Job 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE FATHER KNOWS YOU - April 1, 2025

Are you open to the idea of a Father, a heavenly Father, who knows you? A soon-to-be home that awaits you? Would you consider this life-changing idea: the almighty and all-knowing God has set his affection on you. Every detail about you he knows. Your interests, your hang-ups, your fears, your failures. He knows you.

About his children God says, “The Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NIV). King David wrote, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path” (Psalm 142:3 NKJV). Do you know this God who knows you? He knows your name, and he can’t wait to get you home. The ever-recurring, soul-lifting message of heaven: “The Lord delights in you” (Isaiah 62:4 NKJV).

Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name

Job 31

What Can I Expect from God?

1–4  31 “I made a solemn pact with myself

never to undress a girl with my eyes.

So what can I expect from God?

What do I deserve from God Almighty above?

Isn’t calamity reserved for the wicked?

Isn’t disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong?

Isn’t God looking, observing how I live?

Doesn’t he mark every step I take?

5–8  “Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood,

or hung out in the company of deceit?

Weigh me on a set of honest scales

so God has proof of my integrity.

If I’ve strayed off the straight and narrow,

wanted things I had no right to,

messed around with sin,

Go ahead, then—

give my portion to someone who deserves it.

9–12  “If I’ve let myself be seduced by a woman

and conspired to go to bed with her,

Fine, my wife has every right to go ahead

and sleep with anyone she wants to.

For disgusting behavior like that,

I’d deserve the worst punishment you could hand out.

Adultery is a fire that burns the house down;

I wouldn’t expect anything I count dear to survive it.

13–15  “Have I ever been unfair to my employees

when they brought a complaint to me?

What, then, will I do when God confronts me?

When God examines my books, what can I say?

Didn’t the same God who made me, make them?

Aren’t we all made of the same stuff, equals before God?

16–18  “Have I ignored the needs of the poor,

turned my back on the indigent,

Taken care of my own needs and fed my own face

while they languished?

Wasn’t my home always open to them?

Weren’t they always welcome at my table?

19–20  “Have I ever left a poor family shivering in the cold

when they had no warm clothes?

Didn’t the poor bless me when they saw me coming,

knowing I’d brought coats from my closet?

21–23  “If I’ve ever used my strength and influence

to take advantage of the unfortunate,

Go ahead, break both my arms,

cut off all my fingers!

The fear of God has kept me from these things—

how else could I ever face him?

If Only Someone Would Give Me a Hearing!

24–28  “Did I set my heart on making big money

or worship at the bank?

Did I boast about my wealth,

show off because I was well-off?

Was I ever so awed by the sun’s brilliance

and moved by the moon’s beauty

That I let myself become seduced by them

and worshiped them on the sly?

If so, I would deserve the worst of punishments,

for I would be betraying God himself.

29–30  “Did I ever crow over my enemy’s ruin?

Or gloat over my rival’s bad luck?

No, I never said a word of detraction,

never cursed them, even under my breath.

31–34  “Didn’t those who worked for me say,

‘He fed us well. There were always second helpings’?

And no stranger ever had to spend a night in the street;

my doors were always open to travelers.

Did I hide my sin the way Adam did,

or conceal my guilt behind closed doors

Because I was afraid what people would say,

fearing the gossip of the neighbors so much

That I turned myself into a recluse?

You know good and well that I didn’t.

35–37  “Oh, if only someone would give me a hearing!

I’ve signed my name to my defense—let the Almighty One answer!

I want to see my indictment in writing.

Anyone’s welcome to read my defense;

I’ll write it on a poster and carry it around town.

I’m prepared to account for every move I’ve ever made—

to anyone and everyone, prince or pauper.

38–40  “If the very ground that I farm accuses me,

if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse,

If I’ve ever raped the earth for my own profit

or dispossessed its rightful owners,

Then curse it with thistles instead of wheat,

curse it with weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job to his three friends were finished.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

by Arthur Jackson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 3:8-12

Suffering for Doing Good

8–12  Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Whoever wants to embrace life

and see the day fill up with good,

Here’s what you do:

Say nothing evil or hurtful;

Snub evil and cultivate good;

run after peace for all you’re worth.

God looks on all this with approval,

listening and responding well to what he’s asked;

But he turns his back

on those who do evil things.

Today's Insights

In 1 Peter 3:10-12, Peter strengthens his point on how to respond to suffering by quoting from Psalm 34:12-16, a psalm that came out of one of David’s frightening experiences. Having escaped King Saul’s murderous pursuit, David ended up in Gath—the home of his former Philistine opponent, Goliath. When David’s identity is exposed, he pretends to be insane (1 Samuel 21:10-15) and escapes from Gath. The account in 1 Samuel focuses on David’s apparent ingenuity in cleverly escaping danger, but in Psalm 34, as he reflects on the event, he sees that his rescue came from God, not his own scheme (v. 17). Peter’s use of this psalm captures the hopeful optimism of David, whose trust in God’s kind protection and care had been rewarded in his escape from Gath.

Triumph of Kindness in Christ

When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. Titus 3:4-5

When Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in modern-day Major League Baseball, played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on May 9, 1947, ten-year-old Doris was in the upper-deck stands with her father. When an elderly Black man made his way down the aisle to a seat next to them, her father led the way in getting acquainted. Doris said their conversation about scorekeeping made her feel “grown up.” She later reflected, “I’ve never forgotten that man and his smiling face.” The delightful interaction between Doris, a young White girl, and the kind, elderly man, who was the son of slaves, was a bright spot that day.

This was in stark contrast, however, to the hateful conduct Robinson had experienced at another game that season. He recounted that “in terms of race, they yelled everything at me; it was quite vicious.”

Vicious conduct isn’t limited to sports fields. Homes, neighborhoods, workspaces, and even our churches can be places where ugliness wins. Those who believe in the God who displayed kindness through His Son (see Titus 3:4), however, are called to do the same. Peter writes: “Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult” (1 Peter 3:8-9). Kindness triumphs when those who’ve received it from God share it generously with others as the Spirit helps them.

Reflect & Pray

When are you tempted to be unkind? How have you been the recipient of kindness?

Dear Father, I’m grateful for the kindness You’ve given through Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Heartlessness versus Heartiness

The Spirit intercedes for God’s people. . . . Christ Jesus . . . is also interceding for us. — Romans 8:34,27

Do we need anything beyond these verses to convince us that we, too, should intercede? Are we living in a vital relationship to others, doing the work of interceding for them in prayer as Spirit-taught children of God?

Consider your present circumstances—your home, your business, and your country. Consider the crises that are touching you and those around you. Are your burdens crushing you? Are they crowding out the presence of God, leaving you no time to worship and no time to pray for others? If so, call a time-out. Get yourself into such a living relationship with God that your relationship to others may be maintained through the intercession in prayer by which God works his marvels.

Often we become so overwhelmed by difficulties and by the needs of the people around us that we forget to worship and to intercede. God continually introduces us to people for whom we have no affinity, and if we aren’t in the habit of worshipping and interceding, the most natural thing to do is to treat these people heartlessly—to jab a bit of Scripture at them, or make some trite, impersonal quip about God, and get away as fast as we can.

