Matthew 26:36-75, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FOR THE MISFITS - June 19, 2025

1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) says, “…man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Those words were written for misfits and outcasts. God uses them all. Moses ran from justice, but God used him. Jonah ran from God, but God used him. Rahab ran a brothel, Sarah ran out of hope, Lot ran with the wrong crowd, but God used them all. And David? Human eyes saw a gangly teenager, smelling like sheep. Yet the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is the one!” (1 Samuel 16:12 NKJV).

God saw what no one else saw: a God-seeking heart. David took after God’s heart, because he stayed after God’s heart. And in the end, that’s all God wants or needs. Others measure your waist size or wallet. Not God. He examines hearts. And when he finds one set on him, he calls it and claims it.

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Matthew 26:36-75

Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”

39  Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”

40–41  When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

42  He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”

43–44  When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.

45–46  When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”

With Swords and Clubs

47–49  The words were barely out of his mouth when Judas (the one from the Twelve) showed up, and with him a gang from the high priests and religious leaders brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a sign with them: “The one I kiss, that’s the one—seize him.” He went straight to Jesus, greeted him, “How are you, Rabbi?” and kissed him.

50–51  Jesus said, “Friend, why this charade?”

Then they came on him—grabbed him and roughed him up. One of those with Jesus pulled his sword and, taking a swing at the Chief Priest’s servant, cut off his ear.

52–54  Jesus said, “Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don’t you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies—more, if I want them—of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?”

55–56  Then Jesus addressed the mob: “What is this—coming out after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I have been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. You’ve done it this way to confirm and fulfill the prophetic writings.”

Then all the disciples cut and ran.

False Charges

57–58  The gang that had seized Jesus led him before Caiaphas the Chief Priest, where the religion scholars and leaders had assembled. Peter followed at a safe distance until they got to the Chief Priest’s courtyard. Then he slipped in and mingled with the servants, watching to see how things would turn out.

59–60  The high priests, conspiring with the Jewish Council, tried to cook up charges against Jesus in order to sentence him to death. But even though many stepped up, making up one false accusation after another, nothing was believable.

60–61  Finally two men came forward with this: “He said, ‘I can tear down this Temple of God and after three days rebuild it.’ ”

62  The Chief Priest stood up and said, “What do you have to say to the accusation?”

63  Jesus kept silent.

Then the Chief Priest said, “I command you by the authority of the living God to say if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64  Jesus was curt: “You yourself said it. And that’s not all. Soon you’ll see it for yourself:

The Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Mighty One,

Arriving on the clouds of heaven.”

65–66  At that, the Chief Priest lost his temper, ripping his robes, yelling, “He blasphemed! Why do we need witnesses to accuse him? You all heard him blaspheme! Are you going to stand for such blasphemy?”

They all said, “Death! That seals his death sentence.”

67–68  Then they were spitting in his face and banging him around. They jeered as they slapped him: “Prophesy, Messiah: Who hit you that time?”

Denial in the Courtyard

69  All this time, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. One servant girl came up to him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70  In front of everybody there, he denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

71  As he moved over toward the gate, someone else said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.”

72  Again he denied it, salting his denial with an oath: “I swear, I never laid eyes on the man.”

73  Shortly after that, some bystanders approached Peter. “You’ve got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away.”

74–75  Then he got really nervous and swore. “I don’t know the man!”

Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, June 19, 2025

by Lisa M. Samra

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Galatians 3:26-29

By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.

In Christ’s Family

28–29  In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.

Today's Insights

In Galatians 3-4, Paul makes an extended argument for the exalted position of believers in Jesus as members of the family of God. He says that through Christ, we’re no longer treated like minors but have become full heirs to the promises of God (3:23-29; 4:1-7).

The apostle makes the declaration that we’re all “children of God” (3:26). Everyone who comes to Jesus—Jews and gentiles, slave and free, male and female—receives the privileged status of sonship (v. 28). Those who follow Christ share in His full inheritance with all its blessings (v. 29). For an infant church populated with people of all different backgrounds, social standings, and levels of wealth, the promise of the gospel is that all receive the same blessing through the Son of God and are one in Him.

One in Christ

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, used biblical themes to persuade believers in Jesus to abolish slavery. Born around 1753 in western Africa, Wheatley was sold to a slave trader at only seven years of age. Quicky distinguishing herself as a remarkable student, she finally secured her emancipation in 1773. In her poems and correspondence, Wheatley pressed her readers to embrace the scriptural affirmation of the equality of all people. She wrote, “In every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; It is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance; and . . . the same Principle lives in us.”

Equality before God is a truth emphasized by Paul when he wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Because we’re “all children of God through faith” (v. 26), differences such as race, ethnicity, gender, or social status shouldn’t lead to discrimination in the church.

Even as equal recipients of God’s love, we still struggle to live out this principle. But Scripture teaches that diverse peoples united through faith in Christ best reflect God’s heart and is His plan for life in eternity. That reality can help us to celebrate the diversity in our communities of faith now.

Reflect & Pray

How does diversity better represent God? How can you celebrate diversity in Christ?

Dear Jesus, please help me love my brothers and sisters through the unity only made possible in You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Service of Passionate Devotion

Do you love me? . . . Feed my sheep. — John 21:17

Jesus doesn’t say, “Make converts to your way of thinking.” He says, “Look after my sheep. Make sure they are nourished with knowledge of me.” We think that the work we do in Christian ministry counts as service; Jesus Christ says that service is what we are to him, not only what we do for him. Christianity is not devotion to a work or a cause or a doctrine; it is devotion to a person.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t argue or compel. He simply says that if we wish to be his disciples, we must be devoted to him. When we are touched by the Spirit of God, we see suddenly who Jesus is, and this becomes the source of our devotion.

Today, we’ve substituted ideological belief for personal belief. This is why so many are devoted to causes and so few to him. People don’t want to be devoted to Jesus; they want to be devoted to the cause he started. Jesus Christ the person is deeply offensive to the educated mind of today, to those who don’t want to see him as anything other than a champion of their cause.

Our Lord’s obedience was to the will of the Father, not to the needs of humanity. The saving of humanity was the natural outcome of that obedience. If we are devoted only to humanity, our love will falter, and we will soon be exhausted. But if we love Jesus, personally and passionately, we will be able to serve humanity, even if people treat us like doormats.

The secret of the disciple’s life is devotion to Jesus Christ; its hallmark is unobtrusiveness. It is like a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, then springs up, transforming the entire landscape (John 12:24).

Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37

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, 946 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, June 19, 2025

CURING CANCER OF THE HEART - #10029

It's the word you hope you'll never hear when you're in your doctor's office - cancer. Recently, though, there's been a beautiful four-letter word that may go with that ugly word. It's the word "cure." At least they're hoping so. The possible breakthroughs have to do with one of the greatest killers of women - breast cancer. But the discoveries may turn out to open up ways to cure other cancers, too. This entirely new approach to fighting cancer - one that has so far shown promising results in lengthening the lives of terminally ill cancer patients has been described as "attacking cancer at its genetic roots."

The gene is called HER-2, and it produces this protein on the surface of our cells that ultimately helps accelerate that abnormal growth that becomes cancer. Scientists have developed a treatment that attacks this genetic malfunction that causes some cancers. One researcher offers hope to millions who have cancer or may develop cancer when he puts it this way, "If we understand what is broken in the malignant cell, we might be able to fix it." They're calling this one of the hottest areas of cancer research, and it makes sense - stop the cancer by stopping its genetic root.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Curing Cancer of the Heart."

