed to drive out Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo with their territories. The Canaanites dug in their heels and wouldn’t budge. When Israel became stronger they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they never got rid of them.

29  Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. The Canaanites stuck it out and lived there with them.

30  Nor did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites in Kitron or Nahalol. They kept living there, but they were put to forced labor.

31–32  Nor did Asher drive out the people of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. Asher went ahead and settled down with the Canaanites since they could not get rid of them.

33  Naphtali fared no better. They couldn’t drive out the people of Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath so they just moved in and lived with them. They did, though, put them to forced labor.

34–35  The Amorites pushed the people of Dan up into the hills and wouldn’t let them down on the plains. The Amorites stubbornly continued to live in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph got the upper hand, they were put to forced labor.

36  The Amorite border extended from Scorpions’ Pass and Sela upward.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

by Lisa M. Samra

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Timothy 4:9-13

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

Today's Insights

The unfortunate reality of Paul’s requests to Timothy for his support and care (2 Timothy 4:9-13) is that he’d experienced attack from an enemy and desertion from those whom he trusted. He writes that “Alexander the metalworker did [him] a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done” (v. 14). He then follows that with a statement of desertion: “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me” (v. 16). Being alone, the apostle was very much in need of support, care, and encouragement. But with his time drawing short (v. 6), history is silent as to whether Timothy and Mark arrived in time to come to his aid before his execution took place. Today, we can ask God to show us how we can be an encouragement to others in tangible ways as a reminder of God’s love.

Sent with Care

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. 2 Timothy 4:13

I recently learned that the name “CARE” package came from the acronym for “Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe,” a group that sent boxes of food to help Europeans displaced during World War II. While the care packages I send my kids at college are mostly filled with homemade treats and candy, they usually include a few practical items—a favorite shirt forgotten at home or extra school supplies.

While the name “care package” may be modern, the practice of sending helpful items is far older. It’s even tucked away at the end of 2 Timothy. Writing while imprisoned in Rome, Paul concluded his letter to his trusted disciple with some personal requests. He asked that Timothy come and bring Mark to help him (4:11). Then he requested some personal items: his cloak and his “scrolls, especially the parchments” (v. 13). Perhaps the cloak was needed because winter was coming, and maybe the scrolls contained copies of the Old Testament. Whatever the reason, Paul longed for companionship and practical items to refresh and encourage him.

Tangible reminders of care, whether the recipient lives near or far, can have a significant impact on someone in need of a little encouragement. The gift of a meal for a neighbor, a thoughtful card written to a loved one or acquaintance, or a package full of goodies sent to a faraway friend can extend God’s love in practical ways.

Reflect & Pray

When did you receive a reminder of God’s love? How did that kindness encourage you?

Heavenly Father, please open my eyes to see who I might show Your love to.

Staying faithful can be difficult when life gets hard. Learn more by reading Finishing Well.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Our Way or His?

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? —Acts 26:14

Are we determined to serve God in our own way, or in his? Until we undergo the baptism by fire of the Holy Spirit, we will always be tempted to put our own ambitions and interests first. We won’t understand that our self-will and stubbornness stab Jesus, that our insistence on our own dignity and rightness hurts him. Every time we stand on our right to ourselves and insist that this is what we intend to do, we persecute our Lord.

When we realize what we’ve been doing, it is the most crushing thing. We see that we’ve been lying, see that every time we went out into the world with the Lord’s name on our lips and selfishness in our hearts, we were persecuting Christ. We were preaching sanctification while exhibiting the spirit of Satan.

Is the word of God alive and true in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life prove the lie of what I say? That is the question we must ask ourselves. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of one thing only: a perfect oneness with the Father. All we do should be founded on this oneness, not a prideful determination to “be godly.” “Learn from me,” Jesus said, “for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). If we are gentle and humble, it means that we can be easily taken advantage of, easily snubbed, and easily ignored. But if we submit to this treatment for his sake, we will prevent Jesus Christ being persecuted.

Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

The Place of Help, 1005 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

A HEART LIKE HIS - #10188

Some dear friends of ours lost their 19-year-old son. Because of the way it happened, his death was a sudden, gut-wrenching tragedy. With Jesus as their anchor, even through this, they made this incredible faith statement. His mom and dad said this: "God wants life to come from his death." One way that's happened is through their decision to donate his organs to help save and improve some other lives. Not long after their son's death, the word came back that someone in a neighboring state had received their son's heart. That's been a source of comfort and encouragement to them. As they say, "Our son's heart is giving life to someone else."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Heart Like His."

