Deuteronomy 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Leave It with God - February 17, 2022

“I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

Have you ever left an appliance at the repair shop? You took it to the specialist. You explained the problem and then…offered to stay and help him fix it? Hovered next to his workbench asking questions? Or threw a sleeping bag on the floor of the workshop so you could watch the repairman work?

If you did any of these things, you do not understand the relationship between client and repairman. Leave it with him to fix it. Our protocol with God is equally simple. Leave your problem with him. God does not need our assistance. When he is ready for us to reengage, he will let us know.

Deuteronomy 4

 Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land that God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. Don’t add a word to what I command you, and don’t remove a word from it. Keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you.

3-4 You saw with your own eyes what God did at Baal Peor, how God destroyed from among you every man who joined in the Baal Peor orgies. But you, the ones who held tight to God, your God, are alive and well, every one of you, today.

5-6 Pay attention: I’m teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You’ll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what’s going on, they’ll say, “What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We’ve never seen anything like it.”

7-8 Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us? And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I’m setting before you today?

9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

10 That day when you stood before God, your God, at Horeb, God said to me, “Assemble the people in my presence to listen to my words so that they will learn to fear me in holy fear for as long as they live on the land, and then they will teach these same words to their children.”

11-13 You gathered. You stood in the shadow of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with fire, blazing high into the very heart of Heaven. You stood in deep darkness and thick clouds. God spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but you saw nothing—no form, only a voice. He announced his covenant, the Ten Words, by which he commanded you to live. Then he wrote them down on two slabs of stone.

14 And God commanded me at that time to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to live by in the land which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.

15-20 You saw no form on the day God spoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves so that you don’t turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream. And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don’t look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody’s benefit, everywhere. But you—God took you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance—and that’s what you are this very day.

21-22 But God was angry with me because of you and the things you said. He swore that I’d never cross the Jordan, never get to enter the good land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance. This means that I am going to die here. I’m not crossing the Jordan. But you will cross; you’ll possess the good land.

23-24 So stay alert. Don’t for a minute forget the covenant which God, your God, made with you. And don’t take up with any carved images, no forms of any kind—God, your God, issued clear commands on that. God, your God, is not to be trifled with—he’s a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25-28 When the time comes that you have children and grandchildren, put on years, and start taking things for granted, if you then become corrupt and make any carved images, no matter what their form, by doing what is sheer evil in God’s eyes and provoking his anger—I can tell you right now, with Heaven and Earth as witnesses, that it will be all over for you. You’ll be kicked off the land that you’re about to cross over the Jordan to possess. Believe me, you’ll have a very short stay there. You’ll be ruined, completely ruined. God will scatter you far and wide; a few of you will survive here and there in the nations where God will drive you. There you can worship your homemade gods to your hearts’ content, your wonderful gods of wood and stone that can’t see or hear or eat or smell.

29-31 But even there, if you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won’t bring you to ruin, he won’t forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.

32-33 Ask questions. Find out what has been going on all these years before you were born. From the day God created man and woman on this Earth, and from the horizon in the east to the horizon in the west—as far back as you can imagine and as far away as you can imagine—has as great a thing as this ever happened? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Has a people ever heard, as you did, a god speaking out of the middle of the fire and lived to tell the story?

34 Or has a god ever tried to select for himself a nation from within a nation using trials, miracles, and war, putting his strong hand in, reaching his long arm out, a spectacle awesome and staggering, the way God, your God, did it for you in Egypt while you stood right there and watched?

35-38 You were shown all this so that you would know that God is, well, God. He’s the only God there is. He’s it. He made it possible for you to hear his voice out of Heaven to discipline you. Down on Earth, he showed you the big fire and again you heard his words, this time out of the fire. He loved your ancestors and chose to work with their children. He personally and powerfully brought you out of Egypt in order to displace bigger and stronger and older nations with you, bringing you out and turning their land over to you as an inheritance. And now it’s happening. This very day.

39-40 Know this well, then. Take it to heart right now: God is in Heaven above; God is on Earth below. He’s the only God there is. Obediently live by his rules and commands which I’m giving you today so that you’ll live well and your children after you—oh, you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

* * *

41-42 Then Moses set aside three towns in the country on the east side of the Jordan to which someone who had unintentionally killed a person could flee and find refuge. If the murder was unintentional and there was no history of bad blood, the murderer could flee to one of these cities and save his life:

43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

* * *

44-49 This is the Revelation that Moses presented to the People of Israel. These are the testimonies, the rules and regulations Moses spoke to the People of Israel after their exodus from Egypt and arrival on the east side of the Jordan in the valley near Beth Peor. It was the country of Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled from Heshbon. Moses and the People of Israel fought and beat him after they left Egypt and took his land. They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. The two Amorite kings held the country on the east of the Jordan from Aroer on the bank of the Brook Arnon as far north as Mount Siyon, that is, Mount Hermon, all the Arabah plain east of the Jordan, and as far south as the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) beneath the slopes of Mount Pisgah.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Today's Scripture
Acts 9:26–30
(NIV)

Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn’t trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.

28–30     After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master’s name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.

Insight

The believers in Jesus in Jerusalem didn’t trust Saul (also called Paul) and questioned whether his conversion was genuine. But what was the reaction of his former colleagues who’d worked with him to persecute the Christians? Acts 9:29 mentions Paul’s interaction with the “Hellenistic Jews” who “tried to kill him.” While a number of the Hellenists believed in Christ (6:1–7), many more didn’t. Hellenistic Jews were prominent in the group that conspired in Stephen’s martyrdom (6:8–7:59). It’s ironic that Paul was a key player among those who killed Stephen (7:58), and now that same group wanted to kill him. (This targeting of Paul may have helped assure the Jewish Christians that Paul’s conversion was real.) Those who’d killed Stephen thought they’d eliminated a problem. They hadn’t considered that one of their own would step up to take Stephen’s place. By: Tim Gustafson

Being Seen

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.
Acts 9:26

In an article on mentoring, Hannah Schell explains that mentors need to support, challenge, and inspire, but “first, and perhaps foremost, a good mentor sees you. . . . Recognition, not in terms of awards or publicity but in the sense of simply ‘being seen,’ is a basic human need.” People need to be recognized, known, and believed in.

In the New Testament, Barnabas, whose name means “Son of Encouragement,” had a knack for “seeing” people around him. In Acts 9, he was willing to give Saul a chance when the other disciples “were all afraid of him” (v. 26). Saul (also called Paul; 13:9) had a history of persecuting believers in Jesus (8:3), so they didn’t think “he really was a disciple” (9:26).

Later, Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement over whether to take Mark with them to “visit the believers in all the towns where [they’d] preached” (15:36). Paul didn’t think it was wise to bring Mark along because he’d deserted them earlier. Interestingly, Paul later asked for Mark’s assistance: “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Barnabas took time to “see” both Paul and Mark. Perhaps we’re in Barnabas’ position to recognize potential in another person or we’re that individual in need of a spiritual mentor. May we ask God to lead us to those we can encourage and those who will encourage us.By:  Julie Schwab

Reflect & Pray

How have you been encouraged by someone who believed in you? How can you help others who need encouragement?

Father, help me to see and encourage others.

Learn more about what it means to lead and encourage others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 17, 2022

Taking the Initiative Against Depression

Arise and eat. —1 Kings 19:5

The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive— only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things— things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples.  Approved Unto God, 11 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 17, 2022

A Light In Titanic's Dark Night - #9159

There's just something about the Titanic, that ship that sank, but it seems like our fascination with it is unsinkable. But in the many moving stories of that horrible haunting night, there's one that just blows me away. One passenger - John Harper: A man whose life and choices during those three fateful hours still give me goosebumps.

John Harper was a Scottish pastor, a widower with a six-year-old daughter, a man who'd been invited to preach at Chicago's prestigious Moody Memorial Church. It was April 1912. And it just so happened that a ship - the new world wonder, named Titanic, was sailing for America. John Harper booked passage for himself, along with his daughter Nina and her aunt.

