Acts 6 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: CHOSEN, DESTINED, AND LOVED - January 19, 2023

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,… encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Two cows were grazing in a pasture when a milk truck drove by. On the side of the truck were the words pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, vitamin A added. Noticing this, one cow said to the other, “Makes you kind of feel inadequate, doesn’t it?” Inadequacy indwells a billion hearts.

Who is going to tell people the truth? Will you distribute encouragement to the world? Will you remind humanity that we are made in God’s image? That we are chosen, destined, and loved? That God is for us, not against us? That we are in God’s hand, in God’s plan? Will you go face-to-face with the tidal wave of inadequacy that sucks people out to sea? Will you encourage someone today?

Acts 6

The Word of God Prospered

During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.”

5-6 The congregation thought this was a great idea. They went ahead and chose—

Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,

Philip,

Procorus,

Nicanor,

Timon,

Parmenas,

Nicolas, a convert from Antioch.

Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their task.

7 The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.

* * *

8-10 Stephen, brimming with God’s grace and energy, was doing wonderful things among the people, unmistakable signs that God was among them. But then some men from the meeting place whose membership was made up of freed slaves, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and some others from Cilicia and Asia, went up against him trying to argue him down. But they were no match for his wisdom and spirit when he spoke.

11 So in secret they bribed men to lie: “We heard him cursing Moses and God.”

12-14 That stirred up the people, the religious leaders, and religion scholars. They grabbed Stephen and took him before the High Council. They put forward their bribed witnesses to testify: “This man talks nonstop against this Holy Place and God’s Law. We even heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would tear this place down and throw out all the customs Moses gave us.”

15 As all those who sat on the High Council looked at Stephen, they found they couldn’t take their eyes off him—his face was like the face of an angel!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Today's Scripture

Matthew 5:43–48

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Insight

The teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) was a corrective to the teaching and practices of popular religion in His day. Thus, He repeatedly said, “You have heard that it was said . . . . But I tell you” (5:21–44). Of note is His command to “be perfect” (v. 48). As with the other commands, Christ calls His followers to a higher standard. However, the perfection that’s in view isn’t moral perfection (sinlessness). The Greek word teleios (from telos,) translated “perfect,” means “completeness” or “maturity,” something arriving at an intended end. Jesus calls His followers to “relational” maturity—an indiscriminate, mature love like the love of the heavenly Father. It’s a love that’s undeterred by pedigree or label, the kind of love modeled by the Samaritan in the parable in Luke 10:25–37. By: Arthur Jackson

But I’m Telling You

But I tell you, love your enemies. Matthew 5:44

“I know what they’re saying. But I’m telling you . . .” As a boy, I heard my mother give that speech a thousand times. The context was always peer pressure. She was trying to teach me not to follow the herd. I’m not a boy any longer, but herd mentality’s still alive and kicking. A current example is this phrase: “Only surround yourself with positive people.” Now while that phrase may be commonly heard, the question we must ask is: “Is that Christlike?”    

“But I’m telling you . . .” Jesus uses that lead-in a number of times in Matthew 5. He knows full well what the world is constantly telling us. But His desire is that we live differently. In this case, He says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (v. 44). Later in the New Testament, the apostle Paul uses that very word to describe guess who? That’s right: us—“while we were God’s enemies” (Romans 5:10). Far from some “do as I say, not as I do,” Jesus backed up His words with actions. He loved us, and gave His life for us.

What if Christ had only made room in His life for “positive people”? Where would that leave us? Thanks be to God that His love is no respecter of persons. For God so loved the world, and in His strength we are called to do likewise.  By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

When’s the last time someone extended love to you when you weren’t “positive”? What’s a tangible way today that you can show love to an enemy?

Father, it’s tempting to surround myself with only those who love me. But that’s not living, at least not the kind of living You desire for me. Help me to love even my enemies.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Vision and Darkness

When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. —Genesis 15:12

Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light— that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).

Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God…”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence.  Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13:1-30

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 19, 2023

HOW TO HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED WHEN YOU NEED IT - #9399

When you've passed thousands of cars on the Interstate, you've seen a whole lot of bumper stickers - most of which you've forgotten. But there's one I saw I've never forgotten. It was just five little words - words which weren't even that original. But as I passed that particular car, I glanced inside at the passengers, and suddenly the bumper sticker took on great meaning. A mother was driving and she had her child in the back seat. It was a little boy, who even with a quick glance, I could see had some severe mental handicaps. You know, this lady had a very challenging life, and I knew how she was handling it because the bumper sticker told me. It simply said, "One day at a time."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Have Everything You Need When You Need It."

God has made His plan for meeting your needs very simple and very clear. One five-letter word sums it up. And one Bible story wonderfully illustrates it - 1 Kings 17, beginning with verse 2. It's our word for today from the Word of God. God's prophet, Elijah, has just delivered an unsettling message from God to Israel's King Ahab - that it will not rain for the next few years. Well, that didn't make Elijah a finalist for "Man of the Year" in the king's book.

So the Bible says, "The word of the Lord came to Elijah: 'Leave here...and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.' So he did what the Lord had told him... The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook." So, here sits Elijah in the wilderness, totally dependent on God for his next meal. Those ravens didn't bring a month's groceries or even a week's groceries. In fact, they didn't even bring enough for the whole day. Okay, breakfast was there. Sure hope they show up again tonight for dinner, or I'll have nothing to eat. But with all normal sources unavailable to God's man, God has this surprising and creative method of meeting his needs. He "orders the ravens" in twice a day.

Now, if you belong to Jesus Christ, Elijah's God is your God; always making sure your needs are supplied, usually, like that bumper sticker said, one day at a time. See, the key word here, that five-letter word I talked about earlier, "daily." What God does for us, He does on a daily basis. And why one day at a time? Well, to keep you close to Him...to keep you faithful, always asking, "Am I doing what I should be doing with what He's already given me?" And to keep you pure - asking, while you're waiting for the ravens, "Is there anything in my life that might be holding back God's blessing?"

God wants you to live His plan for your life in these little 24-hour, bite-size chunks called days. The Bible says, "This is the day the Lord has made" (Psalm 118:24)..."His mercies are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23)..."Daily He bears our burdens" (Psalm 68:19). You get it? We're to live out our commitment to Christ by taking up our cross "daily" (Luke 9:23), and the Bible says our "strength will equal" our "days."

The strength you need, the provision you need, the grace you need, the answers you need, the help you need, and the encouragement you need - He's going to send you what you need on the day you need it and not a day earlier. So when you get all worried and fearful about what's beyond today, you're running ahead of your supply lines. Because you don't have tomorrow's "bread," tomorrow's strength, or tomorrow's grace until that day comes. So you're trying to carry tomorrow's burden with today's grace, and you're going to stumble.

