Nehemiah 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE DWELLING PLACE OF GOD

Do-it-yourself Christianity isn’t much encouragement to the done-in and worn-out. “Try a little harder” is little encouragement for the abused. At some point we need more than good advice; we need help. Somewhere on this journey we realize that the fifty-fifty proposition is too little. We need help from the inside out. The kind of help Jesus promised. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him. But know him, because he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Note the dwelling place of God: in you. Not near us, above us. But in us. In the hidden recesses of our beings dwells not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but God. Imagine that.

Nehemiah 1

The memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

It was the month of Kislev in the twentieth year. At the time I was in the palace complex at Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, had just arrived from Judah with some fellow Jews. I asked them about the conditions among the Jews there who had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.

3 They told me, “The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders.”

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven.

5-6 I said, “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.

7-9 “We’ve treated you like dirt: We haven’t done what you told us, haven’t followed your commands, and haven’t respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant Moses: ‘If you betray me, I’ll scatter you to the four winds, but if you come back to me and do what I tell you, I’ll gather up all these scattered peoples from wherever they ended up and put them back in the place I chose to mark with my Name.’

10-11 “Well, there they are—your servants, your people whom you so powerfully and impressively redeemed. O Master, listen to me, listen to your servant’s prayer—and yes, to all your servants who delight in honoring you—and make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Read: Exodus 12:12–19

 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel.

INSIGHT
In preparation for the last plague on Egypt, God told His people to slaughter a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts of their houses (Exodus 12:1–13). God’s angel of death would move across Egypt and take the lives of all firstborn sons but would pass over any household with the sprinkled blood. The lamb was then roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The unleavened bread signified Israel’s haste to leave Egypt. When leaven was added to dough, it would take hours for the dough to rise before baking. The Israelites didn’t have time to wait for the dough to rise. The herbs symbolized the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

Got Your Nose - By Mike Wittmer
I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. Exodus 12:12

“Why are the statues’ noses broken?” That’s the number one question visitors ask Edward Bleiberg, curator of Egyptian art at the Brooklyn Museum.

Bleiberg can’t blame it on normal wear and tear; even two-dimensional painted figures are missing noses. He surmises that such destruction must have been intentional. Enemies meant to kill Egypt’s gods. It’s as if they were playing a game of “got your nose” with them. Invading armies broke off the noses of these idols so they couldn’t breathe.

Really? That’s all it took? With gods like these, Pharaoh should have known he was in trouble. Yes, he had an army and the allegiance of a whole nation. The Hebrews were weary slaves led by a timid fugitive named Moses. But Israel had the living God, and Pharaoh’s gods were pretenders. Ten plagues later, their imaginary lives were snuffed out.

Israel celebrated their victory with the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when they ate bread without yeast for a week (Exodus 12:17; 13:7–9). Yeast symbolizes sin, and God wanted His people to remember their rescued lives belong entirely to Him.

Our Father says to idols, “Got your nose,” and to His children, “Got your life.” Serve the God who gives you breath, and rest in His loving arms.

What false god is suffocating your life? How might you show God you’re trusting only in Him?

Father of life, I give You my life. Help me recognize that any perceived “enemies” in my life are nothing compared to Your power.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Holiness or Hardness Toward God?

He…wondered that there was no intercessor… —Isaiah 59:16

The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial— that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, “But God, I just don’t see how you are going to do this”? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don’t worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.

Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?

Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work— work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him.  Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L

Bible in a Year: Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
The Final Exam - #8927


There are two words that send a shudder through almost everyone who is either in school or was ever in school, because you remember the fear that goes with these words. And if you're currently a student, you don't have to remember them at all; you're right there living with them. The words - final exam! A chill just goes through the room when you hear those words.

There are two words that send a shudder through almost everyone who is either in school or was ever in school, because you remember the fear that goes with these words. And if you're currently a student, you don't have to remember them at all; you're right there living with them. The words - final exam! A chill just goes through the room when you hear those words.

Now, different students have learned different ways of dealing with final exam time. You remember the teacher that said that the exam was going to be on the honor system. The only problem was that the teachers had the honor and the students had the system.

Well, occasionally you'll hear of an incident where students actually get a copy of an exam, take a peek at the questions so they can be prepared. Well, I don't recommend that as a good way to go through finals, but I do want to tell you this: whatever your situation as far as being a student is concerned, you have a final exam scheduled for you. Yep, in fact, it's scheduled for all of us. Now, our final exam will come at different times. I don't know when mine will be or yours. But you know what? I've taken a peek at the one question on the exam, and you can be ready for this one.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God is a peek at that final exam. It says in Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" See, this is looking ahead to the time when we're going to stand before God and have to answer that final exam question related to and what we did with this wonderful thing He describes as "such great salvation."

Now, what He's referring to is what happened on that middle cross outside of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, when the only son God has, took my rap - took your rap - and paid our payment for our sins so we could get back into the orbit we were built to live in; an orbit around God.

You notice here it says that we neglect salvation. Now, that's the way that most good things end up being wasted. I mean, you don't say, "Oh, I think I'm going to grow some weeds in my garden this year. Yeah, I'd like to see what kind of weed crop I can get?" No, the way weeds grow is by neglect. You don't intend to grow them. How about your weight? I'm sorry to bring that up, but I'm an expert on this. A lot of times the old pounds just start piling up again, and you know, you don't ever say, "I want to gain ten pounds this month." It's just done through neglect; it just kind of creeps up. We didn't mean to do it; we didn't do anything, it just happened. We just didn't exercise! We didn't control our eating.

How about our car? All of a sudden our car grinds to a halt and starts smoking. Why? You neglected the maintenance. You didn't do anything bad; you just didn't do what you could have done. The same thing holds true for marriages - they can die from neglect.

Okay now, about neglecting such a great salvation. Do you know that most people don't reject Christ; they just neglect Him. They've got other things to think about until they neglect themselves right into eternity. That could be something you're in danger of right now. You're not against Jesus; you're just neglecting making your peace with Him.

Do you want to know that question on your final exam when you keep your appointment with God? He's going to ask you, "What did you do with My Son?" No, not what did you do with your church, or your religion, or that guy on the radio. "What did you do with My Son?" That's the issue that will settle your eternal address, because what God cares about most is what His Son did for you.

His death on the cross is your only hope of getting into heaven, because you can't get into heaven with your sin. It can only be forgiven by the One who paid for it. That's Jesus! You've got to grab Him and take that gift of eternal life. And maybe you've been sitting around church for years; you've been through all kinds of opportunities to do something with Jesus. But you've passed them by. Today's your day to change your eternal address. Would you just say, "Jesus, this is my day I'm making you "the Savior" of my sin."

And let me encourage you, then, to go to our website. There's where you can nail down belonging to Him. It's ANewStory.com.

Maybe you've had opportunities to reach out to Christ before and you didn't. Isn't it time to say now, "This is my day, Lord. I give my life to You." He made His move on the cross. It's your move now.