Later, passengers would report that John was seen pretty often. He'd be talking about Jesus with fellow passengers, and He would gently inquire, "Are you saved?" He cared deeply about whether folks had ever asked Jesus, God's Rescuer from heaven, to save them from the penalty for their sin. None of those passengers had any idea how close they were to eternity. Well, John watched the glorious sunset on the evening of April 14 and he commented, "Oh, it will be beautiful in the morning." By morning some 1,500 Titanic passengers would be in eternity.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Light In Titanic's Dark Night."

At 11:40 that night, the unsinkable ship sideswiped that iceberg, and John Harper quickly realized the Titanic was going down. He made sure his precious daughter was in her aunt's arms as he put her in Lifeboat 11 and said, "I'll see you again someday."

As the great ship went under, he ended up in the 28-degree water in a lifejacket. John was swimming feverishly from person to person, asking about their relationship with Christ. When one man told him he was not "saved," this man of God gave him his lifejacket and then swam to tell another man about Jesus.

Now, fast forward a few years to a Titanic survivors meeting in Hamilton, Ontario, and this is where I start to lose it. A young Scotsman, one of only six people taken alive from the water, stood to his feet to tell his story. "I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. John Harper of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck near me. He asked, 'Man, are you saved?' I replied, 'No, I am not.' 'Then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,' he said."

The story didn't end there. He went on, "The waves bore him away; but strange to say brought him back a little later, and he said, 'Are you saved now?' And I said, 'No, I cannot honestly say I am.' Once more, John said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' Shortly after, he went down. And there, alone in the night, (This survivor said.) and with two miles of water under me, I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am John Harper's last convert." Boy, that is so powerful!

John Harper knew that wherever he was, in his hometown, on an ocean voyage, in the middle of a stunning tragedy, facing death, he was always as it says in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 5:20, "Christ's ambassador, imploring people on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

Now, what about me? Do I understand that my position, my situation, is my rescue assignment; that circumstances are just God's tool to position me to help some people go to heaven?

This "angel of the Titanic," as some have called him, did what all rescuers do. He abandoned himself to save others. How many times has thinking about myself kept me from speaking to someone about Jesus?

Because in a sense, we're all passengers on a ship that's going down. And those of us who've been saved by Jesus know how the people around us can be saved. And if we tell them, as John Harper did. For them, "It will be beautiful in the morning."

Deuteronomy 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Where God Is Praised - February 16, 2022

The devil is a splitter, a divider, a wedge driver. He divided Adam and Eve from God in the garden. He would like to separate you from God as well. He wants to take all unbelievers to hell and make life hell for believers.

Our weapons are prayer and worship and Scripture. When we pray, we engage the power of God against the devil. When we worship, we do what Satan himself did not do: we place God on the throne. And when we pick up the sword of Scripture, we proclaim truth.

According to Colossians 2:15, “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Jesus] made a public spectacle of [the forces of evil], triumphing over them by the cross.” Satan will not linger long where God is praised and prayers are offered. Satan may be vicious, but he will not be victorious. God has already won.

Deuteronomy 3

Then we turned north and took the road to Bashan. Og king of Bashan, he and all his people, came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.

2 God said to me, “Don’t be afraid of him; I’m turning him over to you, along with his whole army and his land. Treat him the way you treated Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled from Heshbon.”

3-7 So God, our God, also handed Og king of Bashan over to us—Og and all his people—and we utterly crushed them. Again, no survivors. At the same time we took all his cities. There wasn’t one of the sixty cities that we didn’t take—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan. All these cities were fortress cities with high walls and barred gates. There were also numerous unwalled villages. We totally destroyed them—a holy destruction. It was the same treatment we gave to Sihon king of Heshbon, a holy destruction of every city, man, woman, and child. But all the livestock and plunder from the cities we took for ourselves.

8-10 Throughout that time we took the land from under the control of the two kings of the Amorites who ruled the country east of the Jordan, all the way from the Brook Arnon to Mount Hermon. (Sirion is the name given Hermon by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.) We took all the towns of the plateau, everything in Gilead, everything in Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, the border towns of Bashan, Og’s kingdom.

11 Og king of Bashan was the last remaining Rephaite. His bed, made of iron, was over thirteen feet long and six wide. You can still see it on display in Rabbah of the People of Ammon.

* * *

12 Of the land that we possessed at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer along the Brook Arnon and half the hill country of Gilead with its towns.

13 I gave the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, Og’s kingdom—all the region of Argob, which takes in all of Bashan. This used to be known as the Land of the Rephaites.

14 Jair, a son of Manasseh, got the region of Argob to the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He named the Bashan villages after himself, Havvoth Jair (Jair’s Tent-Villages). They’re still called that.

15 I gave Gilead to Makir.

16-17 I gave the Reubenites and Gadites the land from Gilead down to the Brook Arnon, whose middle was the boundary, and as far as the Jabbok River, the boundary line of the People of Ammon. The western boundary was the Jordan River in the Arabah all the way from the Kinnereth (the Sea of Galilee) to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea or Dead Sea) at the base of the slopes of Mount Pisgah on the east.

* * *

18-20 I commanded you at that time, “God, your God, has given you this land to possess. Your men, fit and armed for the fight, are to cross the river in advance of their brothers, the People of Israel. Only your wives, children, and livestock (I know you have much livestock) may go ahead and settle down in the towns I have already given you until God secures living space for your brothers as he has for you and they have taken possession of the country west of the Jordan that God, your God, is giving them. After that, each man may return to the land I’ve given you here.”

* * *

21-22 I commanded Joshua at that time, “You’ve seen with your own two eyes everything God, your God, has done to these two kings. God is going to do the same thing to all the kingdoms over there across the river where you’re headed. Don’t be afraid of them. God, your God—he’s fighting for you.”

23-25 At that same time, I begged God: “God, my Master, you let me in on the beginnings, you let me see your greatness, you let me see your might—what god in Heaven or Earth can do anything like what you’ve done! Please, let me in also on the endings, let me cross the river and see the good land over the Jordan, the lush hills, the Lebanon mountains.”

26-27 But God was still angry with me because of you. He wouldn’t listen. He said, “Enough of that. Not another word from you on this. Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and look around: look west, north, south, east. Take in the land with your own eyes. Take a good look because you’re not going to cross this Jordan.

28 “Then command Joshua: Give him courage. Give him strength. Single-handed he will lead this people across the river. Single-handed he’ll cause them to inherit the land at which you can only look.”

29 That’s why we have stayed in this valley near Beth Peor.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Today's Scripture
Proverbs 6:20–23
(NIV)

Warning on Adultery

20–23     Good friend, follow your father’s good advice;

don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.

Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;

wear them like a scarf around your neck.

Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;

whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;

when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.

For sound advice is a beacon,

good teaching is a light,

moral discipline is a life path.

Insight

Solomon, the wisest person in the ancient world, wrote some three thousand proverbs (1 Kings 4:30–34). But the Holy Spirit selected only some of his proverbs (see Proverbs 1:1; 25:1) to be included in the Scriptures, as well as proverbs by unnamed Jewish wise men (22:17–24:34), Agur (ch. 30), and Lemuel (ch. 31). In the first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs, these wise sayings are presented as a life manual from a father to his son (see 1:8; 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1). The father warns, encourages, and instructs his son to live a God-honoring life. Proverbs 6:20–35 warns of the dangers of sexual temptation and sin. Other warnings against sexual immorality appear in chapters 5 and 7. As a safeguard against sin, Solomon admonished his son to bind his instructions on his heart (6:21). Scripture is “a lamp,” “correction and instruction,” and “the way to life” (v. 23). By: K. T. Sim

Wise Advice

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.
Proverbs 12:15

When the roof of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral caught fire in April 2019, its ancient wood beams and lead sheeting created a furnace so hot it couldn’t be contained. After the cathedral’s spire dramatically fell, attention turned to its bell towers. If the giant steel bells’ wooden frames also burned, their collapse would bring both towers down, leaving the cathedral in ruins.