In a sense, Jesus wants to give you a new life by giving you a new heart spiritually - His heart. To live your life seeing what He sees in the lives around you, caring about the things He cares about. It's part of the miracle that happens when you turn your life over to Jesus. He fulfills this promise from Ezekiel 36:26-27 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you."

When you ask Jesus to put His heart in you, your life can never be the same. Paul talked about what a Jesus-heart does in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning with verse 14. "Christ's love compels us." Suddenly the love Jesus has for this world is part of you, and that love drives you to touch as many lives as possible with that love. Paul goes on to describe the dramatic revolution that takes place in what, or who, you live for. "He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again."

Look, what's our natural bent? To live for ourselves, right? What makes us look good, what makes us comfortable, what fulfills our desires, advances our agenda. But when Jesus puts His selfless heart in you, it's not all about you anymore. It's all about Him and the people He died for, and your life is never the same.

A life that's all about your needs and your agenda is a very small life. A life that's all about Jesus, all about the needs of others, all about introducing people to Jesus - that's a super-sized life - one with the satisfaction of knowing you are fulfilling your created destiny. But it takes a new heart, because our heart is, by itself, self-centered and earth-centered - not eternity centered.

When Jesus plants His heart in you, you finally realize who you really are and why you are where you are. Paul says, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God was making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God."

Going to work is never the same again. Going to school, going to the club or the gym, even going home to your neighborhood, because now you see the people there through Jesus' eyes, and He sees future inhabitants of hell unless someone helps them get to heaven by getting them to Jesus. You now know you are there on Christ's behalf, saying what He would say to them, trying to rescue them as He would rescue them. And your everyday stuff? It's never everyday again - it's got eternal significance.

If your life has been very full but not very fulfilling, if you want the rest of your life to really count, if you want to live your life for something that will outlast you, then it's time for you to open up your heart to receive the heart of your Jesus. It begins when you pray, "Go ahead, God, and break my heart for the things that break yours. Go ahead and fill my heart with the love and the burden that fills yours." Then fasten your seatbelt for a life of spiritual greatness.

With His heart in you, you will live a life you could have no other way. Don't settle for anything less.

Luke 12:1-31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOUR PLACE IN GOD’S STORY - January 27, 2026

Do you remember a time when as a child you got lost?  You felt the paralyzing fear of looking around and failing to see the north star of your parents’ strong presence. You were lost. These moments of lostness can leave a pit in your stomach and bring fear to your soul.

What is even worse is coming to a point in life when we realize that we’ve lost our way as a human being. We’re not sure why we are on this planet. We have no sense of our purpose.

It is in these moments we look to God, the Master Storyteller, and discover that the best way to understand our story is to listen to His. As we understand God’s story and where we fit within it, the haze begins to clear and our story begins to make sense. There’s more to your story my friend.

More to Your Story

Luke 12:1-31

Can’t Hide Behind a Religious Mask

1–3  12 By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other’s toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.

4–5  “I’m speaking to you as dear friends. Don’t be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.

6–7  “What’s the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.

8–9  “Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels?

10  “If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you’re knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won’t be overlooked.

11–12  “When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don’t worry about defending yourselves—what you’ll say or how you’ll say it. The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes.”

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.”

Steep Yourself in God-Reality

22–24  He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.

25–28  “Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

29–32  “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

by Leslie Koh

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Psalm 31:13-18

The street-talk gossip has me

“criminally insane”!

Behind locked doors they plot

how to ruin me for good.

14–18  Desperate, I throw myself on you:

you are my God!

Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,

safe from the hands out to get me.

Warm me, your servant, with a smile;

save me because you love me.

Don’t embarrass me by not showing up;

I’ve given you plenty of notice.

Embarrass the wicked, stand them up,

leave them stupidly shaking their heads

as they drift down to hell.

Gag those loudmouthed liars

who heckle me, your follower,

with jeers and catcalls.

Today's Insights

As Jesus hung dying on the cross, He spoke the words of the Psalms. We’re familiar with those from Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (see Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). The words communicate deep pain and a kind of hopelessness in the face of utter despair. The circumstances of both David and His true heir, Jesus, led both to cry out in anguish.

But the words that Christ quotes just before surrendering to death carry a different note: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Here, He quotes David again—but the words of Psalm 31 point to an unshakable confidence in the goodness of the Father despite suffering. When we face overwhelming pain and suffering, the words of this psalm lead us to hold on to the Father just as Jesus did. We share the same hope as the Son of God.

Hope in Faith

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

Kristin’s son had died from cancer when he was just seven. Now, three years later, her older son was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Friends who were not believers in Jesus grieved with her, but they couldn’t understand why she continued to trust Christ. “How could your God allow this? Why keep believing in Him?” they asked.

