1 Timothy 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A FRIEND IS WAITING

Hebrews 10:12 says, “After he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, [he] sat down at the right hand of God.” Of course Jesus sat down. All that needed to be done had been done. Why don’t you receive this great miracle of mercy? Let the grace of God flow over you like a cleansing cascade, flushing out all dregs of guilt and shame. Friend, nothing separates you from God. Your conscience may accuse you, but God accepts you. Others may dredge up your past, but God doesn’t. As far as he is concerned, the work is once-and-for-all-time finished.

Keep running the race. And, as you run, be assured a friend is waiting for you at the finish line.  When you cross it, he’ll catch you in his arms. Don’t be surprised if he says again what he said then: “It is finished.” Remember, friend, you are never alone.

1 Timothy 3

Leadership in the Church

 If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

8-13 The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it. They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things. Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on. No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine. Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs. Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.

14-16 I hope to visit you soon, but just in case I’m delayed, I’m writing this letter so you’ll know how things ought to go in God’s household, this God-alive church, bastion of truth. This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:

He appeared in a human body,
    was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
        was seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
    believed in all over the world,
        taken up into heavenly glory.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, November 16, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Galatians 5:13–26

Life by the Spirit
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Footnotes
Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18
Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

Insight
We’re all born with a sinful nature inherited from Adam (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12, 14), but those who place their trust in Jesus for salvation are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8) and receive a new nature (1:13; Titus 3:5). This new “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). In Galatians 5, Paul warns that our flesh (sinful habits) continues to oppose the indwelling Spirit (v. 17). To “put to death” our earthly nature (Colossians 3:5), we must walk and live by the Spirit, keeping in step with Him as He leads and directs us (Galatians 5:16, 18, 25).

Borrowed Shoes
Serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13

In the chaos of fleeing his home during the California wildfires of 2018, Gabe, a high school senior, missed the state-qualifying cross-country race for which he’d been training. Missing this meet meant he wouldn’t have the chance to compete at the state meet—the culminating event of his four-year running career. In light of the circumstances, the state athletics board gave Gabe another chance: he’d have to run a qualifying time by himself, on a rival high school’s track, in “street shoes” because his running shoes were in the charred rubble of his home. When he showed up to “race,” Gabe was surprised by his competitors who’d come to supply him with proper shoes and to run alongside him to ensure he kept the pace necessary to be entered in the state meet.

Gabe’s opponents had no obligation to help him. They could have given into their natural desires to look out for themselves (Galatians 5:13); doing so might have improved their own odds of winning. But Paul urges us to display the fruit of the Spirit in our lives—to “serve one another humbly in love” and to demonstrate “kindness” and “goodness” (vv. 13, 22). When we lean on the Spirit to help us not act on our natural instincts, we’re better able to love those around us. By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray
How are you showing the “fruit of the Spirit” in the way you treat others? How can you better love your “neighbor”?

Dear God, my natural desire is to look out for myself. Help me to serve others out of love for You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 16, 2020
Still Human!

…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31

In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.

We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.

We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 3-4; Hebrews 11:20-40

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 16, 2020
Doing it With Your Daddy - #8831

A basketful of eggs and a four-year-old girl. Got any ideas how this might turn out? The little girl was my wife. This little scene played out on the basement stairs of the church her family attended. Her Dad said, "Honey, you should hold Daddy's hand." He wasn't too sure about either his daughter or the eggs she was carrying. As she grabbed onto the stair railing with one hand and gripped the handle of the basket with the other hand, she said, "I'm okay, Daddy." (These are first-borns. Yeah, I know about this.) In an instant, she was tumbling down the steps, head over heels. She had some minor "boo-boos." The eggs - prematurely scrambled.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Doing it With Your Daddy."

We smile at a little child's stubborn self-sufficiency, and we miss how much like us that really is. At least from the vantage point of our Heavenly Father. That's why our Father gives us clear instructions on the way to make it and the way to mess it up; the way to get safely where we need to go and the way to break all the eggs.

It's summed up in two of the most quoted verses in the Bible from Proverbs 3:5-6. It could be your life verse and it still might not be the way you live! Our word for today from the Word of God: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Trust in Him and not in yourself. Lean on what He shows you and not on what you can figure out by yourself. It could be that you're running full-steam right now, chasing your goal, managing your situation, fixing your problem. But the still, small voice of your Heavenly Father is whispering in your heart, "My child, you should hold My hand."

But you're Mr. or Miss Self-Sufficient, right? You're smart, you're skilled, you're experienced, you're strong, and from God's perspective, you're a control freak. Sure, you want Jesus with you, but you don't really want Him running things. "I can do this, Daddy. I can fix this. I can handle this." Followed soon by the crash, the breakage, and the "boo-boos."

Sure, you're officially, theologically trusting God, but in reality, are you trusting what you can do? In reality, while Jesus is your "Chairman" on the letterhead, in the stuff that really matters, are you really in charge and is Jesus' role really honorary? Let's put it this way: you're driving down the road and you see this hitchhiker by the side of the road. You go against your usual instincts and you pull over to pick him up. As you open the passenger door, you're stunned to see Jesus Himself standing there. You say, "Jesus, this is such an honor. Would you please get in and ride with me?" And He'll say, "No." You'll probably ask, "Why not?" That's when Jesus will say, "Because I don't ride. I drive. You let me know when you're ready for Me to drive."

See, you were never meant to drive. You were never meant to carry all this. That's why there are so many stumbles, so many falls, and so many breaks. Right now your Lord, who won the right to run your life when He gave His life for you on the cross, your Lord is saying it one more time, "Take My hand. Lean on Me. Let Me lead." Don't tell Him, "No, I'm okay, Daddy. I can do it myself." That's only going to lead to a fall.

Don't make another step without grabbing your Father's hand and letting Him lead.