We have to beware of outpacing God in our very longing to do his will. We run ahead of him in a thousand and one activities, attempting to tackle burdens and pressures on our own, instead of bringing them directly to him. If difficulties arise and we aren’t in the worshipping frame of mind, the result will be hardness toward God, heartlessness toward others, and despair in our souls.

A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord. Bring yourself into alignment with Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and begin to intercede as they do, “in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

Judges 13-15; Luke 6:27-49

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, April 01, 2025

What the Quake Can't Take - #9972

One moment they were in their apartment building. The next they were under it. Ninety people were trapped when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar suddenly leveled their building.Fifty Myanmar children went to preschool that day. At least a dozen died there in the sudden collapse of their school.

One doctor in Mandalay said: "Wherever I looked, I saw collapsed buildings. Only dust."

It's a tragedy that's almost incomprehensible. Especially when some scientists are estimating the death toll could even go to 10,000. Not numbers. Somebody's son or daughter. Husband or wife. Mom or dad.

In spite of the ferocity of the quake, many did not have to die. As one expert explained, building codes in this quake-prone area "fail to fully consider earthquake resistance measures." In other words, unlike places like Japan, structures are not built to withstand the shock of a major quake.

It's not just buildings with that kind of vulnerability. It's people.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What the Quake Can't Take."

Cancer. Stroke. Heart attack. The death of a child. Or, like me, the death of the love of your life. It's just been a litany of loss lately among friends and acquaintances. Bad news from the doctor. Financial collapse. A devastating fire or storm. The collapse of a marriage. Mental health and anxiety issues are off the charts.

It's like we're all living in a quake prone zone. The question is not, "Will there be a lifequake?" The question is, "Is what I'm building my life on strong enough to withstand the trauma that shakes everything in my world?"

So many things we live for... we depend on... our "go to's" fail us when the quake hits. We look around and there's "only dust." What is there that the quake can't take?

That's something the Biblical psalmist addresses when he wrote these words in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with surging... Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall". He's saying here that literally, everything is collapsing. But listen... "The Lord Almighty is with us."

A ship in a storm can be tossed around violently. But the anchor holds. Mine did nine years ago next month. It shook my world like nothing else ever could. The Great Quake - death - suddenly took my Karen, the love of my life since I was 19.

But there's something it couldn't take. My personal relationship with the only Person who ever beat death. The one man who walked out of His grave under His own power. Jesus. The Christ. The Son of God.

Yes, the one who promised to love me "til death do us part" kept her promise. But death did us part. But, in the words of Scripture, "Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39). It's the love we saw poured out for our sins on the day we call Good Friday. A love that didn't turn its back then. A love that never will.

Millions of people for two thousand years have anchored their life to this Jesus, and found that "we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). It seems appropriate that on that morning we call Easter the Bible says, "there was a violent earthquake" at the tomb of Jesus. For that is the day He walked out of that grave to conquer the Great Quake of death.

Listen, if you want to be sure you belong to Him in an uncertain world, our website is there to help you begin a relationship with Him. Would you go there today? It's ANewStory.com.

Someday I will face the Great Quake. But not alone. For, as the Bible says, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For YOU are with me!" (Psalm 23:4)

Job 30, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES - March 31, 2025

God keeps his promises. Shouldn’t God’s promise-keeping inspire yours? People can exhaust you. There are times when all we can do is not enough. When a spouse chooses to leave, we can’t force him or her to stay. And you’re tired, you’re angry, you’re disappointed. This isn’t the marriage you expected or the life you wanted. But looming in your past is a promise you made. Whatever that is, may I urge you to do all you can to keep it? To give it one more try? Why should you? So you can understand the depth of God’s love.

You see, when you love the unloving, you get a glimpse of what God does every day for you and me. When you keep the porch light on for the prodigal child, you do what God does every single moment. Pay attention. Take notes on your struggles. God invites you to understand his love by loving others the way he does.

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Job 30

The Pain Never Lets Up

1–8  30 “But no longer. Now I’m the butt of their jokes—

young ruffians! whippersnappers!

Why, I considered their fathers

mere inexperienced pups.

But they are worse than dogs—good for nothing,

stray, mangy animals,

Half-starved, scavenging the back alleys,

howling at the moon;

Homeless guttersnipes

chewing on old bones and licking old tin cans;

Outcasts from the community,

cursed as dangerous delinquents.

Nobody would put up with them;

they were driven from the neighborhood.

You could hear them out there at the edge of town,

yelping and barking, huddled in junkyards,

A gang of beggars and no-names,

thrown out on their ears.

9–15  “But now I’m the one they’re after,

mistreating me, taunting and mocking.

They abhor me, they abuse me.

How dare those scoundrels—they spit in my face!

Now that God has undone me and left me in a heap,

they hold nothing back. Anything goes.

They come at me from my blind side,

trip me up, then jump on me while I’m down.

They throw every kind of obstacle in my path,

determined to ruin me—

and no one lifts a finger to help me!

They violate my broken body,

trample through the rubble of my ruined life.

Terrors assault me—

my dignity in shreds,

salvation up in smoke.

16–19  “And now my life drains out,

as suffering seizes and grips me hard.

Night gnaws at my bones;

the pain never lets up.

I am tied hand and foot, my neck in a noose.

I twist and turn.

Thrown facedown in the muck,

I’m a muddy mess, inside and out.

What Did I Do to Deserve This?

20–23  “I shout for help, God, and get nothing, no answer!

I stand to face you in protest, and you give me a blank stare!

You’ve turned into my tormenter—

you slap me around, knock me about.

You raised me up so I was riding high

and then dropped me, and I crashed.

I know you’re determined to kill me,

to put me six feet under.

24–31  “What did I do to deserve this?

Did I ever hit anyone who was calling for help?

Haven’t I wept for those who live a hard life,

been heartsick over the lot of the poor?

But where did it get me?

I expected good but evil showed up.

I looked for light but darkness fell.

My stomach’s in a constant churning, never settles down.

Each day confronts me with more suffering.

I walk under a black cloud. The sun is gone.

I stand in the congregation and protest.

I howl with the jackals,

I hoot with the owls.

I’m black-and-blue all over,

burning up with fever.

My fiddle plays nothing but the blues;

my mouth harp wails laments.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, March 31, 2025

by Arthur Jackson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Timothy 1:12-17

I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.

15–19  Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.

Deep honor and bright glory

to the King of All Time—

One God, Immortal, Invisible,

ever and always. Oh, yes!

Today's Insights

The apostle Paul (Saul) was there at the very beginning of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-4), but at the time, he held no love or loyalty for Jesus and His people. Instead, he approved of the murder of Stephen, a leader in the new church (6:1-6; 7:57–8:1) and then actively hunted down believers in Christ in Jerusalem and “put them in prison” (8:3). He requested letters to travel around the area with the full intention of murdering any believer he could get his hands on or—at the very least—imprisoning them (9:1-2). It’s that very violence—something Paul thought he was doing in the name of God—that the apostle said made him the “worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:16). Jesus took a violent, angry man and turned him into someone who would lay down his own life for the salvation of the very people he once sought to murder (Romans 9:3).