Now you may be one of the blessed people like me who when you hear about cancer, you can say, "Well, not me so far." I wish I could say that about the cancer that infects every single one of us - the deadliest cancer there is. You might call it heart cancer. It's that spiritual cancer in the human heart that causes so much hurt, guilt, shame, and brokenness. The Bible calls it sin, with the middle letter "I."

We were created by God to live life His way. According to the Bible, we've all said, "No. No God's way. My way." That's the root of our deadly spiritual cancer. And it is always terminal. No matter how religious or how nice we are, God makes it clear, "the wages of our sin is death" (Romans 6:23) - that's death as in being eternally cut off from God, from His life and from His love.

This is the spiritual cancer that devastates our self-respect, our family, the people we love - and that's the ones we hurt the most. It takes away our inner peace, and it destroys our eternity. And like mankind's battle against physical cancer, the battle against this disease of "me" has been going on for a long time.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 7:15. "What I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do." Sound familiar? That's our losing battle against the dark disease in our heart. The writer of these words is desperate for a cure, and he asks, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24) Just like us, he's found no cure that can get at the root cause of all the dark things that come out of us.

Then comes the announcement of the breakthrough, as this fellow-sinner asks, "Who will rescue me?" He answers, "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Jesus has pioneered the cure for this spiritual cancer that has seemed so unstoppable, so incurable. He shed His blood on the cross, absorbed all the sin, all the punishment, and attacked the root causes of the actions and the attitudes we hate - and He broke the power of sin by taking all its punishment.

So many people - maybe even people you know - have opened their lives to Jesus and they have found forgiveness and moral victory that is changing their lives and their homes. And it's within your reach today if you will say, "Jesus, I'm trusting you to be my savior for my sin."

You know our website is all about beginning to win the battle by beginning a relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com - I hope you'll go there today.

The disease of me is a ravaging spiritual cancer and it's terminal. But the cure is within your reach. The only reason you would go one more day still dying is if you refuse to reach out to Jesus for this cure He paid for with his life.

Exodus 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FIRST AND MOST - June 18, 2025

Giants. We must face them, yet we need not face them alone. Focus first, and most, on God.

Read 1 Samuel 17 and list the observations David made about Goliath. I find only two. One to Saul and one to Goliath’s face. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David asks nothing about Goliath’s skill, age, or the weight of the spear, or the size of the shield. But he gives much thought to God—”the armies of the living God; the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” In all, the God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to two.

Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints? Are you four times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day? That’s how you face a giant.

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Exodus 15

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God, giving voice together,

I’m singing my heart out to God—what a victory!

He pitched horse and rider into the sea.

God is my strength, God is my song,

and, yes! God is my salvation.

This is the kind of God I have

and I’m telling the world!

This is the God of my father—

I’m spreading the news far and wide!

God is a fighter,

pure God, through and through.

Pharaoh’s chariots and army

he dumped in the sea,

The elite of his officers

he drowned in the Red Sea.

Wild ocean waters poured over them;

they sank like a rock in the deep blue sea.

Your strong right hand, God, shimmers with power;

your strong right hand shatters the enemy.

In your mighty majesty

you smash your upstart enemies,

You let loose your hot anger

and burn them to a crisp.

At a blast from your nostrils

the waters piled up;

Tumbling streams dammed up,

wild oceans curdled into a swamp.

9  The enemy spoke,

“I’ll pursue, I’ll hunt them down,

I’ll divide up the plunder,

I’ll glut myself on them;

I’ll pull out my sword,

my fist will send them reeling.”

10–11  You blew with all your might

and the sea covered them.

They sank like a lead weight

in the majestic waters.

Who compares with you

among gods, O God?

Who compares with you in power,

in holy majesty,

In awesome praises,

wonder-working God?

12–13  You stretched out your right hand

and the Earth swallowed them up.

But the people you redeemed,

you led in merciful love;

You guided them under your protection

to your holy pasture.

14–18  When people heard, they were scared;

Philistines writhed and trembled;

Yes, even the head men in Edom were shaken,

and the big bosses in Moab.

Everybody in Canaan

panicked and fell faint.

Dread and terror

sent them reeling.

Before your brandished right arm

they were struck dumb like a stone,

Until your people crossed over and entered, O God,

until the people you made crossed over and entered.

You brought them and planted them

on the mountain of your heritage,

The place where you live,

the place you made,

Your sanctuary, Master,

that you established with your own hands.

Let God rule

forever, for eternity!

19  Yes, Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and riders went into the sea and God turned the waters back on them; but the Israelites walked on dry land right through the middle of the sea.

20–21  Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine, and all the women followed her with tambourines, dancing. Miriam led them in singing,

Sing to God—

what a victory!

He pitched horse and rider

into the sea!

Traveling Through the Wilderness

22–24  Moses led Israel from the Red Sea on to the Wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days through the wilderness without finding any water. They got to Marah, but they couldn’t drink the water at Marah; it was bitter. That’s why they called the place Marah (Bitter). And the people complained to Moses, “So what are we supposed to drink?”

25  So Moses cried out in prayer to God. God pointed him to a stick of wood. Moses threw it into the water and the water turned sweet.

26  That’s the place where God set up rules and procedures; that’s where he started testing them.

God said, “If you listen, listen obediently to how God tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won’t strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am God your healer.”

27  They came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They set up camp there by the water.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

by Bill Crowder

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Titus 3:1-11

He Put Our Lives Together

1–2  3 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.

3–8  It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

8–11  I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

Today's Insights

Titus, a gentile (non-Jew) who came to faith in Jesus through Paul, became the apostle’s “partner and co-worker” in his ministry (2 Corinthians 8:23). In the apostle’s letter addressed to Titus, he calls him “my true son in our common faith” (Titus 1:4). Titus proved to be especially useful in straightening out problems in the church of Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:13-15; 12:17-18). In 2 Timothy 4:10, we learn that Titus served in Dalmatia (a Roman province on the east shore of the Adriatic Sea). He also served on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). It’s likely he strived to show respect to everyone—something we should do in God’s strength as well.

No Ordinary People

Remind them . . . to show perfect courtesy toward all people. Titus 3:1-2 esv

The statement on the wall of my bank declares that its corporate principles could be summed up in a single word: courtesy. And how refreshing it was to find courtesy in the teller who helped me with my transaction there!

In a harsh and unkind world, to be driven by courtesy is a big idea. We find this concept in the apostle Paul’s letter to his friend Titus. He instructed Titus to remind his congregation “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2 esv). This idea of courtesy is also rendered as “peaceable and considerate” (niv) or “showing every consideration” (nasb).

How we treat others reveals whether we see them as image bearers of God or not. C. S. Lewis wrote of this in The Weight of Glory: “There are no ordinary people,” he said. “You have never talked to a mere mortal.” Lewis anticipated eternity, where we’ll either enjoy God’s presence or be banished from Him forever. So he reminds us, “It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

May we allow the Spirit to enable us to treat those around as what they truly are—image bearers of God.

Reflect & Pray

What effect does the absence of courtesy have on your interactions? How might you intentionally bring more courtesy into those interactions?

Dear God, it’s easy to get frustrated with people. Please give me a patient spirit and a heart of kindness that I might treat everyone with dignity and courtesy.

