Amos 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD WILL DO WHAT IS BEST - April 5, 2023

 “…Jesus’ followers went down to Lake Galilee. It was dark now, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” (John 6:16-17 NCV).

The disciples had done exactly what Jesus said, and look what it got them—a night on a storm-tossed sea with their Master somewhere on the shore. They had been on the sea for about nine hours before Jesus came to them. That’s a long night. Why did Jesus take so long?

Or, why does he take so long? Why does God wait until the money is gone? Why does he choose to wait until the other side of the grave to answer the prayers for healing? I don’t know. I can only say he will do what is best. “God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.” That’s a promise of Scripture (Luke 18:7 NCV) and what a promise to cherish. 

Amos 3

The Lion Has Roared

 Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account—and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!

2 “Out of all the families on earth,

    I picked you.

Therefore, because of your special calling,

    I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

3-7 Do two people walk hand in hand

    if they aren’t going to the same place?

Does a lion roar in the forest

    if there’s no carcass to devour?

Does a young lion growl with pleasure

    if he hasn’t caught his supper?

Does a bird fall to the ground

    if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?

Does a trap spring shut

    if nothing trips it?

When the alarm goes off in the city,

    aren’t people alarmed?

And when disaster strikes the city,

    doesn’t God stand behind it?

The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing

    without first telling his prophets the whole story.

8 The lion has roared—

    who isn’t frightened?

God has spoken—

    what prophet can keep quiet?

* * *

9-11 Announce to the forts of Assyria,

    announce to the forts of Egypt—

Tell them, “Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look:

    what a snake pit of brutality and terror!

They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” God said so.

    “They stockpile violence and blight.

Therefore”—this is God’s Word—“an enemy will surround the country.

    He’ll strip you of your power and plunder your forts.”

12 God’s Message:

“In the same way that a shepherd

    trying to save a lamb from a lion

Manages to recover

    just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear,

So will little be saved of the Israelites

    who live in Samaria—

A couple of old chairs at most,

    the broken leg of a table.

13-15 “Listen and bring witness against Jacob’s family”—

    this is God’s Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

“Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins,

    pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel,

The horned altars will all be dehorned

    and scattered around.

I’ll tear down the winter palace,

    smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings.

The luxury homes will be demolished,

    all those pretentious houses.”

        God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

Today's Scripture

Matthew 16:21–28

You’re Not in the Driver’s Seat

21-22 Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!”

23 But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”

24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

27-28 “Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.”

Insight

Matthew 16:21–28 records the first of three times Jesus predicted His coming suffering. The timing of this revelation is significant because it follows Peter’s great confession of Christ’s identity at Caesarea Philippi, which seems to have occurred about midway through His public ministry. As such, it seems that the first half of Jesus’ ministry was to reveal to His followers who He was (and is), and the second half of His ministry was to reveal why He came—to suffer, die, and rise again. The second prediction is found in Matthew 17:22–23. The third is found in Matthew 20:17–19 and is the only one to specifically mention crucifixion. All three, however, state that Jesus would be raised on the third day. By: Bill Crowder

More Than a Little Piece

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24

We all leave a bit of ourselves behind when we move to a new place. But to become a long-term resident of Villas Las Estrellas, Antarctica, a cold and desolate place, leaving a piece of yourself behind is a literal thing. With the nearest hospital 625 miles away, a person will be in serious trouble if their appendix bursts. So every citizen must first undergo an appendectomy before moving there.

Drastic, right? But it’s not as drastic as becoming a resident of the kingdom of God. Because people want to follow Jesus on their own terms and not His (Matthew 16:25–27), He redefines what it means to be a disciple. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (v. 24). This includes being prepared to let go of anything that competes with Him and His kingdom. And as we take up our cross, we declare a willingness to undergo social and political oppression and even death for the sake of devotion to Christ. Along with letting go and taking up, we’re also to take on a willingness to truly follow Him. This is a moment-by-moment posture of following His lead as He guides us into service and sacrifice.

Following Jesus means so much more than leaving a little piece of our lives behind. As He helps us, it’s about submitting and surrendering our whole lives—including our bodies—to Him alone. By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? How is He asking you to sacrifice your life for Him?

Dear Jesus, help me give up anything that competes with You and Your kingdom.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

His Agony and Our Access

Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38

We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.

It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself.  The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

HOPE FOR THE PRODIGAL - #9453

It's the mission with the famous birds. During our ministry trip to California, I had a chance to visit one of the most charming of the old Spanish missions, San Juan Capistrano. If you've heard of it, it's because of the birds - the swallows. The swallows like to hang out at that mission until about October 23rd every year. And then like a lot of northerners they fly south for the winter. Oh, but they will return. In fact, lots of local folk and tourists will be at the mission on the day the birds are expected to return. The time might vary a little, but one thing you could be sure of when you see them leave, they'll be back.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope for the Prodigal."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 7 right out of the life of Jesus. Verse 12: "As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and He said, 'Don't cry.' Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."

Here's a mother who was sure her son was gone until Jesus intervened. Then you have these tender words (I just love this!), "Jesus gave him back to his mother." He's still doing that with sons and daughters who look as if they're spiritually gone. Wandering from the Savior you love, the Savior you so want your child to love.

Maybe you're listening right now with a heart that is literally aching for a son or daughter who is spiritually away. Their spiritual leaving has begun a season of winter in your heart, much like the winter that follows the departure of those San Juan Capistrano swallows. But don't give up on the spring of their return. Maybe it seems hopeless right now, but don't underestimate the power of your Savior to bring stray children home. Believe Jesus for the day when He will in a sense give you back the child you have prayed for so long.

In the meantime, let the father and the prodigal son be your example. You know he didn't chase after that boy nagging him about why he shouldn't go. So many of us as parents make the mistake of expressing our deep concern by nagging and pushing our kids to be right with God, to stop making those unrighteous choices. But when you push on someone, don't they end up farther away from you? They need space to have the dignity to let this be a personal choice not a surrender to your viewpoint. And like the father of the prodigal, always let your son or daughter know you love them unconditionally. And when sin lets them down, and it will, they will return to the place where they know they have been loved through it all.