So, where is what you need going to come from? From your Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides. How will He supply what you need? Oh, He has so many ways, but you can be sure that, as in Elijah's time of need, God has "ordered His ravens" to deliver it. And when will you have it? You can be sure you'll have everything you need on the day you need it. Until then, your assignment is clear - be where God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to do that day. Oh, and you might want to go open that window to let the ravens in.

Song of Solomon 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ALREADY DEFEATED - January 18, 2023

Satan appears in the garden at the beginning. He is cast into the fire in the end. He tempted David, he bewildered Saul, and waged an attack on Job. Serious students of Scripture must be serious about Satan. Jesus was.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). He squared off against Satan in the wilderness. Jesus saw Satan not as a mythological image, not an invention of allegory. He saw the devil as a superhuman narcissist. When Jesus taught us to pray, he did not say, “Deliver us from nebulous negative emotions.” He said, “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

We play into the devil’s hand when we pretend he does not exist. The devil is a real devil. But—and this is huge—the devil is a defeated devil.

Song of Solomon 3

Restless in bed and sleepless through the night,

    I longed for my lover.

    I wanted him desperately. His absence was painful.

So I got up, went out and roved the city,

    hunting through streets and down alleys.

I wanted my lover in the worst way!

    I looked high and low, and didn’t find him.

And then the night watchmen found me

    as they patrolled the darkened city.

    “Have you seen my dear lost love?” I asked.

No sooner had I left them than I found him,

    found my dear lost love.

I threw my arms around him and held him tight,

    wouldn’t let him go until I had him home again,

    safe at home beside the fire.

5 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,

    by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:

Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,

    until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.

6-10 What’s this I see, approaching from the desert,

    raising clouds of dust,

Filling the air with sweet smells

    and pungent aromatics?

Look! It’s Solomon’s carriage,

    carried and guarded by sixty soldiers,

    sixty of Israel’s finest,

All of them armed to the teeth,

    trained for battle,

    ready for anything, anytime.

King Solomon once had a carriage built

    from fine-grained Lebanon cedar.

He had it framed with silver and roofed with gold.

    The cushions were covered with a purple fabric,

    the interior lined with tooled leather.

11 Come and look, sisters in Jerusalem.

    Oh, sisters of Zion, don’t miss this!

My King-Lover,

    dressed and garlanded for his wedding,

    his heart full, bursting with joy!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Today's Scripture

Ezekiel 14:1–8

Idols in Their Hearts

 Some of the leaders of Israel approached me and sat down with me. God’s Message came to me: “Son of Man, these people have installed idols in their hearts. They have embraced the wickedness that will ruin them. Why should I even bother with their prayers? Therefore tell them, ‘The Message of God, the Master: All in Israel who install idols in their hearts and embrace the wickedness that will ruin them and still have the gall to come to a prophet, be on notice: I, God, will step in and personally answer them as they come dragging along their mob of idols. I am ready to go to work on the hearts of the house of Israel, all of whom have left me for their idols.’

6-8 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: ‘God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols. Turn your backs on all your outrageous obscenities. To every last person from the house of Israel, including any of the resident aliens who live in Israel—all who turn their backs on me and embrace idols, who install the wickedness that will ruin them at the center of their lives and then have the gall to go to the prophet to ask me questions—I, God, will step in and give the answer myself. I’ll oppose those people to their faces, make an example of them—a warning lesson—and get rid of them so you will realize that I am God.

Insight

As part of their subjugation strategy, the Babylonians forcibly exiled Jewish royalty, military leaders, and skilled workers to Babylon (2 Kings 24:10–16; Daniel 1:1–5), including the prophet and priest Ezekiel. He was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon when he started ministering (Ezekiel 1:1–3) to the Jews in exile (3:11) as well as to those still residing in Judah (12:10). After condemning the false prophets who taught that God wouldn’t punish His people for their sins (chs. 12–13), Ezekiel confronted the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy and idolatry and urged God’s people to repent and turn from their idols (14:1–8). By: K. T. Sim

Heart Problem

The Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! Ezekiel 14:6

“Do you see it, brother Tim?” My friend, a Ghanaian pastor, flashed his torchlight on a carved object leaning against a mud hut. Quietly he said, “That is the village idol.” Each Tuesday evening, Pastor Sam traveled into the bush to share the Bible in this remote village.

In the book of Ezekiel, we see how idolatry plagued the people of Judah. When Jerusalem’s leaders came to see the prophet Ezekiel, God told him, “These men have set up idols in their hearts” (14:3). God wasn’t merely warning them against idols carved of wood and stone. He was showing them that idolatry is a problem of the heart. We all struggle with it.

Bible teacher Alistair Begg describes an idol as “anything other than God that we regard as essential to our peace, our self-image, our contentment, or our acceptability.” Even things that have the appearance of being noble can become idols to us. When we seek comfort or self-worth from anything other than the living God, we commit idolatry.

“Repent!” God said. “Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” (v. 6). Israel proved incapable of doing this. Thankfully, God had the solution. Looking forward to the coming of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, He promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (36:26). We can’t do this alone. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

When stress hits you, where do you turn for comfort? What might you need to turn away from today?  

Father, show me the idols in my heart. Then help me destroy them and live in Your love.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

“It Is the Lord!”

Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28

“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.

Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion.  The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 43-45; Matthew 12:24-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

WHAT KEEPS CHRISTIANS TOGETHER - AND APART - #9398

There are not too many TV shows you remember many years later. But I still remember a TV documentary that was filmed during the Vietnam War. It was called "Same Mud, Same Blood." This correspondent traveled with this infantry company that was made up of mostly white soldiers from the Deep South and a few others who were African American. But the unit was commanded by an African American sergeant.

We're talking about a time when America was convulsing with civil rights conflicts, right? But the documentary told the amazing story of how a company that started out with huge racial walls between them became molded into this group of guys who would die for each other. After all, they were "same mud, same blood." There was something about being in a war together that brought people close together who might otherwise have never had anything in common.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "What Keeps Christians Together - and Apart."

Mission glue - that's what held that racially mixed, potentially racially divided group of soldiers together. They had a life-or-death mission that brought them together and kept them together. And so do we; those of us who belong to Jesus Christ. But take away our focus on that mission, and we're back to the little things that divide us.

We can see that portrayed in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 4:2-3. Paul is writing about a controversy that was ripping up the church in Philippi because two women named Euodia and Syntyche, women who had been with him in many battles for the Lord were now fighting with each other. He said, "I plead with you, Euodia, and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellows, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the Gospel...whose names are in the Book of Life."

So, here were two women who had once been close together, going out on spiritual combat missions with Sergeant Paul. Their differences didn't matter when they were all focused on the spiritually dying people whose lives they were fighting for in the cause of the Gospel. But somewhere along the way, they lost their focus on their eternal rescue mission. They started to focus on each other, and they fell apart. Do you know how many churches have fallen apart that way? How many ministries? How many Christian relationships?

