John 3:1-15 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Actions Have Consequences

Actions have consequences! In the book of Genesis we read how Joseph placed his loyalty above lust when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife. His primary concern was the preference of God when he said, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God” (Genesis 39:9)?

The lesson we learn from Joseph is surprisingly simple: Do what pleases God. Your co-workers want to include a trip to a gentleman’s club on the evening agenda. What do you do? Do what pleases God. Your date invites you to conclude the evening with drinks at his place. How should you reply? Do what pleases God.

You don’t fix a struggling marriage with an affair, a drug problem with more drugs, debt with more debt. You don’t get out of a mess by making another one. You’ll never go wrong doing what is right. Just do what pleases God.

From You’ll Get Through This

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 18, 2015

John 3:1-15

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.[b] 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[c] 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[e] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[f]

Footnotes:

3:3 Or born from above; also in 3:7.
3:5 Or and spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be translated wind; see 3:8.
3:6 Greek what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12.
3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 18, 2015

Read: John 18:15-27

Peter’s First Denial

Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”

“No,” he said, “I am not.”

18 Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus
19 Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 20 Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people[a] gather. I have not spoken in secret. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”

22 Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.

23 Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”

24 Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”

26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

Footnotes:

18:20 Greek Jewish people; also in 18:38.

INSIGHT:
The story of Peter’s denial of Christ is found in each of the four gospel records (Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18). Of these records, Mark’s account bears particular interest since scholars believe it is the record of Peter’s memories of his time with Jesus. If so, then in Mark’s gospel Peter recounts the story of his denials as a personal testimony of his failure.

Failure Is Not Fatal

By Cindy Hess Kasper

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. —John 6:69

Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew how to bolster the spirits of the British people during World War II. On June 18, 1940, he told a frightened populace, “Hitler knows that he will have to break us . . . or lose the war. . . . Let us therefore brace . . . and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire [lasts] for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour!’ ”

We would all like to be remembered for our “finest hour.” Perhaps the apostle Peter’s finest hour was when he proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69). Sometimes, however, we let our failures define us. After Peter repeatedly denied that he knew Jesus, he went out and wept bitterly (Matt. 26:75; John 18).

Like Peter, we all fall short—in our relationships, in our struggle with sin, in our faithfulness to God. But “failure is not fatal,” as Churchill also said. Thankfully, this is true in our spiritual life. Jesus forgave the repentant Peter for his failure (John 21) and used him to preach and lead many to the Savior.

Failure is not fatal. God lovingly restores those who turn back to Him.

Dear Father, thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You that Your mercy and grace are given freely through the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus.

When God forgives, He removes the sin and restores the soul.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 18, 2015

…Peter…walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid… —Matthew 14:29-30

The wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn’t see them at first. He didn’t consider them at all; he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him, and “walked on the water.” Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went. Why couldn’t our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves, as well as on top of them? He could have, yet neither could be done without Peter’s continuing recognition of the Lord Jesus.

We step right out with recognition of God in some things, then self-consideration enters our lives and down we go. If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where He engineers your circumstances. The things surrounding you are real, but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, and even unable to recognize Jesus. Then comes His rebuke, “…why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance upon Him.

If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, “Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?” Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. You will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness— being willing to risk your all.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 18, 2015

Marriage Trouble, God Trouble - #7419

We sure take for granted our ability to make a phone call. There were some folks in Chicago's western suburbs some years ago who didn't take it for granted. Now, you've got to realize, that was in the day before cellular technology. My daughter was in college in the western suburbs of Chicago, and she was used to being able to pick up the phone and there's Mom and Dad.

We were used to being able to pick up the phone and connect with her as well. But this massive storm system had hit the Chicago area, and it wreaked all kinds of havoc. One casualty of the storm was particularly bothersome. Somehow a fire began in what was called the telephone switching station. The fact is it knocked out all the phone service to and from the area. It might be like all the cell towers being blown down. We tried to call our daughter for over a week, and every time we did, we'd get a recording, "Circuits are busy. Try again later." Well, the circuits weren't busy. They had just gone bye-bye for a long time.

The ripple effects of losing that communication were really damaging. There were businesses who had no business all of a sudden; they depended on the phone, and they actually had to lay off people. There were families out of touch, and worst of all, there were teenagers unable to call their friends! Well, it pointed out how vulnerable we were when our communication center wasn't working.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Marriage Trouble, God Trouble."