For further study, read Cleaning Under the Rug.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Don’t Think Now, Take the Road

Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. — Matthew 14:29-30

The wind was wild and the waves were high, but at first Peter didn’t notice. Fixing his eyes on Jesus, he stepped out in recognition of his Lord and walked on the water. It was only when Peter began to pay attention to his surroundings that fear and doubt set in. The instant this happened, down he went.

Sometimes we step right out in faith and walk happily along. Then self-consideration comes in, and down we go. If we are keeping our sights on our Lord, it doesn’t occur to us to worry about ourselves or our circumstances. The circumstances of our lives simply are. It’s only when we focus on them that we become overwhelmed. We lose sight of Jesus and receive his rebuke: “Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Let circumstances be what they are. Keep looking to Jesus, maintaining complete reliance on him. If you begin to debate when God has spoken, it’s all over. Never say, “I wonder if that really was God speaking.” Be reckless. The second you hear God’s voice, fling yourself out in faith. You do not know when God’s voice will come, but whenever you sense it, even in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon all to him. It is only by abandoning yourself that you learn to trust the Lord. You will hear his voice more clearly through recklessness.

Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22

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

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

LIFTING PEOPLE UP - #10028

It seems as if the movie comes around again about once a year on TV, and we get a chance to see that charming story called "The Wizard of Oz." What a quartet! I mean, Dorothy, the little Kansas farm girl blown into the Land of Oz. She wants to see the Wizard to get help to get home. Then remember, there's a Scarecrow, he wants to see the Wizard to get some brains. And the Tin Woodsman, well, he's looking for a heart. And last but not least, there's that lovable feline, the Cowardly Lion. Now I know some people who could use some brains, I know some people who could use a little more heart; but we're surrounded by people who could use more of what that Cowardly Lion was looking for. Remember, "I need courage."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Lifting People Up."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 10, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 24: "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Okay, so we're supposed to be in the business of spurring people on to be what they need to be, to do what they need to do. In other words, people should be better off because they've been around you. That was the effect Jesus had on the people that He was around.

How will that happen? Well, it happens when we do this: "Let us encourage one another." I was thinking the other day about what encourage means. Just reverse it - courage in. It means you're putting courage in people. It's like a gasoline fill-up except it's a motivation fill-up. When you encourage someone, you literally put courage in them. You give them courage to take a risk, to trust God, maybe just to get through a very tough day.

You put courage in someone when you stop and you pray with them. I said with them, by the way, not just for them. An arm around them says, "Wait, let's stop and pray about your situation right now." I have seen people literally change before my eyes when I would just take a moment to pray with them.

You encourage a person when you give them specific praise for something they did or more importantly for something they are. Sometimes the courage injection comes from a scripture verse you share with them, or a spontaneous note or an email you write, or a text, maybe just a minute spent honestly inquiring how they're really doing. I can't tell you how many times someone's word, or note, or prayer of encouragement has literally put courage in me on a day when courage was really needed. And the encourager could never have known how much I needed it. But they were literally the channel for God to say to me, "Ron, I love you. It's going to be okay. Take courage, man."

Encouragement restores your perspective when it's been battered and beat up by the pressures of the day. The great thing about the ministry of putting courage in people is that anybody can do it. It doesn't require any great gifts. It doesn't require any musical ability, or speaking or leadership, or a seminary degree - just a heart. It takes a genuine interest and it looks for ways to give that person encouragement, to build them up.

That Cowardly Lion finally got his courage largely from being with three other friends who carried him through the tough times. People around you don't need a wizard to give them courage. But they may very well need some courage to take the next step on the road of their life. They just need somebody like you. They need the courage-giving love of a Jesus follower...maybe you.

Exodus 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SEE GOD MORE - June 17, 2025

You could read David’s story in the Bible and wonder what God saw in him. He fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. Yet for those who know the sound of a Goliath, David gives us this reminder: Focus on giants. you stumble. Focus on God, your giants tumble.

You know a Goliath. You recognize his walk, his talk. David saw a Goliath, yet he heard more. David showed up and raised the subject of the living God. He saw the giant, mind you; he just saw God more so. Listen carefully to David’s battle cry: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45 NKJV).

Lift your eyes, giant-slayer! The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you.

Facing Your Giants: God Still Does the Impossible

Exodus 14

The Story and Song of Salvation

1–2  14 God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites to turn around and make camp at Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Camp on the shore of the sea opposite Baal Zephon.

3–4  “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are lost; they’re confused. The wilderness has closed in on them.’ Then I’ll make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn again and he’ll chase after them. And I’ll use Pharaoh and his army to put my Glory on display. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am God.”

And that’s what happened.

5–7  When the king of Egypt was told that the people were gone, he and his servants changed their minds. They said, “What have we done, letting Israel, our slave labor, go free?” So he had his chariots harnessed up and got his army together. He took six hundred of his best chariots, with the rest of the Egyptian chariots and their drivers coming along.

8–9  God made Pharaoh king of Egypt stubborn, determined to chase the Israelites as they walked out on him without even looking back. The Egyptians gave chase and caught up with them where they had made camp by the sea—all Pharaoh’s horse-drawn chariots and their riders, all his foot soldiers there at Pi Hahiroth opposite Baal Zephon.

10–12  As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them—Egyptians! Coming at them!

They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’ ”

13  Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.

14  God will fight the battle for you.

And you? You keep your mouths shut!”

15–16  God said to Moses: “Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving. Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea: Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground.

17–18  “Meanwhile I’ll make sure the Egyptians keep up their stubborn chase—I’ll use Pharaoh and his entire army, his chariots and horsemen, to put my Glory on display so that the Egyptians will realize that I am God.”

19–20  The angel of God that had been leading the camp of Israel now shifted and got behind them. And the Pillar of Cloud that had been in front also shifted to the rear. The Cloud was now between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. The Cloud enshrouded one camp in darkness and flooded the other with light. The two camps didn’t come near each other all night.

21  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and God, with a terrific east wind all night long, made the sea go back. He made the sea dry ground. The seawaters split.

22–25  The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with the waters a wall to the right and to the left. The Egyptians came after them in full pursuit, every horse and chariot and driver of Pharaoh racing into the middle of the sea. It was now the morning watch. God looked down from the Pillar of Fire and Cloud on the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. He clogged the wheels of their chariots; they were stuck in the mud.

The Egyptians said, “Run from Israel! God is fighting on their side and against Egypt!”

26  God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea and the waters will come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots, over their horsemen.”

27–28  Moses stretched his hand out over the sea: As the day broke and the Egyptians were running, the sea returned to its place as before. God dumped the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The waters returned, drowning the chariots and riders of Pharaoh’s army that had chased after Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29–31  But the Israelites walked right through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall to the right and to the left. God delivered Israel that day from the oppression of the Egyptians. And Israel looked at the Egyptian dead, washed up on the shore of the sea, and realized the tremendous power that God brought against the Egyptians. The people were in reverent awe before God and trusted in God and his servant Moses.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

by Leslie Koh

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 55:1-3, 8-13

Buy Without Money

1–5  55 “Hey there! All who are thirsty,

come to the water!

Are you penniless?

Come anyway—buy and eat!

Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.

Buy without money—everything’s free!

Why do you spend your money on junk food,

your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?

Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,

fill yourself with only the finest.

Pay attention, come close now,

listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.

I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,

the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.

8–11  “I don’t think the way you think.

The way you work isn’t the way I work.”

God’s Decree.

“For as the sky soars high above earth,

so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

not come back empty-handed.