It just seems like so many Christians...we've forgotten our mission - the people who don't yet know our Jesus, who've never had a day with a Savior, who have no hope for eternity without Him. Our focus is supposed to be outward on the lost, not inward on ourselves. When we've got our hearts and our lives full of rescuing dying people, our differences are suddenly nowhere near as important as the mission and we come together! We become an answer to our Savior's prayer for us on the eve of His crucifixion - "Lord, may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me" (John 17:23).

But when we stray from our life-or-death mission, we start turning on each other. We start focusing on trivial things, and getting aggravated with the differences. We fall apart because suddenly what's really big has ended up being small to us - and what's really small, ends up looking really big.

As Paul once pleaded with former warriors in the battle to come together, I believe Jesus is pleading with us to get our eyes off each other and on the people who are dying without Him all around us. It is no one other than Satan who distracts us from our rescue mission so he can keep his prisoners. It's our mission that forces us to come together, to fight our common enemy, to fight for our common Savior.

We're same blood, remember? The blood of the Son of God!

Song of Solomon 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: REJOICE IN THE LORD’S SOVEREIGNTY - January 17, 2023

The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do, and fill your mind with thoughts of God.

“[He is] the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25 NKJV). “[He] is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV). He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, and overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute. Every throne is a footstool to his. He consults no advisers. He needs no congress. He reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

Song of Solomon 2

I’m just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon,

    a lotus blossom from the valley pools.

The Man

2 A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds—

    that’s my dear friend among the girls in the village.

The Woman

3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,

    my lover stands above the young men in town.

All I want is to sit in his shade,

    to taste and savor his delicious love.

He took me home with him for a festive meal,

    but his eyes feasted on me!

5-6 Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly!

    Apricots, raisins—anything. I’m about to faint with love!

His left hand cradles my head,

    and his right arm encircles my waist!

7 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,

    by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:

Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,

    until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.

8-10 Look! Listen! There’s my lover!

    Do you see him coming?

Vaulting the mountains,

    leaping the hills.

My lover is like a gazelle, graceful;

    like a young stag, virile.

Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate,

    all ears, all eyes—ready!

My lover has arrived

    and he’s speaking to me!

The Man

10-14 Get up, my dear friend,

    fair and beautiful lover—come to me!

Look around you: Winter is over;

    the winter rains are over, gone!

Spring flowers are in blossom all over.

    The whole world’s a choir—and singing!

Spring warblers are filling the forest

    with sweet strains.

Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,

    and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.

Oh, get up, dear friend,

    my fair and beautiful lover—come to me!

Come, my shy and modest dove—

    leave your seclusion, come out in the open.

Let me see your face,

    let me hear your voice.

For your voice is soothing

    and your face is ravishing.

The Woman

15 Then you must protect me from the foxes,

    foxes on the prowl,

Foxes who would like nothing better

    than to get into our flowering garden.

16-17 My lover is mine, and I am his.

    Nightly he strolls in our garden,

Delighting in the flowers

    until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.

Turn to me, dear lover.

    Come like a gazelle.

Leap like a wild stag

    on delectable mountains!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 11:17–27

 When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house.

21-22 Martha said, “Master, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you.”

23 Jesus said, “Your brother will be raised up.”

24 Martha replied, “I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time.”

25-26 “You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world.”

Insight

Jewish customs mandated a corpse be buried within twenty-four hours of death. In John 11, we’re told that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived (vv. 17, 39) to show the magnitude of the miracle. This wasn’t an emergency situation where a person in cardiac arrest was successfully resuscitated. Lazarus was well past the timeframe for this. Jesus had previously raised two other dead persons (Luke 7:11–17; 8:49–56), but these resurrections took place before decomposition of the bodies had begun. According to rabbinic beliefs, the spirit of the deceased hovers around the body for three days in the hope of reuniting with it. But the spirit will finally leave when the body has decomposed. This would have been the case for Lazarus: “By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (John 11:39). By: K. T. Sim

Never Late

Your brother will rise again. John 11:23

As a visitor to a small West African town, my American pastor made sure to arrive on time for a 10 a.m. Sunday service. Inside the humble sanctuary, however, he found the room empty. So he waited. One hour. Two hours. Finally, about 12:30 p.m., when the local pastor arrived after his long walk there—followed by some choir members and a gathering of friendly town people—the service began “in the fullness of time,” as my pastor later said. “The Spirit welcomed us, and God wasn’t late.” My pastor understood the culture was different here for its own good reasons.

Time seems relative, but God’s perfect, on-time nature is affirmed throughout the Scriptures. Thus, after Lazarus got sick and died, Jesus arrived four days later, with Lazarus’ sisters asking why. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). We may think the same, wondering why God doesn’t hurry to fix our problems. Better instead to wait by faith for His answers and power.

As theologian Howard Thurman wrote, “We wait, our Father, until at last something of thy strength becomes our strength, something of thy heart becomes our heart, something of thy forgiveness becomes our forgiveness. We wait, O God, we wait.” Then, as with Lazarus, when God responds, we’re miraculously blessed by what wasn’t, after all, a delay. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What are you waiting for God to do or provide on your behalf? How can you wait by faith?

For You, Father, I wait. Grant me Your strength and faithful hope in my waiting.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

The Call of the Natural Life

When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me… —Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”

The Shadow of an Agony

Bible in a Year: Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

THE BEAUTIFUL TRUTH ABOUT LIFE'S UGLIEST WORDS - #9397

I was there the day my son's dream died. Since he'd been little, playing big-time football had been his dream. If, as they say, biology is destiny, and him being my son, he was not destined to have a football player's size by any means. But he really worked at it, he spent hours in the gym, bulking up, practicing with focus and intensity. And honestly, he was very good at football - until the day he went down in a driving drill with a badly injured knee. He'd torn his anterior cruciate ligament - an injury dreaded by anyone in sports. One of the top sports med doctors in our area examined our son's knee - and then he said those words that sounded like a death sentence to our boy, "You'll never play football again."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Beautiful Truth About Life's Ugliest Words."

Our son's dream died that day, but God's dream for him was born. He later said, "It was really my god that died that day" - the athletic death sentence from the doctor ultimately helped our son realize that football had become his god, and he surrendered his life totally to Christ. He replaced football with learning the guitar and writing songs. Those talents helped him form a unique Native American band to reach reservation young people, and his life was set on the track he was made for: to reach Native young people for Christ.