Ezekiel 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Cry Out to Jesus

My friend Jim has battled a muscular condition much of his adult life. The atrophy slurs his speech and impairs his walk. But it doesn't diminish his faith or erase his smile.
One Sunday we asked church members to park in the back lot and leave the closest spots for guests. As I arrived, I saw Jim. He had parked in the distant corner and was walking toward the sanctuary. His life is an example. I pray that God will heal Jim's body. But until he does, God is using Jim to inspire people like me.
God will do the same with you. He will use your struggle to change others. Or-he may use your struggle to change you! Disease cannot destroy us. And death has lost its sting. Cry out to Jesus in the power of a simple prayer! He will heal you-instantly or gradually or for sure, ultimately!
From Before Amen

Ezekiel 4

This Is What Sin Does

“Now, son of man, take a brick and place it before you. Draw a picture of the city Jerusalem on it. Then make a model of a military siege against the brick: Build siege walls, construct a ramp, set up army camps, lay in battering rams around it. Then get an iron skillet and place it upright between you and the city—an iron wall. Face the model: The city shall be under siege and you shall be the besieger. This is a sign to the family of Israel.

4-5 “Next lie on your left side and place the sin of the family of Israel on yourself. You will bear their sin for as many days as you lie on your side. The number of days you bear their sin will match the number of years of their sin, namely, 390. For 390 days you will bear the sin of the family of Israel.

6-7 “Then, after you have done this, turn over and lie down on your right side and bear the sin of the family of Judah. Your assignment this time is to lie there for forty days, a day for each year of their sin. Look straight at the siege of Jerusalem. Roll up your sleeve, shake your bare arm, and preach against her.

8 “I will tie you up with ropes, tie you so you can’t move or turn over until you have finished the days of the siege.

9-12 “Next I want you to take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, dried millet and spelt, and mix them in a bowl to make a flat bread. This is your food ration for the 390 days you lie on your side. Measure out about half a pound for each day and eat it on schedule. Also measure out your daily ration of about a pint of water and drink it on schedule. Eat the bread as you would a muffin. Bake the muffins out in the open where everyone can see you, using dried human dung for fuel.”

13 God said, “This is what the people of Israel are going to do: Among the pagan nations where I will drive them, they will eat foods that are strictly taboo to a holy people.”

14 I said, “God, my Master! Never! I’ve never contaminated myself with food like that. Since my youth I’ve never eaten anything forbidden by law, nothing found dead or violated by wild animals. I’ve never taken a single bite of forbidden food.”

15 “All right,” he said. “I’ll let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human dung.”

16-17 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I’m going to cut off all food from Jerusalem. The people will live on starvation rations, worrying where the next meal’s coming from, scrounging for the next drink of water. Famine conditions. People will look at one another, see nothing but skin and bones, and shake their heads. This is what sin does.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 11:1–6, 13–16

Faith in Action

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Insight
The book of Hebrews was written with Jewish readers in mind. They saw themselves as physical heirs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Before hearing about Jesus, they identified with a visible land, city, and temple. Now, they’re facing the fears and unknowns of following Jesus, and some were having second thoughts (10:32–39). So an inspired author used a familiar list of ancestors to remind his readers that they weren’t the first to put their hope in an unseen God (11:1). Emphasizing faith over sight, this letter from beginning to end offers reasons to keep our eyes on Jesus (12:1–3).

No Impossible Obstacles
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

As an adult leader, I arranged a student field trip to an obstacle course. We instructed students to slip into safety gear and scale an eight-foot wall. Those who went first encouraged each climber to trust the harness and keep moving forward without looking down. One of our students stared at the barrier as we secured belts and buckles around her waist. “There’s no way I can do this,” she said. Affirming the strength of her harness, we encouraged her and cheered when she climbed up the wall and stepped onto the high platform.

When we face problems that seem impossible to conquer, fears and insecurities can cause doubts. The assurance of God’s unchanging might, goodness, and faithfulness creates a strong harness of trust. This confident assurance fueled the courage of the Old Testament saints, who demonstrated that faith trumps our need to know every detail of God’s plan (Hebrews 11:1–13, 39). With conviction, we seek God earnestly, often standing alone when we trust Him. We can adjust the way we approach our challenges by viewing our circumstances with an eternal perspective—knowing our trials are only temporary (vv. 13–16).

Focusing on the steep climbs in life can prevent us from believing that God will bring us through. But knowing He’s with us, we can harness our uncertainties by faith as we trust God to help us overcome obstacles that once seemed impossible. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray
How can you become more courageous in the face of an impossible task?  How do you feel when you’ve accomplished something you didn’t think you could do?

Father, thank You for being the Author and Perfecter of my faith, so that the measure of my faith when I face obstacles is reliant on Your strength, not my own.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 15, 2020
“What Is That to You?”
Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ.  The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 1-2; Hebrews 11:1-19

Ezekiel 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: Becoming Like Him

Healthy marriages have a sense of tenderness, an honesty, an ongoing communication. The same is true in our relationship with God. Sometimes we go to Him with our joys, sometimes our hurts, but we always go. And as we go, the more we go, the more we become like Him. Paul says we're being changed from "glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
People who live long lives together eventually begin to sound alike, to talk alike, even think alike. As we walk with God, we take on His thoughts, His principles, His attitudes.  We take on His heart.
And just as in marriage, communion with God is no burden. Indeed, it's a delight.
The Psalmist says, "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty.  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Ps. 84:1-2 NIV).
Nothing-nothing compares with it!
From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Ezekiel 3

Warn These People

He told me, “Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel.”

2-3 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, saying, “Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!”

So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey.

4-6 Then he told me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. Look, I’m not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately.

7-9 “But it won’t work that way with the family of Israel. They won’t listen to you because they won’t listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. But I’ll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. I’ll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don’t let them intimidate you. Don’t be afraid of them, even though they’re a bunch of rebels.”