Well, the Bible describes one of life's switching stations...a center through which all kinds of communication happens and what happens when it breaks down. Our word for today from the Word of God is from Malachi 2. I'll begin reading at verse 13, "The Lord said, ‘You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.' You ask, ‘Why?' It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth."

We just read about people whose communication with God has broken down. Why? Well, that question is posed and the answer is given—their marriage isn't right. Broken promises, un-kept vows, neglect. And it's come between them and God. That kind of breakdown is actually suggested over in 1 Peter 3:7, where husbands are told to "...treat their wives with respect so that nothing..." get this, "...will hinder your prayers." So, there's a disturbance in the marital switching station that is blocking communication up to God. So it's hard for either mate to talk to God or hear from God.

But it's also blocking communication down from the marriage. The children, it says, are destabilized when the love they came from is threatened. They register all the disturbances of the marriage. We think the kids might be the problem, and it might be the disturbances in the marriage that they're just reflecting. Godly children come from united parents. When you've got two different drummers, you get rebels.

In a sense, your communication with your mate is that switching station through which communication up and down goes. So many relationships depend on the health of that one relationship. The health of your marriage sends out love, and it sends out blessing to everyone that you both touch. The struggle of your marriage sends out unsettling, grating vibrations to everyone you touch.

So, how's the communication center doing? Don't be surprised if the enemy's been attacking it. He knows your marriage is the center of so much that matters. Don't let him start a fire in the switching station.

2 Samuel 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Do What Pleases God

Years ago a friend gave me this counsel: Make a list of all the lives you would affect by your sexual immorality. I did. The list includes Denalyn, my three daughters, my sons-in-law, and my grandchild. Every so often, I reread it.  And the list reminds me that one act of carnality is a poor exchange for a lifetime of lost legacy.

Dads, would you intentionally break the arm of your child? Of course not. Such an action would violate every fiber of your moral being. Yet if you engage in sexual activity outside your marriage, you’ll bring much more pain into the life of your child than would a broken bone.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul asked the rhetorical question: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?”

Actions have consequences. So what do you do? Do what pleases God!

From You’ll Get Through This

2 Samuel 12

Nathan Rebukes David

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. 2 The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. 3 The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4 One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

5 David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! 6 He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. 9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. 10 From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.

11 “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. 12 You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”

David Confesses His Guilt
13 Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. 14 Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord[h] by doing this, your child will die.”

15 After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife. 16 David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. 17 The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.

18 Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?”

19 When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

20 Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions,[i] and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate.

21 His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”

22 David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”

24 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David[j] named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child 25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded.[k]

David Captures Rabbah
26 Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.[l] 27 Joab sent messengers to tell David, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.[m] 28 Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory.”

29 So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. 30 David removed the crown from the king’s head,[n] and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds.[o] David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. 31 He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with[p] saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns.[q] That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

Footnotes:

12:14 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads the enemies of the Lord.
12:20 Hebrew anointed himself.
12:24 Hebrew he; an alternate Hebrew reading and some Hebrew manuscripts read she.
12:25 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads because of the Lord.
12:26 Or the royal city.
12:27 Or captured the city of water.
12:30a Or from the head of Milcom (as in Greek version). Milcom, also called Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
12:30b Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms].
12:31a Hebrew He also brought out the people [of Rabbah] and put them under.
12:31b Hebrew and he made them pass through the brick kilns.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Read: Proverbs 10:18-21; 12:17-19

Hiding hatred makes you a liar;
    slandering others makes you a fool.
19 Too much talk leads to sin.
    Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
20 The words of the godly are like sterling silver;
    the heart of a fool is worthless.
21 The words of the godly encourage many,
    but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.

Proverbs 12:17-19New Living Translation (NLT)

17 An honest witness tells the truth;
    a false witness tells lies.
18 Some people make cutting remarks,
    but the words of the wise bring healing.
19 Truthful words stand the test of time,
    but lies are soon exposed.

INSIGHT:
Proverbs warns us of the consequences of our words (Prov. 10:20-21; 12:13,18; 13:3; 16:24,27-28; 18:7; 22:5; 25:11-12). Wrong words are likened to a powerful fire (16:27) and weapons of war (12:18; 25:18; 26:18). A wise person is one who is restrained and judicious in his speech. Interestingly, we are reminded that if we keep silent, we will never say the wrong thing (10:19) and we will even be thought to be wise (17:28).