They’ll do the work I sent them to do,

they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

12–13  “So you’ll go out in joy,

you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.

The mountains and hills will lead the parade,

bursting with song.

All the trees of the forest will join the procession,

exuberant with applause.

No more thistles, but giant sequoias,

no more thornbushes, but stately pines—

Monuments to me, to God,

living and lasting evidence of God.”

Today's Insights

In Isaiah 55:8-9, we’re reminded that God is mysterious. He’s beyond our comprehension; we’re unable to fully understand His will or His ways. Paul echoes that idea in Romans 11:33-34: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” The apostle described Him as “the only wise God” (16:27). Our truly wise God is also our loving heavenly Father. We can rest in His wisdom and His purposes because they’re couched in His great love for us. We may not always understand what happens in our lives or in our world, but we can rest assured that God’s in control and is with us, and we can cling to His promises.

Clinging to God’s Promises

My ways [are] higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

Wendy was feeling a little left out. During lunch break, her boss had left chocolates on everyone’s desks—except hers. Puzzled, she lamented to a friend, “Why did he leave me out?”

When asked, their boss explained: “Those chocolates are still good, but they’ve been around for some time. Wendy’s pregnant, so I just wanted to play it extra safe.” Then he laughed. “As for the rest of you . . . .”

The little incident became a running joke in the office, but it got me thinking about how we sometimes misread God’s intentions because of our limited understanding and perception. We may even believe ourselves to be victims of unfair treatment, forgetting that God always has our best interests at heart. Always.

Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that while we may not fully understand God’s thoughts and ways, we can be sure that they’re “higher than [our] ways” (v. 9). Ours are often influenced by selfish desires; His are perfect, compassionate, and righteous. So even when things don’t look good for now, we can trust that God will provide what we truly need (vv. 1-2), for He’s loving and faithful to His own everlasting promise (v. 3). Let’s “call on him while he is near” (v. 6), knowing that He’ll never leave us.

Reflect & Pray

Which promises of God can you hold on to when life seems unfair? Which aspects of His character give you comfort and assurance?

Faithful God, You know I sometimes feel left out of Your blessings and doubt Your love for me. Please help me to trust in You and to hold on tightly to Your everlasting promises.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

The Uncritical Temper

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. — Matthew 7:1

Jesus says one simple thing about judging: Don’t. The average Christian is the most sharply critical individual. The human mind has a natural tendency to criticize, but spiritually nothing is accomplished by criticism. Only the Holy Spirit is in a position to point out what is wrong in someone, because only the Holy Spirit can do so without causing pain. When humans criticize, they only succeed in weakening and wounding.

It is impossible to enter into communion with God when we are in a critical mood. A critical mindset makes us hard and vindictive and cruel. It leaves us with the flattering idea that we are better than others. Jesus says that his disciples must cultivate the uncritical temper. This cultivation must happen again and again; we can’t do it once and be done with it.

There is no getting away from the penetrating gaze of Jesus. He tells us that if we see a speck in another’s eye, it means we have a plank in our own. Every wrong we see in another Jesus finds in us. Every time we judge another, we condemn ourselves (Romans 2:17–21). We must stop using a measuring stick for other people. There is always one fact more, in every person’s case, about which we know nothing.

When we decide to commit ourselves entirely to Jesus, the first thing God does is give us a spiritual spring-cleaning, showing us what we would be if it weren’t for his grace. After that, there is no possibility of pride left, nothing that allows us to go on criticizing others from a place of superiority. Once I realize what God has done for me, it is impossible to despair of anyone else.

Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3

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

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

The Single Question on Your Final Exam - #10027

Dr. Henry was one of the most challenging professors I had in college. And I anticipated the final exam in his class was going to be a monumental challenge. Who knows what questions Dr. Henry could throw at us from his incredible intellect! Well, word began to leak out about his final from the first students that took it. They didn't give any details - they just shared one surprising, tantalizing fact. They said, "There's only one question on the exam!" Well, most of us took that news as encouragement as we stood on the edge of academic survival. But when Dr. Henry set the exam in front of us, we weren't quite as encouraged. This entire semester of theology class had been devoted to what the Bible says about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The professor's question? "Describe the Person and work of the Holy Spirit." Oh come on! One question, but what a question!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Single Question on Your Final Exam."

You may have been out of school a while. I'm sure you don't miss final exams, but you still have one more. We all do. The day your heart beats its last and you stand before the God who made you. And it appears from God's Word, the Bible, that there will only be one question on your final exam. But what a question!

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 John 5:11-12. "God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." God says the human race is divided into two groups, and only two. Those who have Jesus and therefore have eternal life - they will go to heaven when they die. And those who do not have Jesus and therefore do not have eternal life - they'll go to eternal separation from God. In the words of John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Now there's no question where God wants you to be forever - with Him in heaven. That's why He paid such a high price to remove what would keep you out of heaven - the sin of your life; all those countless times you've done it your way instead of God's way. You can't get into heaven with sin. And it won't work just trying to repay the wrong we've done with religion or being good. Sin has to be removed, not repaid. And that seems impossible when the penalty for running our own lives is an eternal death penalty.

But God loves you so much that, according to John 3:16, "He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." God sent His Son to carry all the guilt and all the dying of your sin - to literally die your death penalty. So you shouldn't be surprised when you stand before God and He asks you that one question on His final exam - the one that determines where you'll be forever. "What did you do with My Son?" Not, "What good things did you do?" Not, "Did you believe the right things?" Not, "What religion were you?" God is interested in only one thing, "What did you do with His Son who gave His life for you?"

The only answer that will open the gates of heaven to you is, "Lord, I invited Your Son, Jesus, into my heart and I put my total trust in Him to be my Rescuer from my sin."

Has there ever been a time when you've done that? If you're not sure, please let today be your Jesus-day. Tell Him you want to be His - you want to belong to Him. "Jesus, I believe when You died on that cross it was for me. And I'm putting all my trust in You today."

Our website exists to help you to cross over from death to life this very day. I hope you'll check it out - ANewStory.com.

The final exam is coming - God has set the time. He'll ask you, "What did you do with My Son?" I pray you'll be able to point to this very day as the day you say, "I asked Him to save me from my sin."

Matthew 26:1-35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NOTHING BEYOND GOD’S REACH - June 16, 2025

See the cross on the hill? Can you hear the soldiers pound the nails? Jesus’ enemies smirk. “This time,” Satan whispers, “this time I will win.” For a sad Friday and a silent Saturday, it appeared he had. What Satan intended as the ultimate evil, God used for the ultimate good. God rolled the rock away, and Jesus walked out on Sunday morning. If you look closely, you can see Satan scampering from the cemetery with his forked tail between his legs. “Will I ever win?” he grumbles. No, he won’t.

Do you believe no evil is beyond God’s reach? That he can redeem every pit, including one in which you find yourself? Trust God. He’ll get you through this. Will it be easy or quick? I hope so, but it seldom is. Yet God will make good out of this mess. That’s his job.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Matthew 26:1-35

Anointed for Burial

1–2  26 When Jesus finished saying these things, he told his disciples, “You know that Passover comes in two days. That’s when the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion.”

3–5  At that very moment, the party of high priests and religious leaders was meeting in the chambers of the Chief Priest named Caiaphas, conspiring to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want a riot on our hands,” they said.

6–9  When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. “That’s criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor.”

10–13  When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. “Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives, but not me. When she poured this perfume on my body, what she really did was anoint me for burial. You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired.”

