Zechariah 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOU HAVE A CHOICE - October 25, 2024

Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you’ve seen raw evil, and now you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?

Healthy bodies, sharp minds, but retired dreams. Back and forth they rock in the chair of regret. Lean closely and you’ll hear them. If only I’d been born somewhere else… If only I’d been treated fairly… If only I’d had more opportunities… 

Put down the scrapbook of your life and pick up the Bible. Read Jesus’ words in John 3:6 (NCV): “Human life comes from human parents but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. You have a choice in the path you take. Choose well!

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 8

Rebuilding the Temple

1–2  8 And then these Messages from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“I am zealous for Zion—I care!

I’m angry about Zion—I’m involved!”

God’s Message:

3  “I’ve come back to Zion,

I’ve moved back to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem’s new names will be Truth City,

and Mountain of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

and Mount Holiness.”

4–5  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Old men and old women will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in.”

6  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Do the problems of returning and rebuilding by just a few survivors seem too much? But is anything too much for me? Not if I have my say.”

7–8  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“I’ll collect my people from countries to the east and countries to the west. I’ll bring them back and move them into Jerusalem. They’ll be my people and I’ll be their God. I’ll stick with them and do right by them.”

9–10  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Get a grip on things. Hold tight, you who are listening to what I say through the preaching of the prophets. The Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies has been reestablished. The Temple is being rebuilt. We’ve come through a hard time: You worked for a pittance and were lucky to get that; the streets were dangerous; you could never let down your guard; I had turned the world into an armed camp.

11–12  “But things have changed. I’m taking the side of my core of surviving people:

Sowing and harvesting will resume,

Vines will grow grapes,

Gardens will flourish,

Dew and rain will make everything green.

12–13  “My core survivors will get everything they need—and more. You’ve gotten a reputation as a bad-news people, you people of Judah and Israel, but I’m coming to save you. From now on, you’re the good-news people. Don’t be afraid. Keep a firm grip on what I’m doing.”

Keep Your Lives Simple and Honest

14–17  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“In the same way that I decided to punish you when your ancestors made me angry, and didn’t pull my punches, at this time I’ve decided to bless Jerusalem and the country of Judah. Don’t be afraid. And now here’s what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don’t cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don’t do or say what isn’t so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest.” Decree of God.

18–19  Again I received a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“The days of mourning set for the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be turned into days of feasting for Judah—celebration and holiday. Embrace truth! Love peace!”

20–21  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“People and their leaders will come from all over to see what’s going on. The leaders will confer with one another: ‘Shouldn’t we try to get in on this? Get in on God’s blessings? Pray to God-of-the-Angel-Armies? What’s keeping us? Let’s go!’

22  “Lots of people, powerful nations—they’ll come to Jerusalem looking for what they can get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, looking to get a blessing from God.”

23  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“At that time, ten men speaking a variety of languages will grab the sleeve of one Jew, hold tight, and say, ‘Let us go with you. We’ve heard that God is with you.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, October 25, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jonah 2:1-10

At the Bottom of the Sea

1–9  2 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.

Insight

God’s pursuit of Jonah is remarkable because at first, everything and everyone obeyed God except the prophet Jonah! In chapter 1, the wind (v. 4), the tempest (v. 15), and the pagan sailors (vv. 12-15) obey God, as does the great fish (v. 17). In chapter 2, the fish still obeys (v. 10), and in chapter 3, the pagan population of Nineveh obey God in repentant faith (v. 5). In chapter 4, the wind and the worm obey Him (vv. 7-8). God pursued Jonah every step of the way, and when the second call came, the prophet himself finally obeyed (3:1-3). By: Bill Crowder

Running from God

From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. Jonah 2:2

Julie and Liz kayaked off the coast of California, scouting for humpback whales. Humpbacks are known for being active near the surface, making them easy to spot. The two women got the surprise of their lives when one surfaced directly underneath them. An onlooker caught footage of their encounter that showed the large mouth of the whale dwarfing the women and their kayaks. After briefly going underwater, the women escaped unharmed.

Their experience offers perspective on the biblical account of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a “huge fish” (Jonah 1:17). God had instructed him to preach to the Ninevites, but because they’d rejected God, Jonah didn’t feel they were worthy of His forgiveness. Instead of obeying, he ran away and took passage on a ship. God sent a dangerous storm, and he was thrown overboard.

God provided a way to preserve Jonah from certain death on the high seas, sparing him the far-worse consequences of his actions. Jonah “called to the Lord” and God listened (2:2). After Jonah admitted his wrongdoing and expressed his praise and acknowledgment of God’s goodness, he was—at His command—expelled from the fish “onto dry land” (v. 10).

By God’s grace, when we acknowledge our sin and express faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, we’re spared the spiritual death we deserve and experience new life through Him. By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

When have you “run away” from God? How have you experienced new life through Jesus?

Dear God, I acknowledge my sin and thank You for providing for me a new life through Jesus.

Hear the story of Jonah, who ran away from the Lord

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, October 25, 2024

All Things to All People

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. — 1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker must learn how to be God’s noble man or woman amid a crowd of ignoble things. Never make this plea: “If only I were somewhere else, then I would be noble.” You can be noble now, no matter the setting, no matter the limits of your natural abilities. All God’s workers are ordinary people, made extraordinary by what he has put into them.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you” (John 15:16). If you ever begin to doubt that you’re up to the task God has set for you, remember that it isn’t your own choice that has made you his worker. It isn’t that you’ve got hold of God, but that he has got hold of you. Keep this note of greatness in your creed. God is at work in you even now, bending, breaking, molding, doing just as he chooses. Why? For one purpose: that he will be able to say, “This is my man; this is my woman.”

We have to be in God’s hand so that he can plant others on the rock as he has planted us. Many people do deliberately choose to be God’s workers, but they have nothing in them of God’s mighty grace, nothing of his mighty word. Unless we have the right things in our minds intellectually and the right things in our hearts affectionately, we will be useless to God. Paul had the right things in his heart and mind and soul; he was entirely taken up with what Jesus Christ came to do. We, too, must focus on this one central fact: “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Never choose to be God’s worker, but never turn away when God’s call comes. He will do with you what he never did with you before. He will do something unique, something he isn’t doing with other people. Let him have his way.

Jeremiah 6-8; 1 Timothy 5

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.

So Send I You

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, October 25, 2024

The Spiritual Cure You Can Die From - #9860

I've really got to think of a better response when people tell me they have a headache and I say, "You know, pain always attacks at the weakest point." They really don't find that helpful. Actually, we all have our favorite headache remedy - one or two of this pill or that and we wait for the relief as those pills race through our system. I know they do. I saw it on a commercial once.

There was this twisted act of individual terrorism that happened back in 1982 when relief was turned into tragedy. Someone managed to put poison in some pain relief capsules and there were a series of sudden deaths. The victims had taken this brand of pain reliever. I remember reading about a flight attendant in particular who arrived home after a trip with a serious headache. She reached for a couple pain relief capsules. I'm sure she thought they would make her feel better soon. Instead, she died from them.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Spiritual Cure You Can Die From."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 14:12. It is one of the most sobering, unsettling statements in the Bible. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." God's trying to warn us here that we can be on a spiritual road that feels right, that we really believe will give us what we've been hoping for, but it will lead us to death.