Revelation 16 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LET CHRIST BE KIND TO YOU

There is a correlation between the way you feel about yourself and the way you feel about others. If you are at peace with yourself you will get along with others. The converse is also true. If you don’t like yourself, if you’re ashamed, embarrassed, or angry, other people are going to know it. Unless the cycle is interrupted.

Which takes us to one of the kindest verses in the Bible. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives” (Matthew 11:28). “Come to me,” the verse reads. Let Christ be kind to you. And as you do, you’ll find it easier to be kind to others.

Revelation 16

Pouring Out the Seven Disasters

 I heard a shout of command from the Temple to the Seven Angels: “Begin! Pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on earth!”

2 The first Angel stepped up and poured his bowl out on earth: Loathsome, stinking sores erupted on all who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second Angel poured his bowl on the sea: The sea coagulated into blood, and everything in it died.

4-7 The third Angel poured his bowl on rivers and springs: The waters turned to blood. I heard the Angel of Waters say,

Righteous you are, and your judgments are righteous,
    The Is, The Was, The Holy.
They poured out the blood of saints and prophets
    so you’ve given them blood to drink—
    they’ve gotten what they deserve!

Just then I heard the Altar chime in,

Yes, O God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Your judgments are true and just!

8-9 The fourth Angel poured his bowl on the sun: Fire blazed from the sun and scorched men and women. Burned and blistered, they cursed God’s Name, the God behind these disasters. They refused to repent, refused to honor God.

10-11 The fifth Angel poured his bowl on the throne of the Beast: Its kingdom fell into sudden eclipse. Mad with pain, men and women bit and chewed their tongues, cursed the God-of-Heaven for their torment and sores, and refused to repent and change their ways.

12-14 The sixth Angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River: It dried up to nothing. The dry riverbed became a fine roadbed for the kings from the East. From the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet I saw three foul demons crawl out—they looked like frogs. These are demon spirits performing signs. They’re after the kings of the whole world to get them gathered for battle on the Great Day of God, the Sovereign-Strong.

15 “Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You’re blessed if, awake and dressed, you’re ready for me. Too bad if you’re found running through the streets, naked and ashamed.”

16 The frog-demons gathered the kings together at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.

17-21 The seventh Angel poured his bowl into the air: From the Throne in the Temple came a shout, “Done!” followed by lightning flashes and shouts, thunder crashes and a colossal earthquake—a huge and devastating earthquake, never an earthquake like it since time began. The Great City split three ways, the cities of the nations toppled to ruin. Great Babylon had to drink the wine of God’s raging anger—God remembered to give her the cup! Every island fled and not a mountain was to be found. Hailstones weighing close to a hundred pounds plummeted, crushing and smashing men and women as they cursed God for the hail, the epic disaster of hail.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, March 29, 2021
Read: Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

In the Lord I take refuge.
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
    they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
    at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
    his eyes examine them.
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulfur;
    a scorching wind will be their lot.

7 For the Lord is righteous,
    he loves justice;
    the upright will see his face.

INSIGHT
In Psalm 11, the name “the Lord” is used for God five times. When “Lord” appears in English versions of the Bible in capital letters, it’s the translation of the Hebrew word Yahweh (Jehovah is an equivalent rendering). It’s rendered this way to distinguish it from other Hebrew words translated “Lord” or “lord.” Yahweh is the personal (or proper) name of Israel’s God and means “the eternal” or “self-existing One.” The noun comes from the Hebrew “to be” verb hâyâh. In the Old Testament, the name is often combined with other words to emphasize various aspects of God’s ability, care, or character. In Genesis 22:14 the Lord is revealed as Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord will provide.” God’s name, “the Lord,” speaks of His trustworthiness at all times, in all situations, in every battle.

Facing the Battles with God - By Arthur Jackson
In the Lord I take refuge. Psalm 11:1

The heroic deeds of US Army soldier Desmond Doss are featured in the 2016 movie Hacksaw Ridge. While Doss’ convictions wouldn’t allow him to take human life, as an army medic he committed himself to preserving life even at the risk of his own. The citation read at Doss’ Medal of Honor ceremony on October 12, 1945, included these words: “Private First Class Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the escarpment. . . . He unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer.”

In Psalm 11, David’s conviction that his refuge was in God compelled him to resist suggestions to flee rather than face his foes (vv. 2–3). Six simple words comprised his statement of faith: “In the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1). That well-rooted conviction would guide his conduct.

David’s words in verses 4–7 amplified God’s greatness. Yes, life can sometimes be like a battlefield, and hostile fire can send us scattering for cover when we’re bombarded with health challenges or financial, relational, and spiritual stresses. So, what should we do? Acknowledge that God is the king of the universe (v. 4); take delight in His amazing capacity to judge with precision (vv. 5–6); and rest in His delight in what’s right, fair, and equitable (v. 7). We can run swiftly to God for shelter!

When have you experienced life’s hostile fire and been tempted to find shelter in something other than God? Can you recall times when God came to your rescue and your hope in Him was renewed?

Father, help me to see You more clearly than any force that opposes me and run to You for true safety and security.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 29, 2021
Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also be ready… —Luke 12:40

A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle— we must be spiritually real.

If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Bible in a Year: Judges 7-8; Luke 5:1-16

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 29, 2021

The Weather Channel's Executive Producer - #8926

So we watched the Weather Channel on TV, and we changed our plans. A big storm was coming, faster than originally anticipated, so we took off almost immediately to avoid getting seriously delayed or, you know, driving on dangerous roads. It was just one of those countless times when the weather changed our plans. Like the numerous times that storms have delayed or cancelled airplane flights I was on. And, because I travel a lot, I'm a faithful viewer of the Weather Channel. It's really something to watch the weather form and move across the country, and even across the world, and to watch how often it surprises all of us, including the weatherman sometimes. Of course, these aren't random developments we're watching unfold on that map. No, not for those of us who belong to the Lord of the weather.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Weather Channel's Executive Producer."

Over the years, I've been frustrated by the weather, delayed by the weather, cancelled by the weather, held back by the weather. But increasingly, I'm learning to be amazed by the weather. Actually, to be amazed by the One who makes the weather.

Recently, I read these awe-inspiring verses from Job 37, beginning with verse 5. They reveal the ways that we can see and celebrate the power and majesty of our God by just looking at the weather, and they're our word for today from the Word of God. Listen to this, "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' So that all men He has made may know His work, He stops every man from His labor." Boy, is that true! We've all got our big schedules - our plans. And then God intervenes with something we have absolutely no control over - the weather. It's a powerful reminder that we are not in charge and God is.

Job goes on: "The tempest goes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them. At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them." Wow! Man! The winds, the fronts, the storms, the clouds - they're doing what God tells them to do! I'm reminded of the prophet Nahum's observation that the Lord has "His way in the whirlwind and the storm" (Nahum 1:3).

So when we're watching the weather on TV, we're watching the hand of God. He's making weather that will accomplish His purposes, to change plans, to direct our lives, to get people's attention, to chastise where necessary, sometimes to call people home to Him, to protect us from making mistakes. He's doing the same thing with the changing weather of your life: the unexpected storms, the sunshine in your life, the foggy times, the cold seasons in your life, the warm seasons. God reaches into His weather tool kit and He pulls out whatever system will turn us to Him that will line us up with His plans, or remind us of who's really in charge here.