We accomplish more by talking to God about our kids than talking to our kids about God. Don't give up. Please don't give up. Claim the promise of Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Your prayers focus all the power of Almighty God on that son or that daughter wherever they are no matter how far they are.

And remember, Jesus is a shepherd; he persistently and skillfully goes after lost sheep, including that one you love and who He loves even more. In fact, at this very moment I believe the Good Shepherd is pursuing your wandering loved one. You may not know the way to soften their heart, but Jesus does.

Trust that same God who brings those swallows back faithfully every year to one day bring back the one you love; to bring him or her back to Him, to you. And you know what? It will be spring again.

Amos 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE PROMISE REMAINS - April 4, 2023

I’ve often thought it strange that Matthew would begin his book with a genealogy. Certainly not good journalism. A list of who sired whom? Wouldn’t get past most editors. But then again, Matthew was not a journalist, and the Holy Spirit was making a point. God had promised he would give a Messiah through the bloodline of Abraham, and he did. Matthew 1:16 (NCV) says, “Joseph was the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is called the Christ.” Period. No more names are listed. No more are needed.

The promise of the Messiah threads its way through forty-two generations of rough-cut stones, forming a necklace fit for the King who came. Just as promised. And the promise remains. “Those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13 NCV). God always keeps his promises.

Amos 2 

 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Moab

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She violated the corpse of Edom’s king,

    burning it to cinders.

For that, I’m burning down Moab,

    burning down the forts of Kerioth.

Moab will die in the shouting,

    go out in the blare of war trumpets.

I’ll remove the king from the center

    and kill all his princes with him.”

        God’s Decree.

4-5 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Judah

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.

They rejected God’s revelation,

    refused to keep my commands.

But they swallowed the same old lies

    that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads.

For that, I’m burning down Judah,

    burning down all the forts of Jerusalem.”

Destroyed from the Roots Up

6-8 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Israel

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.

They buy and sell upstanding people.

    People for them are only things—ways of making money.

They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.

    They’d sell their own grandmother!

They grind the penniless into the dirt,

    shove the luckless into the ditch.

Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—

    a sacrilege against my Holy Name.

Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor

    is piled up at the shrine of their god,

While they sit around drinking wine

    they’ve conned from their victims.

9-11 “In contrast, I was always on your side.

    I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,

Amorites with the stature of great cedars,

    tough as thick oaks.

I destroyed them from the top branches down.

    I destroyed them from the roots up.

And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,

    led you safely through the wilderness for forty years

And then handed you the country of the Amorites

    like a piece of cake on a platter.

I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,

    set aside your best youth for training in holiness.

Isn’t this so, Israel?”

    God’s Decree.

12-13 “But you made the youth-in-training break training,

    and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’

You’re too much for me.

    I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point.

I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded,

    creaking and groaning.

14-16 “When I go into action, what will you do?

    There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run.

The strength of the strong won’t count.

    Fighters won’t make it.

Skilled archers won’t make it.

    Fast runners won’t make it.

Chariot drivers won’t make it.

    Even the bravest of all your warriors

Won’t make it.

    He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.”

        God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 15:1–11

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

Insight

One of the central emphases of the gospel of John is on the incarnation—God becoming human to be with us (John 1:14)—as a gift of God’s love (3:16–17).  

While church tradition and other evidence suggests John the disciple was likely the author of this gospel, the author is intentional about being identified only as someone “whom Jesus loved” (21:20), whose testimony is trustworthy (v. 24). What’s most important is that the gospel points us to Jesus as the One through whom we can rest in God’s love (15:9). By: Monica La Rose

At Home in Jesus

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. John 15:4

Several years ago, we brought home an adult black cat named Juno from the local animal shelter. Truthfully, I only wanted help thinning our mice population, but the rest of the family wanted a pet. The shelter gave us rigorous instructions on how to establish a feeding routine that first week so Juno would learn our house was his home, the place he belonged and where he’d always have food and safety. This way, even if Juno might roam, he would always eventually come home.

If we don’t know our true home, we’re forever tempted to roam in vain search for goodness, love, and meaning. If we want to find our true life, however, Jesus said, “Abide in me” (John 15:4 esv). Biblical scholar Frederick Dale Bruner highlights how abide (like a similar word abode) evokes a sense of family and home. So Bruner translates Jesus’ words this way: “Stay at home in me.”

To drive this idea home, Jesus used the illustration of branches attached to a vine. Branches, if they want to live, must always stay at home, tenaciously fixed (abiding) where they belong.

There are many voices beckoning us with hollow promises to fix our problems or provide us some new “wisdom” or exhilarating future. But if we’re to truly live, we must remain in Jesus. We must stay at home. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What pulls you away from your home in Jesus? How has Jesus shown Himself to be your true source of life?

Jesus, I like to roam. I’m pulled in all kinds of directions. But I want to stay at home with You. You’re my life. Help me to abide in You.

Learn more about abiding in Christ.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

The Way to Permanent Faith

Indeed the hour is coming…that you will be scattered… —John 16:32

Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.

“…you…will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental.

“…be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.  The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

Bible in a Year: Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

WHAT YOU GAIN FROM YOUR LOSS - #9452

Beep ball. Yep, I'd never heard of it until I received an email from a listener who told me she's blind. Beep ball sounds like fun, unless you're sighted like I am. Apparently, beep ball is a lot like softball except the bases beep. That helps the player know where the bases are or where the ball is coming from, if you have good ears; which, of course, blind people develop. The sighted people have to play blindfolded, and they just can't process the beeps like the blind players can. They're used to hearing more than a sound. They hear the direction of the sound. So the sighted people don't stand a chance playing beep ball!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What You Gain From Your Loss."

No one would question, obviously, that you miss an awful lot if you can't see. But you also gain some things that other people don't have—like an amazing sense of hearing and the sharpening of your other senses. Just ask those sighted people who keep losing to blind people in beep ball!

See, God has a wonderful way of adding or deepening some precious qualities through our times of loss and limitation and pain. Some of the most unforgettable people I've ever met have been people who've suffered much more than I have, and they will tell you it was their struggle that made them strong. You may not like the process; probably don't. But you'll like the beautiful results that can come from the process, if you choose to let it make you better instead of making you bitter.