Pulling his firefighters back for safety, General Gallet, commander of the Paris fire department, pondered what to do next. A firefighter named Remi nervously approached. “Respectfully, General,” he said, “I propose that we run hoses up the exterior of the towers.” Given the building’s fragility the commander dismissed the idea, but Remi spoke on. Soon General Gallet faced a decision: follow the junior firefighter’s advice or leave the cathedral to fall.

Scripture has much to say about taking advice. While this is sometimes in the context of youth respecting elders (Proverbs 6:20–23), most is not. Proverbs says, “the wise listen to advice” (12:15), wars are won with it (24:6), and only a fool fails to heed it (12:15). Wise people listen to good advice, whatever the age or rank of those giving it.

General Gallet listened to Remi. The burning bell frames were hosed down just in time, and the cathedral was saved. What problem do you need godly advice on today? Sometimes God guides the humble through a junior’s lips.

Reflect & Pray

In what situations do you find it difficult to listen to advice? How can you best judge good advice from bad?

Father, by the work of the Holy Spirit, please give me the humility to receive good advice from others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative

Arise from the dead… —Ephesians 5:14

Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God. Someone may say to you, “Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the throat and throw it overboard— just do what needs to be done!” That is what we mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and says, in effect, “Get up and get going,” suddenly we find that the initiative is inspired.

We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later we realize we have no power to accomplish them. We cannot do the things we long to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead. But God comes and says to us, “Arise from the dead….” When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to “arise from the dead” and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get going.” God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, “Arise from the dead…,” we have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). As soon as the man did so, his hand was healed. But he had to take the initiative. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the power of life.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.  The Place of Help, 1051 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 16, 2022

The Mission and the Pain - #9158

They're some of the best of the best in America's military. They're known as the Navy Seals. And when there's a mission that's almost impossible, they send the Seals behind enemy lines, or maybe it's a highly sensitive covert mission, against enormous odds. They're trained in just about any military skill you can think of. In fact, their training was the subject of a cover story in a national magazine a while back; especially that brutal final week that decides who will and will not be a Navy Seal.

Cold, and wet, and fatigued, there's pain, there's a pace that are more than most human beings could bear. And some might call it cruel and extreme. But the Navy is trying to prepare these men for heroism. They say they're trying to build men who learn one mindset that is often the difference between a hero and a zero. Turn off the pain and focus on the mission.

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

Here's our word for today from the Word of God - 2 Timothy 2:1. God says, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." See, God doesn't need any more spiritual wimps. That's why He's calling for warriors here. And in verse 4 He says, "No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs. He wants to please his commanding officer."

Well, what does that take? Verse 3: "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Endurance: staying with the mission even when you're hurting. Those Navy Seals do it for their country. We do it for our Savior. Our mission is to be like Jesus so the people in our world can get a good look at what He's like. And to be His personal representative to people who are lost and needy and have no hope for eternity without Him.

There's one problem though. Instead of turning off the pain and focusing on the mission, our tendency is to focus on our pain and forget our mission, and put the work of the Lord at the mercy of how we're feeling. When we're hurting, let's face it, we usually get pretty self-focused don't we? We're consumed with our survival, our needs, our hurt. And that's natural. It's understandable, but it's unacceptable for a soldier of Jesus Christ.

No matter how great the pain was, He never abandoned His mission; not when His family turned against Him, not when the crowds turned against Him, not when His life was threatened, not when He was arrested or beaten or humiliated or nailed to a cross. Even when He was dying, Jesus was looking out for His mother. He was reaching out to a dying thief, He was forgiving His crucifiers.

We will never begin to face the pain that our leader did. But we do have our share of pain. Here's the question: Do we retreat from what we've been doing for the Lord when it gets hard or when we're hurting? Are we so full of our own agenda that we shut down to the needs of others? Do we quit when it's dark?

If you forget your mission because of your pain, you can still belong to Jesus. His love for us is unconditional. This isn't about His love for you. It's about your love and service for Him. He wants to trust you with some heroic assignments for Him. He's got so much to be done! He's looking for heroes like the song says, "Jesus needs a few good men." And I might say, "a few good women."

In the rigors of your life right now the training and testing of Jesus are not to hurt you. They're not to sink you. They're His tools to make you a warrior. To strengthen you. to prepare you for a great work for Him. So be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Luke 2:1-24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: For His Highest - February 15, 2022

In 1910 Biddy Chambers and her husband were married and busy about their dream of starting a Bible college. Biddy took careful notes of her husband’s lectures and turned them into correspondence courses. Then complications from appendicitis rendered Biddy a widow. The teaching ministry would need to be abandoned, right? No. Biddy turned her husband’s notes into pamphlets. Eventually they were compiled into a book. My Utmost for His Highest was published in 1927. It has since sold more than thirteen million copies.

The work of Oswald Chambers surely exceeded his fondest hopes. But it was the sincere faith of his wife that made the difference. She gave what she had to Jesus. Let’s follow her example.

Luke 2:1-24

The Birth of Jesus

 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
An Event for Everyone

8-12 There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the shepherds were impressed.

19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The shepherds returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
Blessings

21 When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

22-24 Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Today's Scripture
Romans 12:1–5
(NIV)

Place Your Life Before God

1–2     12 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

3     I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

4–6     In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body,

Insight

Romans 12 marks a turning point in Paul’s letter. Previously the apostle had been explaining the work of God in salvation, describing Jesus as the second Adam who came to redeem what had been lost through our first parents’ disobedience in Eden. Now he turns his attention to the way this salvation is to be lived out by those bought by Christ’s sacrifice. It starts with the redeemed becoming a “living sacrifice” (v. 1), whose focus is on being useful to God in the lives of others. This is followed by a list of spiritual gifts to equip God’s children in service to others (vv. 3–8). Another group of spiritual gifts appears in 1 Corinthians 12:7–11, and a list of leadership roles (gifts to the church) is found in Ephesians 4:11. Through the provision of these gifts and roles, the Spirit enables us to be useful in our spiritual service. By: Bill Crowder

We Are One

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2

In a small farming community, news travels fast. Several years after the bank sold the farm David’s family had owned for decades, he learned the property would be available for sale. After much sacrifice and saving, David arrived at the auction and joined a crowd of nearly two hundred local farmers. Would David’s meager bid be enough? He placed the first bid, taking deep breaths as the auctioneer called for higher bids. The crowd remained silent until they heard the slam of the gavel. The fellow farmers placed the needs of David and his family above their own financial advancement.

This story about the farmers’ sacrificial act of kindness demonstrates the way the apostle Paul urges followers of Christ to live. Paul warns us not to conform to the “pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2), by placing our selfish desires before the needs of others and scrambling for self-preservation. Instead, we can trust God to meet our needs as we serve others. As the Holy Spirit renews our minds, we can respond to situations with God-honoring love and motives. Placing others first can help us avoid thinking too highly of ourselves as God reminds us that we’re a part of something bigger—the church (vv. 3–4).

The Holy Spirit helps believers understand and obey the Scriptures. He empowers us to give selflessly and love generously, so we can thrive together as one. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How can you place someone else’s needs before your own? How has your faith been impacted by someone placing your needs before their own?

Father God, please rid me of my selfishness so I can love selflessly and stand as one with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”

None of us lives to himself… —Romans 14:7

Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people? For instance, if I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers. We “sit together in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 2:6). “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it…” (1 Corinthians 12:26). If you allow physical selfishness, mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, or spiritual weakness, everyone in contact with you will suffer. But you ask, “Who is sufficient to be able to live up to such a lofty standard?” “Our sufficiency is from God…” and God alone (2 Corinthians 3:5).