Watching the weather forecast ought to be an experience of praise and worship for the child of God. In a sense, the Weather Channel becomes the "Worship Channel" for seeing God at work. That is your all-wise, all-loving, all-powerful Heavenly Father, reminding the world that He is in control. No government is, no billionaire is, no power broker is, God is in control. And don't be surprised if He uses the weather to blow you right into His arms!

Ezra 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Spiritual MRI

We can't live with foreign objects buried in our bodies or our souls. What would an X-ray of your interior reveal?  Remorse over a poor choice?  Shame about the marriage that didn't work, the temptation you couldn't resist?  Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface, festering, irritating.  Sometimes so deeply embedded you don't know the cause.
And you can be touchy, you know.  Understandable, since you have a shank of shame lodged in your soul. Would you like an extraction?  Here's what you do. Confess! Ask God to help you.  Psalm 139:23-24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Confession.  You see, confessors find a freedom that deniers don't.  If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins!  He will cleanse us.  Not might, could, would, or should.  He WILL!
From Grace

Ezra 10

Ezra Takes Charge

Ezra wept, prostrate in front of The Temple of God. As he prayed and confessed, a huge number of the men, women, and children of Israel gathered around him. All the people were now weeping as if their hearts would break.

2-3 Shecaniah son of Jehiel of the family of Elam, acting as spokesman, said to Ezra: “We betrayed our God by marrying foreign wives from the people around here. But all is not lost; there is still hope for Israel. Let’s make a covenant right now with our God, agreeing to get rid of all these wives and their children, just as my master and those who honor God’s commandment are saying. It’s what The Revelation says, so let’s do it.

4 “Now get up, Ezra. Take charge—we’re behind you. Don’t back down.”

5 So Ezra stood up and had the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel solemnly swear to do what Shecaniah proposed. And they did it.

6 Then Ezra left the plaza in front of The Temple of God and went to the home of Jehohanan son of Eliashib where he stayed, still fasting from food and drink, continuing his mourning over the betrayal by the exiles.

* * *

7-8 A notice was then sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem ordering all the exiles to meet in Jerusalem. Anyone who failed to show up in three days, in compliance with the ruling of the leaders and elders, would have all his possessions confiscated and be thrown out of the congregation of the returned exiles.

9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin met in Jerusalem within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. They all sat down in the plaza in front of The Temple of God. Because of the business before them, and aggravated by the buckets of rain coming down on them, they were restless, uneasy, and anxious.

10-11 Ezra the priest stood up and spoke: “You’ve broken trust. You’ve married foreign wives. You’ve piled guilt on Israel. Now make your confession to God, the God of your ancestors, and do what he wants you to do: Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

12 The whole congregation responded with a shout, “Yes, we’ll do it—just the way you said it!”

13-14 They also said, “But look, do you see how many people there are out here? And it’s the rainy season; you can’t expect us to stand out here soaking wet until this is done—why, it will take days! A lot of us are deeply involved in this transgression. Let our leaders act on behalf of the whole congregation. Have everybody who lives in cities and who has married a foreign wife come at an appointed time, accompanied by the elders and judges of each city. We’ll keep at this until the hot anger of our God over this thing is turned away.”

15-17 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this. So the exiles went ahead with the plan. Ezra the priest picked men who were family heads, each one by name. They sat down together on the first day of the tenth month to pursue the matter. By the first day of the first month they had finished dealing with every man who had married a foreign wife.

* * *

18-19 Among the families of priests, the following were found to have married foreign wives:

The family of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They all promised to divorce their wives and sealed it with a handshake. For their guilt they brought a ram from the flock as a Compensation-Offering.

20 The family of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

21 The family of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

22 The family of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23 From the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah—that is, Kelita—Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24 From the singers: Eliashib.

From the temple security guards: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

25 And from the other Israelites:

The family of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.

26 The family of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

27 The family of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

28 The family of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

29 The family of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

30 The family of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

31-32 The family of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33 The family of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

34-37 The family of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

38-42 The family of Binnui: Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43 The family of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

44 All these had married foreign wives and some had also had children by them.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Read: Matthew 21:12–17

Jesus at the Temple

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[b]”

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[c]?”

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

INSIGHT
Matthew’s gospel begins, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David” (Matthew 1:1). Such was the hope of the crowd that welcomed Christ into Jerusalem soon after He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:9–15). But Matthew moves quickly to an awkward moment. He describes how Jesus visited the temple to bare His heart and drive out the money-changers (Matthew 21:12–13), echoing the words of the prophets who spoke of a house of prayer that had become a den of thieves (Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11).

Tension must have been in the air as Jesus walked into the courtyard to heal those who couldn’t see or walk. For fear of the religious leaders, adults in the crowd probably realized this wasn’t the time or place to declare Him king. It was left to the little ones to celebrate, in all their innocence, the implications of Jesus’ miracles (Matthew 21:15)—in contrast to teachers of the law who were secretly planning to kill the Son of David.

Watch Me! - By Alyson Kieda
From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise. Matthew 21:16

“Watch my fairy princess dance, Grandma!” my three-year-old granddaughter gleefully called as she raced around the yard of our cabin, a big grin on her face. Her “dancing” brought a smile; and her big brother’s glum, “She’s not dancing, just running,” didn’t squelch her joy at being on vacation with family.

The first Palm Sunday was a day of highs and lows. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the crowds enthusiastically shouted, “Hosanna! . . . Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9). Yet many in the crowd were expecting a Messiah to free them from Rome, not a Savior who would die for their sins that same week.

Later that day, despite the anger of the chief priests who questioned Jesus’ authority, children in the temple expressed their joy by shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David” (v. 15), perhaps leaping and waving palm branches as they ran around the courtyard. They couldn’t help but worship Him, Jesus told the indignant leaders, for “from the lips of children and infants [God has] called forth [His] praise” (v. 16). They were in the presence of the Savior!

Jesus invites us to also see Him for who He is. When we do, like a child overflowing with joy, we can’t help but revel in His presence.

How do the daily distractions and discontent of others draw your focus away from God? What will help you to keep your eyes on Jesus?

Loving God, thank You for all You’ve done for me! I’m amazed at the great lengths You went to so that I could find joy in You. Help me to keep my focus firmly on You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Isn’t There Some Misunderstanding?

"Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "…are You going there again?" —John 11:7-8

Just because I don’t understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God’s directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.

Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn’t. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to your ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 4-6; Luke 4:31-44

Ezra 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Radical Reliance on Grace

One day it dawned on me.  I had become the very thing I hate:  a hypocrite.  A pretender.  Two-faced. I'd written sermons about people like me.  Christians who care more about their appearance than integrity.  I knew what I needed to do.  I'd written sermons about that, too.
1 John 1:8-9 says, "If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right."
I needed to confess. What is confession? Confession is not complaining. If I merely recite my problems and rehash my woes, I'm whining.  Confession is a radical reliance on grace.
Maybe you need to do what I've done the last few days and confess.  You just need to confess.  God will hear your confession and you will find a wonder of God's grace.  You see, grace creates an honest confession and His great grace receives it!
From GRACE

Ezra 9

Ezra Prays: “Look at Us .?.?. Guilty Before You”

After all this was done, the leaders came to me and said, “The People of Israel, priests and Levites included, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring people around here with all their vulgar obscenities—Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, Amorites. They have given some of their daughters in marriage to them and have taken some of their daughters for marriage to their sons. The holy seed is now all mixed in with these other peoples. And our leaders have led the way in this betrayal.”

3 When I heard all this, I ripped my clothes and my cape; I pulled hair from my head and out of my beard; I slumped to the ground, appalled.

4-6 Many were in fear and trembling because of what God was saying about the betrayal by the exiles. They gathered around me as I sat there in despair, waiting for the evening sacrifice. At the evening sacrifice I picked myself up from my utter devastation, and in my ripped clothes and cape fell to my knees and stretched out my hands to God, my God. And I prayed:

6-7 “My dear God, I’m so totally ashamed, I can’t bear to face you. O my God—our iniquities are piled up so high that we can’t see out; our guilt touches the skies. We’ve been stuck in a muck of guilt since the time of our ancestors until right now; we and our kings and priests, because of our sins, have been turned over to foreign kings, to killing, to captivity, to looting, and to public shame—just as you see us now.

8-9 “Now for a brief time God, our God, has allowed us, this battered band, to get a firm foothold in his holy place so that our God may brighten our eyes and lighten our burdens as we serve out this hard sentence. We were slaves; yet even as slaves, our God didn’t abandon us. He has put us in the good graces of the kings of Persia and given us the heart to build The Temple of our God, restore its ruins, and construct a defensive wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

10-12 “And now, our God, after all this what can we say for ourselves? For we have thrown your commands to the wind, the commands you gave us through your servants the prophets. They told us, ‘The land you’re taking over is a polluted land, polluted with the obscene vulgarities of the people who live there; they’ve filled it with their moral rot from one end to the other. Whatever you do, don’t give your daughters in marriage to their sons nor marry your sons to their daughters. Don’t cultivate their good opinion; don’t make over them and get them to like you so you can make a lot of money and build up a tidy estate to hand down to your children.’

13-15 “And now this, on top of all we’ve already suffered because of our evil ways and accumulated guilt, even though you, dear God, punished us far less than we deserved and even went ahead and gave us this present escape. Yet here we are, at it again, breaking your commandments by intermarrying with the people who practice all these obscenities! Are you angry to the point of wiping us out completely, without even a few stragglers, with no way out at all? You are the righteous God of Israel. We are, right now, a small band of escapees. Look at us, openly standing here, guilty before you. No one can last long like this.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Read: Galatians 3:26–29

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

INSIGHT
In Galatians, Paul explains the importance of the law given to Moses but also tells his readers the law is powerless to save anyone. He wrote, “A person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). Then he says, “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (v. 21). So what purpose does the law serve? Paul uses the analogy of a guardian appointed for orphans: “The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we’re no longer under a guardian” (3:24–25). Paul concludes, “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” (v. 26). This fits beautifully with Paul’s metaphor of adoption to depict our permanent relationship with our Father (see Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5).

Hosting Royalty -By Amy Boucher Pye
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. Galatians 3:26

After meeting the Queen of England at a ball in Scotland, Sylvia and her husband received a message that the royal family would like to visit them for tea. Sylvia started cleaning and prepping, nervous about hosting the royal guests. Before they were due to arrive, she went outside to pick some flowers for the table, her heart racing. Then she sensed God reminding her that He’s the King of kings and that He’s with her every day. Immediately she felt peaceful and thought, “After all, it’s only the Queen!”

Sylvia is right. As the apostle Paul noted, God is the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15) and those who follow Him are “children of God” (Galatians 3:26). When we belong to Christ, we’re heirs of Abraham (v. 29). We no longer are bound by division—such as that of race, social class, or gender—for we’re “all one in Christ Jesus” (v. 28). We’re children of the King.

Although Sylvia and her husband had a marvelous meal with the Queen, I don’t anticipate receiving an invitation from the monarch anytime soon. But I love the reminder that the highest King of all is with me every moment. And that those who believe in Jesus wholeheartedly (v. 27) can live in unity, knowing they’re God’s children.

How could holding onto this truth shape the way we live today?

What does it mean to you to be an heir of Abraham? How could you invite others to become part of the family?

King of kings and Lord of lords, You are mighty and glorious. Thank You for stooping down to love me and for welcoming me as Your child.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Character

Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place… —Revelation 4:1

A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, “Friend, come up even higher.” There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.

Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.

Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, “Come up higher,” not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…?” (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed

Bible in a Year: Judges 1-3; Luke 4:1-30

Ezra 8 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD HAS NOT LEFT YOU ADRIFT

“Spiritual life comes from the Spirit” (John 3:6). Your parents may have given you genes, but God gives you grace. Your parents may be responsible for your body, but God has taken charge of your soul. You may get your looks from your mother, but you get your eternal life from your Father, your heavenly Father.

God is willing to give you what your family didn’t. Didn’t have a good dad? God will be your Father. The Scripture says, “Through God you are a son; and, if you are a son, then you are certainly an heir” (Galatians 4:7). Didn’t have a good role model? Try God. God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. The past does not have to be your prison. You have a say in your life. You have a choice in the path you take. Choose well…choose God.

Ezra 8

 These are the family heads and those who signed up to go up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

From the family of Phinehas: Gershom

Family of Ithamar: Daniel

Family of David: Hattush

Family of Shecaniah

Family of Parosh: Zechariah, and with him 150 men signed up

Family of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and 200 men

Family of Zattu: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and 300 men

Family of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and 50 men

Family of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and 70 men

Family of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and 80 men

Family of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and 218 men

Family of Bani: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and 160 men

Family of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and 28 men

Family of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, and 110 men

Family of Adonikam (bringing up the rear): their names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 men

Family of Bigvai: Uthai and Zaccur, and 70 men.

15-17 I gathered them together at the canal that runs to Ahava. We camped there three days. I looked them over and found that they were all laymen and priests but no Levites. So I sent for the leaders Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, and for the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. I then sent them to Iddo, who is head of the town of Casiphia, and told them what to say to Iddo and his relatives who lived there in Casiphia: “Send us ministers for The Temple of God.”

18-20 Well, the generous hand of our God was on us, and they brought back to us a wise man from the family of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel. His name was Sherebiah. With sons and brothers they numbered eighteen. They also brought Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the family of Merari, with brothers and their sons, another twenty. And then there were 220 temple servants, descendants of the temple servants that David and the princes had assigned to help the Levites in their work. They were all signed up by name.

21-22 I proclaimed a fast there beside the Ahava Canal, a fast to humble ourselves before our God and pray for wise guidance for our journey—all our people and possessions. I was embarrassed to ask the king for a cavalry bodyguard to protect us from bandits on the road. We had just told the king, “Our God lovingly looks after all those who seek him, but turns away in disgust from those who leave him.”