10-11 Then he said, “Son of man, get all these words that I’m giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ Speak your piece, whether they listen or not.”

12-13 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion—“Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!”—the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake.

14-15 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn’t want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.

16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God:

17-19 “Son of man, I’ve made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You are going to die,’ and you don’t sound the alarm warning them that it’s a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they’ll most certainly die for their sin, but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.

20-21 “And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they’ll die. If you haven’t warned them, they’ll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they’ve done will count for anything—and I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they’ll live because they took the warning—and again, you’ll have saved your life.”

22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, “Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you.”

23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn’t believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate.

24-26 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, “Go home and shut the door behind you.” And then something odd: “Son of man: They’ll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can’t leave the house. I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won’t be able to talk and tell the people what they’re doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels.

27 “But then when the time is ripe, I’ll free your tongue and you’ll say, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: . . .’ From then on it’s up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Daniel 3:12–18

 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[a] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Footnotes
Daniel 3:17 Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and

Insight
Understanding more about the furnace described in Daniel 3 helps us grasp the miracle that took place. It’s likely the furnace was used to smelt or extract metals from ore. The ore would be dropped into a top opening of the furnace—likely where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in. An opening in the side of the furnace at ground level may have been where the fire would be fed. This is probably where Nebuchadnezzar watched.

Having the furnace “heated seven times hotter” (v. 19) was an idiom for having it heated as hot as possible; some guess this to be up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. This would explain why the soldiers who threw the three men into the furnace were killed instantly (v. 22).

Inside the Fire
I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed. Daniel 3:25

A wildfire in Andilla, Spain, scorched nearly 50,000 acres of woodland. However, in the middle of the devastation, a group of nearly 1,000 bright green cypress trees remained standing. The trees’ ability to retain water had allowed them to safely endure the fire.

During King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in Babylon, a small cluster of friends survived the flames of the king’s wrath. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship a statue Nebuchadnezzar had created, and they told him, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it” (Daniel 3:17). Infuriated, the monarch cranked up the heat seven times hotter than normal (v. 19).

The soldiers who carried out the king’s orders and tossed the friends into the blaze were burned up, yet onlookers watched Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walk around inside the flames “unbound and unharmed.” Someone else was in the furnace as well—a fourth man who looked “like a son of the gods” (v. 25). Many scholars believe this was a preincarnate appearance of Jesus.

Jesus is with us when we face intimidation and trials. In the moments when we’re urged to give in to pressure, we don’t have to be afraid. We may not always know how or when God will help us, but we know He’s with us. He’ll give us the strength to stay faithful to Him through every “fire” we endure. By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray
Why is the supernatural comfort of God’s presence encouraging to you? How can you support others who may be facing opposition?

Dear God, fill me with Your Spirit so that I can persevere when I feel pressured to give in. I want to honor You by standing strong.

To learn more about the book of Daniel and its prophecies, visit ChristianUniversity.org/OT313.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Discovering Divine Design
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… —Genesis 24:27

We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “…the Lord led me…” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.

Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart. Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L

Bible in a Year: Lamentations 3-5; Hebrews 10:19-39

1 Timothy 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE REDEMPTION OF MANKIND

“And bowing His head, Jesus gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). His head did not fall forward or slump – He bowed his head. Jesus was no exhausted, swooning sufferer. “No one takes it [my life] from me,” he had promised, “but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). The man on the center cross commanded center stage. He was sovereign, even in—especially in—death. The family business to which he referred as a boy was finished some twenty-one years later and half a mile to the west, on the hill of Golgotha.

Exactly what was finished? Well there is one task to which he no longer needs to tend, and that is the redemption of humankind. Jesus, God’s sinless Son, absorbed in himself our sinful state. And we, his rebellious creation, can receive the goodness of Jesus Christ. Remember, my friend, you are never alone.

1 Timothy 2
Simple Faith and Plain Truth

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

4-7 He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.

8-10 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

11-15 I don’t let women take over and tell the men what to do. They should study to be quiet and obedient along with everyone else. Adam was made first, then Eve; woman was deceived first—our pioneer in sin!—with Adam right on her heels. On the other hand, her childbearing brought about salvation, reversing Eve. But this salvation only comes to those who continue in faith, love, and holiness, gathering it all into maturity. You can depend on this.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, November 13, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 55:10–13

As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Insight
This text in Isaiah 55 is a powerful reminder of one of the most important elements of our relationship with God—the element of mystery. We sometimes make the mistake of attempting to somehow categorize or distill the God of the universe into some small, understandable package. Any god who can be so reduced, however, is not the God of the Bible—nor the God we so desperately need. This issue seems to have been behind J. B. Phillips’ writing of the powerful little book Your God Is Too Small. Our God is too great, vast, and incomprehensible to be minimalized or neatly packaged. His ways and thoughts are beyond us (vv. 8–13), which means that we in our finiteness must learn to accept the mysteries of His greatness.

When God Speaks
So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty. Isaiah 55:11

Lily, a Bible translator, was flying home to her country when she was detained at the airport. Her mobile phone was searched, and when the officials found an audio copy of the New Testament on it, they confiscated the phone and questioned her for two hours. At one point they asked her to play the Scripture app, which happened to be set at Matthew 7:1–2: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Hearing these words in his own language, one of the officers turned pale. Later, she was released and no further action was taken.

We don’t know what happened in that official’s heart at the airport, but we know that the “word that goes out from [God’s] mouth” accomplishes what He desires (Isaiah 55:11). Isaiah prophesied these words of hope to God’s people in exile, assuring them that even as the rain and snow make the earth bud and grow, so too what goes “out from [His] mouth” achieves His purposes (vv. 10–11).   

We can read this passage to bolster our confidence in God. When we’re facing unyielding circumstances, such as Lily with the airport officials, may we trust that God is working—even when we don’t see the final outcome. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray
When was the last time you saw God at work? How have you received God’s love through the words He's declared?