In 1997, just before Good Friday, America was stunned by the mass suicide of 39 members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult. Then we saw some of the video testimonials made by those people just before they took their own lives. They talked about how at peace they were, how happy to be taking this next step - suicide. And we learned that these were not some religious freaks; they were bright, competent people. They believed very sincerely that they were graduating to something better.

But listen to Jesus, the Son of God. He says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved" (John 10:9). And it is Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." If you're counting on anything or anyone other than Jesus to get you to heaven, you're not going to make it. Sincerity doesn't make what you believe in right. That flight attendant sincerely believed that pain reliever would help her. Peaceful feelings don't validate what you're counting on either. The people who died from those poisoned capsules were expecting relief. Instead they died.

Our hearts are incurably spiritual. We need a spiritual answer, and we know it. We're looking for something bigger than ourselves, something that can give us significance, that can conquer the darkness inside of us; that can take us to something better someday. Ultimately, we are looking for a savior who can make us what we could never otherwise be and take us to a heaven we could never otherwise go to.

And there is only one Savior. There's only one person who died the death penalty for the sinning you and I have done, and that is Jesus Christ on the cross. And no belief, no religion, even if it's all about Jesus, can get you to heaven when you die. Only the Savior can do that. You may be on a beautiful spiritual road that looks right and feels right. But like pain relievers that contained poison it may lead you to death.

But Jesus is reaching out to you right now, "the way, the truth, and the life" man. He's urging you to put all your faith in Him; to make the Savior your Savior. Shouldn't that be today? Why would you risk another day without Him? Today you can say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

The information you need to be sure you belong to Him is right at our website. Just go to ANewStory.com.

Jesus died so you don't have to. Don't risk depending on a remedy that cannot cure sin, because only the Savior who died for that sin can do that. He is what your heart's been longing for your whole life.

Zechariah 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S GALLERY OF GRACE - October 24, 2024

Grace defines you! Society labels you like a can on an assembly line: stupid, unproductive. But as grace infiltrates, criticism disintegrates. You know you aren’t who they say you are. You are who God says you are: spiritually alive, heavenly positioned, seated with him in the heavenly realms, one with Jesus Christ!

Of course, not all labels are negative. Some people regard you as clever, successful. But it doesn’t compare with being seated with him in the heavenly realms! You see, God creates the Christian’s resume. Grace defines who you are. The parent you can’t please is just as mistaken as the doting uncle you can’t disappoint. People hold no clout. Only God does.

Listen, God wrote your story. He cast you in his drama. You hang as God’s work of art, a testimony in his gallery of grace. According to him, you are his. Period.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 7

“You’re Interested in Religion, I’m Interested in People”

1  7 On the fourth day of the ninth month, in the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, God’s Message again came to Zechariah.

2–3  The town of Bethel had sent a delegation headed by Sarezer and Regem-Melech to pray for God’s blessing and to confer with the priests of the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and also with the prophets. They posed this question: “Should we plan for a day of mourning and abstinence next August, the seventieth anniversary of Jerusalem’s fall, as we have been doing all these years?”

4–6  God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave me this Message for them, for all the people and for the priests: “When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy years, were you doing it for me? And when you held feasts, was that for me? Hardly. You’re interested in religion, I’m interested in people.

7–10  “There’s nothing new to say on the subject. Don’t you still have the message of the earlier prophets from the time when Jerusalem was still a thriving, bustling city and the outlying countryside, the Negev and Shephelah, was populated? [This is the message that God gave Zechariah.] Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now:

“ ‘Treat one another justly.

Love your neighbors.

Be compassionate with each other.

Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.

Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’

11–13  “But did your ancestors listen? No, they set their jaws in defiance. They shut their ears. They steeled themselves against God’s revelation and the Spirit-filled sermons preached by the earlier prophets by order of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. And God became angry, really angry, because he told them everything plainly and they wouldn’t listen to a word he said.

13–14  “So [this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said] if they won’t listen to me, I won’t listen to them. I scattered them to the four winds. They ended up strangers wherever they were. Their ‘promised land’ became a vacant lot—weeds and tin cans and thistles. Not a sign of life. They turned a dreamland into a wasteland.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 58:3-9

But they also complain,

‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?

Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’

3–5  “Well, here’s why:

“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.

You drive your employees much too hard.

You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.

You fast, but you swing a mean fist.

The kind of fasting you do

won’t get your prayers off the ground.

Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:

a day to show off humility?

To put on a pious long face

and parade around solemnly in black?

Do you call that fasting,

a fast day that I, God, would like?

6–9  “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:

to break the chains of injustice,

get rid of exploitation in the workplace,

free the oppressed,

cancel debts.

What I’m interested in seeing you do is:

sharing your food with the hungry,

inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on,

and your lives will turn around at once.

Your righteousness will pave your way.

The God of glory will secure your passage.

Then when you pray, God will answer.

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

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

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

quit blaming victims,

quit gossiping about other people’s sins,

Insight

In calling out ancient Israel’s sin, Isaiah is told: “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet” (58:1). The word translated “trumpet” refers to a musical instrument made from a ram’s horn, which was used to call entire communities to hear urgent announcements. The nation had turned their religious activities into a way of serving themselves and hoping to gain personal benefit from God, even while exploiting those with less power than them (vv. 3-4). This was a failure so serious, it should be exposed with a trumpet call. To serve God faithfully, the prophet proclaimed, required them to “loose the chains of injustice” (v. 6). Failing to do so was “rebellion” (v. 1). By: Monica La Rose

Food for the Hungry

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter? Isaiah 58:7

For years, the Horn of Africa has suffered from a brutal drought that has devastated crops, killed livestock, and imperiled millions. Among the most vulnerable—like the people at Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp who’ve fled from wars and oppression—it’s even more dire. A recent report described a young mother bringing her baby to camp officials. The infant suffered from severe malnutrition, leaving “her hair and skin . . . dry and brittle.” She wouldn’t smile and wouldn’t eat. Her tiny body was shutting down. Specialists immediately intervened. Thankfully, even though the needs are still great, an infrastructure has been built to provide immediate, life-or-death necessities.

These desperate places are exactly where God’s people are called to shine His light and love (Isaiah 58:8). When people are starving, sick, or threatened, God summons His people to be the first to provide food, medicine, and safety—all in Jesus’ name. Isaiah rebuked ancient Israel for thinking they were being faithful with their fasting and prayers while ignoring the actual compassionate work the crisis required: sharing “food with the hungry,” providing “the poor wanderer with shelter,” and clothing “the naked” (v. 7).

God desires for the hungry to be fed—both physically and spiritually. And He works in and through us as He meets the need. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What kinds of hunger do you see around you? Where is God inviting you to offer help?