23 So we fasted and prayed about these concerns. And he listened.

24-27 Then I picked twelve of the leading priests—Sherebiah and Hashabiah with ten of their brothers. I weighed out for them the silver, the gold, the vessels, and the offerings for The Temple of our God that the king, his advisors, and all the Israelites had given:

25 tons of silver

100 vessels of silver valued at three and three-quarter tons of gold

20 gold bowls weighing eighteen and a half pounds

2 vessels of bright red copper, as valuable as gold.

28-29 I said to them, “You are holy to God and these vessels are holy. The silver and gold are Freewill-Offerings to the God of your ancestors. Guard them with your lives until you’re able to weigh them out in a secure place in The Temple of our God for the priests and Levites and family heads who are in charge in Jerusalem.”

30 The priests and Levites took charge of all that had been weighed out to them, and prepared to deliver it to Jerusalem to The Temple of our God.

31 We left the Ahava Canal on the twelfth day of the first month to travel to Jerusalem. God was with us all the way and kept us safe from bandits and highwaymen.

32-34 We arrived in Jerusalem and waited there three days. On the fourth day the silver and gold and vessels were weighed out in The Temple of our God into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was there with him, also the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. Everything was counted and weighed and the totals recorded.

35 When they arrived, the exiles, now returned from captivity, offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings to the God of Israel:

12 bulls, representing all Israel

96 rams

77 lambs

12 he-goats as an Absolution-Offering.

All of this was sacrificed as a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God.

36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the king’s provincial administration assigned to the land beyond the Euphrates. They, in turn, gave their support to the people and The Temple of God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, March 26, 2021

Read: Isaiah 35

Joy of the Redeemed

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

INSIGHT
When we think of words like joy, gladness, and singing, the book of Psalms comes to mind. However, what we see in Isaiah 35—and the book as a whole—enables us to see that labeling Isaiah as the “prophet of praise” isn’t far-fetched. Isaiah 12, which includes two “songs of praise,” is another case in point. The prophet’s worship-leading words include exhortations to “Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things” (v. 5) and “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you” (v. 6).

Slum Songs -By Sheridan Voysey

They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Isaiah 35:10

Cateura is a small slum in Paraguay, South America. Desperately poor, its villagers survive by recycling items from its rubbish dump. But from these unpromising conditions something beautiful has emerged—an orchestra.

With a violin costing more than a house in Cateura, the orchestra had to get creative, crafting its own instruments from their garbage supply. Violins are made from oil cans with bent forks as tailpieces. Saxophones have come from drainpipes with bottle tops for keys. Cellos are made from tin drums with gnocchi rollers for tuning pegs. Hearing Mozart played on these contraptions is a beautiful thing. The orchestra has gone on tour in many countries, lifting the sights of its young members.

Violins from landfills. Music from slums. That’s symbolic of what God does. For when the prophet Isaiah envisions God’s new creation, a similar picture of beauty-from-poverty emerges, with barren lands bursting into blooming flowers (Isaiah 35:1–2), deserts flowing with streams (vv. 6–7), castaway war tools crafted into garden instruments (2:4), and impoverished people becoming whole to the sounds of joyful songs (35:5–6, 10).

“The world sends us garbage,” Cateura’s orchestra director says. “We send back music.” And as they do, they give the world a glimpse of the future, when God will wipe away the tears of every eye and poverty will be no more.

How have you seen God turn the “garbage” of your life into something beautiful? How might He wish to bring “music” out of your pain?

Holy Spirit, turn the poverty in my life into something beautiful.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 26, 2021
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8

Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see God.”

God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.

A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”

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: Joshua 22-24; Luke 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 26, 2021
Disconnected - the Pandemic Toll - #8925

I've never been in a major earthquake. Well, I mean, except for the pandemic. Seems like it's shaken just about everyone and everything. One thing earthquakes do, they reveal the buildings that weren't built strong enough to stand the shock. Just like floods reveal the weaknesses in a levee or a dam. Or a flood wall that wasn't built high enough.

This pandemic thing's gone on so long that there are cracks starting to show. In marriages. In families. In churches. In our mental or physical health. Researcher George Barna released a disturbing report on the damage COVID has done to our human connections. He said that over half of U.S. adults say they're struggling with at least one relational or emotional/mental health issue. Something that impacts their most important relationships: anxiety, depression, loneliness. Always hard, just harder in recent months.

Many times the quake or storm doesn't necessarily cause the damage. It exposes it. That weak spot, that conflict, that hidden pain has probably been there for a while. Unacknowledged. Unaddressed. Until everything starts shaking. Suddenly, that crack becomes a gaping - even dangerous - hole. Things that have been lurking in the dark suddenly can't be hidden any longer.

Ticking time bombs like ungrieved grief. Unresolved conflict. Unforgiven hurts. Unconfronted sin. Things we've stuffed rather than deal with. Hidden, thinking no one will know. Denied, hoping it will go away. One thing they all have in common - a fear of facing inconvenient truth and a reluctance to change. Strangely, like fictional vampires, brokenness grows and thrives in the dark.

But I find a hopeful prescription in an oft-quoted statement by Jesus: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Not "the truth will hurt you more" or "ruin your life." Facing the truth will set you free from the chronic pain and shame of avoiding the truth.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Disconnected - the Pandemic Toll."

All the pandemic shaking has made our broken places harder to hide. Like the damage our anger and searing words do. The dark passions we've entertained. The wounds we've inflicted. The scars we hide. The bitterness we've harbored. The walls we've built. I may not like the truth an x-ray or CAT scan or blood test reveals. But it's the first step to healing.

I've been confronted by some liberating words from the Bible. It begins with "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." So it says, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (horizontal healing), and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin (vertical healing)" (1 John 1:5, 7).

I got to thinking. The things that cause brokenness in our relationships are often things we harbor in the dark. The wounds that cause us to hurt others or ourselves; they ultimately overwhelm us. Those are hurts that we've kept stuffed in the closet. And the reason we feel far from God, just when we need Him most, might be sin-secrets that we conceal in the dark.

But restoring a relationship - with each other or with our Creator - begins when we drag our junk out of the closet and "into the light." Where there is "no darkness at all." The "vampire" of my buried darkness starts to shrivel in the light when I get the long-avoided issues out in the open. Listen, if a pandemic has revealed a crack, a hole, a wound, a need, then this curse could turn out to bring a blessing, letting the light into the darkness that has crippled us for so long. And there, just outside the dark closet, stands Jesus wanting to walk through all that brokenness with you. He knows about broken. He was for you on a cross.

Listen, you want more information about this relationship with Him, go to our website ANewStory.com. Because the Bible says, "He took up our pain and the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him."

And then I love this last part, "And by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Revelation 15 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHITE FLAG OF THE HEART

Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. So do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses? Many choose the latter. Lean closely and you will hear them say, “If only…” If only I’d been born somewhere else… If only I’d been treated fairly…  If only: the white flag of the heart.