Heavenly Father, thank You for what You’ve revealed, which brings me hope, peace, and love. Help me to grow in my love for You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 13, 2020
Faith or Experience?

…the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 13, 2020
The Wave and the Warning - #8830

When disaster as massive as the December 2004 tsunami hits our planet, you know there are going to be dramatic stories coming from it for years to come; the stories of people who survived, and those who didn't. There was this Austrian man who was enjoying a day at the beach in Thailand when he saw the water suddenly being sucked out to sea, virtually emptying the shore right in front of him. He recently had seen a show on the Discovery Channel about tsunamis, and as a result, he knew what was coming next. As he ran up the beach, he yelled as loud as he could, "Run for your life!" knowing full well that in seconds the full fury of a tsunami would hit anyone who was on that beach. He said he remembers one German lady in her beach chair who said, "I think I'll just sit here and watch." He said to the reporter interviewing him, "She didn't move." Then as he hung his head, he choked and he said, "She's dead."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wave and the Warning."

Among the tens of thousands who died that day, many died because they went unwarned. But there were those like that woman on the beach. She was warned and she refused to respond. When we reach the end of our lives, when the tsunami of death that carries so many into eternity each day comes our way, many of us will find out that we have made that same deadly mistake. We were warned about God's judgment and the only way to escape it, but we didn't make a move.

In a way, the entire Bible is a warning from God about the consequences of our rebellious running of our own lives. And it's an invitation to come to the only high ground where we can escape His judgment. And in a sense, we're all in that scene on the beach the day the tsunami hit. Either we're the one who's giving the warning - or we should be - or we're the one who needs the warning to save our life...I mean our life forever.

Both of those people are in our word for today from the Word of God in Ezekiel 3:16-18. God begins by addressing those of us who have been rescued from the penalty of our sin. He says, "I have made you a watchman...so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man..." By the way, when the Bible talks about a wicked person, it's referring to all of us who have broken God's laws - all of us who run our own lives - and that's all of us. God says, "When I say to him, 'You will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.'"

That is sobering stuff. If you know about the sin-rescue that Jesus made possible when He died on the cross, you can't just sit idly by and let people you know live and die without knowing that. And if you've never gotten right with God, it's time to run to the only safe place there is.

The people who survived the tsunami were the people who ran to the higher ground where the waves couldn't come. The only way you can be safe and beyond the reach of God's judgment is to go to the high ground of a place called Skull Hill where God's judgment for your sin already fell on His Son. The judgment of God cannot reach you there; but only there. No other ground is high enough.

And if you've never gone to the cross of Jesus to let go of your sin and let Jesus forgive your sin, realize this is not a religious issue. This is a matter of life or death - forever. When you realize how awful the penalty for your sin is, when you realize the unexplainable love that drove Jesus to bear it for you, you'll run to Him. And you'll thank Him that He gave you one more chance to come to Him, and that chance might be today. It might be right now. If you've never given yourself to Him, would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

Listen, you want more information about how to begin this relationship, please go to our website as soon as you can today. ANewStory.com. See, Jesus has come your way today, warning you to the high ground of His cross. Waiting? Waiting could cost you everything.

Ezekiel 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PAID IN FULL

“It is finished” Jesus declared as recorded in John 19:30. Tetelestai. Three words in English, only one word in Greek. Remove your hat, take off your shoes, silence all chatter, lower your eyes. This is a holy word, a sacred moment.

When Jesus was twelve years of age his parents found him in the temple, talking with the rabbis. “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). Even as a boy, Jesus had a sense of the family business – the work of redemption. Indeed, the Greek word tetelestai carries overtones of a business term. It was used to signify “paid in full” on debts, such as levies or a tribute. The term indicates a finalized transaction. Christ’s word on the cross declares the same. No further offering is needed. Heaven awaits no additional sacrifice. And if that doesn’t qualify as a miracle, what does? Remember, friend, you are never alone.

Ezekiel 2

Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet

 He said to me, “Son of man,[c] stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 13:17–18

Crossing the Sea

 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.

Insight
After more than four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, the march to the Promised Land for the children of Israel begins in Exodus 13. In this act of departure, both a prophecy and a request are fulfilled. The prophecy was delivered by God to Abraham at the establishment of His covenant with the patriarch. In Genesis 15:13, God warns that “for four hundred years” Abraham’s descendants would be “strangers in a country not their own and . . . enslaved and mistreated there”—but God would deliver them from that oppression. That deliverance is realized here in Exodus 13. In Genesis 50:25, Joseph requested that his remains be taken to the land of promise and be buried there. Exodus 13:19 tells us that this request hadn’t been forgotten by his people. Joshua 24:32 records the burial.

The Long Way
God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. Exodus 13:17

As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn’t help but feel a little envious. “How come you’re not a manager yet? You deserve it,” friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. “If this is God’s plan for me, I’ll just do my job well,” he replied.

Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates. Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the “long way around” so that he would be better prepared for his role.

When God led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17–18), He chose a longer way because the “shortcut” to Canaan was fraught with risk. The longer journey, note Bible commentators, also gave them more time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for subsequent battles.

The shortest way isn’t always the best. Sometimes God lets us take the longer route in life, whether it’s in our career or other endeavors, so that we’ll be better prepared for the journey ahead. When things don’t seem to happen quickly enough, we can trust in God—the One who leads and guides us. By:  Leslie Koh

Reflect & Pray
How might God be strengthening you by letting you take the “longer way” in life? How can you remind yourself to keep trusting Him?

Loving God, You know how I feel when things don’t seem to happen quickly enough. Grant me the patience to trust in You and in Your sovereign plan and purpose.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 12, 2020
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17

What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.