For our son, "You'll never play football," well that was some of the ugliest words he'd ever heard. Well, I'll tell you, there are a lot of ugly words in life aren't there: cancer, divorce, fired, unemployed, broke, rejected, guilty, bankrupt, incurable, and a lot of words that sound like a death sentence at the time. But there's an amazing truth that more than balances the other side of the scale and it's displayed in our word for today from the Word of God. In a nutshell, here's the hope-giving truth about life's ugly words - the ugly word is not the final word!

In Luke 7, beginning with verse 2, we meet a Roman centurion whose highly valued servant is "sick and about to die." That centurion sends messengers to Jesus, desperately pleading for His help. Part of his message went like this: "Say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." The Bible goes on to say, "When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him and...He said, 'I have not found such great faith even in Israel.'" Wait a minute! Jesus said this man had amazing faith. He often upbraided His disciples for their "little faith," but what was it about this soldier's faith that amazed Jesus and, by the way, brought about the miraculous healing of the servant he loved?

Well, here you go. Amazing faith is all about authority and what authority will decide the outcome in your situation. Amazing faith believes that Jesus will decide the outcome and nothing else! The disease will not decide it, the boss will not decide it, the economy will not decide it, the election will not decide it, your enemies won't decide it, the odds won't decide it, the devil won't decide it - Jesus will decide it! If He says "Go" to it, it's got to go! If He says, "Come," it's got to come! If He says, "Do this," it has to do it! Jesus, say the word!

Great faith can trigger miraculous outcomes, even when you're living one of life's ugliest words. And great faith - the kind that amazes Jesus - is faith that lives as if Jesus is going to decide it! Because, for a child of God, life's ugly words do not have the final word. Your Jesus does!

Song of Solomon 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DON’T GIVE UP YOUR JOY - January 16, 2023

On his thirtieth wedding anniversary, a friend shared the secret of their happy marriage. “Early on, my wife suggested that she would make all the small decisions and would come to me for all the major ones. All these years have passed, and we haven’t had one major decision.” Facetious, for sure, yet there is wisdom in acknowledging the relatively small number of major decisions in life. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and you won’t sweat much at all.

James 1:19 says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” During the next few days you’ll be tested. Your husband is going to blow his nose like a foghorn. Your wife is going to take her half of the garage in the middle. But don’t give up your joy—or theirs—over something that’s not worth sweating.

Song of Solomon 1

The Song—best of all songs—Solomon’s song!

The Woman

2-3 Kiss me—full on the mouth!

    Yes! For your love is better than wine,

    headier than your aromatic oils.

The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.

    No wonder everyone loves to say your name!

4 Take me away with you! Let’s run off together!

    An elopement with my King-Lover!

We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing,

    we’ll make great music.

Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.

    Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?

5-6 I am weathered but still elegant,

    oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem,

Weather-darkened like Kedar desert tents,

    time-softened like Solomon’s Temple hangings.

Don’t look down on me because I’m dark,

    darkened by the sun’s harsh rays.

My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields.

    They made me care for the face of the earth,

    but I had no time to care for my own face.

7 Tell me where you’re working

    —I love you so much—

Tell me where you’re tending your flocks,

    where you let them rest at noontime.

Why should I be the one left out,

    outside the orbit of your tender care?

The Man

8 If you can’t find me, loveliest of all women,

    it’s all right. Stay with your flocks.

Lead your lambs to good pasture.

    Stay with your shepherd neighbors.

9-11 You remind me of Pharaoh’s

    well-groomed and satiny mares.

Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks;

    strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat.

I’m making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry

    that will mark and accent your beauty.

The Woman

12-14 When my King-Lover lay down beside me,

    my fragrance filled the room.

His head resting between my breasts—

    the head of my lover was a sachet of sweet myrrh.

My beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers

    picked just for me from the fields of En Gedi.

The Man

15 Oh, my dear friend! You’re so beautiful!

    And your eyes so beautiful—like doves!

The Woman

16-17 And you, my dear lover—you’re so handsome!

    And the bed we share is like a forest glen.

We enjoy a canopy of cedars

    enclosed by cypresses, fragrant and green.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, January 16, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 58:6–12

“This is the kind of fast day I’m after:

    to break the chains of injustice,

    get rid of exploitation in the workplace,

    free the oppressed,

    cancel debts.

What I’m interested in seeing you do is:

    sharing your food with the hungry,

    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

    putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

    being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on,

    and your lives will turn around at once.

Your righteousness will pave your way.

    The God of glory will secure your passage.

Then when you pray, God will answer.

    You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,

    quit blaming victims,

    quit gossiping about other people’s sins,

If you are generous with the hungry

    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,

    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

I will always show you where to go.

    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—

    firm muscles, strong bones.

You’ll be like a well-watered garden,

    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,

    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,

    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,

    make the community livable again.

Insight

The reference to fasting in Isaiah 58:6 is God’s response to an accusation the people had made against Him. They asked, “Why have we fasted, . . . and you have not seen it?” (v. 3). They expected God to respond to their fasting, but He saw it as a lifeless formality. “You do as you please and exploit all your workers. . . . You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (vv. 3–4). God wanted them to seek Him in true humility and to treat others fairly and compassionately—especially the needy (v. 7). By: Tim Gustafson

Be Filled

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

The horrific assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. happened at the height of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. But just four days later, his widow Coretta Scott King courageously took her husband’s place in leading a peaceful protest march. Coretta had a deep passion for justice and was a fierce champion of many causes.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). We know that someday God will come to deliver justice and right every wrong, but until that time, we have the opportunity to participate in making God’s justice a reality on earth, just like Coretta did. Isaiah 58 paints a vivid picture of what God calls His people to do: loose the chains of injustice . . . set the oppressed free . . . share your food with the hungry . . . provide the poor wanderer with shelter . . . clothe [the naked], . . . and [do not] turn away [from those who need help]” (vv. 6–7). Seeking justice for the oppressed and the marginalized is one way our lives point back to God. Isaiah writes that His people seeking justice is like the light of dawn and results in healing for them as well as for others (v. 8).

Today, may God help us cultivate a hunger for His righteousness here on earth. As we seek justice His way and in His power, the Bible says we’ll be satisfied. By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

What’s one injustice that draws your attention? How could you take a step toward doing what’s just and right today?

Give me a hunger for justice, God. Help me be a part of Your work in doing what’s right.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, January 16, 2023

The Voice of the Nature of God

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" —Isaiah 6:8

When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.

The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13).  Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R

Bible in a Year: Genesis 39-40; Matthew 11

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, January 16, 2023

NOT A LOT OF ANSWERS BUT PLENTY OF GUARANTEES - #9396

Little Mark was at that stage. He was about three years old, the son of our friends. He was cute...until he would start asking all those questions! Guess what his favorite one was? (I'll bet you'll know!) "Why? Why?"