“You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “…lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Making a Man Feel Safe - #9157

"Should I call her, dad?" My then teenage son used to say that. And like all boys his age, he was unsure of what kind of response he would get from a girl. "Should I call her?" Well, I'll tell you, it seems like just yesterday I was asking that question when I was a teenage boy. I'd stare at the phone for about 45 minutes, wondering if I dared to call. And, man, sometimes no matter how suave I tried to be, all of a sudden I'd get on that phone and I'd go, "Hello." It's amazing how intimidating a girl can be. There were a couple of girls, though, that I didn't even have to think twice about calling. I just picked up the phone and started talking naturally. But, you know, it was because they made me feel safe. It is amazing the power of a woman to make a man feel safe or unsafe.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Making a Man Feel Safe."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 31. I have often talked with my daughter or my wife about that Proverbs 31 woman; the greatest description probably in all the Bible of what a woman can be at her "womanliest." Is that a word? Well, it is now. And it says some of these things about her. She has noble character, she is worth far more than rubies, her children rise up and call her blessed." And then it tells us that her husband is respected at the city gate where he takes his seat among the leaders of the land. What a tremendous description! I mean any woman would like to be worth far more than rubies and have her children call her blessed, and be of noble character.

Well, one of her secrets is given in this chapter; the secret of a woman who has healthy relationships, who brings out the best in the men in her life. And it's summed up in these words, Proverbs 31:11, "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value." I'm going to put that in other words. Her man feels safe with her.

See, men are usually evaluated in our world on the basis of how they perform, their athletic prowess, or their macho image, or they're always under control, or they're successful in their career. And most men just continue this performance kind of love right into their relationships with women until a loving, affirming woman lets him know he does not have to perform for her. He does not have to impress her. He's safe with her. He can share his secrets and know they will never be violated. He can be weak around her. He can be frustrated. He can be scared.

Every man needs a woman who will love the little boy inside him. Now, I know every woman needs a man who will make her feel safe. But that's another program. Today's about Proverbs 31. Men are very self-assured outside. But listen, we're very self-conscious on the inside. Men are very lonely people, because, well, we're not that good at the relationship side of things. And a lot of our relationships are superficial. But God raises up a special breed. Sometimes He'll give you a women in your life who's about able to give a man a harbor; a mother who makes her son feel safe; a teacher that makes the boy in her class feel safe; the woman who is not hunting men or chasing men or using men, but who wants to minister acceptance and security to the men in her world. The Bible calls her, "a woman who fears the Lord."

See, she's brought her needs to the Lord so she feels safe. So she can gently, consistently provide the safe harbor that a man so desperately needs. That kind of woman a man can call on any time and she will bring out his best. And that's the kind of woman Jesus creates when a woman brings her heart to Him. He makes a woman feel safe. She is. He gives a woman love without strings; never leave you love. If He was ever going to leave you, He would have when He was dying on the cross for your sin. No conditions; no end to it - supernatural love.

Man or woman, if you've never experienced that love for yourself, get started in a relationship with Him today. You can find out how at our website ANewStory.com.

When you belong to Jesus, He plants in you a supernatural, transforming love because you know what it is to be eternally loved by God Himself.

Deuteronomy 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Be Loved - February 14, 2022

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). The final phrase is the essential one – as I have loved you. Have you let God love you? Please don’t hurry past that question.

We don’t love people because people are lovable. People can be cranky, stubborn, selfish, and cruel. We love people for this reason: we have come to experience and believe the love God has for us.

We tend to skip this step. We clench our teeth and say, “I’m supposed to love my neighbor? All right, by golly, I will.” But the source is not within us. It is only by receiving our Father’s agape love that we can discover an agape love for others. We cannot love if we aren’t first loved. So let God love you!

Deuteronomy 2

 Then we turned around and went back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea, as God had instructed me. We worked our way in and around the hills of Seir for a long, long time.

* * *

2-6 Then God said, “You’ve been going around in circles in these hills long enough; go north. Command the people, You’re about to cut through the land belonging to your relatives, the People of Esau who settled in Seir. They are terrified of you, but restrain yourselves. Don’t try and start a fight. I am not giving you so much as a square inch of their land. I’ve already given all the hill country of Seir to Esau—he owns it all. Pay them up front for any food or water you get from them.”

7 God, your God, has blessed you in everything you have done. He has guarded you in your travels through this immense wilderness. For forty years now, God, your God, has been right here with you. You haven’t lacked one thing.

8 So we detoured around our brothers, the People of Esau who live in Seir, avoiding the Arabah Road that comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber; instead we used the road through the Wilderness of Moab.

9 God told me, “And don’t try to pick a fight with the Moabites. I am not giving you any of their land. I’ve given ownership of Ar to the People of Lot.”

10-12 The Emites (Monsters) used to live there—mobs of hulking giants, like Anakites. Along with the Anakites they were lumped in with the Rephaites (Ghosts) but in Moab they were called Emites. Horites also used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau took over and destroyed them, the same as Israel did in the land God gave them to possess.

13 God said, “It’s time now to cross the Brook Zered.” So we crossed the Brook Zered.

14-15 It took us thirty-eight years to get from Kadesh Barnea to the Brook Zered. That’s how long it took for the entire generation of soldiers from the camp to die off, as God had sworn they would. God was relentless against them until the last one was gone from the camp.

16-23 When the last of these soldiers had died, God said to me, “This is the day you cut across the territory of Moab, at Ar. When you approach the People of Ammon, don’t try and pick a fight with them because I’m not giving you any of the land of the People of Ammon for yourselves—I’ve already given it to the People of Lot.” It is also considered to have once been the land of the Rephaites. Rephaites lived there long ago—the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (Barbarians)—huge mobs of them, giants like the Anakites. God destroyed them and the Ammonites moved in and took over. It was the same with the People of Esau who live in Seir—God got rid of the Horites who lived there earlier and they moved in and took over, as you can see. Regarding the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites who came from Caphtor (Crete) wiped them out and moved in.

* * *

24-25 “On your feet now. Get started. Cross the Brook Arnon. Look: Here’s Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon and his land. I’m handing it over to you—it’s all yours. Go ahead, take it. Go to war with him. Before the day is out, I’ll make sure that all the people around here are thoroughly terrified. Rumors of you are going to spread like wildfire; they’ll totally panic.”

26-28 From the Wilderness of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to Sihon, king of Heshbon. They carried a friendly message: “Let me cross through your land on the highway. I’ll stay right on the highway; I won’t trespass right or left. I’ll pay you for any food or water we might need. Let me walk through.

29 “The People of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did this, helping me on my way until I can cross the Jordan and enter the land that God, our God, is giving us.”

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon wouldn’t let us cross his land. God, your God, turned his spirit mean and his heart hard so he could hand him over to you, as you can see that he has done.

31 Then God said to me, “Look, I’ve got the ball rolling—Sihon and his land are soon yours. Go ahead. Take it. It’s practically yours!”

32-36 So Sihon and his entire army confronted us in battle at Jahaz. God handed him, his sons, and his entire army over to us and we utterly crushed them. While we were at it we captured all his towns and totally destroyed them, a holy destruction—men, women, and children. No survivors. We took the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured and carried them off for ourselves. From Aroer on the edge of the Brook Arnon and the town in the gorge, as far as Gilead, not a single town proved too much for us; God, our God, gave every last one of them to us.

37 The only land you didn’t take, obeying God’s command, was the land of the People of Ammon, the land along the Jabbok and around the cities in the hills.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, February 14, 2022

Today's Scripture
Song of Songs 8:6–7
(NIV)

The Woman

6–8     Hang my locket around your neck,

wear my ring on your finger.

Love is invincible facing danger and death.

Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.

The fire of love stops at nothing—

it sweeps everything before it.

Flood waters can’t drown love,

torrents of rain can’t put it out.

Love can’t be bought, love can’t be sold—

it’s not to be found in the marketplace.