Wise Words

By Dave Branon

The tongue of the wise brings healing. —Proverbs 12:18 NIV

What is the strongest muscle in the human body? Some say it’s the tongue, but it’s hard to determine which muscle is the most powerful because muscles don’t work alone.

But we do know that the tongue is strong. For a small muscle, it can do a lot of damage. This active little muscular organ that helps us eat, swallow, taste, and begin digestion has a tendency to also assist us in saying things we shouldn’t. The tongue is guilty of flattery, cursing, lying, boasting, and harming others. And that’s just the short list.

It sounds like a pretty dangerous muscle, doesn’t it? But here’s the good thing: It doesn’t have to be that way. When we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, our tongues can be turned to great good. We can speak of God’s righteousness (Ps. 35:28) and justice (37:30). We can speak truth (15:2), show love (1 John 3:18), and confess sin (1 John 1:9).

The writer of Proverbs 12:18 spells out one of the best uses of the tongue: “The tongue of the wise brings healing” (niv). Imagine how we could glorify the One who made our tongues when He helps us use it to bring healing—not harm—to everyone we talk to.

Please guard each word we say so we reflect You and Your love. Help our tongues speak words of healing and not harm.

Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 niv

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Beware of Criticizing Others

Judge not, that you be not judged. —Matthew 7:1

Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.

There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 17, 2015


Discouragement and Your Dirty Window - #7418

I was in Arizona taking the opportunity to spend a little time with my son and our daughter-in-law. And since I'm the early riser of our family, they showed me where all the breakfast food was.

Now, breakfast isn't breakfast without a bagel or an English muffin, right? Well, they had some. So I popped a bagel into their aging toaster oven. And after rounding up the rest of my breakfast, I looked through the oven window to see how my bagel was doing, and I quickly opened the door to save it from burning, only to find out it was nowhere near done. I repeated that exercise two or three times. You know why? The window on that toaster oven had gotten clouded and murky over the years. So everything you looked at through that window looked darker than it really was.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Discouragement and Your Dirty Window."

Jonah - remember him? He was a man of God with a dark window. God had called him to go preach to the most ungodly city of his day, Nineveh. And Jonah took a ship the other way to Tarshish and ended up paying for his disobedience in the belly of a great fish.

He gets his second chance to do what God wants him to do in our word for today from the Word of God, Jonah 3:1, "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. ‘Go to that great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.'" And so he does. It's a message of God's judgment if they don't repent. Here's the result: "The Ninevites believed God. When God saw how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened."

Great news, huh? Not if you're looking at the Ninevites through Jonah's window. No! Chapter 4, verse 1, "Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry." He goes on to tell the Lord, "Listen, I want to check out, man! I'm sick of this." But the Lord answered him with, "Have you any right to be angry?"

What's going on here? Well, God is doing a great and mighty work and Jonah's missing the whole thing. Why? Because he's looking at it through a dark window. He had written off the Ninevites as hopeless sinners that should only get one thing - judgment. And when they finally did the right thing, Jonah couldn't even see it. That is the dark window syndrome.

Maybe you've been looking at some person or some situation through your dirty window. Life is so discouraging, it's so depressing, it's so negative when you're seeing everything through a window of anger, or jealousy, or self-pity, or pessimism. Even when God's doing something good, you may not be able to see it because you've gotten used to seeing only what's wrong.

Maybe there's a relationship in your life right now that's strained, at least partly because you've made up your mind about that person and you interpret everything they do, even the good things, even personal growth in them through your perspective. You can't accept the good. They don't even have a chance to change. It could be a child you've struggled with and they're always the problem child to you, or your mate, a spiritual leader in your life, a friend, maybe a coworker. This is just wrong! It doesn't leave any room for the activity of God in their life. There's only room for bad news. It's pre-judging and it's just wrong.

I know that every time I looked through that dark window everything looked darker than it really was. Maybe you've been making that same mistake with someone around you. Instead of writing them off, or trying to fix them, why don't you clean your window? I'll bet things will look better.

Jesus made a promise. He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Something amazing happens when you take what Jesus did on the cross for you, allow Him to take down the wall between you and God and ask Him to come into your life to be your Savior from your sin. It's like the lights go on! And suddenly everything that has looked so dark, now you can see through the eyes of God himself.