I only see him occasionally, and the last time I saw him back then I could notice his father across the room with this amused smile. It was as if he was telling me, "Hey, it's your turn, Ron. I get this all the time. 'Why, Daddy?'" We might say to his father, "Well, he'll outgrow it." But in fact, we haven't even outgrown asking "Why?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not a Lot of Answers, But Plenty of Guarantees."

Our word for today from the Word of God. We're in the familiar words of 1 Corinthians 10:13. "No temptation..." it says. Which, by the way, in the original Greek word also means trial or testing. "No temptation (or trial, or testing) has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted (or tested or tried) He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Now, I find nowhere in scripture a promise of answers to our persistent question, "Why, Daddy?" When trouble comes we say, "Why is this happening, Father?" God's tapestry is way too complex to understand with only earth eyes. I don't know what trouble or trial you might be struggling with right now, and I sure don't know why. But I do know four guarantees that God gives you in the middle of that struggle.

Number one: never past the breaking point. We just read it. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He knows your limits. He'll take you to the breaking point (yeah, been there) to increase your spiritual weight-lifting strength; to increase your faith; to make you more of an emotional winner and champion. But He'll never take you past the breaking point. That's guaranteed.

Number two: never without God's signature. Look at what happened with Job. Job was suffering all kinds of things, he must have said, "Why, Daddy? Why is all this happening?" Now, we know this; the Devil had to get God's permission before he could touch Job. It's still that way today. If there's a trial in your life, it has been Father-filtered. God has signed it before it got to you. He said, "This could make you more like Jesus or I wouldn't let it come into your life." Never without God's signature.

The third guarantee: never without a hope door. It looks like there's no way out, but this says God will always provide a way out. You can't see one, but God has supernatural deliverances that you've never even thought about.

And the fourth guarantee, He guarantees never without His presence. That wonderful verse in Isaiah 43 says, "When you pass through the fire, I will be with you."

Corrie ten Boom had terrible experiences in a German concentration camp. She lost her family there. They were there because of helping to save Jews in the WWII. She said, "There is no pit so deep but God's love is deeper still." If you're a child of God who is full of questions about "why," your Father understands that. You may not get the answer to that question this side of heaven. But your Father's guaranteed: Never past the breaking point, never without His signature, never without a hope door, and never without His presence.

By the way, it might be that you've been weathering life's "why's" and storms and troubles because God is trying to get your attention, to help you get to the point where you will begin a personal relationship with Him and experiencing His love; the love that caused His Son to die on the cross for you. You could begin a relationship with Him today and never go through a dark valley alone again.

Our website is there to show you how - ANewStory.com. For He has made this promise: "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you."

Acts 5:22-42, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Prison of Pride

The prison of pride. You’ve seen the prisoners—the alcoholic who won’t admit his drinking problem; the woman who refuses to talk to anyone about her fears. Perhaps to see such a prisoner all you have to do is look in the mirror!

The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us” (I John 1:9). The biggest word in Scripture just might be that two-letter one, if.

Confessing sins, admitting failure, is exactly what prisoners of pride refuse to do. They say, “Listen, I’m just as good as the next guy.”  “I pay my taxes.” Justification. Rationalization. Comparison. These are the tools of the jailbird. But in the kingdom of God they sound hollow. Many know they’re wrong, yet pretend they are right. As a result they never taste the exquisite sorrow of repentance.

Blessed are those who know they’re in trouble and have enough sense to admit it!

From The Applause of Heaven

Acts 5:22-42

Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”

24 The chief of the Temple police and the high priests were puzzled. “What’s going on here anyway?”

25-26 Just then someone showed up and said, “Did you know that the men you put in jail are back in the Temple teaching the people?” The chief and his police went and got them, but they handled them gently, fearful that the people would riot and turn on them.

27-28 Bringing them back, they stood them before the High Council. The Chief Priest said, “Didn’t we give you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name? And here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are trying your best to blame us for the death of this man.”

29-32 Peter and the apostles answered, “It’s necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail.”

33-37 When they heard that, they were furious and wanted to kill them on the spot. But one of the council members stood up, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of God’s Law who was honored by everyone. He ordered the men taken out of the room for a short time, then said, “Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. Not long ago Theudas made something of a splash, claiming to be somebody, and got about four hundred men to join him. He was killed, his followers dispersed, and nothing came of it. A little later, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and acquired a following. He also fizzled out and the people following him were scattered to the four winds.

38-39 “So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!”

40-42 That convinced them. They called the apostles back in. After giving them a thorough whipping, they warned them not to speak in Jesus’ name and sent them off. The apostles went out of the High Council overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name. Every day they were in the Temple and homes, teaching and preaching Christ Jesus, not letting up for a minute.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Today's Scripture

Habakkuk 3:17–19

Though the cherry trees don’t blossom

    and the strawberries don’t ripen,

Though the apples are worm-eaten

    and the wheat fields stunted,

Though the sheep pens are sheepless

    and the cattle barns empty,

I’m singing joyful praise to God.

    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.

Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,

    I take heart and gain strength.

I run like a deer.

    I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)

Insight

Habakkuk’s prophecy records a dialogue between God and the prophet over the spiritual condition or desperate need of His people. That conversation includes the great statement of Habakkuk 2:4—“the righteous person will live by his faithfulness”—which is referenced three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Habakkuk 3, however, is different. It has the characteristics of a psalm, even to the point of including musical instructions for how it was to be presented—“On shigionoth” (v. 1). One scholar says this description refers to highly emotional poetry. Also, some translations add the term Selah at the end of verses 3, 9, and 13—a term often used in psalms. Finally, in verse 19, additional instructions are offered: “For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.” As such, this song becomes a good example of a national or corporate lament (see the Insight for January 3). By: Bill Crowder

From Lament to Praise

I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:18

Monica prayed feverishly for her son to return to God. She wept over his wayward ways and even tracked him down in the various cities where he chose to live. The situation seemed hopeless. Then one day it happened: her son had a radical encounter with God. He became one of the greatest theologians of the church. We know him as Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.

“How long, Lord?” (Habakkuk 1:2). The prophet Habakkuk lamented God’s inaction regarding the people in power who perverted justice (v. 4). Think of the times we’ve turned to God in desperation—expressing our laments due to injustice, a seemingly hopeless medical journey, ongoing financial struggles, or children who’ve walked away from God.

Each time Habakkuk lamented, God heard his cries. As we wait in faith, we can learn from the prophet to turn our lament into praise, for he said, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:18 italics added). He didn’t understand God’s ways, but he trusted Him. Both lament and praise are acts of faith, expressions of trust. We lament as an appeal to God based on His character. And our praise of Him is based on who He is—our amazing, almighty God. One day, by His grace, every lament will turn to praise. By:  Glenn Packiam

Reflect & Pray

What are your laments today? How can you turn them into praise?

Dear Jesus, remind me of who You are and of what You’ve done in my life.