Insight

The Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, has long mystified Bible students—particularly in terms of how we’re to understand its inclusion in the Scriptures. This sense of mystery has led to a variety of interpretations. Three main views are held regarding the purpose of the Song. One interpretation holds that it’s a metaphor describing God’s love for Israel and His care for her as His chosen people. Second, it’s historically been viewed by many Bible teachers to be a “type” (representative picture) of Christ and the church, perhaps even anticipating Paul’s expressions of Christ’s love for the church in Ephesians 5. Finally, it’s seen by some modern scholars as a celebration of the love between husband and wife and how that love manifests itself physically and intimately. By: Bill Crowder

The Power of Love

Many waters cannot quench love.
Song of Songs 8:7

Two octogenarians, one from Germany and the other from Denmark, were an unlikely couple. They had each enjoyed sixty years of marriage before being widowed. Though living only fifteen minutes apart, their homes were in separate countries. Still, they fell in love, regularly cooking meals and spending time together. Sadly, in 2020, due to the coronavirus, the Danish government closed the border crossing. Undeterred, every day at 3:00 p.m., the two met at the border on a quiet country lane and, seated on their respective sides, shared a picnic. “We’re here because of love,” the man explained. Their love was stronger than borders, more powerful than a pandemic.

The Song of Songs offers an impressive display of love’s invincible power. “Love is as strong as death,” Solomon insisted (8:6). None of us escapes death; it arrives with a steely finality we can’t break. And yet love, the writer said, is every bit as strong. What’s more, love “burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame” (v. 6). Have you ever watched a fire exploding in feverish rage? Love—like fire—is impossible to contain. “Many waters cannot quench love.” Not even a raging river can sweep love away (v. 7).

Human love, whenever it’s selfless and true, offers reflections of these characteristics. However, only God’s love offers such potency, such limitless depths, such tenacious power. And here’s the stunner: God loves each of us with this unquenchable love. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

How does love in this life reflect the love shared by God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? How do you sense God loving you now?

God, I need Your powerful, deep love. I need Your love that won’t be extinguished and won’t let me go. Will You show me this love today?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 14, 2022

The Discipline of Hearing

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. —Matthew 10:27

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into “the shadow of His hand” until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). “Whatever I tell you in the dark…” — pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood— darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.

After every time of darkness, we should experience a mixture of delight and humiliation. If there is only delight, I question whether we have really heard God at all. We should experience delight for having heard God speak, but mostly humiliation for having taken so long to hear Him! Then we will exclaim, “How slow I have been to listen and understand what God has been telling me!” And yet God has been saying it for days and even weeks. But once you hear Him, He gives you the gift of humiliation, which brings a softness of heart— a gift that will always cause you to listen to God now.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We are not fundamentally free; external circumstances are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands, the one thing in which we are free is in our personal relationship to God. We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be.  Conformed to His Image, 354 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 14, 2022

The Waves You're Making - #9156

It was a real joy that day to participate in the baptism of some young people in the waters of a beautiful lake. It was a really sacred moment for all of us in spite of the speedboat. Yeah, at one point it went blazing across the lake behind us. It was there. It was gone in a flash, but its wake wasn't. No, for some time after that boat had disappeared, the waves it created kept rolling in on us. And, for a time, it actually interrupted the proceedings. Mr. Boat Guy probably never thought about the wake he was leaving long after he left. Oh, he was just passing through.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Waves You're Making."

If you've ever spent much time by a lake, it's something you've experienced for yourself. Long after the boat has passed, the waves it created are still making an impact. Our lives are like that. Long after we've passed on, the waves that our choices have made are still impacting many other lives. In our "now is all that matters" culture, it's easy to forget how much our choices matter and how long their effects last. It's about so much more than just this moment.

God gives us a powerful values-clarifier in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 102:18. He says, "Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord." Wow, that hits me hard! I mean, God focuses our eyes on the big picture reason for doing the right thing, because what you do now will affect lives that have not even been born yet - generations you'll never see! Think about it. You and I are continuing to benefit from the choices people made in previous generations. And to pay for choices that previous generations have made. They've passed by, but not the waves they created. They're still rocking our life.

The psalm goes on to point out the long-lasting effects of making God's choices your choices: "The children of Your servants will live in Your presence; their descendants will be established before You." Again, multiple generations whose destiny will be shaped by what we do now. That is sobering!

So that compromise you're making, or about to make, is it worth it in light of its long-range consequences? Is that taste of sin really worth the road it might take you down and the legacy it may leave? Is that fling really worth what it might do to you, to the people you love, to generations you may never see? How about that divorce? It will leave a mark for a long, long time. Maybe you're tempted to return to the old you. But stop and think about generations that could feel the impact of that choice. Who you're dating, who you sleep with, who you marry, even who your friends are - don't think those are just decisions that affect only you and a few parts of your life. Again, we're all still feeling the effects of those same choices made by people who went before us - when we were "the people not yet created."

There's so much more at stake in the choices we make and the way we live than we could ever imagine. Things are being passed from us to others, especially our children, who will in turn pass it on to those that they influence and who will in turn just keep it alive across generations.

Before you go speeding into what you may be considering, would you think about it and consider the waves your life is making? Make the choices that will cause those who follow you to bless your memory and to bless the God that you helped them find across the years.

Deuteronomy 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We Can Fear Less

In Luke 24:38, Jesus asks, "Why are you frightened? Why are your hearts filled with doubt?" Jesus doesn't want you to live in a state of fear.
Nor do you. You've never made statements like these: Thank God for my pessimism. I've been such a better person since I lost hope. Or, My doctor says if I don't begin fretting, I'll lose my health. We've learned the high cost of fear. If we medicate fear with angry outbursts, drinking binges, sullen withdrawals, or viselike control, we exclude God from the solution and exacerbate the problem.
Hysteria isn't from God. Scripture says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear" (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear may fill our world, but it doesn't have to fill our hearts. It will always knock on the door. Just don't invite it in.
The promise of Christ is simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today!
From Fearless

Deuteronomy 1

These are the sermons Moses preached to all Israel when they were east of the Jordan River in the Arabah Wilderness, opposite Suph, in the vicinity of Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea following the Mount Seir route.

* * *

3-4 It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year when Moses addressed the People of Israel, telling them everything God had commanded him concerning them. This came after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth in Edrei. It was east of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses set out to explain this Revelation.
Moses Preaches to Israel on the Plains of Moab

5 He said:

6-8 Back at Horeb, God, our God, spoke to us: “You’ve stayed long enough at this mountain. On your way now. Get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, wherever people are living in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negev, the seashore—the Canaanite country and the Lebanon all the way to the big river, the Euphrates. Look, I’ve given you this land. Now go in and take it. It’s the land God promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children after them.”

9-13 At the time I told you, “I can’t do this, can’t carry you all by myself. God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders.”

14 You answered me, “Good! A good solution.”

15 So I went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders—leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of your tribes.

16-17 At the same time I gave orders to your judges: “Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner. Don’t play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don’t be impressed by big names. This is God’s judgment you’re dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I’ll deal with them.”

18 I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.

19-21 Then we set out from Horeb and headed for the Amorite hill country, going through that huge and frightening wilderness that you’ve had more than an eyeful of by now—all under the command of God, our God—and finally arrived at Kadesh Barnea. There I told you, “You’ve made it to the Amorite hill country that God, our God, is giving us. Look, God, your God, has placed this land as a gift before you. Go ahead and take it now. God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, promised it to you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose heart.”

22 But then you all came to me and said, “Let’s send some men on ahead to scout out the land for us and bring back a report on the best route to take and the kinds of towns we can expect to find.”

23-25 That seemed like a good idea to me, so I picked twelve men, one from each tribe. They set out, climbing through the hills. They came to the Eshcol Valley and looked it over. They took samples of the produce of the land and brought them back to us, saying, “It’s a good land that God, our God, is giving us!”