Maybe you have every right to use those words. For you to find an ancestor worth imitating you’d have to flip way back in your family album. If that’s the case, let me show you were to turn. Put down the scrapbook and pick up your Bible. Go to John’s gospel and read Jesus’ words: Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit” (John 3:6). God is willing to give you what your family did not.

Revelation 15

The Song of Moses, the Song of the Lamb

 I saw another Sign in Heaven, huge and breathtaking: seven Angels with seven disasters. These are the final disasters, the wrap-up of God’s wrath.

2-4 I saw something like a sea made of glass, the glass all shot through with fire. Carrying harps of God, triumphant over the Beast, its image, and the number of its name, the saved ones stood on the sea of glass. They sang the Song of Moses, servant of God; they sang the Song of the Lamb:

Mighty your acts and marvelous,
    O God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Righteous your ways and true,
    King of the nations!
Who can fail to fear you, God,
    give glory to your Name?
Because you and you only are holy,
    all nations will come and worship you,
    because they see your judgments are right.

5-8 Then I saw the doors of the Temple, the Tent of Witness in Heaven, open wide. The Seven Angels carrying the seven disasters came out of the Temple. They were dressed in clean, bright linen and wore gold vests. One of the Four Animals handed the Seven Angels seven gold bowls, brimming with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Smoke from God’s glory and power poured out of the Temple. No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Read: John 10:1–10

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

INSIGHT
At the time of Jesus, shepherds kept their flocks in two kinds of sheepfolds. In the villages, flocks were kept in stone-walled, gated, communal sheep-pens, guarded by gatekeepers (John 10:1–5). Out in the fields, sheepfolds were often makeshift enclosures made of stones, tree trunks, and branches, with the shepherd sleeping across a narrow opening in front. Twice, Jesus says He’s “the gate” for the sheep (vv. 7, 9). A “gate” or “door” (esv) symbolizes both protection and provision. The gate reminds us there’s an entrance and an exit: “Whoever enters through me will be saved” (v. 9). The Good Shepherd protects His sheep in a safe, secure place: “They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (v. 9; see Psalm 23:4). The Good Shepherd leads His sheep out to “green pastures . . . beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:2).

Know His Voice-By Julie Schwab

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. John 10:14

One year for vacation Bible school, Ken’s church decided to bring in live animals to illustrate the Scripture. When he arrived to help, Ken was asked to bring a sheep inside. He had to practically drag the wooly animal by a rope into the church gymnasium. But as the week went on, it became less reluctant to follow him. By the end of the week, Ken didn’t have to hold the rope anymore; he just called the sheep and it followed, knowing it could trust him.

In the New Testament, Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd, stating that His people, the sheep, will follow Him because they know His voice (John 10:4). But those same sheep will run from a stranger or thief (v. 5). Like sheep, we (God’s children) get to know the voice of our Shepherd through our relationship with Him. And as we do, we see His character and learn to trust Him.

As we grow to know and love God, we’ll be discerning of His voice and better able to run from the “the thief [who] comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (v. 10)—from those who try to deceive and draw us away from Him. Unlike those false teachers, we can trust the voice of our Shepherd to lead us to safety.

What’s one thing you’ve learned about God’s character through reading Scripture? How did that impact you? What will help you to discern God’s voice?

Heavenly Father, thank You for being my loving Shepherd. Help me to recognize and follow Your voice only.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Maintaining the Proper Relationship

…the friend of the bridegroom… —John 3:29

Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.

To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ.  My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

Bible in a Year: Joshua 19-21; Luke 2:25-52

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Security Checks for Families - #8924

In recent years, commercial flying, of course, has become more of an adventure. You've got closer scrutiny just going through airline security. They x-ray, they wand you, they search passengers, they do more hand searches of your bag, they check for explosive residues, and they confiscate lots of things: knives, fingernail files, tools, box cutters (I hope, yeah), clippers. And not many passengers object really. I mean, we know if we want to avoid tragedy, you cannot let anyone or anything that could do something damaging aboard. Yeah, I'm for it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Security Checks for Families."

Families need to follow a similar security procedure. No, not making everyone go through a metal detector or a wand search before they come in the house. I mean each member of your family needs to be sure that they don't bring anything into the life of your family that cause damage or tragedy. And there are things we each can bring into our home that hurt. We just have to stop letting them in.

Ephesians 5, beginning with verse 21, our word for today from the Word of God, suggests four ways a family member can make things crash at your house. And no matter what your role in your family, there's something for you in these verses. The basic principle of a family that works is this: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." In other words, a family works when each person is doing his or her part to put the other people first. With that in mind, let's look at four people who can sabotage a family. See which one applies to you.

For the husband, this "submitting to one another" goes like this: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy...and to present her to Himself as a radiant church." God's kind of husband is daily sacrificing his self-interest for his wife's best, and as a result, helping her become more radiant than she's ever been before. You can tell a woman who's married to a man who makes her feel special like that. So, the first person who can sabotage a happy family is a selfish husband. If you're a husband, don't bring that kind of "bomb" on board.

If you're a wife, it's supposed to look like this: "Wives, submit to your husband as to the Lord." So, God's kind of wife is loyal, supportive, respecting her husband's God-given responsibility as leader of the home. So the second person who can sabotage a family is a defiant wife.

All right, let's move on to a son or daughter. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." God goes on to promise unique blessings to a child who respects Him by obeying his parents. Saboteur #3 - a rebellious child.

And if you're a parent, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." You can exasperate your child with crushing expectations, or hypocritical living, or if you just give them a lot of criticism, not much encouragement. So, a frustrating parent can also bring damage to what otherwise could have been a great flight.

A selfish husband, a defiant wife, a rebellious child, a frustrating parent: they each bring things onto a family's flight that can bring it down. But we each can do our part to make our home a safe place to be, where people are built up, not torn down. We each have a position to play to bring love, encouragement and respect to the other members of our family whether they're doing it or not. Be sure you're not bringing things aboard that can hijack your family's health and your family's happiness.

Esther 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: RESURRECTION POWER

Faith is trusting what the eye cannot see! Eyes see storms; faith sees Noah’s rainbow. Your eyes see your faults; your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt; your faith sees his cleansing blood. Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.

“God’s power is very great for those who believe,” Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:19-20. “That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead!” So the next time you wonder if God can forgive you, read that verse again.  The power that raised Christ from the grave is the power that resurrects hope in our hearts.


Esther 10

 King Xerxes imposed taxes from one end of his empire to the other. For the rest of it, King Xerxes’ extensive accomplishments, along with a detailed account of the brilliance of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, that’s all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia.

3 Mordecai the Jew ranked second in command to King Xerxes. He was popular among the Jews and greatly respected by them. He worked hard for the good of his people; he cared for the peace and prosperity of his race.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Read: 1 Corinthians 3:5–9

 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

INSIGHT
First Corinthians 3:9 says we’re “co-workers in God’s service.” Later in this book, Paul develops further the idea that believers are complementary co-workers. We may have “different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (12:4). Whatever our gifts, God is the gift-giver. And these different gifts lead to “different kinds of service,” which are offered to “the same Lord” (v. 5). Whatever services we may perform, they all serve the same God. Through the variety of “different kinds of working . . . in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (v. 6). We’re all working for the same team, and we’re all powered by the same leader of that team—God Himself. In this sense, we’re not only each other’s co-workers, we’re God’s co-workers too (3:9).