For further study, read Wounded in Worship.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Do You Walk In White?

We were buried with Him…that just as Christ was raised from the dead…even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4

No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral” — the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection— a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.

Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).

Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”

“This is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own.  Biblical Ethics, 99 R

Bible in a Year: Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42

Proverbs 31 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A New Definition

With God-all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26).

Consider Abram. Pushing a century of years, his wife, Sarai, ninety. The wallpaper in the nursery faded, baby furniture out of date.  The topic of a promised child brings sighs and tears. . . and God tells them they'd better select a name for their new son. They laugh! Partly because it's too good to happen and partly because it might.  They've given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it's real. They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God-for God is laughing too.

With the smile still on His face, He gets busy doing what He does the best-the unbelievable. Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a promised multitude. Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother.

Their names aren't the only thing God changes. He changes the way they define the word impossible!

From The Applause of Heaven

Proverbs 31

Speak Out for Justice

The words of King Lemuel,

    the strong advice his mother gave him:

2-3 “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!

    Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!

Don’t dilute your strength on fortune-hunting women,

    promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.

4-7 “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,

    gulping wine and swilling beer,

Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,

    and the people who depend on them are hurt.

Use wine and beer only as sedatives,

    to kill the pain and dull the ache

Of the terminally ill,

    for whom life is a living death.

8-9 “Speak up for the people who have no voice,

    for the rights of all the misfits.

Speak out for justice!

    Stand up for the poor and destitute!”

Hymn to a Good Wife

10-31 A good woman is hard to find,

    and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,

    and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously

    all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,

    and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places

    and brings back exotic surprises.

She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast

    for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it,

    then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,

    rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work,

    is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,

    diligent in homemaking.

She’s quick to assist anyone in need,

    reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;

    their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing,

    and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected

    when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them,

    brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant,

    and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,

    and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,

    and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her;

    her husband joins in with words of praise:

“Many women have done wonderful things,

    but you’ve outclassed them all!”

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.

    The woman to be admired and praised

    is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Give her everything she deserves!

    Adorn her life with praises!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 120:1–121:2

I’m in trouble. I cry to God,

    desperate for an answer:

“Deliver me from the liars, God!

    They smile so sweetly but lie through their teeth.”

3-4 Do you know what’s next, can you see what’s coming,

    all you bold-faced liars?

Pointed arrows and burning coals

    will be your reward.

5-7 I’m doomed to live in Meshech,

    cursed with a home in Kedar,

My whole life lived camping

    among quarreling neighbors.

I’m all for peace, but the minute

    I tell them so, they go to war!

121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;

    does my strength come from mountains?

No, my strength comes from God,

    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

Insight

Psalms 120 and 121 are among the Psalms or Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), which were most likely memorized and sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover (Unleavened Bread), Weeks, and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16). Some of these ascent psalms are assigned to David (Psalms 122, 124, 131, 133) and one is attributed to Solomon (Psalm 127), but most have no listed author. This diverse group of psalms includes lament psalms, thanksgiving psalms, a royal psalm, wisdom psalms, and more. Yet although they may not have been written to be used as ascent psalms, they were later used for that purpose. Psalm 120 is an individual psalm written by someone far from home longing for the peace of Jerusalem (vv. 5–7), while the reassuring words of Psalm 121 instill confidence in pilgrims making the journey to Jerusalem. Today, the Psalms of Ascent continue to be significant in worship for both Jews and believers in Jesus. By: Alyson Kieda

A New Beginning

Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. Psalm 120:2

“Christian consciousness begins in the painful realization that what we had assumed was the truth is in fact a lie,” Eugene Peterson wrote in his powerful reflections on Psalm 120. Psalm 120 is the first of the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134) sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. And as Peterson explored this in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, these psalms also offer us a picture of the spiritual journey toward God.

That journey can only begin with profound awareness of our need for something different. As Peterson puts it, “A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. . . . [One] has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace.”

It’s easy to become discouraged by the brokenness and despair we see in the world around us—the pervasive ways our culture often shows callous disregard for the harm being done to others. Psalm 120 laments this honestly: “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (v. 7).

But there’s healing and freedom in realizing that our pain can also awaken us to a new beginning through our only help, the Savior who can guide us from destructive lies into paths of peace and wholeness (121:2). As we enter this new year, may we seek Him and His ways. By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How have you become accustomed to destructive ways? How does the gospel invite you into ways of peace? 

Loving God, help me yearn for and work for Your ways of peace through the power of Your Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Called By God

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.  My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20

Proverbs 30 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: OUR PROBLEMS MATTER TO HEAVEN - January 13, 2023

Jesus was at a wedding when Mary, his mother, came to him with a problem. “They have no more wine” (John 2:3). Weddings lasted as long as seven days in first-century Palestine. Food and wine were expected to last just as long. So Mary was concerned when she saw the servants scraping the bottom of the wine barrel.

We’re not told the reason for the shortage, but we are told how it was replenished. Mary presented the problem. Christ was reluctant. Mary deferred. Jesus reconsidered. He commanded. The servants obeyed. The sommelier sipped and said something about their squirreling away the best wine for the farewell toasts. Mary smiled at her son, Jesus raised a glass to his mother, and we are left with this message: our diminishing supplies, no matter how insignificant, matter to heaven.

Proverbs 30

The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh

God? Who Needs Him?

The skeptic swore, “There is no God!

    No God!—I can do anything I want!

I’m more animal than human;

    so-called human intelligence escapes me.

3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’

    I see no evidence of a holy God.

Has anyone ever seen Anyone

    climb into Heaven and take charge?

    grab the winds and control them?

    gather the rains in his bucket?

    stake out the ends of the earth?

Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.

    Come on now—tell me!”

5-6 The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;

    he protects everyone who runs to him for help.

So don’t second-guess him;

    he might take you to task and show up your lies.”

7-9 And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things

    before I die; don’t refuse me—

Banish lies from my lips

    and liars from my presence.

Give me enough food to live on,

    neither too much nor too little.

If I’m too full, I might get independent,

    saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’

If I’m poor, I might steal

    and dishonor the name of my God.”

* * *

10 Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers

    behind their backs;

They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,

    and then you’ll be the guilty one!

11 Don’t curse your father

    or fail to bless your mother.

12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable

    when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.

13 Don’t be stuck-up

    and think you’re better than everyone else.

14 Don’t be greedy,

    merciless and cruel as wolves,

Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,

    shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.

15-16 A freeloader has twin daughters

    named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”

Four Insatiables

Three things are never satisfied,

    no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—

        hell,

        a barren womb,

        a parched land,

        a forest fire.

* * *

17 An eye that disdains a father

    and despises a mother—

that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures

    and consumed by young eagles.