Dear God, please help me be part of how You bring food, love, and comfort to those who are hungry and in distress.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, October 24, 2024

The Viewpoint

Thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession. — 2 Corinthians 2:14

For God’s workers, the viewpoint we have to maintain isn’t one that comes near the highest. It is the highest—the viewpoint of God himself. God’s viewpoint, according to Paul, is that we are here for a single purpose: to be “captives in Christ’s triumphal procession.”

Be careful to maintain God’s viewpoint rigorously, every day, minute by minute. Don’t think on the finite. God’s viewpoint is infinite and inviolable; no outside power can touch it. How small are other points of view in comparison! They always place the wrong thing at the center: “I am standing alone, battling for Jesus,” we say. Or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold this fort for him.” Paul knows who comes first. He says that he is in the procession of a conqueror, and that it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are. He knows that he is always led in triumph.

Is this idea being worked out practically in your life? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him—a red-handed rebel against Jesus Christ—and turned him into a captive. Once Paul belonged to God, he had no other interest; he was here for one thing and one thing only. It is shameful for a Christian to talk about winning a victory. We ought to belong so completely to the Victor that we know it’s his victory, all the time, that only through him are we “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). Once we’ve learned this, we become a wonderful refreshment to God, a delight to him wherever we go.

Jeremiah 3-5; 1 Timothy 4

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. 

Disciples Indeed, 386 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, October 24, 2024

The Power of Joy - #9859

So what do you do when Murphy's Law hits all in one day? You know, Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong"? Well, we've all had plenty of those at our house. I remember one right now that hit my family. We were trying to get ready to go on vacation; we were leaving the next morning. The first thing that happened was that the freezer had gone on the blink and all of our food had spoiled. Oh, that was nice.

And then we developed a little car trouble. Well, that was two hits; we could handle that. We had a mountain of laundry that had to be done before we left on vacation. Oh, of course, the dryer then broke that day. And then I was standing in the basement just trying to figure out what to do, and suddenly I noticed it was unusually moist around my feet. Sure enough, some of the sewer system in our house had backed up into a sink, overflowed, and there I was standing in the middle of it. At which point my wife came down the stairs and took a look at this entire falling-apart situation. Mr. Murphy had won!

Now, you know what I needed while I was standing in my own personal swamp? Well, my wife said, "Welcome to Haiti." See, we had just been to Haiti where there's sewage in the street, and it's not funny there. But for some reason it just cracked me up, and that's exactly what I needed to get through it. What I needed in my own personal swamp might be the same thing you need right now.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Joy."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 17:22 - "A cheerful heart is good medicine." That's what I needed in the middle of my swamp. In a tense situation, you need God's perspective pill - a merry heart, a good laugh. A sense of humor enables you to not take yourself so seriously. When you get all wrapped up tightly in a problem (or a swamp in the basement) well, you lose your sense of perspective; the ability to laugh at yourself in your situation takes you out of the mess for a moment and sort of takes you up on a hill where you can look down on it a little bit. You get perspective. You'll probably make better choices. Now, maybe you're a perfectionist; you're just driven to get everything right. You need to be able to joke about your weaknesses and your imperfections once in a while rather than just be choked on them.

Nowhere is a sense of humor needed more than in parenting. Parents often come to me with deep concerns about their kids - great fears. And we, of course, try to work on a practical strategy to work with them. But one point of the strategy is usually just two words. Often I'll just say at the end, "By the way, lighten up." See, we want so badly to be effective parents, to get this problem solved. We worry so deeply that our children are going to be seduced by this godless world, and those are serious concerns. But if we think about our performance and their problems all the time, we're going to be paralyzed. We'll over-react. We'll talk a lot and listen little. We'll fear something so much we may actually make it happen.

You know, could it be that your family could use a few laughs, some crazy, impulsive experiences, a parent who can kid himself about his own weaknesses. Laughing gets people to laugh, and relaxed kids communicate more, and relaxed parents make better decisions.

"A merry heart is good medicine." Is that the medicine for the tension in you and maybe in your family? Don't be afraid to ask the Lord, "Lord, help me lighten up a little."

Zechariah 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A GODLY TOUCH - October 23, 2024

The power of a godly touch. Have you known it? The doctor who treated you or the teacher who dried your tears? Was there a hand holding yours at a funeral? Haven’t we known the power of a godly touch? Can’t we offer the same? Some of you use your hands to pray for the sick. If you aren’t touching them personally, you’re writing notes, calling, baking pies. You’ve learned the power of a touch.

But others tend to forget. Our hearts are good; it’s just that our memories are bad. We forget how significant one touch can be. We fear saying the wrong thing, or using the wrong tone, or acting the wrong way. So rather than do it incorrectly, we do nothing at all. Aren’t we glad Jesus didn’t make the same mistake? Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same? 

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 6

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

1  6 Once again I looked up—another strange sight! Four chariots charging out from between two mountains. The mountains were bronze.

2–3  The first chariot was drawn by red horses, the second chariot by black horses, the third chariot by white horses, and the fourth chariot by dappled horses. All the horses were powerful.

4  I asked the Messenger-Angel, “Sir, what’s the meaning here?”

5–7  The angel answered, “These are the four winds of heaven, which originate with the Master of the whole earth. The black horses are headed north with the white ones right after them. The dappled horses are headed south.” The powerful horses galloped out, bursting with energy, eager to patrol through the earth. The Messenger-Angel commanded: “On your way! Survey the earth!” and they were off in every direction.

8  Then he called to me and said, “Look at them go! The ones going north are conveying a sense of my Spirit, serene and secure. No more trouble from that direction.”

A Man Named Branch

9–12  Then this Message from God came to me: “Take up a collection from the exiles. Target Heldai, Tobiah, and Jedaiah. They’ve just arrived from Babylon. You’ll find them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Collect silver and gold from them and fashion crowns. Place one on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and give him this message:

12–13  “ ‘A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Be alert. We have a man here whose name is Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of God. Yes, he’s the one. He’ll build the Temple of God. Then he’ll assume the role of royalty, take his place on the throne and rule—a priest sitting on the throne!—showing that king and priest can coexist in harmony.’

14  “The other crown will be in the Temple of God as a symbol of royalty, under the custodial care of Helem, Tobiah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah.

15  “People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. This will confirm that God-of-the-Angel-Armies did, in fact, send me to you. All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 14:16, 23-27

“Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.

25–27  “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you.