14–16  That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the cabal of high priests and said, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for just the right moment to hand him over.

The Traitor

17  On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”

18–19  He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’ ” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.

20–21  After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”

22  They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”

23–24  Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”

25  Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”

Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”

The Bread and the Cup

26–29  During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:

Take, eat.

This is my body.

Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:

Drink this, all of you.

This is my blood,

God’s new covenant poured out for many people

for the forgiveness of sins.

“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”

30  They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.

Gethsemane

31–32  Then Jesus told them, “Before the night’s over, you’re going to fall to pieces because of what happens to me. There is a Scripture that says,

I’ll strike the shepherd;

helter-skelter the sheep will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I, your Shepherd, will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.”

33  Peter broke in, “Even if everyone else falls to pieces on account of you, I won’t.”

34  “Don’t be so sure,” Jesus said. “This very night, before the rooster crows up the dawn, you will deny me three times.”

35  Peter protested, “Even if I had to die with you, I would never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, June 16, 2025

by Kirsten Holmberg

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

  With that kind of hope to excite us, nothing holds us back. Unlike Moses, we have nothing to hide. Everything is out in the open with us. He wore a veil so the children of Israel wouldn’t notice that the glory was fading away—and they didn’t notice. They didn’t notice it then and they don’t notice it now, don’t notice that there’s nothing left behind that veil. Even today when the proclamations of that old, bankrupt government are read out, they can’t see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves that there’s nothing there.

16–18  Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Today's Insights

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul refers to the experience of Moses to show the great privilege possessed by believers in Jesus. After Moses communed with God, “his face was radiant” (Exodus 34:29), reflecting God’s divine countenance. Because the people were afraid to come near him, Moses put a veil over his face, seemingly to protect the Israelites from God’s holiness. But when communing with God, Moses removed his veil (vv. 30-35).

Paul now reveals that Moses veiled himself so the Israelites wouldn’t see that this glory was temporary (2 Corinthians 3:13). The apostle then says that a veil is preventing people from “seeing” Christ, God’s greater glory. Only when one “turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (v. 16). “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord,” Paul explains, and we are transformed to be “more and more like [Jesus] as we are changed into his glorious image” (v. 18 nlt).

Changed by the Spirit

We . . . are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

When Neil Douglas boarded his flight to Ireland, he discovered his seat was occupied by another passenger, so he began a conversation to sort out the discrepancy. When the passenger looked up to answer, Neil was face to face with his lookalike! Onlooking passengers laughed at the men’s resemblance while the two took a selfie. Later, they ran into each other again when checking into the same hotel and a third time at a local pub. The next morning, they discovered their selfie had gone viral on social media due to their striking facial similarities.

Bearing a resemblance to another human being is a surprise for those of us without a biological twin, but the Bible says we’ll begin to look more like God as we follow Him. In the Old Testament, Moses’ countenance was changed by his face-to-face encounter with God—so much so that “the Israelites could not look steadily at [his face] because of its glory” (2 Corinthians 3:7; see Exodus 34:33-35).

Today, we see the glory of Jesus revealed in people who “are being transformed into his image” through the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18; see v. 8). Our growing knowledge of and love for God results in moral and spiritual transformation that’s visible both inwardly and outwardly. When God “makes over” our hearts and minds, it’s evident to our fellow travelers in this journey of life.

Reflect & Pray

How has knowing Jesus changed you? What is He growing in you today?

Thank You, God, for continuing to transform me into Your likeness.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, June 16, 2025

What Do You Make of This?

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. — John 15:13

Jesus doesn’t ask us to die for him; he asks us to lay down our lives for him. When Peter said, “I will lay down my life for you” (John 13:37), he meant that he would give up every selfish pursuit and devote his energy, his life force, to following Jesus. Peter’s sense of the heroic was magnificent. It would be a bad thing to be incapable of making the kind of declaration Peter made. The way we understand our duty depends on our own sense of the heroic. If we think heroism means falling on our sword, we think wrongly. It is much easier to die than to lay down our lives day in and day out with the sense that we are answering a higher calling.

For thirty-three years, Jesus laid down his life to do the will of his Father. John says that we should imitate our Lord; we should lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16). This isn’t easy. To humble ourselves for others in this way goes against human nature. But we weren’t made for brilliant moments alone. There was just one brilliant moment in the life of our Lord, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17). Before and after this moment, Jesus lived where we do—in the valley of the everyday.

“I have called you friends” (John 15:15). If we are friends of Jesus, we will deliberately and carefully lay down our lives for him. It is difficult—and thank God it is! Salvation is easy for us because it cost God so much. It is only right that putting salvation to work in our lives should be difficult. God saves us and gives us the Holy Spirit, then asks us to work out what he has worked in. He asks us to remain loyal to him, though everything around us would make us disloyal.

Remain loyal to your friend, and always remember that his honor is at stake in your life.

Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:22-47

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.

The Place of Help

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, June 16, 2025

HOW SATAN PLANS TO STOP YOU - #10026

A lot of what goes into winning a football game is behind the scenes. Oh, we see all the plays and all the action, and all the heroics on the field. But a lot goes on we never see.

Let's take our local high school football team that I worked with for example. Each week someone from the coaching staff was out scouting the other team during the season. And sometimes I'd show up at the locker room and I'd ask, "Well, what are we up against this week? Tell me about the team we're playing this coming weekend." Almost always I'd get a rundown on what that team was good at, who their high scorer was, and what we would have to do to contain them, where their weaknesses were, and what we needed to go after. See, those scouting reports helped our coaches know how to best play that other team. Now, unfortunately, a lot of us are playing as if we haven't heard the scouting report on the other team.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Satan Plans to Stop You."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Revelation 12. I'll begin at verse 12: "Woe to the earth! The Devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury because he knows the time is short." Verse 17 says, "The dragon (that's the Devil) went off to make war."

Now, the book of Revelation talks about the Devil seeing time run out on the game clock. I call it panic in hell. He says, "Wow! There's not much time left." He accelerates his attacks, and I believe he's doing that now because I don't think he has much time left. You're probably on the receiving end of one of these attacks. If you're going to understand what's going on in your life; if you're going to respond in a winning way, you need to hear the scouting report.

Here's attack number one: the Devil is trying to distract unbelievers so they won't look at Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:4 talks about "the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ." See, if you don't know Jesus, the Devil does this to keep you in his grasp; he does this blinding thing. He's got you too busy impressing other people, or busy building a career, or a family, or studying, or having a good time; believing almost anything spiritual other than being rescued through Jesus. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to ever know Christ. Your heart's getting harder. The Devil wants to distract you so you will never really see Jesus.

Attack number two is to dissuade young believers so they won't live for Jesus. That's talked about in Mark 4:15, "As soon as they hear the Word, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them." See, if you're a young believer, the Devil's attack as he's feeling his panic in hell, is to get your eyes off of this new Savior before you become a threat; to put in front of you whatever could detour you: a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a job, a temptation, popularity. Do you see what the Devil's trying to do? Don't fall for this! Don't let him draw you away from the person you've spent your whole life looking for, your Jesus.

And then his third attack is to discourage God's warriors so they won't lead for Jesus. These are the people who are making a difference. Maybe you're one of those. 1 Peter 5:7 addressed to spiritual leaders says, "Cast all your care on Him, because He cares for you. The Devil goes about like a lion seeking whom he may devour." See, I think he tries to devour them with discouragement. Maybe he's trying to neutralize you because you're one of the few people who's really in the battle. He's using people; he's using circumstances to destroy your motivation and your effectiveness. Listen to Galatians 6:9, "Don't be weary in well doing, for in due time you will reap if you do not faint."