Something Much Bigger-By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
We are co-workers in God’s service. 1 Corinthians 3:9

More than two hundred volunteers assisted October Books, a bookstore in Southampton, England, move its inventory to an address down the street. Helpers lined the sidewalk and passed books down a “human conveyor belt.” Having witnessed the volunteers in action, a store employee said, “It was . . . a really moving experience to see people [helping]. . . . They wanted to be part of something bigger.”

We can also be part of something much bigger than ourselves. God uses us to reach the world with the message of His love. Because someone shared the message with us, we can turn to another person and pass it on. Paul compared this—the building of God’s kingdom—to growing a garden. Some of us plant seeds while some of us water the seeds. We are, as Paul said, “co-workers in God’s service” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Each job is important, yet all are done in the power of God’s Spirit. By His Spirit, God enables people to thrive spiritually when they hear that He loves them and sent His Son to die in their place so that they can be free from their sin (John 3:16).

God does much of His work on earth through “volunteers” like you and me. Although we’re part of a community that’s much bigger than any contribution we may make, we can help it grow by working together to share His love with the world.

Do you see yourself as a part of God’s plan or as someone who works alone in your service for Him? How does this affect the way in which you serve Him and others?

Dear God, thank You for including me in Your plan to tell everyone about Your love. Help me to represent You well with my words and actions.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Decreasing for His Purpose

He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30

If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. One day that person will say to us, “You are a thief; you stole my desire to follow Jesus, and because of you I lost sight of Him.”

Beware of rejoicing with someone over the wrong thing, but always look to rejoice over the right thing. “…the friend of the bridegroom…rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). This was spoken with joy, not with sadness— at last they were to see the Bridegroom! And John said this was his joy. It represents a stepping aside, an absolute removal of the servant, never to be thought of again.

Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus.  Facing Reality, 34 R

Bible in a Year: Joshua 16-18; Luke 2:1-24

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
The Storm Can't Stop the Deliveries - #8923

Well, mail service has changed a lot during my lifetime. Certainly the cost of sending a letter has gone up, and up, and up, and up. I don't know, it's probably quadrupled or quintupled or even maybe more in my lifetime. In case any of my grandkids are listening, I don't mean beginning with the Pony Express. No. But, you know, there are new services that are added. I remember when they added overnight delivery they didn't used to have. But I'll tell you what. One thing hasn't changed. Listen, the postal service, they have a big job and they struggle sometimes. But you know what? Those mail carriers still do their best to keep their commitment not to be stopped by sleet, or snow, or dark of night. Remember that's the motto? That the old saying, "Nothing keeps us from our appointed rounds." Actually, you know, they've been pretty faithful getting stuff to me. And other than holidays, pretty much the mail usually makes it no matter what the conditions were. I'm impressed with that kind of commitment, not just from mail delivery.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Storm Can't Stop the Deliveries."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 4:1. Here's what it says: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge." Okay, you can tell Paul is really serious here. I mean, he's bringing all this heavyweight stuff to bear on what he's going to say. This is in front of God. This is in front of Christ. This is in view of the fact He's coming back. This is about His whole kingdom. Whatever he's going to say, it's going to be important, huh?

We go to verse 2: "Preach the Word. Be prepared in season and out of season." Paul musters all of this sobering, heavy artillery to drive home this message, "Keep presenting God's Word no matter what kind of season it is." Another translation puts it this way, "Be diligent when it is convenient and when it is inconvenient."

Here's the principle: Your ministry is too important to be at the mercy of your moods. You have a forever mission of representing Jesus Christ, serving Him in whatever the setting He has assigned you. In fact, you can assume that your situation wherever you are right now is your assignment. So, be consistent. Always deliver. If a storm doesn't stop a mail carrier... look, he doesn't look out the window and say, "Oh, looks bad today. I think I'll deliver some other day." Then it should not keep someone who delivers the love and the hope of Christ from doing what they are assigned to do.

No, you've got to come through on this. Too many Christians base their work and their witness on how their emotional weather is that today. But the Bible says we've got to consistently represent Christ in season, out of season, in convenience, and out of convenience.

I shouldn't deny my feelings, but I shouldn't base my spiritual consistency, my spiritual performance on what kind of mood I'm in right now. Honestly pour out your deepest feelings and your darkest feelings to a Christ who won't be surprised by them, but who can really minister to them. Then go after that day as your assignment from God. Go after it with all your heart. Show the difference that Christ makes when life is dark.

See, everything seems to work when your life is going well, no matter what you believe. The test of any belief is going to be what happens when things are really going down hill, what happens on the dark days. Your darkest of days is when yo

u have the best opportunity to show the light of Christ and the difference He makes in the dark. You can't go off duty then. You've got to demonstrate consistency when the moods are down and the darkness is there.

Every day, by my words, by my life, by my attitude I am delivering the message of Christ. I can't let the darkness stop me. Ministry can't be at the mercy of my moods, and that storm cannot stop the deliveries.
 

Esther 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: GOD WILL DO WHAT IS RIGHT

If you’re rehashing the same hurt every chance you get with anyone who will listen, I have a question: why are you doing God’s work for him? “Vengeance is mine,” God declared. “I will repay” (Hebrews 10:30). To assume otherwise is to assume God can’t do it. When we strike back we are saying, “I know vengeance is yours, God, but I just didn’t think you’d punish enough. I thought I’d better take this situation into my own hands.”

May I restate the obvious? If vengeance is God’s, then it is not ours. God has not asked us to settle the score or get even. Ever. Forgiveness is not saying the one who hurt you was right. Forgiveness is stating that God is fair and he will do what is right. After all, don’t we have enough things to do without trying to do God’s work too?


Esther 9

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s order came into effect. This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had planned to overpower them, but the tables were now turned: the Jews overpowered those who hated them! The Jews had gathered in the cities throughout King Xerxes’ provinces to lay hands on those who were seeking their ruin. Not one man was able to stand up against them—fear made cowards of them all. What’s more, all the government officials, satraps, governors—everyone who worked for the king—actually helped the Jews because of Mordecai; they were afraid of him. Mordecai by now was a power in the palace. As Mordecai became more and more powerful, his reputation had grown in all the provinces.

5-9 So the Jews finished off all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering them right and left, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In the palace complex of Susa the Jews massacred five hundred men. They also killed the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the archenemy of the Jews:

Parshandatha    Dalphon
Aspatha    Poratha
Adalia    Aridatha
Parmashta    Arisai
Aridai    Vaizatha
10-12 But they took no plunder. That day, when it was all over, the number of those killed in the palace complex was given to the king. The king told Queen Esther, “In the palace complex alone here in Susa the Jews have killed five hundred men, plus Haman’s ten sons. Think of the killing that must have been done in the rest of the provinces! What else do you want? Name it and it’s yours. Your wish is my command.”