Just Right for Jesus

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15

Eric’s childhood challenges included a severe skin rash, difficulties in school, and getting high on alcohol or drugs daily from a very early age. Yet the one who dubbed himself as the “king of bad” found that he excelled on the baseball field—until he abandoned baseball after becoming discouraged by discrimination. This allowed him even more time for using and dealing drugs.

Things changed for Eric, however, when he had a life-altering encounter with Jesus while attending a church service. At his job the next day, a dedicated believer in Jesus invited Eric to attend yet another church service, where he heard these words that encouraged him in his newfound faith: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 kjv). Eric’s life has never been the same.

Like Eric, Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) would’ve been classified as a “tough case.” He said, “I am the worst” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He was “once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (v. 13). Like Saul, Eric was just right for Jesus. And so are we, even if we don’t view ourselves in the same league as Saul or Eric, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We’re all just right for Jesus.

Reflect & Pray

How do Eric and Saul’s stories help you to see God as a forgiving God? What does it mean for you to be just right for Jesus?  

Dear God in heaven, please help me to see that the blood of Jesus cleanses from “big” and “little” sins.

Read more about overcoming sin.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, March 31, 2025

Spiritual Hypocrisy

If we aren’t mindful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. Instead of interceding in prayer when we see another person failing, we’ll turn our discernment into criticism.

Be very careful that you don’t act like a hypocrite and try to fix other people before you yourself are right with God. The Holy Spirit isn’t revealed to us through the intellectual workings of our mind, but through the direct penetration of our souls. If we aren’t alert to the source of the revelation—to the fact that it is God, not us—we will become cauldrons of criticism. We’ll forget what Scripture says about our dealings with others: “You should pray and God will give them life.”

One of the subtlest burdens God puts on his disciples is this burden of using discernment when it comes to other souls. Why does he reveal certain things about others to us? It isn’t so we’ll criticize them. It’s so we’ll take their burden before God. It’s so we’ll form the mind of Christ regarding them, interceding with him on their behalf. God says he will give them life if we pray in this way.

To intercede in prayer isn’t to tell God our opinions or to let him in on the workings of our minds. It’s to stir ourselves up to get at his mind, his thoughts, about the people for whom we intercede. Is Jesus Christ seeing the workings of his soul in us? He can’t—not until we are so identified with him that we strive to know his mind. If we want Jesus to be satisfied with us, we must learn to intercede wholeheartedly on others’ behalf, as he intercedes for us: “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, March 31, 2025

THE SECRET OF STAYING SAFE - #9971

I was out of the country, and my wife was visiting her father, along with our daughter and son-in-law. My wife convinced her dad to hike with them back into the woods to see the spring where they used to go to get water when she was a little girl. That spring gushing from the rocks, just beneath a cave above it.

They spent a few minutes exploring and then they headed back. That night our son-in-law pulled out the video that he'd shot of their little expedition. As the picture panned past that darkened cave, he stopped the video and rewound it to get a closer look. And there, gleaming in the darkness, were the two eyes of a big cat - as in panther or cougar. They had not seen that cat - they had been exploring right beneath that cat - and they never knew the danger they were in.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Secret of Staying Safe."

I wonder how many of those you and I have had in our lives; the things that could have hurt us or destroyed us that we never knew about - the cats that never pounced. In an increasingly dangerous world, isn't it great to know that you are under that kind of protection?

Paul wrote about that security in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Timothy 4:17-18. He said, "I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom." Now there is a pretty powerful antidote to fear! The Lord is going to rescue me from every threat, except one - the one that's designed to take me home, right on time. That's right on time according to the life plan He made for me before there was a me.

That doesn't mean we don't take precautions, the ones that God directs us to. Paul often continued to preach boldly, even when he knew there were forces who wanted to kill him in the city. But other times he left town quickly or sneaked out of the city in a basket. When Nehemiah and his workers were threatened, he said, "We prayed to our God and we posted a guard day and night" (Nehemiah 4:9). Now, look! Our faith is not in that guard but in our God. But sometimes God chooses to protect us through practical steps that He asks us to take.

But ultimately we're safe because Almighty God is watching over us. In just six verses in Psalm 121, it says "The Lord watches over you" five times! It concludes by saying, "The Lord will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

So, when is the last time you praised the Lord for all those cats that never pounced? For all those times you've been delivered from danger and never even knew it! Wait 'till we watch the video in heaven. I think we're going to be amazed at what could have happened that didn't!

By the way, something amazing happens when we finally come to the end of trying to make it to God our own way, and understand that God had to come for us in the person of His Son, Jesus. And the only way that the sin that keeps me out of heaven could be paid for was by His Son dying for me. See, we're totally not safe. We will never be safe forever. We will pay the price for the sin against the God that put us here unless that sin is forgiven by the only One who can, and that's the One who died to pay its penalty. That's God's Son, Jesus.

What happens when we put our life in His hands is for the first time in your life and finally and forever you are safe in the arms of the Savior. Have you ever given yourself to Him? Let this be the day. Open your heart to Him. Tell Him, "I'm Yours, Jesus." Go to our website and find out how - ANewStory.com.

When our kids were little, we used to put them to sleep every night singing a little chorus: "Safe am I, safe am I, in the hollow of His hand. Sheltered o'er, sheltered o'er, with His love forevermore. No ill can harm me, no foe alarm me, for He keeps both day and night. Safe am I, in the hollow of His hand." If that's where you are, you're really safe forever. If you've never put your life in Jesus' hands, come home. It's safe there.

Matthew 13:1-30, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

On Behalf Of Jesus: by Max Lucado

“This man has done nothing wrong.” Luke 23:41

Finally someone is defending Jesus. Peter fled. The disciples hid. The Jews accused. Pilate washed his hands. Many could have spoken on behalf of Jesus, but none did. Until now.

Kind words from the lips of a thief. He makes his request. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

The Savior turns his heavy head toward the prodigal child and promises, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Matthew 13:1-30

A Harvest Story

1–3  13 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.

3–8  “What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

9  “Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

Why Tell Stories?

10  The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”

11–15  He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.

Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.

The people are blockheads!

They stick their fingers in their ears

so they won’t have to listen;

They screw their eyes shut

so they won’t have to look,

so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face

and let me heal them.

16–17  “But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.

The Meaning of the Harvest Story

18–19  “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.

20–21  “The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

22  “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.

23  “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”

24–26  He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.

27  “The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’

28  “He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’

“The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’

29–30  “He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, March 30, 2025

by Sheridan Voysey

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Galatians 4:13-15

You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you.

14–16  And don’t you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you? What has happened to the satisfaction you felt at that time? There were some of you then who, if possible, would have given your very eyes to me—that is how deeply you cared!

Today's Insights

Christianity was birthed from Judaism. As more and more gentiles became believers in Jesus, the role of Judaism in the Christian faith became an issue. Judaizers, a group of Jewish teachers, taught that believers in Jesus must convert to Judaism and be circumcised to be saved (Galatians 5:2-6; 6:12). Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to counter and condemn this false gospel (1:8-9), reminding them that “a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ.” He said, “No one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (2:16 nlt) because “the righteous will live by faith” (3:11). Paul makes a personal appeal, reminding them how they had lovingly welcomed him and embraced his teachings fully when he first brought the gospel to them (4:13-14). The apostle warns them of the evil intentions of these false teachers in drawing them away from the true gospel (v. 17).