26-28 But then you weren’t willing to go up. You rebelled against God, your God’s plain word. You complained in your tents: “God hates us. He hauled us out of Egypt in order to dump us among the Amorites—a death sentence for sure! How can we go up? We’re trapped in a dead end. Our brothers took all the wind out of our sails, telling us, ‘The people are bigger and stronger than we are; their cities are huge, their defenses massive—we even saw Anakite giants there!’”

29-33 I tried to relieve your fears: “Don’t be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trust God, your God—this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go.”

34-36 When God heard what you said, he exploded in anger. He swore, “Not a single person of this evil generation is going to get so much as a look at the good land that I promised to give to your parents. Not one—except for Caleb son of Jephunneh. He’ll see it. I’ll give him and his descendants the land he walked on because he was all for following God, heart and soul.”

37-40 But I also got it. Because of you God’s anger spilled over onto me. He said, “You aren’t getting in either. Your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go in. Build up his courage. He’s the one who will claim the inheritance for Israel. And your babies of whom you said, ‘They’ll be grabbed for plunder,’ and all these little kids who right now don’t even know right from wrong—they’ll get in. I’ll give it to them. Yes, they’ll be the new owners. But not you. Turn around and head back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea.”

41 You spoke up, “We’ve sinned against God. We’ll go up and fight, following all the orders that God, our God, has commanded.” You took your weapons and dressed for battle—you thought it would be so easy going into those hills!

42 But God told me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t do it; don’t go up to fight—I’m not with you in this. Your enemies will waste you.’”

43-46 I told you but you wouldn’t listen. You rebelled at the plain word of God. You threw out your chests and strutted into the hills. And those Amorites, who had lived in those hills all their lives, swarmed all over you like a hive of bees, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah, a stinging defeat. You came back and wept in the presence of God, but he didn’t pay a bit of attention to you; God didn’t give you the time of day. You stayed there in Kadesh a long time, about as long as you had stayed there earlier.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Today's Scripture
Hebrews 6:9–12
(NIV)

     I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.

Insight

The letter of Hebrews encourages believers in Jesus to continue to live in the power of the Spirit. In earlier days, those to whom this letter was written had shown courage and concern for one another (10:32–34). They were living witnesses to God, who sacrificed His Son so we could be reconciled to Him. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we’re now free from the “fear of death” (2:15) and a self-centered way of life (6:10–12). But then, as now, time and trouble have a way of wearing us down. And the temptation is always to avoid situations where we might face persecution. So while the author went into great detail to show how the temple foreshadowed Jesus, his purpose was to urge his readers to never slide back into something less than a living demonstration of the Spirit of God. By: Mart DeHaan

Not Forgotten

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Hebrews 6:10

When we think of historic, trailblazing missionaries, the name of George Liele (1750–1820) doesn’t leap to mind. Perhaps it should. Born into slavery, Liele came to Christ in Georgia and gained his freedom prior to the American Revolutionary War. He took the message of Jesus to Jamaica, ministering to the slaves in the plantations there, and served as the founding pastor of two African American churches in Savannah, Georgia—one of which is considered the “mother church of Black Baptists.”

Liele’s remarkable life of kingdom service may have been forgotten by some, but his spiritual service will never be forgotten by God. Neither will the work you do for God. The letter to the Hebrews encourages us with these words, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (6:10). God’s faithfulness can never be underestimated, for He truly knows and remembers everything done in His name. And so Hebrews encourages us, “Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (v. 12).

If we serve behind the scenes in our church or community, it might be easy to feel our labor is unappreciated. Take heart. Whether or not our work is recognized or rewarded by the people around us, God is faithful. He’ll never forget us. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

What service do you do for God? How does knowing He doesn’t forget your service encourage you?

Loving God, my service to You is far from perfect, but I also know that as I serve You, that service is remembered and valued by You. Thank You for equipping me to serve.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 13, 2022
The Devotion of Hearing

Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." —1 Samuel 3:10

Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends…” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.

The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

Luke 1:57-80 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Everything is God's

Here's a healthy exercise. Put a sticky note on everything in your life that's going to be destroyed when Christ comes. Your car, your desk, your house, office, yard, garage…your savings account. What's left? Your spouse. Your kids. Your friends. Your church. The Word of God. Most notably, your soul.
Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, "And who do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
All that stuff you have now? You don't get to keep it. In fact, you never had it. You're simply a steward of what God has given you. Psalm 24:1 reminds us, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Your stuff is not yours. Ever since you grabbed that toy and yelled, "Mine!" you've been lying. Everything is God's!
From Max on Life

Luke 1:57-80

The Birth of John

57-58 When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

59-60 On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: “No. He is to be called John.”

61-62 “But,” they said, “no one in your family is named that.” They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

63-64 Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, “His name is to be John.” That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

65-66 A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, “What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this.”

67-79 Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
    he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
    and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
    through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
    and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
    as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
    a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
    made holy before him as long as we live.

And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”
    will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
    the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
    God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
    those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
    down the path of peace.

80 The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Today's Scripture
1 Samuel 17:32, 40–47(NIV)

    “Master,” said David, “don’t give up hope. I’m ready to go and fight this Philistine.”

     Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

41–42     As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.

43     The Philistine ridiculed David. “Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?” And he cursed him by his gods.

44     “Come on,” said the Philistine. “I’ll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I’ll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice.”

45–47     David answered, “You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”

Insight

Geography expert Jack Beck describes the general area where the encounter between David and Goliath took place. Imagine it as running through three vertical lines. The area farthest to the east is the mountains where the Israelites live. The one farthest to the west is where the Philistines live on the coastal plain along the Mediterranean Sea. Between them is a set of ridges and valleys called the Shephelah, creating a corridor between them. As the Philistines moved through the foothills toward the mountains, it’s likely they did so in order to take over the trade routes on the east side of the Jordan River Valley. This would give them access to every village in the Israelite stronghold. By: Alyson Kieda

Living by Faith

We live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

Gary was experiencing some balance issues while walking, so his doctor ordered physical therapy to improve his balance. During one session his therapist told him, “You’re trusting too much in what you can see, even when it’s wrong! You’re not depending enough on your other systems—what you feel under your feet and your inner-ear signals—which are also meant to help keep you balanced.”

“You’re trusting too much in what you can see” brings to mind the story of David, a young shepherd, and his encounter with Goliath. For forty days, Goliath, a Philistine champion, “strutted in front of the Israelite army,” taunting them to send someone out to fight him (1 Samuel 17:16 nlt). But what the people focused on naturally caused them fear. Then young David showed up because his father asked him to take supplies to his older brothers (v. 18).

How did David look at the situation? By faith in God, not by sight. He saw the giant but trusted that God would rescue His people. Even though he was just a boy, he told King Saul, “Don’t worry about this Philistine . . . . I’ll go fight him!” (v. 32 nlt). Then he told Goliath, “The battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (v. 47). And that’s just what God did.

Trusting in God’s character and power can help us to live more closely by faith rather than by sight. By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

What are you struggling with? What might it mean to walk by faith in God during this season?

Show me what it means in my struggles to trust You and Your character, dear God. You’re powerful and loving.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Are You Listening to God?

They said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." —Exodus 20:19

We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.

“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”

Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t.  Conformed to His Image, 357 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50

Numbers 36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: God Resists the Proud - February 11, 2022

When the mighty fall, the fall is mighty. One minute King Nebuchadnezzar was on the cover of Time magazine. The next, he was banished like a creature and munching on grass. We are left with a lesson: God hates pride.

God resists the proud because the proud resist God. Arrogance stiffens the knee so it will not kneel, hardens the heart so it will not admit to sin. The heart of pride never confesses, never repents, never feels the need for forgiveness. Pride not only prevents reconciliation with God; it prevents reconciliation with people. How many apologies have gone unoffered due to the lack of humility?

Pride comes at a high price, my friend. Don’t pay it. Choose instead to stand on the offer of grace. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 NKJV).

Numbers 36

The Daughters of Zelophehad

36 The heads of the ancestral clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh—they were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph—approached Moses and the leaders who were heads of the families in the People of Israel.