There's a wonderful statement of how we gain from what we lose in our word for today from the Word of God. It sheds light on those suffering times when we're asking that perplexing question, "Why?" 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tell us this: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

If you never go through a hurting time, you'll never experience that special compassion and comfort of Almighty God. If you've never experienced that compassion and comfort, you don't have much to give to hurting people around you. If you'll seek God in your suffering, He'll pour those caring qualities into you when you're feeling crushed, overwhelmed, agonizing. But they're not just to get you through. No, He fills you up with resources you never had before, resources to make you a well of compassion and comfort for a world of broken people, people in pain; resources that can only be developed through hard times...through hurting times.

What senses does God want to deepen through your pain? Incredible qualities like radar for the deep needs behind people's deeds. A sense of compassion, which literally means the ability to "feel with" someone. God can use your pain to cultivate a wonderful tenderness in your heart and in your responses. People who have been through the valley with Jesus emerge with this amazing ability to care, to wait, and to trust God. And there's this sense of quiet confidence and deep peace in someone who has been kept afloat by the total sufficiency of Christ when there was nothing else to hang onto. They have this "nothing can sink me" poise of a person who's found out when Jesus was all they had that Jesus is all you need.

Honestly, having those kind of hardship-sharpened senses gives you an edge in the game of life. God wants you to use what you're going through to give you the emotional equipment to make you a powerful "make a difference" person; one of God's wounded healers. This painful process that you're going through? It can give you a powerful tool kit from which to be one of God's wounded healers in a hurting world.

Amos 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CHOOSE TO OBEY - April 3, 2023

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22 NKJV).

We’re only as strong as our obedience. Remember who you are: you are God’s child. You’ve been bought by the most precious commodity in the history of the universe, the blood of Christ. You are indwelled by the Spirit of the living God, and you are being equipped for an eternal assignment that will empower you to live in the very presence of God. You have been set apart for a holy calling; you are his.

And remember where you are: this is Canaan. This is the promised land, not geographically but spiritually. This is the land of grace and hope and freedom and truth and love and life. The devil has no jurisdiction over you. So decide right now what you will say when temptation presents itself. In advance, choose obedience.

Amos 1

The Message of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, that he received on behalf of Israel. It came to him in visions during the time that Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II son of Joash was king of Israel, two years before the big earthquake.

Swallowing the Same Old Lies

2 The Message:

God roars from Zion,

    shouts from Jerusalem!

The thunderclap voice withers the pastures tended by shepherds,

    shrivels Mount Carmel’s proud peak.

3-5 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Damascus

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She pounded Gilead to a pulp, pounded her senseless

    with iron hammers and mauls.

For that, I’m setting the palace of Hazael on fire.

    I’m torching Ben-hadad’s forts.

I’m going to smash the Damascus gates

    and banish the crime king who lives in Sin Valley,

    the vice boss who gives orders from Paradise Palace.

The people of the land will be sent back

    to where they came from—to Kir.”

        God’s Decree.

6-8 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Gaza

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She deported whole towns

    and then sold the people to Edom.

For that, I’m burning down the walls of Gaza,

    burning up all her forts.

I’ll banish the crime king from Ashdod,

    the vice boss from Ashkelon.

I’ll raise my fist against Ekron,

    and what’s left of the Philistines will die.”

        God’s Decree.

9-10 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Tyre

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She deported whole towns to Edom,

    breaking the treaty she had with her kin.

For that, I’m burning down the walls of Tyre,

    burning up all her forts.”

11-12 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Edom

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She hunts down her brother to murder him.

    She has no pity, she has no heart.

Her anger rampages day and night.

    Her meanness never takes a timeout.

For that, I’m burning down her capital, Teman,

    burning up the forts of Bozrah.”

13-15 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Ammon

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She ripped open pregnant women in Gilead

    to get more land for herself.

For that, I’m burning down the walls of her capital, Rabbah,

    burning up her forts.

Battle shouts! War whoops!

    with a tornado to finish things off!

The king has been carted off to exile,

    the king and his princes with him.”

        God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, April 03, 2023

Today's Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9–10

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.

My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

* * *

Insight

God’s promise to Paul that “my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9) shouldn’t be surprising. Power in places least expected has been God’s way of doing things since Adam and Eve’s sin brought both judgment on all creation and the promise of redemption.

Jesus is the epitome of the unexpected. Not only did the Messiah come as a baby from Bethlehem (both of which were not unexpected), but the way He secured our salvation through His death and resurrection was completely unexpected. This picture finds its most dramatic expression in the book of Revelation. When John is told to turn and look at the victorious “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5), he sees not just a lamb but one that’s been sacrificed (see v. 6). Strength in the unexpected places is how God works. By: J.R. Hudberg

Finding Strength in God

I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Soccer player Christian Pulisic faced several injuries that influenced his career. After learning he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup of the Champions League semifinals game, he was disappointed, but he described how God had revealed Himself to him. “As always, I reach out to God, and He gives me strength,” he said. “I feel like I always have Someone who’s with me. I don’t know how I would do any of this without that feeling.” Pulisic ultimately made a momentous impact when he was substituted later in the game. He initiated a clever play that led to the game-winning shot and secured their spot in the championship. These experiences taught him a valuable lesson: we can always view our weaknesses as opportunities for God to reveal His immeasurable power.

The world teaches us to rely on our own strength when encountering problems. However, biblical wisdom teaches us that God’s grace and power give us strength in the most trying circumstances (2 Corinthians 12:9). Therefore, we can move in confidence, recognizing that we never face trials alone. Our “weaknesses” become opportunities for God to reveal His power, strengthening and supporting us (vv. 9–10). We can then use our struggles to offer praise to God, giving thanks for His goodness and sharing these encounters with others so that they can come to experience His love.

By:  Kimya Loder

When have you tried to overcome a struggle on your own? How can you look to God for strength?

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being the source of my strength and guiding me each day.

For further reading, check out this article: Christian Pulisic reaches out to God for strength with Chelsea in FA Cup, Champions League finals.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, April 03, 2023

“If You Had Known!”

If you had known…in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. —Luke 19:42

Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there– the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? Do you have a strange god– not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis “by the skin of my teeth,” only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.