For Kristin, however, it was an even stronger reason to keep believing. “I don’t understand why this is happening,” she said, “but I know God will help us through this. Only God can give me hope to keep going.”

Such a hope and trust kept King David going when he found himself in overwhelming circumstances. Surrounded by enemies seeking his destruction, he probably couldn’t understand why all this was happening to him. Yet he knew he was following a God he could trust to deliver and bless him in His time (Psalm 31:14-16). This certain hope enabled him to keep submitting to God and to say, “My times are in your hands” (v. 15). And it uplifted him, such that he could also say, “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (v. 24).

In times when we feel overwhelmed and there seems little to look forward to, we know we can hang on even more tightly to God and the life-giving hope He alone provides.

Reflect & Pray

What do you need to keep going through life’s challenges? How does God’s promise of hope give you joy and strength even in hardship?

Loving Father, You know my struggles and doubts. Please give me the faith to keep trusting in You and the strength to keep going.

For further study, read A Place for Doubt in a Growing Faith.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Look Again and Think

Do not worry about your life. —Matthew 6:25

How easy following this command would be if we could just decide, once and for all, to stop worrying about the world and its demands; if, having pledged ourselves to Jesus, we could just forget about the things that used to obsess us. But answering the call is never this easy. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the pull of desire and hunger and lust—these are recurring tides, always lapping at our shores. If we don’t allow the Spirit of God to rise up against them, they’ll come flooding in.

Jesus is telling us to be careful about one thing only: our relationship to him. Common sense shouts that this is ridiculous, that we must think about what we’re going to eat and drink and wear. Jesus says we must not. Beware of thinking that Jesus’s words don’t apply to your particular circumstances, that he doesn’t understand what you’re going through right now. Jesus understands your circumstances better than you do, and he says you must not make these things the central concern of your life. Whenever there’s a competition, put your relationship to God first.

“Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What mean little imps have been looking in and saying, “What are you going to do next month, next summer, next year?” “Do not be anxious,” Paul tells us (Philippians 4:6). Look again, and think, drawing your awareness to the “much more” of your heavenly Father: “Will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30).

Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18:1-20

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.

Disciples Indeed

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

DON'T LET A MESS GET STARTED - #10187

The story goes that some years ago a cartoonist named Walt Disney - maybe you've heard of him - well, he went with his children to an amusement park, and he was disgusted! The park was covered with litter, bathrooms were filthy. And that day Walt Disney made up his mind that the park he wanted to build someday would always be clean. If you've ever been to Disneyland or to Disney World, you know Walt Disney got his way.

You know how they keep it that way? As soon as a cup or a wrapper drops, it seems like there's someone there to pick it up. They keep big messes from happening by quickly cleaning up every small one.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Don't Let a Mess Get Started."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God, it's from Ephesians 4:26-27. I guess we could call it God's clean-up plan. "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the Devil a foothold." Now, here's an interesting passage that leads into the next chapter, Ephesians 5, and it's about Christian marriage among other things. And I think that's appropriate, because well, you've got a wonderful blueprint here for keeping big messes out of your marriage. He basically says, "Don't go to bed mad."

I think this ought to be over every married couple's bed maybe, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry" because that gives the Devil a place to stand; a little foothold that can start to erode a relationship. Follow the Disney method for avoiding big messes. Don't let a mess get started.

Many marital disintegrations can be traced to some hurt or issue that once was pretty small. It could have been dealt with easily then, but it wasn't, and layers and layers have accumulated over that now. There's scar tissue, there's hardness, there's bitterness and there's resentment. If only it had been dealt with before the sun went down.

You know why we don't do that? Oh, a husband's too busy. He says, "Well, I can't deal with this little thing right now; it's too small an issue." Get it while it's small. Or maybe the wife's too busy herself, or she's too protective and she says, "Well, the poor guy. He's got so much on his mind, I don't want to bother him" and so it gets buried. But like toxic waste, it's not going to go away. It's going to keep radiating poison, and one day it will be a critically deadly poison. Conflict, hurt, and misunderstanding? They have to be dealt with on a 24-hour basis. Otherwise, there's a build up, and one day an avalanche that buries everyone. It's a whole lot better to deal with a snowball than an avalanche.

That issue - the frustration - will never be smaller than it is today; it's only going to grow. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:15, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God. Do not let any bitter root grow up among you. It will cause trouble; it will defile many." I think that might include the kids who get the radiation from the toxic waste that's been buried.

So look, don't let another day go by without beginning to deal with the issue. And if you have to get help from an outside person, do it. But deal with it. You can be close in your marriage. You can stay close till death do you part if you'll pick up the little mess - the first wrapper that drops.

It works for Disney World, and it works for the Magic Kingdom of marriage. Just don't let a mess get started.