2-4 They said, “When God commanded my master to hand over the inheritance-lands by lot to the People of Israel, my master was also commanded by God to hand over the inheritance-land of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. But what happens if they marry into another tribe in the People of Israel? Their inheritance-land will be taken out of our ancestral tribe and get added into the tribe into which they married. And then when the year of Jubilee comes for the People of Israel their inheritance will be lumped in with the inheritance of the tribe into which they married—their land will be removed from our ancestors’ inheritance!”

5-9 Moses, at God’s command, issued this order to the People of Israel: “What the tribe of the sons of Joseph says is right. This is God’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: They are free to marry anyone they choose as long as they marry within their ancestral clan. The inheritance-land of the People of Israel must not get passed around from tribe to tribe. No, keep the tribal inheritance-land in the family. Every daughter who inherits land, regardless of the tribe she is in, must marry a man from within her father’s tribal clan. Every Israelite is responsible for making sure the inheritance stays within the ancestral tribe. No inheritance-land may be passed from tribe to tribe; each tribe of the People of Israel must hold tight to its own land.”

10-12 Zelophehad’s daughters did just as God commanded Moses. Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, Zelophehad’s daughters, all married their cousins on their father’s side. They married within the families of Manasseh son of Joseph and their inheritance-lands stayed in their father’s family.

13 These are the commands and regulations that God commanded through the authority of Moses to the People of Israel on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, February 11, 2022
Today's Scripture
Matthew 3:13–17
(NIV)

Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!”

15     But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.

16–17     The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

Insight

The first words of Jesus in Matthew are in response to John the Baptist’s protesting his unworthiness to baptize Jesus (Matthew 3:13–14). Jesus responds, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). What does “fulfill all righteousness” mean? “Righteousness” can refer to obedience to God’s law and harmony with His will. But it can also refer to God’s righteousness—His goodness, justice, and faithfulness.

In this passage, “righteousness” seems to include both meanings. Jesus’ baptism was done in obedience to God’s will to fulfill His plan and promises. Through His baptism, Jesus took on Israel’s sin and need for rebirth, fulfilling Isaiah’s image of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 42), who redeemed Israel by taking on its sin and suffering. But in this moment, God’s faithful righteousness was most powerfully revealed as His promises to redeem Israel and the world began to be fulfilled. By: Monica La Rose

The Voice of the Father

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.
Matthew 3:17

My friend’s father died recently. When he got sick, his condition deteriorated quickly, and in a matter of days he was gone. My friend and his dad always had a strong relationship, but there were still so many questions to be asked, answers to be sought, and conversations to be had. So many unsaid things, and now his father is gone. My friend is a trained counselor: he knows the ups and downs of grief and how to help others navigate those troubled waters. Still, he told me, “Some days I just need to hear Dad’s voice, that reassurance of his love. It always meant the world to me.”

A pivotal event at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry was His baptism at the hands of John. Although John tried to resist, Jesus insisted that moment was necessary so He might identify with humankind: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). John did as Jesus asked. And then something happened that proclaimed Jesus’ identity to John the Baptist and the crowd, and it must have also deeply touched Jesus’ heart. The Father’s voice reassured His Son: “This is my Son, whom I love” (v. 17).

That same voice in our hearts reassures believers of His great love for us (1 John 3:1). By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

When have you heard the Father’s voice speak reassuring words to you? How can you reach out to others today and encourage them with that same reassurance?

Father, thank You so much for Your reassuring voice telling me whose I am and how much I’m loved.

Learn more about the life of Christ.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 11, 2022
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3

Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).

Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature— the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.

“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26:1-25

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 11, 2022
Three Words On Your Bill - #9155

One of the most frequent visitors at our house is a fellow called "bill." Yeah, every month lots of bills come to our home. You probably have bills that you see coming to your house frequently too. But there's one bill I'll never forget. One of our children had needed the attention of a medical specialist, and it cost a lot and the bills were coming.

And since he was a caring Christian brother, and he understands a little bit about ministry income, he was pretty gracious. He put us on this extended pay plan. The bill came regularly and we were trying to pay it off in these little installments. Then one day the bill came showing the large amount we still owed, except this bill had three words stamped on it by the amount we owed: Paid In Full.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Three Words on Your Bill."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God, John 19, beginning at verse 28. The scene is Skull Hill outside of Jerusalem. "Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

Now, if you and I were reading those verses in the original language of the New Testament, the Greek language, when we got to "It is finished" we would read just one word "tetelestai." They actually found that word in an archeologist's dig some years ago. It was a tax collector's office that had been buried under layers. And they found it pretty much as it had been the day the tax collector died apparently. They went in and they saw the various slates that were stacked up, and there was one stack that was obviously the people who still had a debt that had already paid. There was one word on top of it: tetelestai - paid in full.

When Jesus died for you and shouted "It is finished!", in essence you know what He was saying? "Paid in full!" He was talking about your bill with God, my bill with God, the darkness, the sin of our life, the way we've hijacked our lives - even the most religious of us - we've lived it for ourselves other than for Him. Every time you thought, or said, or did something outside of God's laws, that's what Jesus was paying for. That's the bill that had to be paid; could only be paid by dying. It's a bill too big to pay! I don't know what religion you are, and it doesn't matter. No religion on earth can pay your bill. It would take an eternity away from God in hell to pay the penalty for that sin.

But that's the miracle of the cross. The One who was sinned against paid the penalty for that sin. Today maybe you're saying, "But could I really be forgiven even for that?" Jesus says, "It is finished." There's no sin He did not cover when He died. But you've got to do something with what He did for you. You go to that cross in your heart, you renounce your sin, you bow before Him and say, "Lord, I ask you to be my personal Savior for my personal sin."

If you've never done that, don't go another day without having your sins forgiven. Why risk another day carrying the sin and the death penalty for it in your own soul, when it could be gone if you just cry out to Jesus and say, "I'm Yours." Our website's been set up just for a moment like this, where you can find what you need to know to be sure you've begun your relationship with Jesus. Would you go there today? It's ANewStory.com.

A man I know stamped three incredible words on a huge debt, and Jesus wants to stamp those words on your bill with God: "Paid In Full." You don't ever have to carry the weight of your sin again, because Jesus said, "It is finished!"

Numbers 35 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: In the Season of Struggle - February 10, 2022

You’ve probably experienced a season of God-ordained struggle, a time when there was a chill in the corner office, a dent in the savings account, a downturn. Often these days exist for a purpose: to turn our hearts back to God.

This is what the Israelites of Haggai’s day needed. Charged by God to rebuild the temple, they had abandoned the task, distracted by worldly things. The prophet Haggai was sent to remind them of their work and to convey a promise: “‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Haggai 2:9).

In your case, the glory of the latter career, the latter years will be greater than the former. Turn your heart back to him. In God’s plan, tomorrow always has the potential to outshine today.

Numbers 35

Cities for Levites and Asylum-Cities

 Then God spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Command the People of Israel to give the Levites as their part of the total inheritance towns to live in. Make sure there is plenty of pasture around the towns. Then they will be well taken care of with towns to live in and pastures for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.

4-5 “The pasture surrounding the Levites’ towns is to extend 1,500 feet in each direction from the city wall. The outside borders of the pasture are to measure three thousand feet on each of the four sides—east, south, west, and north—with the town at the center. Each city will be supplied with pasture.

6-8 “Six of these towns that you give the Levites will be asylum-cities to which anyone who accidentally kills another person may flee for asylum. In addition, you will give them forty-two other towns—forty-eight towns in all, together with their pastures. The towns that you give the Levites from the common inheritance of the People of Israel are to be taken in proportion to the size of each tribe—many towns from a tribe that has many, few from a tribe that has few.”