Beauty from Infirmity

As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Galatians 4:13

The artist Degas suffered retina disease for the last fifty years of his life, switching from paint to pastel because the chalk lines were easier to see. Renoir had to have brushes placed between his fingers when arthritis made them clench like claws. And when surgery left Matisse immobile, he turned to collage, directing assistants to attach colored pieces of paper to a larger sheet on the wall. What followed in each case was a creative breakthrough: Degas’ Blue Dancers, Renoir’s Girls at the Piano, Matisse’s The Sorrows of the King, and other masterpieces. By adapting to their trial, beauty emerged from their infirmity.

In a similar way, Paul wasn’t planning to visit Galatia during his early missionary journeys. An illness forced him there (Galatians 4:13). Apparently, Paul sought a different climate, wound up in Galatia and, even though he was ill, started preaching. Ironically, the Holy Spirit performed miracles through him (3:2-5) and the Galatian church was born. This surprising outcome may never have happened without Paul’s illness.

What trial have you faced, and how did it change the direction of your life? By refocusing your gifts, you too may see God bring beauty out of your infirmity.

Reflect & Pray

How have you seen God turn illness and other trials into opportunities for service? How are both Paul and those artists examples to follow in times of trial?

Dear God, You are genius at bringing beauty out of infirmity. Here are my trials and my talents.

How does faith grow through trials? Join the conversation here!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Holiness versus Hardness

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. — 1 Timothy 2:1

The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that our interest in prayer is merely sentimental. We read books that say prayer is beneficial, that it quiets the mind and uplifts the soul, and this makes us feel good. It makes us feel right to say we pray. But prayer, in God’s eyes, must go together with intercession. One is impossible without the other.

To intercede in prayer on another’s behalf is to seek the mind of God about that person. Too often, instead of worshipping during prayer, we construct arguments about how prayer works. “I don’t see how you’re going to do this,” we say to God. If we’re arguing with God like this, it’s a sure sign that we aren’t worshipping. We’re hurling demands at his throne and dictating what we want him to do. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic toward him. And when we become hard toward God, we become hard toward other people.

Are we worshipping when we pray, lifting our minds up to know God’s thoughts? Are we living in a holy relationship to him? Or are we hard and dogmatic?

“He was appalled that there was no one to intervene” (Isaiah 59:16). If there is no one, do the job yourself. Become the one who worships God and lives in holy relationship to him. Commit to the hard work of intervening in prayer on others’ behalf, and remember that it is, truly, work. But it is work that will sustain you, as the Lord’s “own righteousness sustained him” (v. 16).

Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of nothing else. 

The Shadow of an Agony, 1163 L

Job 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Six Hours, One Friday

Six hours, one Friday.  Mundane to the casual observer.   A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients.  But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on a cross.  The creator of the universe is being executed.

It is no normal six hours.  It is no normal Friday.  Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart.  And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone. What do you do with that day in history?  What do you do with its claims?  They were the most critical hours in history.

Nails didn’t hold God to a cross.  Love did. The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

from Six Hours One Friday

Job 29

When God Was Still by My Side

1–6  29 Job now resumed his response:

“Oh, how I long for the good old days,

when God took such very good care of me.

He always held a lamp before me

and I walked through the dark by its light.

Oh, how I miss those golden years

when God’s friendship graced my home,

When the Mighty One was still by my side

and my children were all around me,

When everything was going my way,

and nothing seemed too difficult.

7–20  “When I walked downtown

and sat with my friends in the public square,

Young and old greeted me with respect;

I was honored by everyone in town.

When I spoke, everyone listened;

they hung on my every word.

People who knew me spoke well of me;

my reputation went ahead of me.

I was known for helping people in trouble

and standing up for those who were down on their luck.

The dying blessed me,

and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.

All my dealings with people were good.

I was known for being fair to everyone I met.

I was eyes to the blind

and feet to the lame,

Father to the needy,

and champion of abused aliens.

I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck

and made them give back what they’d stolen.

I thought, ‘I’ll die peacefully in my own bed,

grateful for a long and full life,

A life deep-rooted and well-watered,

a life limber and dew-fresh,

My soul suffused with glory

and my body robust until the day I die.’

21–25  “Men and women listened when I spoke,

hung expectantly on my every word.

After I spoke, they’d be quiet,

taking it all in.

They welcomed my counsel like spring rain,

drinking it all in.

When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;

their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!

I was their leader, establishing the mood

and setting the pace by which they lived.

Where I led, they followed.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, March 29, 2025

by Winn Collier

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Deuteronomy 31:1-6

The Charge

1–2  31 Moses went on and addressed these words to all Israel. He said, “I’m 120 years old today. I can’t get about as I used to. And God told me, ‘You’re not going to cross this Jordan River.’

3–5  “God, your God, will cross the river ahead of you and destroy the nations in your path so that you may dispossess them. (And Joshua will cross the river before you, as God said he would.) God will give the nations the same treatment he gave the kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, and their land; he’ll destroy them. God will hand the nations over to you, and you’ll treat them exactly as I have commanded you.

6  “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”

Today's Insights

Echoes from Moses’ writings in Deuteronomy 31 can be heard in Psalm 27. Though the genre is different, God, through these inspired writers, calls His people to place their confidence in His care during times of uncertainty. Moses wrote, “Be strong and courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:6). The same combination of Hebrew words appears in Psalm 27:14: “Be strong and take heart.” Moses commanded, “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them” (Deuteronomy 31:6) and David said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). The assurance of God’s presence is likewise expressed by these writers. In the words of Moses, “He will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8). From the pen of David we’re assured, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close” (Psalm 27:10 nlt).

God Never Loses Us

[God] will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

The US Department of Transportation reported that in 2021, US airlines mishandled two million bags. Thankfully, many pieces were delayed or lost for only a short period. Thousands of bags were lost for good, however. No wonder there’s a surging market for GPS devices that attach to gear, allowing you to track bags when airlines have given up. We’re all afraid that those in charge can’t be trusted to keep track of what’s important.

Israel had a similar fear about God, only they feared that He was going to lose them. As the people prepared to enter their new homeland, Moses shared the unsettling news that he wouldn’t be guiding them. He explained that he was old and “no longer able to lead [them]” (Deuteronomy 31:2). The people were likely stunned. Moses represented God’s presence and offered His words. Would God forget about them now? Would He lose them in this wilderness?

“Do not be afraid or terrified,” Moses said, “for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (v. 6). He promised that God would always be with them and assured them that He’d never ever lose them. And in the person of Jesus, God makes us this same steady, unbreakable promise. Christ will be with us “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). God will never lose us. Never.

Reflect & Pray

When have you feared God had lost you? How has He shown you that He never forgets you?

Dear God, I often fear that I’m out of Your sight and mind. Please help me to trust that You hold me and will never lose me.