The Bible puts it this way, "If anyone's in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is gone; the new life has begun." Truly life looks different when Jesus is driving that life. If you have never surrendered to Him and given Him the wheel, let this be the day that He turns on the lights in your, what may have been too dark soul. You tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours. Based on what you did for me on the cross."

Visit our website and find out how to be sure you belong to Him - ANewStory.com. This is the day when the lights come on in your heart.

2 Samuel 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Quarry the Deep Qualities of God

Don’t equate the presence of God with a good mood or a pleasant temperament. God is near whether you are happy or not. But do quarry from your Bible a list of the deep qualities of God, and press them to your heart. My list reads like this:

        He is still sovereign. He still knows my name.
        Angels still respond to His call.
        God is still faithful. He is not caught off guard.
        He uses everything for His glory and my ultimate good.

Lay hold of the unchanging character of God. Pray your pain out. Pound the table. Even Jesus offered up prayers with what Hebrews 5:7 describes as “loud cries and tears.” Your family may be gone. Your supporters may have left. But God has not budged! His promise still stands: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go” (Gen. 28:15).

From You’ll Get Through This

2 Samuel 11

David and Bathsheba

In the spring of the year,[d] when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

2 Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. 5 Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”

6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.[e]” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

11 Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents,[f] and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”

12 “Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

David Arranges for Uriah’s Death
14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. 17 And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

18 Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19 He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20 But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21 Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon[g] killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’”

22 So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23 “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, 24 the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”

25 “Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!”

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.

11:1 Hebrew At the turn of the year. The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.
11:8 Hebrew and wash your feet, an expression that may also have a connotation of ritualistic washing.
11:11 Or at Succoth.
11:21 Hebrew son of Jerub-besheth. Jerub-besheth is a variation on the name Jerub-baal, which is another name for Gideon; see Judg 6:32.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Read: Hebrews 6:13-20

God’s Promises Bring Hope

 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

14 “I will certainly bless you,
    and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[a]
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Footnotes:

6:14 Gen 22:17.

INSIGHT:
The book of Hebrews is a book of comparisons between the Old Testament and the person of Christ. Throughout the book, the author makes comparisons between what is good and what is better: Jesus is better than the prophets and angels (ch. 1), better than Moses (ch. 3), better than the priesthood (chs. 4–8), and better than the sacrificial system (chs. 9–10). The greatness of Jesus is our hope and our anchor, an anchor that Hebrews reminds us is “both sure and steadfast” (6:19).

Our Anchor
By Marvin Williams

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. —Hebrews 6:19

After Estella Pyfrom retired from teaching, she bought a bus, decked it out with computers and desks, and now drives the “Brilliant Bus” through Palm Beach County, Florida, providing a place for at-risk children to do their homework and learn technology. Estella is providing stability and hope to children who might be tempted to throw away their dream for a better tomorrow.

In the first century, an avalanche of suffering and discouragement threatened the Christian community. The author of Hebrews wrote to convince these followers of Christ not to throw away their confidence in their future hope (2:1). Their hope—a faith in God for salvation and entrance into heaven—was found in the person and sacrifice of Christ. When Jesus entered heaven after His resurrection, He secured their hope for the future (6:19-20). Like an anchor dropped at sea, preventing a ship from drifting away, Jesus’ death, resurrection, and return to heaven brought assurance and stability to the believers’ lives. This hope for the future cannot and will not be shaken loose.

Jesus anchors our souls, so that we will not drift away from our hope in God.

Jesus, in the face of all kinds of trouble and uncertainty, help me to have a confident expectation that is grounded in Your unfailing love for me.

Our hope is anchored in Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

“Will You Lay Down Your Life?”

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends….I have called you friends… —John 15:13, 15

Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said to the Lord, “I will lay down my life for Your sake,” and he meant it (John 13:37). He had a magnificent sense of the heroic. For us to be incapable of making this same statement Peter made would be a bad thing— our sense of duty is only fully realized through our sense of heroism. Has the Lord ever asked you, “Will you lay down your life for My sake?” (John 13:38). It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways. There was only one bright-shining moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was there that He emptied Himself of His glory for the second time, and then came down into the demon-possessed valley (seeMark 9:1-29). For thirty-three years Jesus laid down His life to do the will of His Father. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). Yet it is contrary to our human nature to do so.