See, the Devil is luring you, he's desperately doing whatever it takes to pull you away from Jesus; to get your focus somewhere else because he can't beat Him. But if you fight back in Jesus' name, you'll be causing even more panic in hell.

Exodus 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:He Made His Point

“I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father.” John 15:15

We learn brevity from Jesus. His greatest sermon can be read in eight minutes (Matthew 5-7). . .He summarized prayer in five phrases (Matthew 6:9-13). He silenced accusers with one challenge (John 8:7). He rescued a soul with one sentence (Luke 23:43). He summarized the Law in three verses (Mark 12:29-31), and he reduced all his teaching to one command (John 15:12).

He made his point and went home.

Exodus 13

God spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate every firstborn to me—the first one to come from the womb among the Israelites, whether person or animal, is mine.”

3  Moses said to the people, “Always remember this day. This is the day when you came out of Egypt from a house of slavery. God brought you out of here with a powerful hand. Don’t eat any raised bread.

4–5  “You are leaving in the spring month of Abib. When God brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he promised to your fathers to give you, a land lavish with milk and honey, you are to observe this service during this month:

6  “You are to eat unraised bread for seven days; on the seventh day there is a festival celebration to God.

7  “Only unraised bread is to be eaten for seven days. There is not to be a trace of anything fermented—no yeast anywhere.

8  “Tell your child on that day: ‘This is because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

9–10  “The day of observance will be like a sign on your hand, a memorial between your eyes, and the teaching of God in your mouth. It was with a powerful hand that God brought you out of Egypt. Follow these instructions at the set time, year after year after year.

11–13  “When God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he promised you and your fathers, and turns it over to you, you are to set aside the first birth out of every womb to God. Every first birth from your livestock belongs to God. You can redeem every first birth of a donkey if you want to by substituting a lamb; if you decide not to redeem it, you must break its neck.

13–16  “Redeem every firstborn child among your sons. When the time comes and your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you tell him, ‘God brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery, with a powerful hand. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, God killed every firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of both humans and animals. That’s why I make a sacrifice for every first male birth from the womb to God and redeem every firstborn son.’ The observance functions like a sign on your hands or a symbol on the middle of your forehead: God brought us out of Egypt with a powerful hand.”

17  It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn’t lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, “If the people encounter war, they’ll change their minds and go back to Egypt.”

18  So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea. The Israelites left Egypt in military formation.

19  Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do it, saying, “God will surely hold you accountable, so make sure you bring my bones from here with you.”

20–22  They moved on from Succoth and then camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness. God went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, June 15, 2025

by Tim Gustafson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 44:21-25

  “Remember these things, O Jacob.

Take it seriously, Israel, that you’re my servant.

I made you, shaped you: You’re my servant.

O Israel, I’ll never forget you.

I’ve wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings.

There’s nothing left of your sins.

Come back to me, come back.

I’ve redeemed you.”

23  High heavens, sing!

God has done it.

Deep earth, shout!

And you mountains, sing!

A forest choir of oaks and pines and cedars!

God has redeemed Jacob.

God’s glory is on display in Israel.

24  God, your Redeemer,

who shaped your life in your mother’s womb, says:

“I am God. I made all that is.

With no help from you I spread out the skies

and laid out the earth.”

25–28  He makes the magicians look ridiculous

and turns fortunetellers into jokes.

He makes the experts look trivial

and their latest knowledge look silly.

Today's Insights

Isaiah 44 contrasts false gods with the one true God. In verses 9-20, God indicts those who make idols. He speaks of the “blacksmith” (v. 12) and the “carpenter” who craft images that “dwell in a shrine” (v. 13). God says, “Half of the wood he burns in the fire. . . . From the rest he makes a god, his idol” (vv. 16-17). God had a much different message for His people: “Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you . . . ; I will not forget you” (v. 21). We aren’t to make a representation of God; He has made us. The writer to the Hebrews observes, “Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands . . . ; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence” (9:24). Our high priest is Christ Himself. His Spirit resides within us (1 Corinthians 3:16). No shrine we make could ever contain Him—our redeeming God.

Hopeless Cases

Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; . . . the Lord has redeemed Jacob. Isaiah 44:23

The situation looked hopeless for Amy and Alan’s infant daughter Jem. Born with a condition called trisomy-18, she was expected to die within days or weeks. “There’s no point in treating her,” the doctor said coldly. But her mother said, “I have bigger dreams for her.” They took Jem home and loved her. And they prayed.

Six years later, Jem needed surgery to remove a large tumor that had been found. Then—the same doctor walked in. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said, “but I’m asking you for a second chance.” He admitted he’d been wrong about Jem. “I’d like a chance at redemption,” he said. Amy and Alan might have said no. But they understood the power of God’s forgiveness.

The Old Testament prophets often carried a message of God’s judgment. But woven throughout that message is the irrepressible theme of God’s love, forgiveness, and redemption. Isaiah pointed out Judah’s sins (44:6-20) but suddenly shifted focus. Speaking God’s words, he said, “Return to me, for I have redeemed you” (v. 22). God’s character wouldn’t permit Him to abandon His people. “I have made you,” He said, “I will not forget you” (v. 21). The conclusion: “Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; . . . the Lord has redeemed Jacob” (v. 23).

Jem’s surgery found no tumor. “A miracle!” said the doctor. The power of prayer. The power of our redeeming God.

Reflect & Pray

What “hopeless” cases do you know of? How have you seen God’s redemption at work in your life?

Heavenly Father, thank You for being the God who asks me to return to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, June 15, 2025

The Test of Character

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge. — 2 Peter 1:5

You have inherited the divine nature, says Peter (2 Peter 1:4). Now focus your attention and form habits. Be diligent. Concentrate. No one is born with character, either naturally or supernaturally. We have to make character. Nor are we born with habits. We have to form habits based on the new life God has put into us. We aren’t meant to be shiny, illuminated versions of humanity, floating above everyone else. We’re meant to lead common, ordinary lives that exhibit the marvel of the grace of God. Our willingness to work at whatever task God gives us is how we add to our faith. We must work diligently, no matter how lowly or insignificant the task appears in the eyes of the world. Drudgery is the great test of character. The most significant obstacle to our spiritual development is that we look for big, important things to do, and will not do the thing that lies close at hand because we think it’s beneath us.

“Jesus . . . began to wash his disciples’ feet” (John 13:3, 5). There are times when there is no illumination in our lives, no thrill or excitement, just the daily routine with its ordinary tasks. Routine is God’s way of saving us between times of inspiration. Don’t expect God to give you thrills. Learn to live in the domain of drudgery by his power.

“Make every effort . . .” We say we don’t expect God to carry us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, but we act as though we do! The tiniest detail in which we obey has the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If we do our duty, not for duty’s sake but because we believe God is engineering our circumstances, the whole superb grace of God is ours through the atonement the very moment we obey.

Nehemiah 1-3; Acts 2:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.

Not Knowing Whither

Exodus 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Sheep Can’t Sleep

Millions of Americans have trouble sleeping!  You may be one of them. Only one other living creature has as much trouble resting as we do.  They are woolly, simpleminded, and slow…sheep. Sheep can’t sleep!  For sheep to sleep, everything must be just right. No predators. No tension in the flock.  Sheep need help.  They need a shepherd to “lead them” and help them “lie down in green pastures.” Without a shepherd, they can’t rest.