9-15 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When you cross the River Jordan into the country of Canaan, designate your asylum-cities, towns to which a person who accidentally kills someone can flee for asylum. They will be places of refuge from the avenger so that the alleged murderer won’t be killed until he can appear before the community in court. Provide six asylum-cities. Designate three of the towns to the east side of the Jordan, the other three in Canaan proper—asylum-cities for the People of Israel, for the foreigner, and for any occasional visitors or guests—six asylum-cities to run to for anyone who accidentally kills another.

16 “But if the killer has used an iron object, that’s just plain murder; he’s obviously a murderer and must be put to death.

17 “Or if he has a rock in his hand big enough to kill and the man dies, that’s murder; he’s a murderer and must be put to death.

18 “Or if he’s carrying a wooden club heavy enough to kill and the man dies, that’s murder; he’s a murderer and must be put to death.

19 “In such cases the avenger has a right to kill the murderer when he meets him—he can kill him on the spot.

20-21 “And if out of sheer hatred a man pushes another or from ambush throws something at him and he dies, or angrily hits him with his fist and kills him, that’s murder—he must be put to death. The avenger has a right to kill him when he gets him.

22-27 “If, however, he impulsively pushes someone and there is no history of hard feelings, or he impetuously picks up something and throws it, or he accidentally drops a stone tool—a maul or hammer, say—and it hits and kills someone he didn’t even know was there, and there’s no suspicion that there was bad blood between them, the community is to judge between the killer and the avenger following these guidelines. It’s the task of the community to save the killer from the hand of the avenger—the community is to return him to his asylum-city to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the High Priest who was anointed with the holy oil. But if the murderer leaves the asylum-city to which he has fled, and the avenger finds him outside the borders of his asylum-city, the avenger has a right to kill the murderer. And he’s not considered guilty of murder.

28 “So it’s important that he stay in his asylum-city until the death of the High Priest. After the death of the High Priest he is free to return to his own place.

* * *

29 “These are the procedures for making judgments from now on, wherever you live.

30 “Anyone who kills another may be executed only on the testimony of eyewitnesses. But no one can be executed on the testimony of only one witness.

31 “Don’t accept bribe money in exchange for the life of a murderer. He’s guilty and deserves the death penalty. Put him to death.

32 “And don’t accept bribe money for anyone who has fled to an asylum-city so as to permit him to go back and live in his own place before the death of the High Priest.

33 “Don’t pollute the land in which you live. Murder pollutes the land. The land can’t be cleaned up of the blood of murder except through the blood of the murderer.

34 “Don’t desecrate the land in which you live. I live here, too—I, God, live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 147:8–17
(NIV)

Who fills the sky with clouds,

preparing rain for the earth,

Then turning the mountains green with grass,

feeding both cattle and crows.

He’s not impressed with horsepower;

the size of our muscles means little to him.

Those who fear God get God’s attention;

they can depend on his strength.

12–18     Jerusalem, worship God!

Zion, praise your God!

He made your city secure,

he blessed your children among you.

He keeps the peace at your borders,

he puts the best bread on your tables.

He launches his promises earthward—

how swift and sure they come!

He spreads snow like a white fleece,

he scatters frost like ashes,

He broadcasts hail like birdseed—

who can survive his winter?

Insight

Psalm 147 opens and closes with the exhortation, “Praise the Lord” (vv. 1, 20); in-between, the psalm is dotted with short bursts of praise to God. This psalm uses a literary technique known as a chiastic structure. In this pattern, elements on either side of a central point mirror one another. The declaration of praise in verse 12 forms the center point of verses 8–18. Verses 8–9 reflect verses 15–18 on God’s care and interaction with nature; verses 10–11 pair with verses 13–14 about God’s providence and concern for humanity. This structure helps reinforce the idea that because of His power in nature and His provision for His people, the proper response is to praise and worship God.

His Amazing Help

[God] spreads the snow like wool.
Psalm 147:16

The sheriff marveled at the prayers, estimating “hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of prayers” were lifted to God for help as the East Troublesome Fire raged through the mountains of Colorado in the fall of 2020. Living up to its name, the blaze consumed 100,000 acres in twelve hours, roaring through tinder-dry forests, burning three hundred homes to the ground, and threatening entire towns in its path. Then came “the Godsend,” as one meteorologist called it. No, not rain. A timely snowfall. It fell across the fire zone, arriving early for that time of year—dropping up to a foot or more of wet snow—slowing the fire and, in some places, stopping it.

Such merciful help seemed too amazing to explain. Does God hear our prayers for snow? And rain too?  The Bible records His many answers, including after Elijah’s hope for rain (1 Kings 18:41–46). A servant of great faith, Elijah understood God’s sovereignty, including over the weather. As Psalm 147 says of God, “He supplies the earth with rain” (v. 8). “He spreads the snow like wool . . . . Who can withstand his icy blast?” (vv. 16–17).

Elijah could hear “the sound of a heavy rain” before clouds even formed (1 Kings 18:41). Is our faith in His power that strong? God invites our trust, no matter His answer. We can look to Him for His amazing help. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What amazing help have you seen God bring in a dire situation? How does His help encourage your faith?

Amazing God, I bow at Your feet, humbled by Your merciful help whenever it comes. Thank You for encouraging my faith with Your sovereign power throughout the earth.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26

The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.

One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them.  Workmen of God, 1341 L

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 8-10; Matthew 25:31-46

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 10, 2022

How to Banish the Darkness - #9154

I had taken a carload of team members from our reservation outreach team to see a scenic canyon a couple of hours from where we were staying. Someone forgot to tell me that the station wagon they loaned me had a broken gas gauge. It said three-quarters of a tank. That wasn't true! It was getting dark, and I decided to take a shortcut across the reservation to get back to our place. It was a pretty deserted dirt road that traversed a very remote part of the reservation, and about halfway back we ran out of gas, 40 miles from the nearest gas station. Those who understand some of what the Bible says about spiritual warfare will understand that ceremonies that summon the spirit world can bring an invasion of spiritual darkness. And apparently, we were stranded in an area that was known for a lot of that kind of supernatural activity. When we got back, a tribal man who grew up on this reservation and knew the area well, said with a look of really deep concern, "If I had known where you were, I would have come after you immediately."

My passengers were obviously very nervous, and some honestly, almost freaked out by our predicament. I tried to defuse the tension with humor. Yeah, that's me. That didn't work. (In fact, my humor seldom does.) Then somebody started to sing a praise song to Jesus ... and then another one and then another one. And as long as we were praising, there was like this peace and calm. Whenever we stopped praising, you could cut the air with a knife. Thanks to a Good Samaritan God sent, we ultimately got some fuel; we got home, but only after an unforgettable laboratory in the power of praise.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Banish the Darkness."

That night, in our remote corner of an Indian reservation, we experienced the reality of Psalm 8:1-2, our word for today from the Word of God. Here's what it says: "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." I like that. When you are praising your awesome Lord, you silence the devil.

Celebrate Jesus and you evacuate the devil, who can't even stand the name of Jesus. Because it is at that name that he and all his demons must one day bow in total surrender, because the devil's death warrant is signed in the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. So in those times when the darkness seems to be closing in, you can literally praise the darkness away. Because the one place the prince of darkness will never be is in praises to the Most High God.

In many ways, whether or not the light or the darkness is winning in your soul is a matter of what you choose to dwell on. I can tell you what the devil's trying to get you to dwell on - your past, your fears, your pain, your worries, your doubts. Right? Those are areas that are like Satan's playground. They drown you in anxiety, and guilt, and discouragement and depression. God, on the other hand, wants you to choose to dwell on what He's like, not what your situation is like. Psalm 145 says, "The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down." (I love that! Man!) So, a few verses later, it says: "I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."

When you're praising your Lord, you're choosing to dwell on the awesome things about Him that never change and never will, including in the middle of this dark moment. You're celebrating the good things He's done in your life instead of frustrating over your struggles. It's celebrating Jesus, whether you feel like it or not.

When it's the darkest, when it's the hardest to praise Him, that's when you need to praise Him the most, because praise is that blinding light from heaven that dispels the darkness and banishes your enemy.