Insight

Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as the “Advocate” (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Other translations use the word Comforter (kjv) or Counselor (rsv). Christ told His disciples that the Spirit would teach them “all things” and remind them of “everything” Jesus had said and taught (14:26). The Spirit is the very presence of God and will be with us “forever” (v. 16). On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Christ’s resurrection, God sent the Holy Spirit to all believers in Jesus (Acts 2:1-4). Today, everyone receives the Holy Spirit when they receive Christ as Savior (10:44). We can trust what “the Spirit of truth” (John 15:26) speaks into our hearts and minds. The Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts to serve Jesus and to help us grow more like Him (1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Galatians 5:22-23). The Spirit also convicts unbelievers of sin and the need for salvation (John 16:7-11). By: Alyson Kieda

The Holy Spirit Is Present

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. John 14:16

Making his preflight checks for a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to New York City, a flight attendant noticed a passenger visibly anxious and concerned about flying. He sat in the aisle, held her hand, explained each step of the flight process, and reassured her that she was going to be fine. “When you get on an aircraft, it's not about us, it's about you,” he said. “And if you’re not feeling good, I want to be there to say, ‘Hey, what’s wrong? Is there something I can do?’ ” His caring presence can be a picture of what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do for believers in Him.

Christ’s death and resurrection and ascension were necessary and beneficial to save people from their sins, but it would also create emotional turbulence and deep sorrow in the disciples’ hearts (John 14:1). So He reassured them that they wouldn’t be left alone to carry out His mission in the world. He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them—an “advocate to help [them] and be with [them] forever” (v. 16). The Spirit would bear witness about Jesus and remind them of all Christ did and said (v. 26). They would be “encouraged by” Him during difficult times (Acts 9:31).

In this life, everyone—including believers in Christ—will experience the turbulence of anxiety, fear, and grief. But He’s promised that, in His absence, the Holy Spirit is present to comfort us.  By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What’s been troubling you in your life? How can you seek the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit?

Dear Jesus, thank You for the Spirit’s comfort and counsel.

Learn how to walk daily with the Holy Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Not a Bit of It!

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! — 2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never nurses our prejudices; he destroys them. We imagine that God has a special interest in our personal preferences. We’re sure he’ll never deal with us as he does with others. We think, “Well, of course God has to handle those people in a very stern way, but he knows my prejudices are OK.” Not a bit of it! Instead of God being on the side of our prejudices, he is deliberately wiping them out. It’s part of our moral education to have our prejudices pierced straight through by his providence.

God wants only one thing from us: unconditional surrender. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work his new creation inside us, and a time will come when the old life will have gone entirely—the old sense of self-importance, the old attitudes and bigotries. Then we will be a “new creation,” knowing that “all this is from God” (2 Corinthians 5:17–18).

How are we to get this new life? The life that has no lust, no self-interest, no oversensitivity? How will we get the love that is not easily angered, that thinks no evil, that is always kind (1 Corinthians 13:4–6)? The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain—only simple, perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, only God himself. Have we come to the place where God can withdraw his blessings and it doesn’t shake our trust in him? Once we’ve seen God at work, we will never again worry ourselves about what happens. All our trust will be in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.

Jeremiah 1-2; 1 Timothy 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.

Our Brilliant Heritage

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

The Effect You Have - #9858

I think there was a time when people thought workers were demonstrating loyalty and nobility if they showed up for their job even if they felt sicker than a dog. More and more, people think you're not very smart if you do that! You may be one of those who drags yourself into work no matter how sick you are. You're there, all right, but so are your coughs, your sneezes, and your "cooties." Strangely, over the next few days, one co-worker after another comes down with symptoms that look suspiciously like what you brought to work with you. The poet was right, "no man is an island!" You're contagious!

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

The truth is we're all contagious even when we're healthy. It's not just physical germs we spread; we spread an attitude wherever we are! And while the process of people around you catching your attitude may be as invisible as the transmission of germs, the results are just as real. They can get "sick" from being around you, or they can actually feel better because they've been around you.

General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in World War II, revealed an important understanding of the leadership that we all exercise when he said this: "Optimism and pessimism are infectious and they spread more rapidly from the head downward than in any other direction." A husband infects his wife with whatever attitude he brings home - positive or negative. If you're wondering why she's acting in a way you don't like, maybe you should look in the mirror for the answer. A parent spreads their attitude to their children, a boss to his employees, a worker to his or her co-workers, a Christian leader to those who serve with him. A friend infects other friends with the health or the sickness of their attitude.

In 1 Samuel 30, beginning with verse 6, our word for today from the Word of God, we can see a vivid picture - both positive and negative - of how the attitude contagion works. In this case, the sick attitude almost destroyed David's little band of soldiers. But one healthy attitude saved the day and it turned the tide of the battle. While David and his men have been gone, their bitter enemies, the Amalekites, have invaded their camp, captured their families, and plundered their camp. Verse 6 tells us that "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters." You've got bitterness here, blaming, despair - those deadly viruses were spreading from one soldier to another because of the way they responded to this tragedy, to this defeat.

"But," the Bible says, "David found strength in the Lord his God." He spread that strength to his men and he led them in a surprise attack that routed the Amalekites and took back everything the enemy had stolen. When you get your perspective on the situation from God rather than your feelings or the circumstances, you can turn the tide with a winning attitude.

Which leads to the question of the day: "What kind of attitude are you spreading where you are?" Are you spreading joy or discouragement? Are you spreading confidence or fear? Is it encouragement or negativity? Are you leaving a trail of tenderness, or is it harshness? Stress or peace? Do you spread faith or do you spread unbelief? Do you spread prayer or do you spread worry?

You are affecting the people you live with, the people you work with, the people you serve with. You are contagious, whether you realize it or not. Make their hearts lighter, not heavier. Give them reason to hope, reason to believe, not reason to despair. Those in whom the living Christ dwells have no excuse for spreading germs that make people feel sick in their heart and their soul!

Zechariah 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NOTHING COMPARES WITH GOD - October 22, 2024

To what can we compare God? Who is like the Lord? What you are to a paper airplane, God is to you. Make one. Challenge it to race you around the block. Who’s faster? Invite the airplane to a game of one-on-one basketball. Will you not dominate the court? And well you should. The thing exists only because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it.

God asks Isaiah, “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” (Isaiah 40:25). As if his question needed an answer, he gives one: “I am God. I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me” (Isaiah 46:9). King David marveled, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

You and I may have power. But God is power. No one and nothing compares with him!

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 5

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

1  5 I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

2  The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

3–4  He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket

5  The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

6  I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

7  Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

8  He said, “This is Miss Wicked.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

9  Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

10  I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

11  He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Today's Scripture

Matthew 23:23-33

“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

25–26  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.

27–28  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.

29–32  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your ancestors, no blood would have been on your hands. You protest too much! You’re cut from the same cloth as those murderers, and daily add to the death count.

33–34  “Snakes! Reptilian sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper?

Insight

Each of the four paragraphs in Matthew 23:23-32 begin with a warning against hypocrisy: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” The religious leaders were condemned for bringing sacrifices while ignoring “more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23). These words are similar to what God said through the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require . . . ? To act justly and to love mercy” (Micah 6:8). Micah’s audience was also offering sacrifices without being truly committed to God; they were shiny on the outside but dead inside. By: J.R. Hudberg

Transformed from the Inside

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:25

In the worst UK residential fire since World War II, fire engulfed the twenty-four story Grenfell Tower building in West London, claiming the lives of seventy people. Investigations revealed a primary reason the flames spread so quickly was the cladding used as part of renovation that covered the building’s exterior. The material was aluminum on the outside but had an extremely flammable plastic core.