God calls us to be strong and courageous. Find out more by reading The Promise and the Warning.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. — Luke 12:40

As disciples, we must be ready for Jesus to appear at every moment. This isn’t easy, no matter what our experience is. Our battle isn’t so much against sin or difficulties or circumstances; it’s against being so absorbed in our work that we fail to notice the Son of Man when he comes. And yet, this is the great need: not answering questions about our beliefs or our creeds or whether we are useful but being ready for him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect him. He comes where we do not expect him, and through the most illogical chains of events. The only way a disciple can be true to God is by being ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. It isn’t service that matters; it’s intense spiritual reality; it’s being ready to welcome Jesus Christ at every turn. This will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder God wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus, we have to stop being “religious.” That is, we have to stop treating religion as a higher kind of culture and become spiritually real. When we are spiritually real, Jesus is able to use us as he likes; at any second, he can visit others through us.

If you are looking to Jesus, if you’re setting your heart on what he wants and avoiding the call of the religious age you live in, you will be considered unpractical and dreamy. But when he appears in the burden and the heat of the day, you will be the one who is ready.

Trust no one who blocks your sight of Jesus Christ, not even the most devout Christian who ever walked the earth. Be always ready to greet the Lord, especially where you least expect him.

Judges 7-8; Luke 5:1-16

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. 

Not Knowing Whither, 888 L

Job 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LISTEN TO GOD’S VOICE - March 28, 2025

Two kinds of voices vie for our attention. One says, “God will help you.” The other lies, “God has left you.” And here’s the great news: you select the voices you hear. Why give ear to the pea-brains and scoffers when you can, with the same ear, listen to the voice of God?

I had a friend who battled alcohol. He tried a fresh tactic. He gave me and a few others permission to slug him in the nose if we ever saw him drinking. You know, if the wall is too tall, just try the tunnel. Try something different.

Ephesians 1:19-20 (NCV) says, “God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead and put him at his right side in the heavenly world.” You turn to God, and he will give you what you need. Turn a deaf ear to the old voices. Open a wide eye to the new choices!

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Job 28

Where Does Wisdom Come From?

1–11  28 “We all know how silver seams the rocks,

we’ve seen the stuff from which gold is refined,

We’re aware of how iron is dug out of the ground

and copper is smelted from rock.

Miners penetrate the earth’s darkness,

searching the roots of the mountains for ore,

digging away in the suffocating darkness.

Far from civilization, far from the traffic,

they cut a shaft,

and are lowered into it by ropes.

Earth’s surface is a field for grain,

but its depths are a forge

Firing sapphires from stones

and chiseling gold from rocks.

Vultures are blind to its riches,

hawks never lay eyes on it.

Wild animals are oblivious to it,

lions don’t know it’s there.

Miners hammer away at the rock,

they uproot the mountains.

They tunnel through the rock

and find all kinds of beautiful gems.

They discover the origins of rivers,

and bring earth’s secrets to light.

12–19  “But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom?

Where does Insight hide?

Mortals don’t have a clue,

haven’t the slightest idea where to look.

Earth’s depths say, ‘It’s not here’;

ocean deeps echo, ‘Never heard of it.’

It can’t be bought with the finest gold;

no amount of silver can get it.

Even famous Ophir gold can’t buy it,

not even diamonds and sapphires.

Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable;

extravagant jewelry can’t touch it.

Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother?

None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom!

Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will,

they can’t hold a candle to Wisdom.

20–22  “So where does Wisdom come from?

And where does Insight live?

It can’t be found by looking, no matter

how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly.

If you search through the graveyard and question the dead,

they say, ‘We’ve only heard rumors of it.’

23–28  “God alone knows the way to Wisdom,

he knows the exact place to find it.

He knows where everything is on earth,

he sees everything under heaven.

After he commanded the winds to blow

and measured out the waters,

Arranged for the rain

and set off explosions of thunder and lightning,

He focused on Wisdom,

made sure it was all set and tested and ready.

Then he addressed the human race: ‘Here it is!

Fear-of-the-Lord—that’s Wisdom,

and Insight means shunning evil.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, March 28, 2025

by Karen Huang

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

James 4:13-17

Nothing but a Wisp of Fog

13–15  And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”

16–17  As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.

Today's Insights

James, the half brother of Christ and leader of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 1:19; 2:9), wrote to Jewish believers in Jesus living outside of Israel (James 1:1). James deals with a church characterized by a rich-poor divide, with favoritism shown to the wealthy, and the rich exploiting the poor (2:1-10; 5:1-6). The rich espoused a worldly and materialistic outlook (4:4-17). James warns these arrogant and self-confident wealthy believers—who think they have the future securely in their hand—that they too are precariously subjected to the uncertainties, brevity, and the frailty of life (v. 14; 5:1-3). Boasting and trusting in themselves is sin. Instead, James tells them to put their trust in God for their future (4:15-16) and to use their material wealth to do good and to help the poor (1:27). The apostle Paul gave a similar command to rich believers in 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

Following God’s Plans

If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. James 4:15

I was unable to focus on a work project because of anxiety; I was afraid that my plans for it wouldn’t succeed. My anxiety came from pride. I believed my timeline and plans were best, so I wanted them to proceed unhindered. A question broke through my thoughts, however: Are your plans God’s plans?

The problem wasn’t my planning—God calls us to be wise stewards of our time, opportunities, and resources. The problem was my arrogance. I was fixated on my understanding of events and how I wanted them to turn out, not on God’s purpose and how He wanted my plans to turn out.

James encourages us to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (4:15). We’re to plan not with a presumptuous mindset, thinking we know everything and have control over our life, but from a position of submission to God’s sovereignty and wisdom. After all, we “do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” In our humanness, we’re helpless and weak, like “a mist that appears . . . and then vanishes” (v. 14).

Only God has authority and power over everything in our lives; we don’t. Through the Scriptures and the people, resources, and circumstances He allows each day, He guides us to live in submission to His will and ways. Our plans aren’t to come from following ourselves but from following Him.

Reflect & Pray

When you make plans apart from God’s leading, what’s the outcome? What plans can you submit to His authority?

Dear God, please help me to submit to You and to let go of my plans for my life and embrace Yours.

For further study, read When Fear Seems Overwhelming—Finding Courage and Hope.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, March 28, 2025

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” — John 11:8

At times, we are like the disciples in John 11: confused about what Jesus is saying and convinced that there must be some misunderstanding. It is dangerous to believe that simply because I don’t understand Jesus, he must be mistaken. Perhaps I think that if I obey God’s word, I’ll bring dishonor to him. I won’t. The only thing that brings dishonor to God is disobedience. To put my idea of his honor above what he is clearly telling me to do is never right, even if it’s coming from a genuine desire to prevent his being slandered or shamed.

You can always tell when an instruction comes from God, because it comes with quiet persistence. When you begin to weigh the pros and cons, you bring in an element that isn’t of God. This is when you risk coming to the conclusion that what he’s saying must be a mistake. Many of us are loyal to our own ideas about Jesus, but how many of us are loyal to him? Loyalty to Jesus means you step out even when there is no path; loyalty to your own ideas means that you try to map out the path first, using your own intelligence. Faith is not intelligent understanding; faith is deliberate commitment to a person when we see no way.

Are you loyal to Jesus, or to your idea of Jesus? Are you loyal to what he says, or are you trying to compromise, bringing in your own rationalizations? When he says something and you start to debate, it’s because you have an idea of his honor that isn’t right.

“Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Stop debating, and obey your Lord with a glad and reckless joy.

Judges 4-6; Luke 4:31-44

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 388 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, March 28, 2025

Your Secret Identity, a Secret No More - #9970

Clark Kent! What a wimp! I started watching Clark Kent when he was a "mild-mannered reporter," it said, "for a great metropolitan newspaper." I was a kid then. Poor Clark! He always seemed pretty easy to push around, kind of Joe Ordinary; "Clark Can't" really. Of course there was a secret no one in Metropolis suspected. No one knew that underneath that ordinary exterior was his real identity - Superman! Clark knew that he was a whole lot more than meets the eye.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Secret Identity, a Secret No More."

For many years the ancient Jews had been sort of Clark Kent - pushed around, ordinary, powerless. They had been the slave labor force of the Egyptian Empire, exploited, they were beaten and they were stripped of their dignity. In a word, they were victims. But not any more. No, God had delivered them. They were free! Outside that is, but they hadn't gotten that message inside. The Lord was giving them a super new identity, but they were still "Clark Kent-ing."

Our word for today from the Word of God, Leviticus 26, beginning at verse 12 (you're going to like this). God says, "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high." Man, listen to who they are! God says, "You are My people, no longer slaves. The bars that have held you have been broken. You can walk with your head held high." God's saying, "I know what you were, but you can stop living like that now. You are liberated! You're Mine!"

They were out of Egypt, sure. But Egypt wasn't out of them. They were out of slavery, but the slavery wasn't out of them. You say, "What does that have to do with me?" A lot, especially if that word victim rings a bell in your heart. Because maybe you've been carrying around a lot of hurt. Honestly, there's been rejection, abuse, maybe rape, abandonment, betrayal. In some form, or maybe in many forms you have been the victim of someone else's sin. If you've been through a lot of pain, it is very natural to see your identity as a victim. Like a business card that has your name and your position on it, except yours has a name and it says "Victim."

But it doesn't have to be that way if you have given your heart to Jesus Christ. He's called Savior, Redeemer, Healer, and if you have Christ, you have a secret identity. A secret because maybe only He knows who you really are now. You don't have to be what you have been. You are no longer a slave He says. He's broken the bars that held you. You can walk with your head held high. You've been loved by God Himself. You've been cleaned up from the sins of the past - yours and those of others because of Jesus' death on the cross. He's made you a son of the King and daughter of the King. You're a prince; you're a princess. You don't have to make the future an extension of your painful or sinful past.

Ask for His grace to turn the page on your past and not be defined by it anymore. To begin a whole new volume. Begin to act as if you are who God says you are, not a victim but a victor.

Clark, maybe your secret identity has been secret even to you. But God says you're free! You're royalty! It's not a secret any more. You don't have to crawl anymore. Because of Jesus, you were meant to fly. It all comes together the day you begin your personal relationship with Jesus. That could be right now when you say, "Jesus, I am Yours."

He'll make you "a new creation," the Bible says. And our website will help you know you belong to Him. If you can get there today, it's ANewStory.com. This is who you were meant to be - new, because of Jesus.

Matthew 12:24-50, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD BREAKS DOWN STRONGHOLDS - March 27, 2025

What is that one weakness, bad habit, rotten attitude? Where does Satan have a stronghold within you?

Stronghold. Ahh, that’s a fitting word. Stronghold: a fortress, thick walls, tall gates. It’s as if the devil staked a claim on one weakness and constructed a rampart around it, placing himself squarely between God’s help and your: explosive temper, fragile self-image, freezer-size appetite. Seasons come and go, and this Loch Ness monster still lurks in the water-bottom of your soul. He won’t go away! He lives up to both sides of his compound name: strong enough to grip like a vise and stubborn enough to hold on.

“We use mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the devil’s strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT). You and I fight with toothpicks, but God comes with battering rams and cannons. So give your strongholds to him, and he will break them down.

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Matthew 12:24-50

But the Pharisees, when they heard the report, were cynical. “Black magic,” they said. “Some devil trick he’s pulled from his sleeve.”

25–27  Jesus confronted their slander. “A judge who gives opposite verdicts on the same person cancels himself out; a family that’s in a constant squabble disintegrates; if Satan banishes Satan, is there any Satan left? If you’re slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil kicking out devils, doesn’t the same mud stick to your own exorcists?

28–29  “But if it’s by God’s power that I am sending the evil spirits packing, then God’s kingdom is here for sure. How in the world do you think it’s possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out.

30  “This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.

31–32  “There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you deliberately persist in your slanders against God’s Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives. If you reject the Son of Man out of some misunderstanding, the Holy Spirit can forgive you, but when you reject the Holy Spirit, you’re sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.

33  “If you grow a healthy tree, you’ll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you’ll pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.

34–37  “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”

Jonah-Evidence

38  Later a few religion scholars and Pharisees got on him. “Teacher, we want to see your credentials. Give us some hard evidence that God is in this. How about a miracle?”

39–40  Jesus said, “You’re looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. The only proof you’re going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence. Like Jonah, three days and nights in the fish’s belly, the Son of Man will be gone three days and nights in a deep grave.

41–42  “On Judgment Day, the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about ‘proofs.’ On Judgment Day, the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that will condemn this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon’s is right in front of you, and you quibble over ‘evidence.’

43–45  “When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.

“That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.”

Obedience Is Thicker than Blood

46–47  While he was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers showed up. They were outside trying to get a message to him. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are out here, wanting to speak with you.”

48–50  Jesus didn’t respond directly, but said, “Who do you think my mother and brothers are?” He then stretched out his hand toward his disciples. “Look closely. These are my mother and brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys my heavenly Father’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, March 27, 2025

by Tom Felten

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 8:1-9

Rejecting God as the King

1–3  8 When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beer-sheba. But his sons didn’t take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.

4–5  Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: “Look, you’re an old man, and your sons aren’t following in your footsteps. Here’s what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else.”

6  When Samuel heard their demand—“Give us a king to rule us!”—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.

7–9  God answered Samuel, “Go ahead and do what they’re asking. They are not rejecting you. They’ve rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they’ve been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they’re doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they’re in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they’re likely to get from a king.”

Today's Insights

God set the Israelites apart to be His chosen people. They were to obey His laws and not follow the practices and customs of the surrounding nations (Leviticus 18:1-5; 20:26). Four hundred years later, His people demanded a king to rule over them “such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5; see v. 20). Samuel—who faithfully served as Israel’s judge, military leader, priest, and prophet for thirty-five years—was now old, and his sons were unfit to succeed him (v. 5). Faced with external threats, the Israelites wanted a human king to lead them to war. In so doing, they rejected God as their king (v. 7; 12:12). They asked Samuel to intercede for them, and he assured them of his prayers. He exhorted them to remain faithful to God—to obey His laws and to serve Him wholeheartedly because they were God’s covenant people (12:14-15, 20-24).