Four Mysteries

18-19 Three things amaze me,

    no, four things I’ll never understand—

        how an eagle flies so high in the sky,

        how a snake glides over a rock,

        how a ship navigates the ocean,

        why adolescents act the way they do.

* * *

20 Here’s how a prostitute operates:

    she has sex with her client,

Takes a bath,

    then asks, “Who’s next?”

Four Intolerables

21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,

    yes, four things shake its foundations—

        when the janitor becomes the boss,

        when a fool gets rich,

        when a prostitute is voted “woman of the year,”

        when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.

Four Small Wonders

24-28 There are four small creatures,

    wisest of the wise they are—

        ants—frail as they are,

            get plenty of food in for the winter;

        marmots—vulnerable as they are,

            manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;

        locusts—leaderless insects,

            yet they strip the field like an army regiment;

        lizards—easy enough to catch,

            but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.

Four Dignitaries

29-31 There are three solemn dignitaries,

    four that are impressive in their bearing—

        a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;

        a rooster, proud and strutting;

        a billy goat;

        a head of state in stately procession.

* * *

32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself

    by offending people and making rude gestures,

Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.

    Churned milk turns into butter;

    riled emotions turn into fist fights.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, January 13, 2023

Today's Scripture

Romans 9:1–5

God Is Calling His People

At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites .?.?. If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!

Insight

The opening verses of Romans 9 remind us that Paul wasn’t setting out to write a theological treatise (although Romans is widely considered his greatest work theologically). But it’s difficult to miss his passion concerning his fellow Jews and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. So deep was his distress (“great sorrow and unceasing anguish,” v. 2) that he declared himself willing to be “cursed and cut off from Christ” (v. 3). The Greek word anathema, translated “cursed” or more literally “accursed” (nkjv), refers to something that’s laid up or dedicated as an offering, a sacrifice. Being “cursed” would mean being cut off and separated from Jesus. Paul’s deep desire for his countrymen to share in the salvation brought through Christ led him to wish that he, like Jesus, could be made an offering for the sake of his people. By: J.R. Hudberg

The Crowd

I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for [my people’s] sake. Romans 9:3

“Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them,” observed philosopher and author Hannah Arendt (1906–75). She added, “[B]ut few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons.” As a Jew, Arendt witnessed this firsthand in her native Germany. There’s something terrifying about being rejected by the group.

The apostle Paul experienced such rejection. Trained as a Pharisee and rabbi, his life was turned upside down when he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Paul had been traveling to Damascus to persecute those who believed in Christ (Acts 9). After his conversion, the apostle found himself rejected by his own people. In his letter we know as 2 Corinthians, Paul reviewed some of the troubles he faced at their hands, among them “beatings” and “imprisonments” (6:5).   

Rather than responding to such rejection with anger or bitterness, Paul longed for them to come to know Jesus too. He wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people” (Romans 9:2–3).

As God has welcomed us into His family, may He also enable us to invite even our adversaries into relationship with Him. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

How have you responded when you experienced exclusion? What makes rejection so hard?

Loving God, help me to point others to You and a place in Your kingdom despite personal hurt or disappointment.

Learn more about the life and ministry of Paul.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, January 13, 2023

Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)

When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10

His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).

As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them.  Biblical Psychology, 189 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, January 13, 2023

TOO MUCH TO CARRY - #9395

I think it had something to do with moving a piano. I've been part of moving one of those monsters, and I know what a bear it is to do. Fortunately, we had plenty of guys to share the load. I guess my Dad didn't. Ultimately, he said moving a piano was a major reason he had to have one of those difficult surgeries - actually to repair a hernia. I'd never even heard the word before until my Dad helped move a piano. There weren't enough men to bear the load of that piano that they moved at church. Well, for at least one man - my Dad - the load was too much to bear without major damage.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Much to Carry."

If you're carrying a heavy load right now, God's wanting to give you a little relief. It was never His intention that your load be so great that you end up injured by it. His plan for lightening the load may be similar to what He did for one of His overloaded servants years ago. The prescription for relief is found in Numbers 11, beginning with verse 13. It happens to be our word for today from the Word of God.

Maybe you'll be able to identify with this heart cry from Moses to his Lord: "I cannot carry all these people by myself" - are you there? - "the burden is too heavy for me." I tell you, I've felt that way, and maybe you have, too. Here's God's answer. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Bring me seventy of Israel's leaders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you...I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.'" And, sure enough, "The Lord came down in the cloud...and He took the Spirit that was on him (Moses) and put the Spirit on the seventy elders."

To put it plainly, this could be called "how to avoid a leadership hernia." Which is often caused by the same thing that injures someone carrying a heavy load physically - there aren't enough people sharing the load. If you're on overload, you may want to claim Numbers 11:17 as a promise from your Lord who said, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29). Here's this promise: "I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone."

What can you do to help that happen? First, you have to be sincerely willing to let go of some of the load. Maybe others haven't stepped up because you insist on hanging on to control everything. And you're dying beneath the weight of it all. Secondly, you need to take time to actively nurture others to take some of the load. You need to tell them you want to trust them with more. Share your wisdom, your experience, your walk with God. And then show them how to do some of what you've been doing, and then release them to do it. Remember, there was a time when you were the one waiting to be trusted with more - and someone did.

Another step to this multiplied empowerment is to cry out to God like Moses did, admitting that the burden is too heavy and asking Him to do what only He can do - find and empower men and women who will faithfully carry some of your load. As Jesus said, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field" (Matthew 9:38). By the way, you may be one of those workers that some overloaded servant of God is praying for. And your Lord is summoning you to get out of the stands and get in the game - to join Him in the work He's doing. You've been a fan long enough. He's asking you to come alongside one of His servants for whom you will be one glorious answer to prayer.

God stands ready to take the same kind of Holy Spirit empowerment that He's given you and plant that anointing in the lives of others. But you have to be willing to let go, and they have to be willing to step up. And the work of God will take off where you are as never before, without anyone being crushed by the load.

Acts 5:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: AT YOUR BEST - January 12, 2023

The road on which Denalyn and I take our walks is marked by a small country graveyard. No dirt has been turned for a century. Yet John 5:28-29 says, “A time is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. Then they will come out of their graves.”

If these words are true, someday God will shake the soil of this simple cemetery. The caskets will open, and the bodies of these forgotten farmers will be called into the sky. But in what form? These bodies were wracked by disease and deformity. How will these bodies be worthy of heaven?

Here is Paul’s answer: “The body…is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42, 44). Spirits will be reunited with bodies, resulting in a spiritual body. You are going to love yours.

Acts 5:1-21

Ananias and Sapphira

But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.

3-4 Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”

5-6 Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

7-8 Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”

“Yes,” she said, “that price.”

9-10 Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11 By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.

They All Met Regularly

12-16 Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter’s shadow when he walked by. They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.