“If you had known….” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut– doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, April 03, 2023

EASTER AND THE DUMBEST ORDER IN HISTORY - #9451

I've got to confess; sometimes the Bible actually makes me laugh out loud. I mean, I was reading the Easter Story, and it happened again. They're about to bury Jesus in a borrowed tomb. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, issues this command to his soldiers: "Make it as secure as you know how" (Matthew 27:65).

This has to be - at least in retrospect - maybe the dumbest order in history. "Use a really big rock, guys. Put on a really strong seal, and post some really intimidating guards." Sure, Pilate was probably concerned about, you know, keeping thieves out and that kind of thing. Well, Governor, that's not your problem. Your problem is keeping Jesus in! That's Mission Impossible!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Easter and the Dumbest Order In History."

No man, no plan, no empire can stand in the way of Jesus. The stone? Rolled away. The seal? Easily broken. The soldiers? Here's what the Bible says: "So afraid...that they shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4).

And Jesus? Well, our word for today from the Word of God is Luke 24:5. Here's what it says, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" (Luke 24:5). Our precious granddaughter said it this way as she was waking up, "It's Easter morning. And Jesus is alive again!"

He's not "entombed" in some dusty old history book or in some religious institution or religious observance. No! He's the all-powerful, death-reversing, game-changing Savior who's proven there's nothing He can't beat. Unleashed that Easter morning, Jesus is this very day, healing families that nothing else can heal. He's crushing Satan. He's lifting up the oppressed. He's protecting the vulnerable. He's reshaping nations, steering history. This living Christ is shattering addictions, He's defying disease. He's making sinners like me into living proof that He's alive.

And He's fighting for you if you belong to Him. Maybe you're not sure you do. Well, this living Savior is knocking on the door of your heart this very season. He's seeking to do for you what He has done for millions of people who've let Him in. He walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life. He died on a cross so you could be forgiven of the sin that will forever keep you out of heaven and condemn you to an unthinkable eternity. But he already died that death penalty. He died to pay for it. He's offering - yes, this season - to forgive every sin of your life, because He died for every sin of your life. He's standing ready to unleash that resurrection power on the things you can't fix, and the things you can't change, the things you can't control.

You see, they found out two thousand years ago what we've been finding out ever since that. Nothing... nothing can stop this Jesus. And today He stands at the door of your life. He's ready to come in. He's ready to bring all that love and all that power into your life. If you have never begun a personal relationship with this living Savior named Jesus, couldn't be a better time of year than this to let Him come into the life that He paid for on that cross.

You say, "Ron, how do I do that?" Listen, tell Him, "Jesus I'm yours." And let me invite you to join me at our website. It's ANewStory.com. And let me explain to you there how to be sure you belong to Him. And then for you this will be the Easter like no other.

Acts 15:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Gifts of the Cross

Oh, the things we do to give gifts to those we love! Grownups in toy stores, dads in teen stores, wives in the tool department, and husbands in the purse department. We’re at our best in giving.

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less.  He could have left the world flat and gray, we wouldn’t have known the difference. But He didn’t.  He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would He?

In Matthew 7:11, Jesus asked, “If you sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask Him?”

God’s love came not wrapped in paper, but in passion.  Not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood. The gifts of the Cross!

From He Chose the Nails

Acts 15:1-21

To Let Outsiders Inside

It wasn’t long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: “If you’re not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can’t be saved.” Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem.

3 After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the non-Jewish outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered—it was terrific news!

4-5 When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. “You have to circumcise the pagan converts,” they said. “You must make them keep the Law of Moses.”

6-9 The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.

10-11 “So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?”

12-13 There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.

13-18 James broke the silence. “Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets:

After this, I’m coming back;

    I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house;

I’ll put all the pieces together again;

    I’ll make it look like new

So outsiders who seek will find,

    so they’ll have a place to come to,

All the pagan peoples

    included in what I’m doing.

“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.

19-21 “So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We’ll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.’ This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, April 02, 2023

Today's Scripture

Luke 19:37–42

Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

Blessed is he who comes,

    the king in God’s name!

All’s well in heaven!

    Glory in the high places!

39 Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”

40 But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

41-44 When the city came into view, he wept over it. “If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn’t recognize and welcome God’s personal visit.”

Insight

When we think of Palm Sunday, we think of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the joyful, loud shouts of the crowd who rejoiced for “all the miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37). In their celebration, they sang Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” However, in Luke 19:41–42, we see different emotions expressed, ones we don’t normally associate with this day of celebration and welcome of Jesus. In verse 41, we have the image of Jesus lamenting: “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it” (see also 13:31–35). Celebration and lamentation, praising and weeping meet in Luke 19:37–42. While the crowds had seen the miracles and celebrated, what they hadn’t seen was the judgment that was to come because of the rejection of Jesus. Because of that, Jesus wept.

Learn more about our God who allows us to lament

Bluestone Church Bells

I tell you, . . . if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. Luke 19:40

Bluestone is a fascinating variety of rock. When struck, certain bluestones will ring with a musical tone. Maenclochog, a Welsh village whose name means “bell” or “ringing stones,” used bluestones as church bells until the eighteenth century. Interestingly, the ruins of Stonehenge, in England, are built of bluestone, causing some to wonder if that landmark’s original purpose was musical. Some researchers claim that the bluestone at Stonehenge was brought from near Maenclochog, nearly two hundred miles away, because of their unique acoustic properties.

Musical ringing stones are yet another of the wonders of God’s great creation, and they remind us of something Jesus said during His Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. As the people praised Jesus, the religious leaders demanded Him to rebuke them. “ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out’ ” (Luke 19:40).

If bluestone can make music, and if Jesus made mention of even the stones bearing witness to their Creator, how might we express our own praise to the One who made us, loves us, and rescued us? He is worthy of all worship. May the Holy Spirit stir us to give Him the honor He deserves. All of creation praises Him. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

How many ways can you think of in which creation praises God? How can you join in daily worship of our Creator?

Creator God, You are deserving of all worship, praise, and gratitude. When my heart grows hard and I lose sight of Your worthiness, remind me that all creation sings Your praise.

For further study, read All Creation Sings.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, April 02, 2023

The Glory That’s Unsurpassed

…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight… —Acts 9:17

When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.

We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.

The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).

Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.

Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,

I’ve lost sight of all beside,

So enchained my spirit’s vision,

Gazing on the Crucified.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own.  Disciples Indeed, 386 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 16-18; Luke 7:1-30

Jonah 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: The Gifts of the Cross

Oh, the things we do to give gifts to those we love! Grownups in toy stores, dads in teen stores, wives in the tool department, and husbands in the purse department. We’re at our best in giving.

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less.  He could have left the world flat and gray, we wouldn’t have known the difference. But He didn’t.  He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would He?

In Matthew 7:11, Jesus asked, “If you sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask Him?”

God’s love came not wrapped in paper, but in passion.  Not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood. The gifts of the Cross!

From He Chose the Nails

Jonah 4

“I Knew This Was Going to Happen!”

 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!

3 “So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!”

4 God said, “What do you have to be angry about?”

5 But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.

6 God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.

7-8 But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”

9 Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?”

Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!”

10-11 God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, April 01, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 32

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—

    you get a fresh start,

    your slate’s wiped clean.

2 Count yourself lucky—

    God holds nothing against you

    and you’re holding nothing back from him.

3 When I kept it all inside,

    my bones turned to powder,

    my words became daylong groans.

4 The pressure never let up;

    all the juices of my life dried up.

5 Then I let it all out;

    I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—

    my guilt dissolved,

    my sin disappeared.

6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;

    when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts

    we’ll be on high ground, untouched.

7 God’s my island hideaway,

    keeps danger far from the shore,

    throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

8 Let me give you some good advice;

    I’m looking you in the eye

    and giving it to you straight:

9 “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule

    that needs bit and bridle

    to stay on track.”

10 God-defiers are always in trouble;

    God-affirmers find themselves loved

    every time they turn around.

11 Celebrate God.

    Sing together—everyone!

    All you honest hearts, raise the roof!

Insight

While some of David’s psalms contain information in the superscription about the historical context that birthed the song, Psalm 32 doesn’t. It merely ascribes authorship to David and adds: “A maskil” (a meditation). Despite this lack of information, some scholars dogmatically declare Psalm 32 to be a companion psalm to Psalm 51, which describes David’s repentance following his sin with Bathsheba. It’s clear that Psalm 32 contains elements of confession and repentance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s related to the Bathsheba incident. We need to be careful about making assumptions regarding the biblical text and say no more and no less than what the Bible says. By: Bill Crowder

More Than Skin Deep

Oh, what joy for those . . . whose sin is put out of sight! Psalm 32:1 nlt

José, a young believer in Jesus, was visiting his brother’s church. As he entered the sanctuary prior to the service, his brother’s face fell when he saw him. José’s tattoos, covering both arms, were visible since he was wearing a T-shirt. His brother told him to go home and put on a long-sleeved shirt, for many of José’s tattoos reflected the ways of his past. José suddenly felt dirty. But another man overheard the brothers’ interaction and brought José to the pastor, telling him what had happened. The pastor smiled and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a large tattoo on his chest—something from his own past. He assured José that because God had made him pure from the inside out, he didn't need to cover his arms.

David experienced the joy of being made pure by God. After confessing his sin to Him, the king wrote, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” (Psalm 32:1 nlt). He could now “shout for joy” with others “whose hearts are pure!” (v. 11 nlt). The apostle Paul later quoted Psalm 32:1–2 in Romans 4:7–8, a passage declaring that faith in Jesus leads to salvation and a pure standing before Him (see Romans 4:23–25). 

Our purity in Jesus is much more than skin deep, for He knows and purifies our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 John 1:9). May we rejoice in His purifying work today. By:  Tom Felten

Reflect & Pray

What past sins have you struggled with? What does it mean to be transformed and purified by faith in Jesus?

Jesus, thank You for forgiving my sins and making me pure within.

For further study, read The Weight of Sin.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, April 01, 2023

Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?

It is Christ…who also makes intercession for us….the Spirit…makes intercession for the saints… —Romans 8:34, 27

Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors– that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.

Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.

Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Judges 13-15; Luke 6:27-49

Jonah 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A PROMISE-LAND LIFE - March 31, 2023

Do you want a promised-land life? Desire to feel the fullness of glory days? Than obey God’s commands.

What’s that? You expected something more mystical, exotic, intriguing? You thought the Canaan-level life was birthed from ecstatic utterances or angelic visions, mountaintop moments, or midnight messages from heaven? Well sorry to disappoint you. “Obedience,” wrote C.S. Lewis, “is the key to all doors.” Don’t think for a second that you can heed the wrong voice, make the wrong choice, and escape the consequences.

At the same time obedience leads to a waterfall of goodness, not just for you, but for your children, and the children of a thousand generations in the future. God promises to show “love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6 NIV). As we obey God’s commands, we open the door for God’s favor.   

Jonah 3

Maybe God Will Change His Mind

Next, God spoke to Jonah a second time: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”

3 This time Jonah started off straight for Nineveh, obeying God’s orders to the letter.

Nineveh was a big city, very big—it took three days to walk across it.

4 Jonah entered the city, went one day’s walk and preached, “In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.”

5 The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.

6-9 When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up off his throne, threw down his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat down in the dirt. Then he issued a public proclamation throughout Nineveh, authorized by him and his leaders: “Not one drop of water, not one bite of food for man, woman, or animal, including your herds and flocks! Dress them all, both people and animals, in burlap, and send up a cry for help to God. Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands. Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!”

10 God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil lives. He did change his mind about them. What he said he would do to them he didn’t do.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, March 31, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 26:1–6

Stretch the Borders of Life

At that time, this song

    will be sung in the country of Judah:

We have a strong city, Salvation City,

    built and fortified with salvation.

Throw wide the gates

    so good and true people can enter.

People with their minds set on you,

    you keep completely whole,

Steady on their feet,

    because they keep at it and don’t quit.

Depend on God and keep at it

    because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.

Those who lived high and mighty

    he knocked off their high horse.

He used the city built on the hill

    as fill for the marshes.

All the exploited and outcast peoples

    build their lives on the reclaimed land.