When They Don’t See

The Lord told [Samuel]: “. . . It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me.” 1 Samuel 8:7

Nuñez tumbled down the mountain and into a valley where everyone was blind. A disease had robbed the original settlers of sight, and subsequent generations—all born blind—had adapted to life without being able to see. Nuñez tried to explain what it was like to possess eyesight, but they weren’t interested. Eventually, he found a passage through the mountain peaks that had prevented him from leaving the valley. He was free! But from his vantage point he now saw that a rockslide was about to crush the blind dwellers below. He tried to warn them, but they ignored him.

This tale by H. G. Wells, “The Country of the Blind,” would likely resonate with the prophet Samuel. Toward the end of his life, his “sons did not follow his ways” in loving and serving God (1 Samuel 8:3). Their spiritual blindness was mirrored by “the elders of Israel” (v. 4), who told Samuel to “give us a king” (v. 6). They’d all turned their eyes from God and faith in Him. God told Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me” (v. 7).

It can hurt when those we care for reject God in spiritual blindness. But there’s hope even for those whom “the god of this age has blinded” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Love them. Pray for them. The one who “made his light shine in our hearts” (v. 6) can do the same for them.

Reflect & Pray

 

How does it encourage you to know that God sees those who can’t see Him? Why is there always hope for even the spiritually blind?

Loving God, please help me to pray for those who are blind to Your love and to trust You with them.

We all need mercy, justice, and hope. Reclaim yours today: Read more

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Vision by Personal Character

Come up here, and I will show you. — Revelation 4:1

Elevated emotions can only come out of an elevated habit of personal character. If you’ve developed the kind of character that allows you to live up to the highest standards you know, God will grant you insights that draw you even higher. He will continually say to you, “Come up here, and I will show you.”

Each time you go higher, you will face new and different kinds of temptation. The golden rule of temptation is “go higher.” Both God and Satan use the promise of elevation to draw us upward, but they use it to very different effects. Satan whispers to us of an unattainable holiness, a holiness beyond what flesh and blood can bear. He draws us into a spiritual acrobatic performance that ends up freezing us: we are poised on a tightrope and cannot move. But when God, by his grace, elevates us to the heavenly places, we find a vast plateau, where we can move around with liberty and ease.

Compare this week in your spiritual history with the same week last year, and see how God has called you higher. This is how you know you have grown in grace—not because you no longer backslide into sin but because God has granted you new spiritual insight. If God has revealed to you a new truth, you know it is because of growth in your character. Keep trusting and obeying him. Whenever he gives you a truth, apply it instantly to your life. Always work it out in your personal practices; always keep yourself in its light.

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Genesis 18:17). Why didn’t God immediately tell Abraham about his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Because Abraham wasn’t yet ready to receive that truth. God has to hide from us what he does, until by personal character we get to the place where he can reveal it.

Judges 1-3; Luke 4:1-30

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance.

Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Flexible Doesn't Break - #9969

If we did a word association game with the words "San Francisco," well, two things that might come up very quickly would be Golden Gate Bridge and earthquakes. Actually, both of those subjects came up a lot when we were in San Francisco for some youth outreaches and to tape some special editions of a youth broadcast. We didn't arrange for a quake while we were there, but we did do a program based on them. And we actually did originate parts of other programs from near the Golden Gate Bridge and even on it. According to some local friends of mine there, and they could just be Californians pulling the leg of an East Coast boy, but they said that the bridge might be one of the safer places to be during an earthquake. No, it's not the one that folded during the last big quake, you might have seen pictures of that. They say one reason the Golden Gate could withstand a quake is this surprising fact - it's built in such a way, that it's flexible. In other words, when the earth under it starts moving, it doesn't just stand there rigid and break. It's built to flex when things are shaking. So, apparently a quake might shake it, but probably not break it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Flexible Doesn't Break."

The question is how do you react when things start shaking all around you? The answer may be the difference between cracking under the stress and holding together through it. There's a synergy between the plans we make and God's plans that calls for some of that Golden Gate flexibility.

Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 16:9 - "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." The Bible acknowledges that we will make plans, the question is whether those plans are rigid - if we're rigid about having it our way. That "but" after the part about our plans tells me that God has the right to pre-empt my plan, or delay my plan, or redirect my plan. After all, that's what "Lord" means. Often He leads us toward a certain outcome, only to surprise us with an interruption, or with the realization that He did want us on this road, but for a destination other than the one we expected. But God's idea is always a better idea. What looks like Plan B to me may well have been God's Plan A all along. "But the Lord determines his steps."

Notice how James teaches us to make our plans. James 4:15 - "You ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" See I'm a planner by nature. I work hard on those plans, I pray about those plans. I seek God's direction. But once the plan is set, whether it's for the next few hours or the next few years, I don't like change. But change is built into the system, folks, and those who meet changes with rigidity will eventually crack like an unmoving structure in an earthquake.

This recovering "rigidaholic," is that a word?, is slowly but surely learning to enjoy the surprises of God even when they don't appear to be, at least at first, pleasant surprises. And even if it's something Satan has thrown in, my Bible tells me that even that had to be cleared first with my Heavenly Father. If God said it was OK for me, why don't I just try to roll with the quake? For the sooner I embrace His purpose for what's happening, the sooner I'll experience His peace.

I should point out that the Golden Gate Bridge, while flexible, is not made out of Play-Doh. It has solid structure and so should your life and your days. This is no excuse for laziness or lack of planning. But it is an encouragement to folks who like control to loosen up a little bit and make room for God to do His very dynamic thing. It's the ones who are flexible that survive the shaking.

Job 27, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: IT SEEMED GOOD - March 26, 2025

There was a point in our life when we were just a signature away from moving from one house to another. The price was fair, it seemed a wise move, but I didn’t feel peaceful about it. To this day I can’t pinpoint the source of discomfort. Sometimes a choice just doesn’t feel right. And then sometimes, choices feel right.

When Luke justified the writing of his gospel to Theophilus, he said, “Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you” (Luke 1:3 NIV). Did you notice it seemed good? Luke pondered his options and selected the path that seemed good.

Do you have a heart for God? Well then heed it. Do you have a family of faith? Then consult it. Do you have a Bible? Then read it. And once you have given your heart to God, consulted the family, read your Bible, then trust your heart. Just do what feels right. And who knows? You may end up writing your own gospel.

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Job 27

No Place to Hide

1–6  27 Having waited for Zophar, Job now resumed his defense:

“God-Alive! He’s denied me justice!

God Almighty! He’s ruined my life!

But for as long as I draw breath,

and for as long as God breathes life into me,

I refuse to say one word that isn’t true.

I refuse to confess to any charge that’s false.

There is no way I’ll ever agree to your accusations.

I’ll not deny my integrity even if it costs me my life.

I’m holding fast to my integrity and not loosening my grip—

and, believe me, I’ll never regret it.

7–10  “Let my enemy be exposed as wicked!

Let my adversary be proven guilty!

What hope do people without God have when life is cut short?

when God puts an end to life?

Do you think God will listen to their cry for help

when disaster hits?

What interest have they ever shown in the Almighty?

Have they ever been known to pray before?

11–12  “I’ve given you a clear account of God in action,

suppressed nothing regarding God Almighty.

The evidence is right before you. You can all see it for yourselves,

so why do you keep talking nonsense?