Without a shepherd, neither can we!  Psalm 23:2 says, “He, (the Shepherd) makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”  Who’s the active one?  Who’s in charge? The Shepherd!  With our eyes on the Shepherd, we’ll get some sleep. Isaiah 26:3 reminds us of the promise,  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.”

Exodus 12

God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it—the entire community of Israel will do this—at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread, made without yeast, and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water; make sure it’s roasted—the whole animal, head, legs, and innards. Don’t leave any of it until morning; if there are leftovers, burn them in the fire.

11  “And here is how you are to eat it: Be fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand. Eat in a hurry; it’s the Passover to God.

12–13  “I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you—no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14–16  “This will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always. You will eat unraised bread (matzoth) for seven days: On the first day get rid of all yeast from your houses—anyone who eats anything with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. The first and the seventh days are set aside as holy; do no work on those days. Only what you have to do for meals; each person can do that.

17–20  “Keep the Festival of Unraised Bread! This marks the exact day I brought you out in force from the land of Egypt. Honor the day down through your generations, a fixed festival to be observed always. In the first month, beginning on the fourteenth day at evening until the twenty-first day at evening, you are to eat unraised bread. For those seven days not a trace of yeast is to be found in your houses. Anyone, whether a visitor or a native of the land, who eats anything raised shall be cut off from the community of Israel. Don’t eat anything raised. Only matzoth.”

21–23  Moses assembled all the elders of Israel. He said, “Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts. No one is to leave the house until morning. God will pass through to strike Egypt down. When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, God will pass over the doorway; he won’t let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin.

24–27  “Keep this word. It’s the law for you and your children, forever. When you enter the land which God will give you as he promised, keep doing this. And when your children say to you, ‘Why are we doing this?’ tell them: ‘It’s the Passover-sacrifice to God who passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt when he hit Egypt with death but rescued us.’ ”

The people bowed and worshiped.

28  The Israelites then went and did what God had commanded Moses and Aaron. They did it all.

29  At midnight God struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, right down to the firstborn of the prisoner locked up in jail. Also the firstborn of the animals.

30  Pharaoh got up that night, he and all his servants and everyone else in Egypt—what wild wailing and lament in Egypt! There wasn’t a house in which someone wasn’t dead.

31–32  Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron that very night and said, “Get out of here and be done with you—you and your Israelites! Go worship God on your own terms. And yes, take your sheep and cattle as you’ve insisted, but go. And bless me.”

33  The Egyptians couldn’t wait to get rid of them; they pushed them to hurry up, saying, “We’re all as good as dead.”

34–36  The people grabbed their bread dough before it had risen, bundled their bread bowls in their cloaks and threw them over their shoulders. The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them; they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold things and clothing. God saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people and so readily gave them what they asked for. Oh yes! They picked those Egyptians clean.

37–39  The Israelites moved on from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 on foot, besides their dependents. There was also a crowd of riffraff tagging along, not to mention the large flocks and herds of livestock. They baked unraised cakes with the bread dough they had brought out of Egypt; it hadn’t raised—they’d been rushed out of Egypt and hadn’t time to fix food for the journey.

The Passover

40–42  The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, God’s entire army left Egypt. God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night—a watchnight.

43–47  God said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the rules for the Passover:

No foreigners are to eat it.

Any slave, if he’s paid for and circumcised, can eat it.

No casual visitor or hired hand can eat it.

Eat it in one house—don’t take the meat outside the house.

Don’t break any of the bones.

The whole community of Israel is to be included in the meal.

48  “If an immigrant is staying with you and wants to keep the Passover to God, every male in his family must be circumcised, then he can participate in the Meal—he will then be treated as a native son. But no uncircumcised person can eat it.

49  “The same law applies both to the native and the immigrant who is staying with you.”

50–51  All the Israelites did exactly as God commanded Moses and Aaron. That very day God brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, tribe by tribe.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, June 14, 2025

by Mike Wittmer

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Romans 8:14-17

God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

15–17  This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!

Today's Insights

In John 14-16, Jesus revealed the work of the Holy Spirit, whom he called “the Advocate” and “the Spirit of truth” (14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13). In Romans 8, Paul tells us more about the importance and the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer in Christ. Calling Him “the Spirit of God” and “the Spirit of Christ,” the apostle says that if anyone doesn’t have the Spirit, “they do not belong to Christ” (v. 9). He’s the source of our life (vv. 10-11); He’s the seal and deposit guaranteeing that we belong to God (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14). Through the Spirit, God now lives in every believer (Romans 8:11) and we’re called “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (v. 17). The Spirit enables us to affectionately call out, “Abba, Father” (v. 15), empowers us to live godly lives (vv. 5-13), and helps us to pray by interceding for us and with us (v. 26).

What Your Father Wants

The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. Romans 8:15

Steve grabbed his chainsaw and headed out to the woods. That’s when he heard five-year-old August. “Wait for me, Dad! I want to come!” Grabbing his toy chainsaw, work gloves, and earmuffs, August followed Steve out the door. Steve set out a couple of logs for him a safe distance away. After ten minutes, August was worn out. Cutting logs with a fake chainsaw is hard work! But he was happy to “help” his dad, and his dad was delighted to spend time with his son.

Isn’t this how it is with our heavenly Father? We suppose we’re helping. “Wait for me, Dad! I need to get my chainsaw!” But our chainsaw is the least important thing about us. We’re not helping as much as we think. God cares far more about the first part, “Wait for me, Dad!” He doesn’t need our output.

If you love His Son, Jesus, God has adopted you into His family and given you His Spirit. “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship” (Romans 8:15). You’re not a servant who earns his place by hard work. You’re a child who’s loved by your Father, no matter what. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

Our heavenly Father is delighted when we serve Him. But He doesn’t need us. He simply wants us.

Reflect & Pray

What do you think of when you consider what God wants from you? How will you spend time with Him today?

Heavenly Father, thank You for adopting me into Your family as Your child.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Get a Move On

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

The Spirit of Jesus has been put into me by the atonement. Now I must begin to construct, with patience and determination, a way of thinking that is exactly in line with my Lord’s. God will not make me think like Jesus; I have to do it myself, bringing every thought into captivity for him. “Remain in me” means to abide in Jesus in intellectual matters, in money matters—in everything that makes human life what it is.

Am I preventing God from making changes to my circumstances because I think it will disrupt my communion with him? If so, I’m being impertinent. I don’t need to carefully guard my schedule in order to spend time alone with God; I need to learn to abide in Jesus no matter the circumstance. It’s as easy to commune in a kitchen as it is in a prayer meeting.

Our Lord had an inner abiding that was never disturbed. He was at home with God wherever he found himself. He never chose his own circumstances but was obedient to his Father’s choices for him. Think of the amazing openness and acceptance with which our Lord met the events of his life! We come to the Father in a state of high excitement and anxiety, with none of the serenity of the life that is hid with Christ in God.

Consider the things that take you out of Christ. Are you always promising to start abiding in him later—once this or that crisis is resolved, once this or that task is completed? Get a move on! Begin to abide now. In the early stages, abiding requires continual effort, but eventually it becomes an unconscious habit. Decide to abide in Jesus now, wherever you are placed.