If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, “Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful.” And Jesus says to us, “…I have called you friends….” Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honor is at stake in your bodily life.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

How To Avoid Getting Spiritually "Nuked" - #7417

In my little world, "nuke" is just a word that describes what happens to my leftovers when I put them in the microwave. But when I was doing a week of outreach on an Air Force base, nuke meant something far more lethal, like nuclear missile. This particular base was home to scores of missiles that had been part of the front lines of our nation's defense for years. They were kept in underground silos surrounded by very high tech security systems. And it was my privilege to be taken on a visit to one of the launch control centers. Each one of these control centers was responsible for ten missiles.

At the time I was there the center was manned by two airmen who were on 24-hour shifts that they called alerts. And they showed me the systems that monitor virtually every movement every minute for their ten missile sites. In fact, these security systems were so finely tuned that a plastic bag blowing across the prairie could trigger it. Frankly, I guess I was encouraged to see crews like that on full alert. I mean, what they're responsible for required full alert.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Avoid Getting Spiritually Nuked."

I was recently reading the Bible's account of the first human ever born, Cain. See, Adam and Eve were directly created by God, but Cain was literally the first person totally like us. And what happened in the life of that firstborn human has so much to teach all of us who have been born since Cain.

Like this for example, our word for today from the Word of God, Genesis 4:7. "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you. You must master it." Well, history shows that Cain didn't listen. He did not obey. He did not go on "full alert" against the sin of his own anger and his own bitterness. He didn't master it, so it proceeded to master him and the firstborn of humankind becomes the first murderer of the human race, killing his own brother. Sad story; tragic story.

It always is when we do not heed God's warning to master the sin that is crouching at the door and waiting to have us. The U.S. defenses were developed in light of a clear sense of our security; recognizing the threat, developing a system and being on full alert twenty-four hours a day against it.

Now, the threat to you and me is a predator called sin. And you probably know all too well which sin or sins are always crouching at your door, always trying to take over,

whether it's anger, lust, worry, selfishness, pride, that habit or that persistent temptation.

The call of God is to go on full alert against that sin; stopping its intrusion while it is small before it becomes a full-scale sin invasion of your heart, your mind and your life. Notice what God didn't say to our great, great, great, great, however many times Great Grandfather Cain. He didn't say, "You must coexist with your sin." Or even, "You must fight your sin, you must tolerate, you must excuse your sin." No, "You must master your sin." Get control of what is trying to get control of you.

And here's the question: Have you been too passive in your struggle against the sin that's always around your door or have you given up? God's calling us to master it. How? By daily surrendering that area to Jesus; by setting your alarms to go off at the first invasion of that sin. Stop it then and by eliminating whatever influence strengthens the pull of that sin. Live on the promise of Romans 6:14, "Sin shall not be your master." Put the name of your sin in there and claim it as your future.

I saw in a missile command center what to do when you're facing a formidable enemy. Go on full alert against it. Go on full alert against the sin that's warring against you. It's time to beat what's been beating you too long and that's going to be by living on full alert against it.

2 Samuel 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:More Sponge, Less Roc

Make God’s presence your passion. How? Be more sponge and less rock. Put a rock in the ocean, and what happens? Its surface gets wet. The exterior may change color, but the interior remains untouched. Yet place a sponge in the ocean, and notice the change. It absorbs the water. The ocean penetrates every pore and alters the essence of the sponge. God surrounds us in the same way the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. He is everywhere—above, below, on all sides.

We choose our response—rock or sponge? Resist or receive? Hard hearts never heal. Spongy ones do. The Psalmist determined, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence!

From You’ll Get Through This

2 Samuel 10

David Defeats the Ammonites

Some time after this, King Nahash[a] of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. 2 David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death.

But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!” 4 So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.

5 When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back.” For they felt deep shame because of their appearance.

6 When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, they sent and hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from the lands of Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 from the land of Tob. 7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them. 8 The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.

9 When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. 10 He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. 11 “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. 12 Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”

13 When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. 14 And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem.

15 The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped, 16 they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River.[b] These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.

17 When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves in battle formation and fought against David. 18 But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers,[c] including Shobach, the commander of their army. 19 When all the kings allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.

Footnotes:

10:1 As in parallel text at 1 Chr 19:1; Hebrew reads the king.
10:16 Hebrew the river.
10:18 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 1 Chr 19:18); Hebrew reads charioteers.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 15, 2015

Read: Psalm 121

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

INSIGHT:
This psalm reminds us that God is our Helper (vv. 1-3) and Keeper (vv. 4-8). As Helper, the Creator of the universe (v. 2) assists us as we journey through life, giving us the security and stability (v. 3) we need. As Keeper, God is the vigilant watchman, fully aware of the events of our lives because He never sleeps (v. 4). This reality allows us to rest in safety and serenity (Ps. 3:5; 4:8; Prov. 3:24).