13–23  “I’ll quote your own words back to you:

“ ‘This is how God treats the wicked,

this is what evil people can expect from God Almighty:

Their children—all of them—will die violent deaths;

they’ll never have enough bread to put on the table.

They’ll be wiped out by the plague,

and none of the widows will shed a tear when they’re gone.

Even if they make a lot of money

and are resplendent in the latest fashions,

It’s the good who will end up wearing the clothes

and the decent who will divide up the money.

They build elaborate houses

that won’t survive a single winter.

They go to bed wealthy

and wake up poor.

Terrors pour in on them like flash floods—

a tornado snatches them away in the middle of the night,

A cyclone sweeps them up—gone!

Not a trace of them left, not even a footprint.

Catastrophes relentlessly pursue them;

they run this way and that, but there’s no place to hide—

Pummeled by the weather,

blown to kingdom come by the storm.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

by  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Jeremiah 18:1-10

To Worship the Big Lie

1–2  18 God told Jeremiah, “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.”

3–4  So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot.

5–10  Then God’s Message came to me: “Can’t I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?” God’s Decree! “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel. At any moment I may decide to pull up a people or a country by the roots and get rid of them. But if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them. At another time I might decide to plant a people or country, but if they don’t cooperate and won’t listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I had for them.

Today's Insights

It’s a dangerous misconception that the God of the Old Testament is angry and judgmental, while the God of the New Testament is loving, merciful, gracious, and forgiving. We see abundant evidence of God’s grace and mercy throughout the Old Testament. God said through His prophet Jeremiah, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be . . . destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent” (18:7-8). The book of Jonah demonstrates this. When Jonah brought his message of repentance to the degenerate city of Nineveh, its citizens heeded God’s warning and were spared (3:4-10). In Jeremiah, God offers a similar opportunity to Judah (18:11). These are just two examples of God’s love and mercy in the Old Testament. God’s character is consistent. He loves His children too much to permit them to persist in sin.

Shaped by God

Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. Jeremiah 18:6

Dan Les, a lifelong potter, creates decorative vessels and sculptures. His award-winning designs are inspired by the town in Romania where he lives. Having learned the craft from his father, he made this comment about his work: “[Clay needs to] ferment for a year, to have rain fall on it, to freeze and thaw out [so that] . . . you can shape it and feel through your hands that it is listening to you.”

What happens when clay “listens”? It’s willing to yield to the artisan’s touch. The prophet Jeremiah observed this when he visited a potter’s house. He watched as the craftsman struggled with a vessel and finally reshaped it into something new (Jeremiah 18:4). God said to Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (v. 6).

God has the ability to build us up or bring us down, yet His ultimate purpose isn’t to overpower or destroy us (vv. 7-10). Rather, He’s like a skilled craftsman who can identify what isn’t working and reshape the same lump of clay into something beautiful and useful.

Listening clay doesn’t have much to say about this. When prodded, it moves in the desired direction. When molded, it stays in place. The question for us is this: are we willing to “humble [ourselves] under God’s mighty hand” (1 Peter 5:6) so He can shape our lives into what He wants them to be?

Reflect & Pray

How are you listening to God today? What do you think His purpose is for refining you through your life’s experiences?

Dear God, please help me to trust You. I want to submit my life to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Vision by Personal Purity

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

Purity is not innocence; it is much more. Purity is the outcome of sustained spiritual closeness with God. We have to grow in purity. Our private life with God may be healthy, and our inner purity may be unsullied, and still, every now and again, the bloom on the outside may become tarnished.

God doesn’t shield us from this possibility. When we go astray in some outward expression or action, we realize just how necessary outward purity is to maintaining our vision of God. Spiritual understanding becomes blurred the instant we go astray in our external lives. When we notice that the outward bloom of our life with God has been damaged, even to a tiny degree, we must stop everything and correct it. The inner sanctuary and the outer rooms must be brought into perfect agreement.

God makes us pure by his sovereign grace, but we also have something we must take care of: our bodily lives. Our bodily lives bring us into contact with other people and other points of view, and if we are not careful these external influences can tarnish our purity. If we are going to keep in personal contact with Jesus, there are some things we must refuse to do or touch or think, even things which seem worthy and legitimate to others. A practical way of maintaining personal purity around other people is to say to yourself, “That man, that woman: perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend, that relative: perfect in Christ Jesus!”

Remember that spiritual vision depends on character: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Joshua 22-24; Luke 3

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

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

THE RESCUE WINDOW - #9968

I was speaking in Mobile, Alabama when I heard about this amazing phenomenon that occasionally takes place there. It's along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. They call it Jubilee. It happens on a summer night sometime between midnight and six, and the fish, and the crab, and all the other sea critters suddenly move in very close to the shore. It's like they get so close that many of them are right up on the beach. The locals just walk along and they scoop up the fish and the crab, and they gather as much seafood as they want. Imagine what an opportunity it is for the fishermen! I mean, they can grab anything they want without going out in a boat.

Now, this is believed to be caused by the sudden release of this cold, fresh water into the warm water of the bay. I've never been able to tell whether or not that's true. I've never interviewed the crab. That's what people think happens anyway. Whatever the reason, it is a great day for fishermen. It's a great day for everybody along that shore. In fact, in years past, the first one who saw it happening would holler, "Jubilee!" And then you could hear that good news being yelled from one door to another all along the shore. If I were there I would want to know too.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 9, beginning at verse 36. It says, "When Jesus saw the crowd He had compassion because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into His harvest fields.'" Sometimes I've asked farmers in kind of a word association what would they come up with, you know when I say the word "harvest." And they usually say, "Ready." In other words, there's a lot of people ready for Jesus. And in many ways that might be never more true than it is today. Because we're living in a painful world, an uncertain world, a lonely world that in many ways has made people more ready for Jesus than ever.

Now, watch my lips. "Jubilee!" When it's Jubilee time on Mobile Bay, the fish are desperately searching for oxygen and it brings them all within reach more than at any other time. Their need makes them reachable. This is a Jubilee moment now for reaching the lost people around you with the Good News about Jesus Christ.

On the one hand they're more lost than they've ever been. They know less about the Bible and about Jesus. They don't have much sense of right or wrong. They don't go to religious meetings. But the very things that have made them lost have made them ready. Relationships are disappointing, love is hard to come by, parenting is frightening, marriage is overwhelming, stress is out-of-control, the future unpredictable, and hope is evasive. The need for real love and real peace and real security and real answers has never been more intense. People are literally gasping for emotional and spiritual oxygen.

When it's Jubilee time, people know what to do. You don't sleep through it. It's a moment when there's a short time and then it's gone, like harvest. Everyone is on the beach for a catch, and that's where we as believers belong right now. This is no time for you or your group or your church to be inside doing Christian business as usual. It's time for everyone who names the name of Christ to be actively, boldly telling the people around them about your Jesus. It's a "drop everything" time to do what Jesus came here to do - to seek and to save those who are lost. If we do, we will be God's instruments to deliver dying people the life they are gasping for.

Remember, the people around you are ready. They're reachable right now. So, get out where the lost people are and bring them home to Jesus. Bring them home to heaven. Send the wakeup call all along the shore line, "It's Jubilee!"