Ezra 9-10; Acts 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Ethics, 99 R

Matthew 25:31-46, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD WILL MAKE GOOD - June 13, 2025

Life turns every person upside down. No one escapes unscathed. Not the woman who discovers her husband is having an affair. Not the businessman whose investments are embezzled by a crooked colleague. Not the pastor who feels his faith shaken by questions of suffering and fear. We’d be foolish to think we’re invulnerable. But we’d be just as foolish to think that evil wins the day. The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith. God recycles evil into righteousness.

Joseph, saddled with family rejection, slavery, and imprisonment, emerged triumphant—a hero of his generation. Among his final words to his brothers are these: “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” It’s the repeated pattern in Scripture: evil, God, good. Trust God. God will make good out of this mess.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Matthew 25:31-46

The Sheep and the Goats

31–33  “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

34–36  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

37–40  “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

41–43  “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

I was homeless and you gave me no bed,

I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,

Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

44  “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

45  “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

46  “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, June 13, 2025

by Nancy Gavilanes

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 5:6-11

So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

He Gets the Last Word

8–11  Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

Today's Insights

There’s a stark difference between how believers in Jesus are to relate to God and how we’re to respond to the devil. To confuse the two is unwise and dangerous. Humility—to trustingly bring oneself low in non-anxious dependence—is always in order before God Almighty (1 Peter 5:6-7). On the other hand, we’re to be “alert and of sober mind” and must “resist” the devil (vv. 8-9), for he’s a prowling spiritual predator—the adversary of those who believe in Jesus. James’ words echo those of Peter: “ ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:6-8). Revelation 12:9 speaks of the devil as “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” In Christ, however, by faith we can resist the devil and stand strong.

Standing Firm in Faith

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him. 1 Peter 5:8-9

On my walk to catch the train to work a few years ago, I saw a woman with a ferocious-looking dog heading toward me. I grew up around pet dogs, so I’m usually not afraid of furry friends, but this one looked menacing. As the dog got closer, he barked at me. I tried to laugh it off. But then he lunged at me, so I screamed. Thankfully the dog couldn’t harm me because he couldn’t reach me. His owner held on tightly to his leash.

That scary encounter reminded me that as believers in Jesus, Satan is also “on a leash” but waiting to attack if we give him the opportunity. In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter warns us, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (5:8). He growls and snarls and lunges at us to try to scare and intimidate us and to paralyze us with fear, but we can stand firm in our faith and “resist him” (v. 9).

When you feel the enemy taunting or tempting you, remember this: He’s no match for Jesus. We can cry out to Him and He’ll help us. He “will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (v. 10).

When we’re under spiritual attack, we can choose faith over fear because Jesus is always with us.

Reflect & Pray

How do you react when you feel the enemy taunting or tempting you? How can you focus on Christ during spiritual battles?

Dear Jesus, thank You for always being there for me even during the toughest trials.

For further study, read Taking Sin Seriously.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, June 13, 2025

Consecrated to Him

Come, follow me. — Mark 1:17

One of the greatest barriers in coming to Jesus is the excuse we make of our temperament. We allow our natural inclinations—our likes and our dislikes, our affinities and our prejudices—to keep us from the Lord. The first thing we realize when we come to Jesus is that he pays no attention to what we prefer. We have the idea that we can choose what to consecrate to God, that we can offer him our gifts. But we can’t consecrate what isn’t ours. There is only one thing we can consecrate to God, and that is our right to ourselves.

If you give God your right to yourself, he will make a holy experiment out of you—and God’s experiments always succeed. The one mark of a disciple is the moral originality, the spontaneous obedience to the Spirit, which comes from abandonment to Jesus Christ. In the life of a disciple, there is an amazing wellspring of originality all the time; the Spirit of God is a deep well, bubbling up, always new, always fresh. If we are drawing from this inexhaustible source, we know that it is God who engineers our circumstances. We never grumble or whine about what we have to face; we simply take what- ever comes with a reckless abandonment to Jesus.

If you want to count yourself as Jesus’s disciple, let God be as original with other people as he is with you. Don’t make a general rule out of your personal experience. If you abandon to Jesus when he says “Come,” he will continually say “Come” through you to others. You’ll go out into life echoing his invitation: “Come, follow me.” That is the result in every soul who has come to Jesus.

Have I come to Jesus? Will I come now?

Ezra 6-8; John 21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. 

Shade of His Hand, 1226 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, June 13, 2025

Messy Manhood and Dynamite Dads - #10025

"Be a man." Three words that have gotten a lot of guys in trouble. Too many of us have done too many dumb things to prove what a "man" we were. But it seems more confusing than ever to know what that even means. Being a man.

Is it changing diapers and watching Hallmark movies? Or increasing your bench press and wearing camos? Is it conquest or compassion? Tenderness or toughness? Is it hiding your feelings or feeling your feelings? "Toxic masculinity" at one pole, passive manhood at the other.

As we approach another Father's Day, I'm not feeling a great urge to pontificate on manhood.

What I do have is an urge to remember my Dad. And the man who changed him.

When I was a kid, Dad was a machinist. By the time I was a teenager he'd become a plant manager - only a high school graduate. On his own time, he was a leader at church, even chairman of a couple nonprofit boards.

Recently I was asked to write a paragraph about my dad for a broadcasters' magazine. He was strong in his convictions and honest. Mischievously funny. Hardworking. Always fair. Always there. But as I sat at my keyboard, staring at the wall for the words, one word just kept coming to mind.

"Tenderhearted." For all my dad's obvious strengths as a leader, I remember the man who wasn't afraid of tears. When he was moved, you knew it. He was moved by a son's adolescent accomplishments... when he became a grandpa... when he saw people hurt.

Most of all, he was deeply moved when he thought about my baby brother who died suddenly at six months. And he really teared up when he thought about the man he used to be and the God who changed him.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Messy Manhood and Dynamite Dads."

My dad thought of himself as very average. His priorities were anything but average. You can read it on his tombstone.

With all the titles he had in his life, on his grave it simply says, "John Hutchcraft. Husband. Father." And after all is said and done, that's his legacy. Others could be foreman or chairman or boss. Only he could be our husband and father.

So with all the craziness about manhood, this Father's Day I'll go with the one who defined the word Dad for a boy named Ronnie. He was strong but sensitive. Fighting for what is right, but still a peacemaker. Neither toxic nor timid. Achieving but putting people first.

But most of all, I think about the Man who changed my Dad into the man I've been describing. For when my brother died, my Dad was totally lost. His broken heart led him to an old rugged cross. Where Jesus died to pay for every sin John Hutchcraft ever did. John Hutchcraft gave up driving that day - his life, that is. And Jesus took the wheel. And made him the man I remember, I love, and I miss.

Our word for today from the Word of God makes me think of my dad. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Jesus. Tough enough to single handedly drive crooks out of the temple, but tender enough that children clamored to sit on his lap. Strong enough that men would leave everything to follow Him. Yet caring enough to elevate women in a world that crushed their dreams. The Savior who has made many a man what he could never have been without Him. I'm one of them.

When a man experiences Jesus forgiving... His unconditional love... His power to change - he now has nothing to prove. Nothing to hide. And nothing to lose. He is free to lead. And free to love.

My friend, if you want to begin a relationship with Him (which I hope you do!), go to our website. There's more there about how you can belong to Him. The website is ANewStory.com.

So I'm very blessed this Father's Day. I think I know all I need to know about being a man. From the one I call Dad. And, most of all, from the One I call Savior.