How was such a dangerous material allowed to be sold and installed? The product’s sellers failed to disclose poor fire safety test results. And buyers, drawn by the material’s cheap price tag, failed to heed warning signs. The shiny cladding looked nice on the outside.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed at religious teachers He accused of covering corruption behind a nice-looking exterior. He said they were like “whitewashed tombs”—“beautiful on the outside” but inside full of dead bones (Matthew 23:27). Instead of pursuing “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23), they were focused on looking good—cleaning “the outside of the cup” but not the “greed and self-indulgence” inside (v. 25).

It’s easier to focus on looking good than to bring our sin and brokenness honestly before God. But a nice-looking exterior doesn’t make a corrupt heart any less dangerous. God invites us to let Him transform all of us from the inside (1 John 1:9). By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

When have you tried to disguise corruption? How can you prioritize internal change?

Gracious God, please help me not to hide my brokenness but let You transform all of me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Testimony of the Spirit

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit. — Romans 8:16

We are in danger of getting into a negotiating mindset with God, of trying to haggle him into giving us the testimony of the Spirit before we’ve done what he tells us to do. “Why isn’t the Spirit testifying with my spirit?” you ask. “Why doesn’t God reveal himself to me?” The answer is that he won’t, not as long as you are in his way, refusing to abandon yourself to him. The instant you do abandon, God begins to testify to himself. He can’t testify to you—that is, to your human nature. Rather, he testifies to his own nature inside you, the nature you received when you were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

If you were to receive the testimony of the Spirit before the Spirit was a reality inside you, it would end in sentimental emotion. But the moment you stop debating and complete the spiritual transaction, the moment you ask for the Holy Spirit and receive him, God gives you the testimony. When you abandon intellectual reasoning and argument and hand yourself in faith to God, you will be amazed at your impertinence in having kept him waiting so long.

If you are debating the question of whether God can deliver you from sin, either let him do it or tell him he can’t. Don’t come at him with evidence, quoting this or that expert. Instead, try Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” Come, when you are burdened with doubt. Ask, if you know you are evil: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

The simplicity that characterizes commonsense decisions is easy to mistake for the testimony of the Spirit. But the Spirit testifies only to his own nature and to the work of redemption, never to our human reason. If we try to make him testify to our reason, it is no wonder we remain in darkness and perplexity. Fling your doubting and debating overboard, trust in God, and his Spirit will give the testimony.

Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

How To Be The One God Can Trust - #9857

I always knew that if my teenage son ever did with stocks what he did with baseball cards, he'd be a millionaire someday. And then maybe I could go on a cruise...you know, who knows? Well, a lot of young guys, when they go looking for baseball cards, just look for the card of people who are already famous. But, of course, those cards have already done a lot of their appreciating while he was becoming famous.

Now, oldest son looked for players who very few people had ever heard of. He would go back into college and see who looked promising while they were in college. Then he'd monitor their minor league statistics, and he seemed to know a couple of specific statistics to look for as clues to future greatness. Then, when that man issued a rookie card (of course the rookie card is the only one you want to have; that's the really valuable one), then my son bought the rookie card.

Then he just watched it appreciate, and then he would go and sell it and reinvest in some other surprising prospects. Now a lot of people were surprised by that players' greatness and they said, "Hey, who's he?" My son wasn't. He knew what to look for. Now, when it comes to picking God's future stars, there's one clue to future greatness that God looks for.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How To Be The One God Can Trust."

Simon Peter - not a likely prospect to be a future star. Hey, if you were looking in the minor league to see who would become a major league leader for Jesus Christ, I'm not sure you would have picked Simon Peter. Why would God use him? What did He see in him? I mean, he sleeps when you need him to be awake - he talks big, he doesn't deliver on his promises - he takes matters in his own hands and does ear surgery. He denied Jesus to a 12-year-old girl. That's all true, but he had the one trait that Jesus looks for, and that's what makes a disciple's heart.

Luke 5:4-6, our word for today from the Word of God - here's what it says: "When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon said, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.' And when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish their nets began to break."

Okay, yes Peter's inconsistent, he's proud, he's unpredictable, impulsive, but he had the one trait out of which Jesus can build a disciple. When He can think of no other reason to do what Jesus said, he replies, "Just because You say so, I'll do it." Unquestioning obedience - that's the core of a disciple's heart. Now, he already failed to bring in any harvest. That was a reason not to go out as Jesus told him to. It was going to be inconvenient; he'd have to clean his nets again. Everything in his experience was against it; he knew it shouldn't work. You're not going to catch them in the middle of the day if you didn't catch them in the middle of the night. But he does it because Jesus said so, and that's the thing God looks for in His future stars.

So, everything around you might say, "uh... Have sex now." But you're going to keep it pure just because Jesus says so. Everything that seems to make sense says, "Oh, let your marriage go. Get out of it while you can." You might even have people advising you that way. But you're going to fight to keep it together because Jesus says so. You're going to be honest. When it looks like fudging a little bit, a little deceit, a little playing games with the truth might get you where you want to go, but you're going to tell the truth no matter what the cost. You're going to give generously even if the money isn't there. You're going to forgive and restore that relationship you don't feel like restoring because Jesus says so.

Are you someone that Jesus can build into one of His trusted disciples? Oh, maybe you've got a lot of weaknesses, I do. But once you know what Jesus says, you just do it.

See, then in the major leagues of God's usefulness, you may be destined for greatness.

3 John 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SPIRITUAL FAMILY - October 21, 2024

Is your fantasy that your family will be like the Waltons? An expectation that your dearest friends will be your next of kin? Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how Jesus defined his family in Mark 3:35: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.” He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family did not.

If Jesus himself couldn’t force his family to share his convictions, what makes you think you can force yours?  We can’t control the way our family responds to us. We have to move beyond the naïve expectation that if we do good, our family will treat us right. I can’t assure you that your family will ever give you the blessing you seek, but I know this much: God will. Accept God as your Father, and let God give you what your family does not.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

3 John 1

1–4  The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 21, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jeremiah 33:14-16

A Fresh and True Shoot from the David-Tree

14–18  “ ‘Watch for this: The time is coming’—God’s Decree—‘when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “God Has Set Things Right for Us.”

Insight

Despite David’s general success as king over Israel, the story of his successors grew increasingly problematic. King after king failed to live in obedience to the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave them a home in Canaan. The books of 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles describe the spiraling descent of the nation’s rulers, punctuated only with a handful of bright spots.

By the time of Jeremiah, the rulers of Israel and many of the kings of Judah were thoroughly corrupt and the nations were facing exile. The mighty tree of David’s dynasty may have seemed like it had been hewn to the root. The promise of Jeremiah’s prophecy, however, was that God wouldn’t give up. He would bring forth a righteous king out of a seemingly dead dynasty who would make Jerusalem and the people righteous once again. Both Matthew (1:1-17) and Luke (3:23-38) trace Jesus’ lineage back to David, the once-great king. By: Jed Ostoich

Jesus the Branch

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right. Jeremiah 33:15

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.  