What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart. Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 51-52; Hebrews 9

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Your All-Access Pass - #8829

It was a major youth event I was speaking at, and they had several very popular contemporary Christian bands there. And teenagers love to get close to their heroes, even to find a way to get backstage or to their ready room. Let me assure you, speakers have no such problem. It's the bands they want to meet. Anyway, the organizers had to think through security - like who would be allowed to go into which area. Well, because I was a speaker, I wore one of those coveted trophies at any stage event. I had the all-access pass. Security people would glance at those door-opening words "all access" and they'd wave me right through. You can go anywhere and everywhere with one of those things!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your All-Access Pass."

You may never have worn an all-access pass in your life, but if you belong to Jesus Christ, you possess the most valuable all-access pass in the universe. God has hung a pass around your neck that allows you to walk into the Throne Room from which the universe is governed...any time. In fact, you have priority clearance.

The door to God, the door to His Throne Room, is called prayer. And when Jesus tore down the wall between God and us when He died on the cross, He opened the way for total access to all the resources of heaven! But often our prayers sound as if we've forgotten the awesome position we're in. We pray these lame, predictable, earth-sized prayers that sound like we only have access to some little spiritual closet!

Hebrews 4:16 says we can "come boldly to God's throne of grace." And our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 9:8, describes the incredible resources that gives us access to. It says, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Talk about comprehensive coverage! Access to all of God's grace so you can have everything you need in every situation to do what's right. Are you praying like that? Or are you worrying, scheming, hesitating, even disobeying instead of using your all-access pass?

What does that give you access to? Listen to Philippians 4:19, "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." You have a pass to the unlimited resources of the Jesus Fund in heaven, which has all the resources your situation requires financially, emotionally, relationally, physically. How about James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all..." For every phone call, every email, every text, every parental challenge, every decision, every response, your all-access pass opens up the very wisdom of God Himself to guide you to the right thing. Or Hebrews 4:16, the "come boldly" verse, that promises "grace to help you in your time of need." All you need, man, to make it through your storm.

Yes, Jesus has given you an all-access pass to the resources of heaven. (Isn't it awesome?) But we live in such unnecessary poverty because we underutilize what He's made available. Isn't it time to quit praying in the same old box, coming to God like a beggar instead of a son or daughter?

When you pray, remember who you are, remember the awesome God you're with, and dare to trust Him for what the Bible calls "great and mighty things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).

Ezekiel 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE MIRACLE OF THE CRUCIFIXION

John 19:30 says, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Does the crucifixion qualify as a miracle? By all means. It embodies every feature of the other miracles in John’s gospel. Water didn’t become wine, but sinners became saints. On Calvary Jesus didn’t heal a servant with a proclamation; he healed all generations with an affirmation. On Good Friday Jesus didn’t tell a lame man to walk; he invited all of us to dance.

With a single proclamation Jesus fed more than a crowd, stilled more than a storm, and gave sight to more than one man. His command at the Bethany cemetery was enough to call Lazarus from the grave. His announcement on Calvary was sufficient to save all who believe in him from eternal death. Remember, friends, you are never alone.

Ezekiel 1

Wheels Within Wheels, Like a Gyroscope

When I was thirty years of age, I was living with the exiles on the Kebar River. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the sky opened up and I saw visions of God.

2-3 (It was the fifth day of the month in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin that God’s Word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, on the banks of the Kebar River in the country of Babylon. God’s hand came upon him that day.)

4-9 I looked: I saw an immense dust storm come from the north, an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze. Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life. Each had the form of a human being, but each also had four faces and four wings. Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf and sparkled from the fire like burnished bronze. On all four sides under their wings they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings, with the wings touching one another. They turned neither one way nor the other; they went straight forward.

10-12 Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle. So much for the faces. The wings were spread out with the tips of one pair touching the creature on either side; the other pair of wings covered its body. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit went, they went. They didn’t turn as they went.

13-14 The four creatures looked like a blazing fire, or like fiery torches. Tongues of fire shot back and forth between the creatures, and out of the fire, bolts of lightning. The creatures flashed back and forth like strikes of lightning.

15-16 As I watched the four creatures, I saw something that looked like a wheel on the ground beside each of the four-faced creatures. This is what the wheels looked like: They were identical wheels, sparkling like diamonds in the sun. It looked like they were wheels within wheels, like a gyroscope.

17-21 They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures went, the wheels went; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22-24 Over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome, shimmering like a sky full of cut glass, vaulted over their heads. Under the dome one set of wings was extended toward the others, with another set of wings covering their bodies. When they moved I heard their wings—it was like the roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of a battlefield. When they stopped, they folded their wings.

25-28 And then, as they stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their heads. Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne. From what I could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day—that’s what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God!

When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Zechariah 10:6–12

“I will strengthen Judah
    and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
    because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
    I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
    and I will answer them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
    and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
    their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will signal for them
    and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
    they will be as numerous as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
    yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
    and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
    and there will not be room enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
    the surging sea will be subdued
    and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s pride will be brought down
    and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord
    and in his name they will live securely,”
declares the Lord.

Insight
For a relatively short Old Testament book, Zechariah is quoted extensively in the New Testament. There are at least seventy-one quotations, with thirty-one found in Revelation. Twenty-seven are found in the Gospels (fourteen in Matthew, seven in Mark, three each in Luke and John), with many occurring in the accounts of the last week of Jesus’ ministry. Zechariah 9–14 speaks of a human king (9:9–10) and a divine king (14:1–17). It also points to a figure whose suffering brings redemption (12:10–13). With the incarnation of Jesus these images are brought together into one person. As the son of David, Jesus could claim the human throne. As God in human form, Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the heavenly king who comes to earth, including suffering for the sins of the world and bringing forgiveness. When He comes again, He’ll bring His kingdom to earth.