Look Up!

By David C. McCasland

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. —Psalm 121:2

In a park near our home there’s a trail I enjoy walking on. Along one section there’s a panoramic view of red sandstone rocks in the Garden of the Gods with the majestic 14,115-foot Pikes Peak behind them. From time to time, though, I find myself walking that section occupied with some problem and looking down at the wide, smooth trail. If no one is around, I may stop and say aloud, “David, look up!”

The psalms known as “Songs of Ascents” (Ps. 120–134) were sung by the people of Israel as they walked the road up to Jerusalem to attend the three annual pilgrim festivals. Psalm 121 begins, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence comes my help?” (v. 1). The answer follows, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (v. 2). The Creator is not an aloof being, but a companion who is always with us, always awake to our circumstances (vv. 3-7), guiding and guarding our journey through life “from this time forth, and even forevermore” (v. 8).

Along life’s path, how we need to keep our eyes fixed on God, our source of help. When we’re feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, it’s all right to say aloud, “Look up!”

I look up to You, Father, for You are the One who can help me. Thank You for the joys and trials in my life right now. I’m grateful that I never walk alone.

Keep your eyes on God—your source of help.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 15, 2015

Get Moving! (2)

Also…add to your faith… —2 Peter 1:5

In the matter of drudgery. Peter said in this passage that we have become “partakers of the divine nature” and that we should now be “giving all diligence,” concentrating on forming godly habits (2 Peter 1:4-5). We are to “add” to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits— we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace. Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do. Yet, “Jesus…took a towel and…began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).

We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks. The routine of life is actually God’s way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don’t always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God.

It is difficult for us to do the “adding” that Peter mentioned here. We say we do not expect God to take us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we do! I must realize that my obedience even in the smallest detail of life has all of the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I will do my duty, not for duty’s sake but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience all of the magnificent grace of God is mine through the glorious atonement by the Cross of Christ.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 15, 2015

Praise Talking and Stubborn Singing - #7416

Our dog, Missy, had to share our attention with another pet. Yeah, it was a canary that we named in honor of one of our Native American friends. We named the canary Cherokee. Now, this little yellow cheerleader was great for when you were in a bad mood because he never was! As soon as you uncovered his cage in the morning, he began warbling his repertoire of happy tunes. It might be a sunny day, and you had happy singing from him all day long. It might be a miserable day. Guess what? Happy singing all day long! It didn't matter how the people around our canary felt; happy, stressed, noisy, quiet, or down. It just didn't matter. No matter what, he was always singing!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Praise Talking and Stubborn Singing."

You know the bottom line today? We've got a lot to learn from the Hutchcraft canary. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15. It says, "Through Jesus, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name." Notice how frequently we're called to be praising God - continually. And notice that a lot of times praising God is a sacrifice.

Now watch! Why is that? Because we don't feel like it. There's a lot of unpleasant stuff going on. We've been praying, maybe, and we haven't gotten any answers that we can recognize. When times are tough and God seems largely silent, praise is not just the overflow of some gushy spiritual high, "Hey, praise the Lord!" No, it's a choice. It's a sacrifice.

And God's command to be praise talkers is not conditioned on our circumstances. He says "continually". Listen to 1 Thessalonians 5:16, "Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This sounds like the lifestyle of a certain yellow bird. No matter what, he was singing. His script for the day was already written. Everyone was going to hear positive sounds from him.

That's a choice we are all called to make each new day. Actually, the commitment to be a "praiser" is a new perspective on your day. You go into the day aggressively looking for the marks of God on that day, the subtle activity of God, the dramatic activity of God, the little things, the big things, the little surprises, the little encouragements. There's not a day in your life that doesn't have the fingerprints of God all over it.

But like human praise, they're not always immediately visible. You have to go looking for them. And that's what "praisers" do. I have seen the effect of a stubborn singer on the people who hear the songs. Our canary's happy sounds made it pretty tough to stay in a bad mood, and we really appreciated that bird's consistent positiveness.

I think you can have that effect on the people around you, lifting their load, lifting their spirits, changing the atmosphere if you lose the complaining, lose the cynicism, lose the negative and you dedicate yourself to continually praising your Lord. Not just with a rote "Praise the Lord!" But with specific praises for specific evidences of God's character and God's working in this very day.