13 “If it please the king,” Queen Esther responded, “give the Jews of Susa permission to extend the terms of the order another day. And have the bodies of Haman’s ten sons hanged in public display on the gallows.”

14 The king commanded it: The order was extended; the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were publicly hanged.

15 The Jews in Susa went at it again. On the fourteenth day of Adar they killed another three hundred men in Susa. But again they took no plunder.

16-19 Meanwhile in the rest of the king’s provinces, the Jews had organized and defended themselves, freeing themselves from oppression. On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, they killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them but did not take any plunder. The next day, the fourteenth, they took it easy and celebrated with much food and laughter. But in Susa, since the Jews had banded together on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days, they made the fifteenth their holiday for laughing and feasting. (This accounts for why Jews living out in the country in the rural villages remember the fourteenth day of Adar for celebration, their day for parties and the exchange of gifts.)

* * *

20-22 Mordecai wrote all this down and sent copies to all the Jews in all King Xerxes’ provinces, regardless of distance, calling for an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar as the occasion when Jews got relief from their enemies, the month in which their sorrow turned to joy, mourning somersaulted into a holiday for parties and fun and laughter, the sending and receiving of presents and of giving gifts to the poor.

23 And they did it. What started then became a tradition, continuing the practice of what Mordecai had written to them.

* * *

24-26 Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the archenemy of all Jews, had schemed to destroy all Jews. He had cast the pur (the lot) to throw them into a panic and destroy them. But when Queen Esther intervened with the king, he gave written orders that the evil scheme that Haman had worked out should boomerang back on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. That’s why these days are called “Purim,” from the word pur or “lot.”

26-28 Therefore, because of everything written in this letter and because of all that they had been through, the Jews agreed to continue. It became a tradition for them, their children, and all future converts to remember these two days every year on the specified dates set down in the letter. These days are to be remembered and kept by every single generation, every last family, every province and city. These days of Purim must never be neglected among the Jews; the memory of them must never die out among their descendants.

29-32 Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, backed Mordecai the Jew, using her full queenly authority in this second Purim letter to endorse and ratify what he wrote. Calming and reassuring letters went out to all the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom to fix these days of Purim their assigned place on the calendar, dates set by Mordecai the Jew—what they had agreed to for themselves and their descendants regarding their fasting and mourning. Esther’s word confirmed the tradition of Purim and was written in the book.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Read: Ecclesiastes 2:17–26

Toil Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

INSIGHT
Ecclesiastes, penned by the “Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1, 12), seeks to answer life’s greatest mystery. How can one live a meaningful and purposeful life? Trapped between birth and death (3:2), he explores area after area of life, all that humanity can pursue—intellectual pursuits, knowledge, pleasures, happiness, accomplishments, material possessions, work (chs. 1–3)—to show that a life without God—life “under the sun”—is “meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (1:14). In chapter 2, he discusses human labor, concluding that work without God is pointless, joyless, worrisome, insufferable, miserable, and grievous (vv. 17–26).

The Reason to Rest -By Kirsten Holmberg

What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? Ecclesiastes 2:22

If you want to live longer, take a vacation! Forty years after a study of middle-aged, male executives who each had a risk of heart disease, researchers in Helsinki, Finland, followed up with their study participants. The scientists discovered something they hadn’t been looking for in their original findings: the death rate was lower among those who had taken time off for vacations.

Work is a necessary part of life—a part God appointed to us even before our relationship with Him was fractured in Genesis 3. Solomon wrote of the seeming meaninglessness of work experienced by those not working for God’s honor—recognizing its “anxious striving” and “grief and pain” (Ecclesiastes 2:22–23). Even when they’re not actively working, he says their “minds do not rest” because they’re thinking about what still needs to be done (v. 23).

We too might at times feel like we’re “chasing after the wind” (v. 17) and grow frustrated by our inability to “finish” our work. But when we remember that God is part of our labor—our purpose—we can both work hard and take time to rest. We can trust Him to be our Provider, for He’s the giver of all things. Solomon acknowledges that “without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (v. 25). Perhaps by reminding ourselves of that truth, we can work diligently for Him (Colossians 3:23) and also allow ourselves times of rest.

How can you invite God into your labors? How might you allow Him to be your satisfaction even when your work isn’t “finished”?

God, You bring meaning and purpose to all my labors.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Am I Carnally Minded?

Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal…? —1 Corinthians 3:3

The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.

Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.

If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.

What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R

Bible in a Year: Joshua 13-15; Luke 1:57-80

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Ill from Overeating - #8922

Well, you know, I've had the opportunity to be close to folks who own several horses. And "City Boy" learns a lot about our equine friend. For example, I now understand that old cliché, "eating like a horse." They really do, in fact, to the point of overeating sometimes. Which, as I understand, it can lead to a painful and even deadly condition called foundering. I looked up "founder" in the dictionary and when it comes to horses, it's defined as "to become ill from overeating." Again, as "City Boy" understands it, when a horse eats too much grain or hay or grass, it can have painful gas build up inside. One way you can tell they're foundering is if they become lethargic, just kind of lying on the ground a lot. In its worst case, foundering can actually be fatal. The horse owner's job at a time like that is to just walk and walk with the horse, making sure it gets exercise. To neglect foundering can actually cost a horse's life.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Ill from Overeating."

If that's what foundering is, then God has plenty of His people who are foundering. They're ill from overeating spiritually. You can tell because they're spiritually lethargic; going to all the meetings, filling up on all the teachings and fellowship, believing all the beliefs but not doing much with what they've been learning all these years. They're in effect, overfed and under exercised. And as they lie down in the pasture, they're not really enjoying their faith much. To be honest, maybe you've been foundering lately.

God talks about people who are all settled down in their comfy pasture in our word for today from the Word of God in Amos 6:1. He says, "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria." For us, "Zion" and "Mount Samaria" are whatever our secure little spiritual nest is: our church, our ministry, our Christianity. But God says if you belong to Him and you're lethargic and complacent, you're in trouble!

In fact, just a few verses earlier, God says how unimpressed He is by all their religiosity. "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them...Away with the noise of your songs" (Amos 5:21-23). God says, "I'm tired of you just going through the motions. I'm tired of you playing church. I want to see you living what you profess...getting out and doing something for Me, not just coming to My meetings!"

Maybe you've been pretty much, well let's call it a spiritual consumer; just kind of stuffing yourself with more teaching, more fellowship, more meetings, more blessing. But all of that is meant to be fuel for you to be actively making a difference for your Lord. If you just keep eating spiritually and not getting any spiritual exercise, you're foundering! Knowing it without doing it is dangerous. Knowing it without sharing it is dangerous.

If your Christian life is mostly passive right now, it's no wonder you're spiritually bored and you're living in a false security that everything is OK. It's not. You're foundering...you're ill from overeating and under exercising. But today could be your day to get up, get busy, and start experiencing what it is to run in God's pasture, not just graze in God's pasture!