Insight

Isaiah ministered to the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the reigns of King Ahaz (Isaiah 7–35) and his son Hezekiah (chs. 36–39), during which time Judah’s perennial enemies—Israel, Syria (Aram), Egypt, and Assyria, persistently attacked her (see 2 Chronicles 26–32). Ahaz was one of Judah’s worst kings, whereas Hezekiah was a godly king committed to reforming his kingdom. Isaiah challenged Ahaz and Hezekiah to look to God for deliverance. Ahaz refused to trust God (Isaiah 7:10–17; see 2 Chronicles 28). But Hezekiah did (Isaiah 37:14–21; see 2 Chronicles 32:1–23). Isaiah 26 is a song of trust, promising and celebrating God’s victory, salvation, restoration, safety, and “perfect peace” (v. 3; shalom, meaning peace, safety, prosperity, well-being, wholeness) for those who humble themselves and honor Him. God’s people can “trust in the Lord forever” because our God “the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (v. 4). By: K. T. Sim

Rest Assured in God

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

Researchers in Fujian, China, wanted to help intensive care unit (ICU) patients sleep more soundly. They measured the effects of sleep aids on test subjects in a simulated ICU environment, complete with bright, hospital-grade lighting and audio recordings of machines beeping and nurses talking. Their research showed that tools like sleep masks and ear plugs improved their subjects’ rest. But they acknowledged that for truly sick patients in a real ICU, peaceful sleep would still be hard to come by.

When our world is troubled, how can we find rest? The Bible’s clear: there’s peace for those who trust in God, regardless of their circumstances. The prophet Isaiah wrote about a future time when the ancient Israelites would be restored after hardship. They would live securely in their city, because they knew that God made it safe (Isaiah 26:1). They would trust that He was actively working in the world around them to bring good—“He humbles those who dwell on high,” raising up the oppressed, and bringing justice (vv. 5–6). They would know that “the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal,” and they could trust Him forever (v. 4).

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,” wrote Isaiah, “because they trust in you” (v. 3). God can provide peace and rest for us today as well. We can rest in the assurance of His love and power, no matter what’s going on around us.

By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

What threatens to overwhelm you today? How can you remind yourself of God’s power and love?

Dear God, I trust You and choose to rest assured in Your love today.

For further study, read God Is Love.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, March 31, 2023

Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. —1 John 5:16

If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.

One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.

Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, March 31, 2023

THE DEADLY COST OF "ME FIRST" - #9450

Before videos and DVDs there was a primitive form of media known as Super 8 movies. And that was the medium on which we were able to capture many memories as our kids were growing up, which was a great improvement over what my parents had to record memories when I was growing up. They had a chisel and a stone tablet. Well, our three children all enjoyed being in the movies, but one of them enjoyed it a little too much. And, no, I'm not about to tell you which one. But this child loved the camera, so much that it didn't matter whose birthday we were filming or what activity, this same little face kept popping up right in front of the camera, effectively blocking out anyone else that might be in the picture.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Deadly Cost of 'Me First'"

If it's Louie's birthday - that's not the name of anyone in our family, OK - then Max shouldn't be pushing himself in front and making himself the self-appointed star of a movie that's supposed to be about someone else. It's really not cute and it really messes up the picture. Just ask God. People have been doing that to Him for a long time.

At least as long ago as the infamous Tower of Babel, where we find our word for today from the Word of God, it's in Genesis 11, beginning with verse 4 where "They said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..." A name for ourselves - one of our favorite things to make, isn't it? The Bible goes on to say, "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world."

The tower might as well have been in the shape of a raised, clenched fist. They were saying, "We're going to be the stars here. We want to be important. So we're going to build something that will show everybody, even God, how really important we are." And God responded with serious judgment.

There's a vivid picture here of a lesson we all need to remember - the deadly sin of self-importance. It was the beginning of the end for Saul, the Jewish king who started with such promise and a desire to put God out in front. The Bible puts it this way: "He has set up a monument in his own honor" (1 Samuel 15:12). That's a sin many of us could be guilty of. Honestly, could it be you've been spending a lot of energy promoting yourself? Pushing to be in front? Trying to make a name for yourself, and maybe even using the work of Christ to do it? Could it be that you've really been building your own kingdom more than His kingdom? That's pretty dangerous ground. Just ask the people at the Tower of Babel.

The word "sin" and the word "pride" have that same middle letter, don't they - "I." Pride cost Lucifer his place in heaven. Pride is always expensive. and God won't tolerate it. He hates pride and self-promotion. There's only one name we should be drawing attention to. It is the name of Jesus. There's only one Star in God's constellation, and His name is Jesus. And there's only one kingdom to be building with our time and our money, and it is the kingdom of Jesus.

It's natural to push ourselves to the front, but it's wrong. And maybe, without realizing it, that's what you've started to do. From Babel to your life and mine, self-importance and self-promotion are sins God just will not tolerate. John said, "He must increase; I must decrease" (John 3:30). If the wrong person's out in front, it's time to rearrange the picture. You and I are the background for an awesome Savior. He's the foreground! He is the only star!

Jonah 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HEED GOD’S WORD - March 30, 2023

Choices have consequences. Glory days happen when we make good choices and trouble happens when we don’t. This is the headline message delivered by Joshua in the nationwide assembly in the Valley of Shechem. Joshua brought the invasion to a halt and every person to the Valley of Shechem. Once they reached the valley, Joshua set about the task of building an altar.

In Joshua 8:32 we read, “And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses.” The secret to the successful campaign of the Hebrews was not the strength of the army but the resolve of the people to keep God’s commandments. Heeding God’s Word is more critical than fighting God’s war. In fact, heeding God’s Word is fighting God’s war. Conquest happens as the covenant is honored.

Jonah 2

At the Bottom of the Sea

Then Jonah prayed to his God from the belly of the fish.

He prayed:

“In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God.

    He answered me.

From the belly of the grave I cried, ‘Help!’

    You heard my cry.

You threw me into ocean’s depths,

    into a watery grave,

With ocean waves, ocean breakers

    crashing over me.

I said, ‘I’ve been thrown away,

    thrown out, out of your sight.

I’ll never again lay eyes

    on your Holy Temple.’

Ocean gripped me by the throat.

    The ancient Abyss grabbed me and held tight.

My head was all tangled in seaweed

    at the bottom of the sea where the mountains take root.

I was as far down as a body can go,

    and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—

Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive,

    O God, my God!

When my life was slipping away,

    I remembered God,

And my prayer got through to you,

    made it all the way to your Holy Temple.

Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,

    walk away from their only true love.

But I’m worshiping you, God,

    calling out in thanksgiving!

And I’ll do what I promised I’d do!

    Salvation belongs to God!”

10 Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Today's Scripture

Romans 7:15–20

 I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.

17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

Insight

Romans 7:14–25 has been a source of much debate in scholarship. Many have believed it describes Paul’s ongoing struggle with sin because it speaks in the present tense and uses the first person (“I”). However, it’s difficult to reconcile Romans 7’s description of being a “slave to sin” (v. 14) with the state of freedom from sin’s bondage described as a gift of the Spirit to all believers in chapters 6 and 8 (6:17–18; 8:1–2). Today, many scholars believe that Romans 7’s vivid description of doing “what I do not want to do” (v. 16) wasn’t describing Paul’s then-current personal struggle. Instead, he may have been using a literary technique of speaking in the present tense to dramatize the futility of seeking salvation through the law (8:3). It’s through the power of Christ’s Spirit that believers can experience freedom, life, and peace (vv. 1–3, 6, 10). By: Monica La Rose

To Do or Not to Do

I do not do the good I want to do, . . . I keep on doing [evil]. Romans 7:19

When I was a kid, a decommissioned World War II tank was put on display in a park near my home. Multiple signs warned of the danger of climbing on the vehicle, but a couple of my friends immediately scrambled up. Some of us were a bit reluctant, but eventually we did the same. One boy refused, pointing to the posted signs. Another jumped down quickly as an adult approached. The temptation to have fun outweighed our desire to follow rules.

There’s a heart of childish rebellion lurking within all of us. We don’t like being told what to do or not to do. Yet we read in James that when we know what is right and don’t do it—it is sin (4:17). In Romans, the apostle Paul wrote: “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (7:19–20).

As believers in Jesus, we may puzzle over our struggle with sin. But too often we depend solely on our own strength to do what’s right. One day, when this life is over, we’ll be truly dead to sinful impulses. Until then, however, we can rely on the power of the One whose death and resurrection won the victory over sin. By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

What sins are the biggest struggle for you? How can you rely more on God’s power to overcome their stronghold?

Loving God, please help me to choose to do what’s right. My heart’s desire is to reflect Your perfect character and holy ways.

For further study, read Crying for Us All: How Jesus Shares Our Grief.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Holiness or Hardness Toward God?

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

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

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

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

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

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, March 30, 2023

HOW TO BE FREE FROM THE INVISIBLE PRISON - #9449

I've been to South Africa multiple times, and so when I heard about the death of Nelson Mandela, it caught my attention. He, of course, was the first black President in South Africa, where the 90% black majority had never had the right to vote. Or many other basic human rights for that matter.

Four American Presidents, the head of the United Nations, the leaders of scores of nations; they all attended the memorial service to honor him.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Be Free From the Invisible Prison."

Beyond all the tributes of those powerful people, Nelson Mandela actually had a message that I took personally, and it might be good for you to hear about how to be truly free. Because what changed his nation can help change ours. It can change our family. It could change a feud; a fractured relationship.

I remember when Nelson Mandela was considered a terrorist by our government. But now, he's lauded as one of the great, and maybe the greatest leaders of our time. He was imprisoned when he finally resorted to violence to end apartheid; a policy that empowered 10% of the population to suppress the 90%. I visited South Africa during that time, and I'll tell you, it felt like a nation at war.

And I was there after a worldwide outcry brought about Nelson Mandela's release after 27 years of crippling imprisonment. Within four years, the walls of apartheid came crashing down. And stunningly, Nelson Mandela had been elected the leader of his nation.

But the Mandela that came out of prison wasn't the same one who went in. The younger Mandela was full of hate and bitterness for what had been done to his people. But something happened; something that changed him - and ultimately saved a nation. He forgave. He said, "As I walked out the door toward that gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison." Wow! That's powerful!

See, unforgiveness means the very person who hurt us, in a sense, controls us with our permission. We continually replay what they did to us, and then we insure that it will poison our present and our future. But forgiving cuts the rope that ties us to the hurts and the hurters of the past. As President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was suddenly in the power position. He had the power to get even and to punish. But instead, he reached out to those who had been his "enemies," speaking their language, including them in his government, embracing one of the most despised symbols of the white-dominated past - the national rugby team.

And the nation that was poised to explode into a race war became a beacon of reconciliation. Nelson Mandela's journey to forgiveness was played out on a global stage. Mine isn't. But the stakes for me and my little personal world are just as high. Will I keep letting unforgiveness make me a prisoner of the pain of my past? Will I let the healing begin by trying to build a bridge where there's been a wall for a long time?

Poet Maya Angelou said in an interview, "It is a gift to yourself to forgive and I would say that Nelson Mandela's gift to the world was his ability to forgive." That's a gift we need to reach out for, and we need to start giving it.

One man's forgiving had saved a nation. It can help save a marriage, It can help save a relationship with a parent or child. Forgiving Is hard, but it sets people free. And I know the power of forgiveness, because I have been forgiven by someone I have sinned against over and over again. His name is Jesus. He paid a price for what I've done that went far beyond a prison sentence. He paid my death sentence.

The Bible says "He was pierced...crushed...His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man" (Isaiah 53:5-6; 52:14). Beyond that what happened in His soul when He was cut off from God the Father so I would never have to be. And the Bible says, "everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name" (Acts 10:43).

If you'd reach out and say, "Jesus, I claim you as my only possible rescuer from my sin. I need your forgiveness. Would you erase from God's book every wrong thing I've ever done?" See, that's the new beginning miracle Jesus does for anyone who takes for themselves what He did on the cross. And I'd love to help you meet the great Forgiver today. Join me at ANewStory.com and let your new story begin.

Jonah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHERE TO STARE IN A STORM - March 29, 2023

For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments, Peter does the impossible: “he walked on the water to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:29 NKJV). Then Peter shifts his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall, and he sinks like a brick in a pond. Give the storm waters more attention that the Storm Walker, and get ready to do the same.

God’s call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t oblivious to the storms. We just counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments. Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus. Memorize Scripture. Sing hymns. Read biographies of great people. Ponder the testimonies of faithful Christians. Walk to the sound of his voice. Make the deliberate decision to set your hope on him. And when your attention turns away, bring it back.