To Obey God Rather than Men

17-20 Provoked mightily by all this, the Chief Priest and those on his side, mainly the sect of Sadducees, went into action, arrested the apostles and put them in the town jail. But during the night an angel of God opened the jailhouse door and led them out. He said, “Go to the Temple and take your stand. Tell the people everything there is to say about this Life.”

Promptly obedient, they entered the Temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.

21-23 Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Today's Scripture

Revelation 5:1–10

The Lion Is a Lamb

 I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One Seated on the Throne. It was written on both sides, fastened with seven seals. I also saw a powerful Angel, calling out in a voice like thunder, “Is there anyone who can open the scroll, who can break its seals?”

3 There was no one—no one in Heaven, no one on earth, no one from the underworld—able to break open the scroll and read it.

4-5 I wept and wept and wept that no one was found able to open the scroll, able to read it. One of the Elders said, “Don’t weep. Look—the Lion from Tribe Judah, the Root of David’s Tree, has conquered. He can open the scroll, can rip through the seven seals.”

6-10 So I looked, and there, surrounded by Throne, Animals, and Elders, was a Lamb, slaughtered but standing tall. Seven horns he had, and seven eyes, the Seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth. He came to the One Seated on the Throne and took the scroll from his right hand. The moment he took the scroll, the Four Animals and Twenty-four Elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. Each had a harp and each had a bowl, a gold bowl filled with incense, the prayers of God’s holy people. And they sang a new song:

Worthy! Take the scroll, open its seals.

Slain! Paying in blood, you bought men and women,

Bought them back from all over the earth,

Bought them back for God.

Then you made them a Kingdom, Priests for our God,

Priest-kings to rule over the earth.

Insight

In today’s passage from John’s vision recorded in Revelation (5:1–10), we’re given a picture of the unexpected ways of God. Jesus is first described as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5), but when John looks up, he sees not the regal figure of a lion but a mortally wounded lamb (v. 6). God’s victory was won not by the mighty lion but by the humble lamb who appeared defeated.

Both images, the lion and the lamb, are used elsewhere in Scripture to speak of God’s Messiah and the work He would do. On his deathbed, as Jacob pronounced a blessing on each of his children, he proclaimed to his son Judah that he was “a lion’s cub” from whom a ruler would come (Genesis 49:9). And John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). By: J.R. Hudberg

The Rest of Our Story

Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, . . . has triumphed. Revelation 5:5

For more than six decades, news journalist Paul Harvey was a familiar voice on American radio. He would say with a colorful flair, “You know what the news is, in a minute you’re going to hear the rest of the story.” After a brief advertisement, he would tell a little-known story of a well-known person. But by withholding until the end either the person’s name or some other key element, he delighted listeners with his dramatic pause and tagline: “And now you know . . . the rest of the story.”

The apostle John’s vision of things past and future unfolds with a similar promise. However, his story begins on a sad note. He couldn’t stop crying when he saw that no created being in heaven or on earth could explain where history is going (Revelation 4:1; 5:1–4). Then he heard a voice offering hope in the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5). But when John looked, instead of seeing a conquering lion, he saw a lamb looking like it had been slaughtered (vv. 5–6). The unlikely sight erupted in waves of celebration around the throne of God. In three expanding choruses, twenty-four elders were joined by countless angels and then by all of heaven and earth (vv. 8–14).

Who could have imagined that a crucified Savior would be the hope of all creation, the glory of our God, and the rest of our story.

By:  Mart DeHaan

Reflect & Pray

What fears and sorrows do you have that need the hope found in Jesus? How does thinking of Him as both the conquering Lion and the sacrificial Lamb help you worship Him?

Almighty God, You deserve all power, praise, and love.

Learn more about how to read the book of Revelation.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 12, 2023

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34

Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?

We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 12, 2023

THE WALL THAT KEEPS US FROM GOD - #9394

It may have been the happiest traffic jam in history. The scene: the Brandenburg Gate between East and West Berlin on an incredible November weekend years ago. Suddenly, after rapid revolutionary changes in the policies of East Germany's communist government, people could go through the wall that for 28 years had divided that city between free and communist. The cars were lined up for miles to cross that barrier that had been closed for so long. Some people drove through the wall, some people walked through the gate, some scaled fences to get there more quickly, and the news reported that tens of thousands of people began to break into a delirious chant that the whole world could hear, "The wall is gone! The wall is gone!" Well, so is yours.

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

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Isaiah 59:2 - "But your iniquities" - that's your sin; your wrong doings - "have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear." Now, when the Bible talks about iniquities here, or sin, we have to realize we're living in a world that doesn't even know what sin is or why sin is so devastating. See, sin is really a lifestyle that says, "My way, God, not yours. God, I believe in you, I go to your meetings, I give you money. But I'm going to basically run my own life. You run the universe; I'll give you a tip every once in a while, I'll do some things that I think You want me to do, but You run the universe. I'll run my life." In essence, "I'm god for me."

Sin is a lifestyle that pushes God to the edges instead of having Him at the center of everything where He belongs. And that decision results in thousands of little daily choices that go against the way God meant for us to live. We all have a sin problem, and here's what the Bible says the result is - separation. "Your iniquities have separated you from your God." The result? It's a wall far more imposing than the Berlin wall ever was and with far more eternal consequences. And it may be you're experiencing that separation from God right now. You can feel it, even though you're a religious person.

Right now God has the love that you've spent a lifetime looking for, but you can't get at it. It's on the other side of that wall. He's got the strength you've needed, but He's on the other side of the wall. He's got the meaning, He's got the reason you were put here, but He's on the other side of the wall. And if you die with that wall there, it's there forever.

You say, "Well, Ron, I knew there was something between me and God. I've known that without hearing you tell me that." Well, the great news is earlier in this same book of the Bible. Isaiah 53:6 says this, "God has laid on Him (speaking of Christ) the iniquity of us all." All of my sin was put on Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. He was separated from God the Father so I don't ever have to be, so you don't ever have to be if we'll just pin all our hopes on Jesus. Not on a religion about Him, not on our own goodness, but on Jesus alone.

You tired of a wall between you and God? You tired of being away from the God that you were made by and made for? Maybe you've tried all kinds of ways, maybe religious ways to get through that wall. But the wall is still there. Only Jesus, the Savior who died for the sins that make up the wall, can take it down.

Today, right now, you could talk to Him even as we conclude and say, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You to be forgiven, to go to heaven and to have a relationship with God."

I want to invite you, if that's where you are in your heart, go to our website, will you? I've laid out there as simply as I can a very clear way to know for sure that you belong to Christ, and to know that you're going to heaven when you die. Here's that website. It's ANewStory.com.

As soon as you open up to Jesus Christ, you can know the incomparable joy of a person who can finally say, "The wall is gone! The wall is gone!"