The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.

The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.  By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

What are other significant promises from God that Jesus fulfilled? How does their fulfillment encourage you?

Thank You, Almighty God, that You fulfill all Your promises.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 21, 2024

Impulse

Building yourselves up in your most holy faith . . . — Jude 1:20

There was nothing impulsive and nothing cold-blooded about our Lord, just a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the line of our own impulses rather than along the line of God. Impulsiveness is a natural human trait, but our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple.

Watch how the Spirit of God checks our impulses. His checks bring a rush of self-consciousness that instantly makes us want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is fine in a child but disastrous in a man or a woman; an impulsive adult is always a petulant adult. Impulsiveness has to be trained into intuition by discipline.

Discipleship has no impulsiveness in it; it is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy in an impulsive burst of courage, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:29)—but he also walked far with Jesus on the land. We don’t need the supernatural grace of God in order to weather crises; human nature and pride are sufficient for that. But we do need his grace in order to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a child of God, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We think that we have to do exceptional things for God, but this isn’t true. We have to be exceptional in ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, and this isn’t learned in five minutes.

Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Psychology

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 21, 2024

The Storm Your Ship Can't Handle - #9856

I've been in three hurricanes, but always on land. I can't imagine what it would be like to face it out on the water.

The crew of the container ship El Faro were on pace to be well ahead of Hurricane Joaquin, until they suddenly found themselves with no propulsion system directly in the path of a Category 4 Hurricane: 50-foot waves, 140-mile-an-hour winds, zero visibility. The crew's families asked for people to pray for them and for their missing loved ones.

A Coast Guard officer said, "No matter how big the ship is, when you're disabled and you're at sea, and you're in the middle of a storm, the size and strength of that storm is just enough to overcome just about anything."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Storm Your Ship Can't Handle."

I've never been on a ship in a storm. But in a more personal way, I kind of get what he's saying. Because storms - the physical and emotional kind - are part of everyone's story. I've felt the blows of medical crises that threatened the lives of people I cherish. I've experienced the pain of someone I love being here one day, and then suddenly gone. I've had trust betrayed. And there are the consequences of choices that I made and I wish I could have back.

And, like most people, I want to think I'm smart enough and strong enough to navigate the brutal winds and the surging waves. But, truth be told, it's like the Coast Guard captain said, "Sometimes the size and strength of that storm is just enough to overcome just about anything." And that's when people go under. Marriages break apart. Panic drives us to choices that will even sink us more. Fear, despair, and desperation take us down.

I'd like to think I'm pretty strong emotionally, but not strong enough to hold things together when I'm blindsided by a really brutal storm. But, thank God, I belong to Someone who is.

When Jesus was here, the team He built included some seasoned fishermen who had weathered many a storm, until the night that all their experience and strength wasn't enough to keep their boat from starting to go under. That's when Captain Jesus stepped to the stern, raised His hand and shouted a command, "Peace! Be still!" The Bible says, "The wind died down and it was completely calm." Because whatever storm is bigger than we are, Jesus is bigger than it is. After all, He had the power to walk out of His grave three days after He died on a cross to pay for our sin.

Jesus hasn't always stopped the storm around me. But He's calmed the storm inside me, beginning with the turbulence in my soul from battling with God for the control of my life. But, thanks to Jesus' life-giving love, I have, as it says in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 5:1, "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." That peace is my unshakeable anchor and that anchor has always held. The storm we can't handle finally confronts us with a truth we've never wanted to face. We were never meant to be at the helm in the first place.

This may be the day when you finally surrender your heart and life and the control of your life to the One who gave it to you in the first place. The Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him." Jesus had to die on a cross to pay for our rebellion against God. But today He's ready to bring you home into that relationship you were made for. And that peace with God that comes through Jesus; you can go to sleep with that in your heart tonight and every night for the rest of your life.

There's some wonderful information I'd love to give you at our website so you can be sure you've begun this relationship with the only One who can rescue you from your sin. It's ANewStory.com.

Maybe the storm that you've been in has been for an ultimately eternal purpose. Because for many of us, the storm that almost sank us was the storm that finally blew us Home.

Zechariah 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: No Room

Some of the saddest words on earth are “We don’t have room for you.” Jesus knew the sound of those words.  He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, “We don’t have room for you” (Luke 2:7).

And when he was hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection?  “We don’t have room for you in our world.”

Even today Jesus is given the same treatment.  He goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. Every so often, he’s welcomed.  Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay.  And to that person Jesus gives this great promise, “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2).

What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts….And he makes room for us in his house!

From Grace for the Moment

Zechariah 4

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

1  4 The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.

2–3  He said, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl.”

4  Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, “What does this mean, sir?”

5–7  The Messenger-Angel said, “Can’t you tell?”

“No, sir,” I said.

Then he said, “This is God’s Message to Zerubbabel: ‘You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,’ says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. ‘So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you’re nothing but a molehill. He’ll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!’ ”

8–10  After that, the Word of God came to me: “Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!”

Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, “The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights.”

11–12  And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?” I asked. “What’s the meaning of them? And while you’re at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?”

13  He said, “You haven’t figured that out?”

I said, “No, sir.”

14  He said, “These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Today's Scripture

Ecclesiastes 2:1-5, 11-17

 I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment with pleasure, have a good time!” But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke.

What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane!

My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it?

With the help of a bottle of wine

and all the wisdom I could muster,

I tried my level best

to penetrate the absurdity of life.

I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do

during the years we spend on this earth.

I Never Said No to Myself

4–8  Oh, I did great things:

built houses,

planted vineyards,

designed gardens and parks

and planted a variety of fruit trees in them,

I Hate Life

11  Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.

12–14  And then I took a hard look at what’s smart and what’s stupid. What’s left to do after you’ve been king? That’s a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that’s it. But I did see that it’s better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. Even so, though the smart ones see where they’re going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they’re all the same in the end. One fate for all—and that’s it.

15–16  When I realized that my fate’s the same as the fool’s, I had to ask myself, “So why bother being wise?” It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke. The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they’re both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that’s it.

17  I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It’s smoke—and spitting into the wind.

Insight

Should we view this life’s frustrations as a gift? For that matter, is even death itself a gift? Those are questions we must consider given the Teacher’s (see Ecclesiastes 1:1) conclusion here: “The wise, like the fool . . . must die” (2:16). The prospect of his own death compelled him to ponder where he might find true meaning. If he’d found satisfaction in the temporary pleasures and even the good things he pursued, the Teacher might not have acknowledged the only true source of fulfillment—God Himself (see 12:13). Awareness of our own mortality can prompt us to seek God.  By: Tim Gustafson

The Payoff

Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

In 1921, artist Sam Rodia began construction on his Watts Towers. Thirty-three years later, seventeen sculptures rose as high as thirty meters over Los Angeles. Musician Jerry Garcia was dismissive of Rodia’s lifework. “That’s the payoff,” said Garcia. “That thing that exists after you’re dead.” Then he said, “Wow, that’s not it for me.”