Returning Home
In distant lands they will remember me . . . and they will return. Zechariah 10:9

Walter Dixon had five days to honeymoon before he shipped off to the Korean War. Less than a year later, troops found Dixon’s jacket on the battlefield, with letters from his wife stuffed in the pockets. Military officials informed his young wife that her husband had been killed in action. Actually, Dixon was alive and spent the next 2.5 years as a POW. Every waking hour, he plotted to get home. Dixon escaped five times but was always recaptured. Finally, he was set free. You can imagine the shock when he returned home!

God’s people knew what it was to be captured, moved far away, and to long for home. Due to their rebellion against God, they were exiles. They woke each morning yearning to return, but they had no way to rescue themselves. Thankfully, God promised He’d not forgotten them. “I will restore them because I have compassion on them” (Zechariah 10:6). He would meet the people’s relentless ache for home, not because of their perseverance, but because of His mercy: “I will signal for them . . . and they will return” (vv. 8–9).

Our sense of exile may come because of our bad decisions or because of hardships beyond our control. Either way, God hasn’t forgotten us. He knows our desire and will call to us. And if we’ll answer, we’ll find ourselves returning to Him—returning home. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray
Where do you sense exile in your life? How are you hearing God calling you, showing you how to return home?

God, I feel far away from You. I know You’re near, but I feel so distant. Would You help me to hear Your call? Would You bring me home?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
The Supreme Climb
He said, "Take now your son…" —Genesis 22:2

God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning…and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.

Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
The Effect Your Name Has - #8828

If you really want to impress somebody, remember their name after you meet them. It's important, you know, to concentrate on somebody's name and then try to repeat it several times in the conversation, "Yes, George. It's nice to meet you, George, and say hi to your family, George." Because, see, there's nothing someone would rather hear than their own name. And they'll just think you're something really special if you can remember that name, because names are really important to people.

In fact, names are so important in our society they are protected by slander and libel laws. If someone publicly damages your name, and it's something that isn't true and that they can't really defend, that could be worth millions of dollars in a lawsuit. Your name is really important!

Now, here's something to think about: What kind of reaction does your name bring when it's brought up in a group of people? Maybe a group of people who know who you are, maybe a little, maybe a lot, but you're not in the room when your name comes up. What's the reaction? See, I'm sure that it makes people feel some way!

Maybe there's laughter when they think of your name, or maybe there's respect. Maybe there's like a shrug of the shoulders, "I don't know." Maybe it creates suspicion when they hear you're involved, or maybe there's tension, or maybe there's peace, confidence. Your name gets a reaction.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God is about your name. Proverbs 22:1 - "A good name is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver or gold." When the Bible talks about your name, it's really talking about your reputation. What kind of reaction does your name or your reputation bring?

Interesting thing about reputation, a good one takes a long time to get and a very short time to lose. And as you know, a bad reputation is very easy to get, and then later on it can be very hard to lose. In fact, I've known people with a wonderful reputation - years that it took to build - and in a night, or a day, in one incident a reputation is lost. (Maybe you know people you can think of like that.) It's worth much sacrifice; it's worth a lot of self-denial; a lot of self-discipline to protect your good name. It's the most valuable thing you have. That's why our society protects it with laws.

I think a good name, like the Bible talks about here, belongs to people that you can always expect certain things from. See how you measure up with this checklist. First of all, you can always expect excellence in what they do. You don't have to wonder if it's going to be shoddy work or if they're going to give it a half-hearted effort. Excellence - they're committed to doing it in the big things and the little things. That's a good name.

Secondly, people with a good name cause people to expect consistency from them; they're faithful, they deliver. You know they'll be there, they'll have the same kind of quality, the same kind of commitment whether things are going bad, or whether they're going well, or whether things are hard or easy, or whether there's money or not; there's going to be consistency. That's a good name.

Thirdly, they're known for their judgment. They don't just jump into things; they're not impulsive, they're not glandular people, they ponder, they consider, they get the facts and they make responsible decisions that stand the test of time, not just look good for a day, a week, or a month. And then a good name, well, I think it belongs to people who are known for the truth, for integrity. You can always believe, you can always trust what they're saying; you don't have to divide it by two or try to get the truth or wonder if it's really the facts. You can trust their word.

Your good name? Man, it's worth everything. Don't compromise it. Don't risk it. Don't put a mark on anyone else's name either, because according to the Bible, if you've got a good name, you're a moral millionaire.

Psalm 137, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE VOICE THAT EMPTIES THE GRAVE

Romans 6:5 says, “We will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like His.” Do you believe this promise? Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Jesus’ question to Martha is his question to you. You see, death is the great equalizer. What do the billionaire and the peasant have in common? Both will die; we all will. But not all will face death in the same manner. Let the story of the resurrected Lazarus remind you: Jesus’ authority extends over even the cemetery.

Do you believe this? The question is personal. What’s more, it’s precise. Do you believe this? This claim Christ makes about his deity and about your destiny? Jesus is Lord over the cemetery. His voice can empty a grave, and you are designed for a Lazarus moment. Do you believe this? Remember, my friend, you are never alone.

Psalm 137

 1-3 Alongside Babylon’s rivers
    we sat on the banks; we cried and cried,
    remembering the good old days in Zion.
Alongside the quaking aspens
    we stacked our unplayed harps;
That’s where our captors demanded songs,
    sarcastic and mocking:
    “Sing us a happy Zion song!”

4-6 Oh, how could we ever sing God’s song
    in this wasteland?
If I ever forget you, Jerusalem,
    let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves.
Let my tongue swell and turn black
    if I fail to remember you,
If I fail, O dear Jerusalem,
    to honor you as my greatest.

7-9 God, remember those Edomites,
    and remember the ruin of Jerusalem,
That day they yelled out,
    “Wreck it, smash it to bits!”
And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
    A reward to whoever gets back at you
    for all you’ve done to us;
Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
    and smashes their heads on the rocks!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 32:1–7

Of David. A maskil.[

Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.[b]

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Footnotes
Psalm 32:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 32:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 7.