Jonah 1

Running Away from God

One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”

3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.

4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering.

The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What’s this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we’re in trouble and rescue us.”

7 Then the sailors said to one another, “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Let’s draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who’s responsible for this disaster.”

So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw.

8 Then they grilled him: “Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?”

9 He told them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land.”

10 At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, “What on earth have you done!” As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God.

11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.

12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.”

13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.

14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.”

15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down.

16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.

17 Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s belly three days and nights.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Today's Scripture

Exodus 2:1–10

Moses

 A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile.

4-6 The baby’s older sister found herself a vantage point a little way off and watched to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe; her maidens strolled on the bank. She saw the basket-boat floating in the reeds and sent her maid to get it. She opened it and saw the child—a baby crying! Her heart went out to him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

7 Then his sister was before her: “Do you want me to go and get a nursing mother from the Hebrews so she can nurse the baby for you?”

8 Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Yes. Go.” The girl went and called the child’s mother.

9 Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I’ll pay you.” The woman took the child and nursed him.

10 After the child was weaned, she presented him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses (Pulled-Out), saying, “I pulled him out of the water.”

Insight

Similar to the kindness of Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:6) is the compassion of the Hebrew midwives in the previous chapter. Pharaoh had commanded Shiphrah and Puah to kill any baby boys born to the Hebrew women (1:15–16). Were there only two midwives? We don’t know, but these two are singled out for their moral courage. The midwives “feared God” and so defied Pharaoh’s vile command (v. 17). When he confronted them, they lied about it (vv. 18–19). God blessed them for their fear of Him rather than Pharaoh, and for their actions in defense of vulnerable life (v. 21). By: Tim Gustafson

God Had Other Plans

Pharaoh’s daughter . . .  named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:10

Their precise ages are unknown. One was found on the steps of a church; the other knew only that she’d been raised by nuns. Born in Poland during World War II, for nearly eighty years neither Halina nor Krystyna knew about each other. Then DNA test results revealed them to be sisters and led to a joyful reunion. It also revealed their Jewish heritage, explaining why they’d been abandoned. Evil people had marked the girls for death simply because of their identity.

Imagining a frightened mother who leaves her threatened children where they might be rescued calls to mind the story of Moses. As a Hebrew baby boy, he was marked for genocide (see Exodus 1:22). His mother strategically placed him in the Nile (2:3), giving him a chance for survival. God had a plan she couldn’t have dreamed of—to rescue His people through Moses.

The story of Moses points us to the story of Jesus. As Pharaoh had sought the murder of Hebrew boys, Herod ordered the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem (see Matthew 2:13–16).

Behind all such hatred—especially against children—is our enemy the devil. Such violence doesn’t take God by surprise. He had plans for Moses, and He has plans for you and me. And through His Son, Jesus, He’s revealed His biggest plan—to rescue and restore those who once were His enemies.

By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How do you see God’s plan at work in your life? In what ways has He rescued you?

Heavenly Father, there’s so much evil in the world. Thank You for Your rescue. Help me to trust Your perfect plan

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also be ready… —Luke 12:40

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

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

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

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”?  Disciples Indeed, 389 L

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

HOW TO OBSCURE THE GOSPEL - #9448

It's an English-speaking church. The visiting pastor was Hispanic. He spoke in Spanish, using an interpreter to help his audience understand. I've spoken through an interpreter. So, you either have to say half as much or it takes twice as long. Well. the pastor chose the latter. Yeah. It took quite a while to get through his message. And to be honest, I know some minds started to wander at times. Well, at the end of his message, the pastor surprised everybody. He spoke to them completely in English. And he made a promise - the next time he would definitely speak in English. Of course, some folks were just a little frustrated. He could have spoken in the language of the people he was talking to; he just chose to speak in his own.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Obscure The Gospel."

It doesn't matter how important your message is, how sincere it is if you deliver it in words the other person can't understand. And not all language problems are linguistic. Parents of teenagers know that. What their kids are saying may be some kind of "English," but who can understand what they mean?

More importantly, when Christians tell about Jesus in church words, how many people without Christ can understand what they're saying? That's not just a casual question. It really matters, because the message of Jesus is life-or-death information - like the directions to get out of a burning building. Every missionary to another culture knows you can't just settle for the easy thing, which would be speaking in the language you're comfortable with. You don't just transmit the Gospel, you have to translate it. It's unacceptable that people might miss Jesus because I don't put it in words they can understand.

American church folks speak a language I call Christianese. And sometimes I'm not sure we even understand what some of our words mean! But we tell people they need to be "born again," to "accept" or "receive Christ," to "become a Christian" or be "saved." And they have no idea what those words mean or they have the wrong idea. Those are Bible words, but they need to be explained in non-religious words. The same is true of important words like "sin" and "Savior" and "believe." We think we've told them about Jesus, but maybe they miss what we mean.

Thus, our word for today from the Word of God. It's a great prayer request from the Apostle Paul himself in Colossians 4:3-4. He says, "Pray for us...that God may open a door for our message...Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should" Then he also asked people to pray that "whenever I speak, words may be given me" (Ephesians 6:19). The words you use matter. Proclaiming it clearly can make the difference.

So ask the Lord to help you hear yourself using Christianese and to help you find non-religious words to explain what a person needs to know to come to Christ. For example, sin can be explained as "you running your life instead of God running it" or "hijacking your life from your Creator." In our time, a "Savior"? Well, that would be a rescuer; someone who rescues you from a deadly situation you can't get yourself out of. That's exactly what Jesus came to be for us.

What does it mean to "believe" in Jesus? Most people would say they do, but not by the Bible's definition. The Bible's meaning is similar to what a drowning person would do when a lifeguard came; what a dying person would do when the rescuer comes. You hold onto Him as if He's your only hope. When did you do that with Jesus? That's what belief means. "Whoever believes in Him (grabs Him like He's their only hope) to have eternal life."

The most urgent, the most important news in the world needs to be delivered in words that a lost person can understand - non-religious words! We can do it if we choose to do it. There's someone you know whose only hope is hearing about and understanding what Jesus did on that cross for them. Would you please put Jesus where they can reach Him.