So what was the payoff for him? His bandmate Bob Weir summed up their philosophy: “In eternity, nothing will be remembered of you. So why not just have fun?”

A wealthy, wise man once tried to find the “payoff” by doing everything he possibly could. He wrote, “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good’ ” (Ecclesiastes 2:1). But he noted, “The wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered” (v. 16). He concluded, “The work that is done under the sun was grievous to me” (v. 17).

The life and message of Jesus radically counter such shortsighted living. Jesus came to give us “life to the full” (John 10:10) and taught us to live this life with the next one in view. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,” He said. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20). Then He summed it up: “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33).

That’s the payoff—both under the sun and beyond. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How do you want to be remembered? What does it mean to “store up treasures in heaven”?

Father God, please help me serve You joyfully with eternity in view.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Is God’s Will My Will?

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified. — 1 Thessalonians 4:3

My sanctification isn’t a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me. The question is, Am I willing? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the atonement? Am I willing to let the life of Jesus Christ manifest itself in my mortal flesh?

Beware of saying, “I’m longing to be sanctified.” Stop longing and treat it as a transaction, a simple matter of asking and receiving. Ask God for the Holy Spirit on the basis of Luke 11:13: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Then, in implicit faith, receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you, and the great marvel of the atonement will be made real in you.

All that Jesus Christ made possible is mine because of one thing and one thing only: the free, loving gift of God. My attitude as a saved and sanctified soul must be one of profound, humble holiness. (There’s no such thing as proud holiness.) I recognize what Jesus has done for me with agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation. I have the amazing realization that even when I cared nothing for God, his love for me was so great that he completed everything for my salvation and sanctification.

No wonder Paul says that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in him one with God. This is done only through the atonement of Christ, which is the cause of my holiness. Never confuse the cause and the effect. My holiness and obedience and service and prayer are all effects—the outcome of speechless thanks and adoration for the sanctification worked in me by the atonement.

Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R

Zechariah 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Grace-given, Give Grace

The grace-given-give grace!  Is grace happening to you?  Is there anyone in your life you refuse to forgive?  If so, do you appreciate God's forgiveness toward you?  Do you resent God's kindness to others?  Do you grumble at God's uneven compensation?  How long has it been since your generosity stunned someone?

Since someone objected, "No, really, this is too generous?"  If it's been awhile reconsider God's extravagant grace.  Psalm 103:2-3 says, "Forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity."

Let grace unscrooge your heart.  Like Peter encourages us in 2 Peter 3:18, "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

When grace happens, generosity happens.  Unsquashable, eye-popping, big-heartedness happens!  You simply can't contain it all.  Let it bubble over.  Let it spill out.  Let it pour forth.

From GRACE

Zechariah 3

Fourth Vision: Joshua’s New Clothes

1–2  3 Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God’s Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, “I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!”

3–4  Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, “Get him out of those filthy clothes,” and then said to Joshua, “Look, I’ve stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes.”

5  I spoke up and said, “How about a clean new turban for his head also?” And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God’s Angel looking on.

6–7  God’s Angel then charged Joshua, “Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you’ll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service.

8–9  “ ‘Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here’s what I’m doing next: I’m introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I’m placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes’—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—‘I’ll engrave with these words: “I’ll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day.”

10  “ ‘At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another’s porches.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Today's Scripture

Colossians 3:17, 23-24

Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritancel from the Lord as a reward.m It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Insight

Colossians 3:23-24 reminds us of whom we serve: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart . . . . It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Jesus Himself is the ultimate example of living before the audience of One. Notice these statements from Jesus: “My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (6:38). “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (8:29). In everything He undertook, Jesus had one overarching purpose—to please His Father. That truly is what it means to live before the audience of One. With the Spirit’s help, we can aspire to live out His example. By: Bill Crowder

An Audience of One

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23

As the “voice of the Denver Nuggets,” team chaplain Kyle Speller is most known for his rip-roaring, public address announcing during the championship basketball club’s games. “Let’s go!” he thunders into the mic, and thousands of onsite NBA fans, as well as millions more watching or listening to the action, react to the voice that earned Speller’s nomination as the 2022 All-Star Game PA Announcer. “I know how to feel the crowd and kind of set that home court atmosphere,” he says. Still, every word of his voice artistry—featured also in TV and radio commercials—is to glorify God. His work, Speller adds, is “just doing everything for an audience of One.”

The apostle Paul stressed a similar ethic to the Colossian church, whose members let doubts about Christ’s divinity and sovereignty seep into even their practical lives. Instead, wrote Paul, in “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Paul added, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (v. 23). For Kyle Speller, that includes his role as a chaplain, of which he says, “That’s kind of my purpose here . . . and the announcing is the icing on the cake.” Our own work for God can be just as sweet for our audience of One. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What’s the key factor in your work ethic? How would working as for God change your perspective?

Thank You for my work, Jesus, and inspire me to do it all as for You.

For further study, read How Can I Find Satisfaction in My Work?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, October 19, 2024

The Unheeded Secret

My kingdom is not of this world. — John 18:36

Today, a great enemy of Jesus Christ is the idea we have of practical work. This idea doesn’t come from the New Testament but rather from systems of the world in which endless energy and activity are insisted upon, but no private life with God. The emphasis is placed on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 kjv); it is hidden and obscure. Too often Christian workers live in the shop window. They’ve forgotten that it is the innermost of the innermost that reveals the power of the disciple’s life.

We have to rid ourselves of the spirit of the religious age we live in. As disciples, our lives are supposed to resemble our Master’s life; in his life, there was none of the stress and rush of tremendous activity that are regarded so highly today. The cornerstone of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship to him, not public usefulness to other people. Rather than wasting our time in activity, we should be soaking in the great fundamental truths of his redemption.

If we don’t get into the habit of soaking in God’s truths, we will snap when the strain comes—and it will come. None of us has any idea where God is going to put us nor any knowledge of what kinds of difficulty we will face. But if we’ve prepared ourselves beforehand by getting rooted and grounded in God, we will remain true to him whatever happens.

Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them.

Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

Zechariah 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: BEHIND THE SCENES - October 18, 2024

No one believed in people more than Jesus did. He saw something in Peter worth developing, in the adulterous woman worth forgiving, and in John worth harnessing. He saw something in the thief on the cross, and what he saw was worth saving. In the life of a wild-eyed, bloodthirsty extremist, he saw the apostle of grace. He believed in Saul.

Don’t give up on your Saul. When others write him off, give him another chance. Stay strong. Call him brother. Call her sister.  It’s too soon to throw in the towel. Tell your Saul about Jesus, and pray. God is at work behind the scenes. And remember this: God never sends you where he hasn’t already been. By the time you reach your Saul, who knows what you’ll find. God used Saul—who became Paul—to touch the world. Has God given you a Saul? 

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 2

Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure

1–5  2 I looked up and was surprised to see

a man holding a tape measure in his hand.

I said, “What are you up to?”