Insight
The book of Psalms contains various types of songs, including worship, thanksgiving, creation history, and salvation history. One common type is the lament psalm, where the singer grieves over something. In many of David’s songs of lament, he mourns that his life is under attack, first by Saul and then later by Absalom. In Psalm 32, however, David isn’t lamenting the attacks of others but rather his own sinfulness and failures. Though the Scriptures don’t tell us specifically, many scholars connect Psalm 32 with Psalm 51 and David’s repentance following his sin with Bathsheba. Nevertheless, this lament quickly shifts to a song of praise and thanksgiving for God’s forgiveness, kindness, and restoration. While it’s appropriate to grieve over our spiritual failures, it’s also appropriate to celebrate God’s great mercy. David does both in Psalm 32.

The Triumph of Forgiveness
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1

Mack, having struggled with drug abuse and sexual sin, was desperate. Relationships he valued were in disarray, and his conscience was beating him up. In his misery, he found himself unannounced at a church asking to speak with a pastor. There he found relief in sharing his complicated story and in hearing about God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Psalm 32 is believed to have been composed by David after his sexual sin. He compounded his wrongdoing by devising a sinister strategy that resulted in the death of the woman’s husband (see 2 Samuel 11–12). While these ugly incidents were behind him, the effects of his actions remained. Psalm 32:3–4 describes the deep struggles he experienced before he acknowledged the ugliness of his deeds; the gnawing effects of unconfessed sin were undeniable. What brought relief? Relief began with confession to God and accepting the forgiveness He offers (v. 5).

What a great place for us to start—at the place of God’s mercy—when we say or do things that cause hurt and harm to ourselves and others. The guilt of our sin need not be permanent. There’s One whose arms are open wide to receive us when we acknowledge our wrongs and seek His forgiveness. We can join the chorus of those who sing, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (v. 1). By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray
Where do you run when you find yourself burdened by something you’ve done or said? When someone comes to you who’s struggling with guilt, how do you advise them?

Father, forgive me for the times when temptation has won in my life. Help me always to run to You for forgiveness and to seek the forgiveness of others when needed.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Fellowship in the Gospel
…fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ… —1 Thessalonians 3:2

After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.

I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him.   So Send I You, 1301 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 48-49; Hebrews 7

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Speeding Past the Right Road - #8827

Okay, I wish I had all the time in the world to get to places I need to go. Usually, that's just not possible. I'm moving pretty fast - sometimes too fast. Recently, I was on the verge of being late, and I was driving in a very unfamiliar place. You probably know the feeling of trying to follow directions to a new place, you're looking for your turn, and suddenly you're driving a long way without seeing your turn. This was one of those days for me. And the reason I was driving so far was because I had missed the place I was supposed to turn. And I missed it because I was going too fast. So, of course, it actually took me longer to get where I was supposed to be.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Speeding Past the Right Road."

Because I've missed too many roads in my life because I was going too fast to see them, I was arrested the other day - not by a police officer, but by a Bible verse. It's our word for today from the Word of God. Proverbs 19:2 says, "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty (Listen now.) and miss the way." How many times have you and I missed the way because we were being too hasty?

I remember in high school when they were teaching us to type, we weren't just graded on how many words per minute we could type. All that counted was the number of correct words per minute. You know speed isn't all that matters in life. Getting it right matters more! And speed often diminishes accuracy...especially in making wise choices. You may, in fact, be reaping right now the unpleasant harvest of some hasty decisions you made in the past. You were going so fast that you sped right past the right road. Let's learn from those mistakes, slow down and get it right!

Moving fast works against some key factors in making decisions that we won't regret later on; like time to pray, for example. In our haste to get things out of the way, we often forget to check with heaven. King Jehoshaphat gave this wise counsel to King Ahab on the eve of a battle he should have never been involved in. He said, "First, seek the counsel of the Lord" (1 Kings 22:5). We all ought to have that hanging in some prominent place in front of us all day long! "First, seek the counsel of the Lord." By the way, Ahab died in that battle that day. We're moving way too fast when we're in too much of a hurry to slow down and listen to the Lord.

Speeding also means we tend to neglect getting all the facts. Next to this "don't be hasty and miss the way" verse in my Bible, I've written these words, "Do your homework!" Now, often, slowing down to assess all the available information - including the future ramifications of your options - can save us a lot of grief. Another factor we speed by is taking time to seek godly advice. Proverbs 20:18 counsels us to "make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance." Talk to others who've been there; get the objectivity of someone who follows the Lord and who isn't as close to your situation as you are.

All these wise steps, though, take some time. And if you're moving too fast, you're going to miss the steps that make for wise choices and happy endings. By the way, there's another danger in going too fast. You have a tendency to run right over people. And you may have left some hit-and-run victims in your wake; you ran over them on your way to your wonderful goal.

Take it from a man who has too often missed the way that he should have gone. When you're moving too fast...well, you tend to make a lot of mistakes. And you often end up going very fast in the wrong direction!

1 Timothy 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE MESSAGE OF THIS MIRACLE

Jesus told them to roll the stone away. He offered a prayer of gratitude, and “then Jesus shouted, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And the dead man came out, with his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth” (John 11:43–44). The Resurrection and the Life issued a command into the cavern of death. Somewhere in heaven an angel heard the familiar voice of the Shepherd and smiled. Somewhere in hell a fallen angel mumbled, “Oh no.”

And Lazarus? He didn’t want to go back to earth, of that I’m certain. But when Jesus commands, his disciples obey. Of that Lazarus was certain. Don’t miss the message of this miracle, my friend. You are never alone. Jesus meets us, even in the cemeteries of life. Whether we are there to say goodbye or to be buried, we can count on the presence of God.

1 Timothy 1

I, Paul, am an apostle on special assignment for Christ, our living hope. Under God our Savior’s command, I’m writing this to you, Timothy, my son in the faith. All the best from our God and Christ be yours!