“I’m on my way,” he said, “to survey Jerusalem,

to measure its width and length.”

Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out

met another angel coming in and said,

“Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls—

bursting with people, bursting with animals.

And I’ll be right there with her’—God’s Decree—‘a wall of fire

around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.’ ”

6–7  “Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!” God says so.

“Return from your far exile.

I scattered you to the four winds.” God’s Decree.

“Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!”

8–9  God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, “Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.” Then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.

10  “Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!

I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!”

God’s Decree.

11–12  Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. (“They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!”) And then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.

13  Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, October 18, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Kings 19:1-8

Revenge from Jezebel

1–2  19 Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: “The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets.”

3–5  When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beer-sheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day’s journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: “Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush.

Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, “Get up and eat!”

6  He looked around and, to his surprise, right by his head were a loaf of bread baked on some coals and a jug of water. He ate the meal and went back to sleep.

7  The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, “Get up and eat some more—you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”

8–9  He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb.

Insight

Elijah’s plea for God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4) may give us some insight into his condition. His wish for death wasn’t just because he feared Jezebel’s death threat, but because he felt he was “no better than [his] ancestors” (v. 4). It’s possible that his depression was rooted in the reality that though he’d trusted God to do the impossible when He consumed the burnt offering (18:38-39) and witnessed His power when He sent rain (vv. 41-46), he’d immediately fled in fear of Jezebel. Perhaps he felt that his own faith, like that of his ancestors, was weak and fickle. Or he may have been discouraged because he’d failed to rid Israel of Baal worship and idolatry. By: J.R. Hudberg

Scraped Butter

I have had enough, Lord . . . . Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors. 1 Kings 19:4

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins starts showing the effects of carrying, for six decades, a magical ring with dark powers. Weighed down by its slowly corrosive nature, he says to the wizard Gandalf, “Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” He decides to leave his home in search of rest, somewhere “in peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around.”

This aspect of Tolkien’s story reminds me of an Old Testament prophet’s experience. On the run from Jezebel and wrung out after his battle with false prophets, Elijah badly needed some rest. Feeling depleted, he asked God to let him die, saying, “I have had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). After he fell asleep, God’s angel woke him so he could eat and drink. He slept again, and then ate more of the food provided by the angel. Revitalized, he had enough energy for the forty-day walk to the mountain of God.

When we feel scraped thin, we too can look to God for true refreshment. We might need to care for our bodies while we also ask Him to fill us with His hope, peace, and rest. Even as the angel tended to Elijah, we can trust that God will impart His refreshing presence on us (see Matthew 11:28). By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

When you’re wrung out and exhausted, what actions tempt you? How can you put your trust in God when you’re tired and overwhelmed?

Strengthening God, I look to You for true rest. Please help me put my hope in You and fill me with Your presence.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, October 18, 2024

The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion

It was for the sake of the Name that they went out. — 3 John 1:7

Our Lord has told us how our love for him should manifest itself: “Do you love me?” he asks. “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Our Lord is saying, “Identify yourself with my interests in other people,” not “Identify me with your interests in other people.” This kind of love has a specific character. It’s defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8: “Love is patient, love is kind . . .” It is the love of God expressing itself. Other expressions of love are merely sentimental. The love of God is able to stand up to the most practical tests.

“It was for the sake of the Name that they went out.” The Holy Spirit fills my heart with the love of God and sends that love through me to everyone I meet. It enables me to remain loyal to the Name, even though every commonsense fact declares that Jesus Christ has no more power than the morning mist. This loyalty is the supernatural work of redemption, worked in me by the Holy Spirit.

The key to the missionary’s devotion is being attached to nothing and no one except our Lord himself. This doesn’t mean being separated from the outside world; our Lord was always in the world, among ordinary people and things. His detachment was entirely on the inside, where he was attached only to God. Avoiding the world is often a sign of a secret, inner attachment to the very things we’re setting out to avoid. The missionary has no such attachments. His or her soul is kept concentratedly open to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. The men and women our Lord chooses to send out as his missionaries, though they are made of ordinary human stuff, have a dominating devotion to him, formed by the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye.

Disciples Indeed, 385 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, October 18, 2024

Security in Uncertainty - #9855

Man, our garage was one busy place! I mean, you know, being in Youth Ministry, having meetings at our house. It was the fastest way to get to the basement. So, I mean teenagers were coming and going through the garage, and my wife and I were going in and out daily through the garage, and I usually had an armload of something. And in bad weather, the garage was the best way to get to the driveway, to the back yard. Well, listen, I'll tell you what. I got a great Christmas present that year - an automatic garage door opener. Never had one of those before and someone gave it to me.

Oh, that changed my life. Wow! It just meant so much with all I had to do and all I had to carry and how fast I was trying to move. Why, that door would open before I got there!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Security in Uncertainty."

Okay, our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 10:3-4. Some years ago we felt the Lord's leading to move from a ministry in Chicago. That was a place and it was people that we really knew well, and we knew we should move to the New York area - a place where we knew virtually no one. We were literally jumping from the very known to the very unknown. And God gave us a word from the Bible that was my anchor then and has been my anchor since then in a lot of uncertain moments.

Jesus says in John 10, speaking of the shepherd, "He calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. And when he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them." Oh, man, I love that! I told you about that garage door opener. It makes sure that the way is open before I get there. I've got a Shepherd who does that, and so do you if you belong to Him.

See, the Shepherd gets there ahead of the sheep. And no matter how new, or how dark, or how scary, or how uncertain the path seems to be, the Shepherd has gone ahead of you there. I'm sure they did that back in Jesus' day. The shepherd would go wherever the sheep were being led - first - and he'd check it out and make sure there was pasture to feed them, see if there were any wolves there, and see where the edge of the cliff was so they wouldn't walk over it. Your Shepherd is doing that for you right now.

Maybe you're facing a situation that's got a lot of question marks. Maybe more than question marks - maybe even some frightening possibilities. You can be sure that Jesus is already there. He's way ahead of you, clearing the way, making sure that your needs will be met. He's dealing effectively with the dangers that are going to be there, and He is securing your future for you because you're a lamb in His flock. Yeah, He leads His sheep out, but then He goes before them.

Boy, I'm glad that's John 10:4 - it's kind of like the radio people saying, "Ten-four, good buddy. That's all you need to know; that the Shepherd goes on ahead of you." You know in the Old Testament King David said "The Lord is my Shepherd." I wonder if you can say that. I wonder if you've ever actually begun a relationship with this Jesus who loved you enough to die for your sin on the cross and who is powerful enough to walk out of His grave. He wants to walk right into your life and be your Shepherd. Yeah, He is The Shepherd, but is He yours? You could ask Him into your life this very day and I pray that you'll do that. Say "Jesus, I'm Yours. I want to belong to You." And if you're not sure you do, go to our website and I think we can help with that.

When you're in Christ's care and you're headed toward what seems to be a closed door or maybe even what's ahead in eternity, remember your Lord's going ahead of you first making sure that the door is open before you get there.