Self-Appointed Experts on Life
3-4 On my way to the province of Macedonia, I advised you to stay in Ephesus. Well, I haven’t changed my mind. Stay right there on top of things so that the teaching stays on track. Apparently some people have been introducing fantasy stories and fanciful family trees that digress into silliness instead of pulling the people back into the center, deepening faith and obedience.

5-7 The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven’t the remotest idea of what they’re holding forth with such imposing eloquence.

8-11 It’s true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. It’s obvious, isn’t it, that the law code isn’t primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth, whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I’ve been put in charge of by this great God.

12-14 I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.

15-19 Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.

Deep honor and bright glory
    to the King of All Time—
One God, Immortal, Invisible,
    ever and always. Oh, yes!

I’m passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.

19-20 There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, November 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Hebrews 6:9–12

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Insight
The author’s statement of expecting “better things” (Hebrews 6:9) for the Jewish believers seems to be referring to the previous description of harsh judgment for those who fall into apostasy (vv. 4–8) and return to Judaism. In verse 9, the author shifts to a warmer tone, referring to them as “dear friends” and addressing them in the second person (“your”). He expresses confidence that they’ll remain steadfast.

The phrase “better things” also alludes to the heart of the book’s message. Writing to an audience of Jewish believers who had faced—and may still be facing—persecution (10:33–36), the author strives to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of all Old Testament promises. Christ is far “better” than any other person or belief, past or present, in which they could put their hope (6:11–12). Despite the cost, Jesus was more than worthy of their complete devotion.

Doing Our Role
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace. 1 Peter 4:10

When two of my grandchildren tried out for the musical Alice in Wonderland Jr., their hearts were set on getting leading roles. Maggie wanted to be young Alice, and Katie thought Mathilda would be a good role. But they were chosen to be flowers. Not exactly a ticket to Broadway.

Yet my daughter said the girls were “excited for their friends who got the [leading roles]. Their joy seemed greater cheering for their friends and sharing in their excitement.”

What a picture of how our interactions with each other in the body of Christ should look! Every local church has what might be considered key roles. But it also needs the flowers—the ones who do vital but not-so-high-profile work. If others get roles we desire, may we choose to encourage them even as we passionately fulfill the roles God has given us.

In fact, helping and encouraging others is a way to show love for Him. Hebrews 6:10 says, “[God] will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people.” And no gift from His hand is unimportant: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace” (1 Peter 4:10).

Imagine a church of encouragers diligently using their God-given gifts to His honor (Hebrews 6:10). That makes for joy! By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray
Do you know someone who received a position, task, or role you wanted, yet could use your encouragement? Why is it good to thank God for the tasks He’s given you in serving others?

Sovereign God, help me not to focus on the roles of other, but to serve You in the sacred calling You’ve given me. Enable me to help others by a word of encouragement for what they do for You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 09, 2020
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ… —Colossians 1:24

The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.

When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 46-47; Hebrews 6

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 09, 2020
Why It Doesn't Have To Be the Way It's Always Been - #8826

Everyone in our family knows if Dad gets in a checkout line at a store, be sure you pick another line. My line always seems to be the wrong one, the long one, no matter how good a choice it seemed at the time I picked it. The cash register blows up or the one lady who was in line in front of me goes into labor or something. You know? But there's one blissfully happy moment for me when I'm in a slow checkout line - when they open a new checkout line near me. You can be sure I will do my best to start that line.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why It Doesn't Have To Be the Way It's Always Been."

When you're in a long line that seems to be going nowhere fast, it is a great feeling to be able to be the first person in a new line. That's God's dream for you, that you be the first one in the new line for your family. By making a choice today that can literally change the future, not only for you, not only for those you love, but for people who will come after you that you will never see.

All of us are carrying some negative baggage from the way we were raised even if we had great parents. Every family has some hurtful ways of doing things. And our natural tendency is to reproduce those weaknesses in our generation, even though we've seen the damage they do; even though we've said we never would. And as surely as physical family resemblances get passed from one generation to another, so do family flaws, family sins, family baggage. Except for the miracle that makes it possible for one person to say, "It stops here. I am not going to be another one in that same old line. I'm going to be the first one in a brand new line in our family!"

The only One who can make that kind of transformation possible is Jesus Christ because He died to pay for all our wrong ways of living; because He died and rose again to break that power over us. The Bible can make this awesome promise because of all of that.

In our word for today from the Word of God (I love these verses!) in 1 Peter 1:18-19: "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers...with the precious blood of Christ." Because of what Jesus did, things don't always have to be the way they've always been. When you open your life to Jesus, God's Rescuer from our sin, you receive His supernatural power to beat the darkness inside you.

My friend, Craig Smith, with whom we've worked in a lot of outreach to the Native people of North America, has a powerful story to tell from his own family. His Ojibwe grandfather was, like generations before him, an alcoholic and a very angry and violent man. Craig's grandmother was one of the first of her tribe to give her heart to Christ. Her husband was so amazed by the change in his wife that he wanted her Jesus, and from that day on, he never touched alcohol again. He was what the Bible calls a "new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Craig's children, all Christ-loving college graduates, are the fourth generation who have lived totally different lives because one man chose Christ. And the farther each generation gets from the garbage of the past, the more it loses its hold. We have seen that miracle happen over and over again in the lives of countless Native American young people who were on the same road to destruction so many around them had taken, until they met the Liberator, Jesus Christ.

He's waiting to do that miracle for you. You want that new beginning that only Jesus can give? Tell Him that today. A lot of people have gone to our website and found a lot of help there beginning this personal relationship with Christ. That's why it's there. And I'd like you to go there today. I think you'll find the information that will help you get this settled. It's ANewStory.com.

There have been enough people in that line that ends up going nowhere, haven't there, and hurting the people who followed? This very day, Jesus can begin to make you the first person in a whole new line that will change the future for generations to come!