You may be in a sick bed, an unemployment line, a lonely time, a time of loss, or a time of overwhelming stress. But is that what's going to determine your attitude or your talk? No, it needs to be the Christ in you, not the circumstances around you.

I want you to be like our little canary friend, singing no matter what and turning people's sadness into singing.

John 2, 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.”

John 2

The Wedding at Cana

The next day[a] there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons.[b] 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.

Jesus Clears the Temple
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”[c]

18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”

19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.

Jesus and Nicodemus
23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.

Footnotes:

2:1 Greek On the third day; see 1:35, 43.
2:6 Greek 2 or 3 measures [75 to 113 liters].
2:17 Or “Concern for God’s house will be my undoing.” Ps 69:9.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 14, 2015

Read: 2 Timothy 3:10-17

Paul’s Charge to Timothy

 But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. 11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it. 12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.

14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

INSIGHT:
Timothy was of mixed parentage, having a Greek father and Jewish mother (Acts 16:1). Although his biological father probably did not play a significant role in his spiritual development, Timothy was taught the holy Scriptures from childhood and came to faith through the teaching and godly influence of his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5). Timothy first met Paul in Derbe at the start of his second missionary journey (Acts 16:1), and Timothy soon became Paul’s protégé. The apostle Paul affectionately called him “a true son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2) and “a beloved son” (2 Tim. 1:2).

Never Stop Learning

By Dennis Fisher

You must continue in the things which you have learned . . . and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures. —2 Timothy 3:14-15

Sheryl is a voracious reader. While others are watching television or playing video games, she is deeply engrossed in the pages of a book.

Much of this zeal can be traced back to her early childhood. Her family often visited a great aunt and uncle who owned a bookstore. There, Sheryl would sit on Uncle Ed’s lap as he read to her and introduced her to the wonders and delights of books.

Centuries ago a young man named Timothy had his steps guided on the road to learning. In Paul’s last recorded letter, he acknowledged that Timothy was first introduced to the Bible by his grandmother and mother (2 Tim. 1:5). Then Paul exhorted Timothy to continue in the Christian way because “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures” (2 Tim. 3:14-15).

For the believer, learning about the spiritual life should never cease to delight us and help us grow. Reading and study can be a big part of that, but we also need others to encourage and teach us.

Who has helped you grow in your faith? And who in turn can you help? That’s a great way to enhance our appreciation of God and strengthen our relationship with Him.

Lord, give us the desire to learn throughout life, so that we may grow increasingly closer to You each day. Thank You for those who have inspired us to learn about You.

Reading the Bible is meant not to inform but to transform.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 14, 2015

Get Moving! (1)

Abide in Me… —John 15:4

In the matter of determination. The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by way of the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I then have to build my thinking patiently to bring it into perfect harmony with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus— I have to do it myself. I have to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Abide in Me”— in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is. Our lives are not made up of only one neatly confined area.

Am I preventing God from doing things in my circumstances by saying that it will only serve to hinder my fellowship with Him? How irrelevant and disrespectful that is! It does not matter what my circumstances are. I can be as much assured of abiding in Jesus in any one of them as I am in any prayer meeting. It is unnecessary to change and arrange my circumstances myself. Our Lord’s inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord’s life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, “Yes, Lord, just a minute— I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then.” Get moving— begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.

Psalm 60 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Father's Day Remembrance

I remember my first Father's Day without a father.  Perhaps you do too. For thirty-one years I had one of the best. But now he's gone. He is buried under an oak tree in a west Texas cemetery. It seems strange he isn't here. I guess that's because he was never gone. He was always close by. Always available. Always present. His words were nothing novel. His achievements, though admirable, were nothing extraordinary. But his presence was. Like a warm fireplace in a large house, he was a constant source of comfort.
He comes to mind often. When I smell "Old Spice" aftershave, I think of him. When I see a bass boat I see his face. I hear him chuckle. He had a copyright chuckle that always came with a wide grin and arched eyebrows. And I knew if I ever needed him, he would be there….like a warm fireplace!
From Dad Time

Psalm 60

For the choir director: A psalm[a] of David useful for teaching, regarding the time David fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and killed 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. To be sung to the tune “Lily of the Testimony.”

You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses.
    You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor.
2 You have shaken our land and split it open.
    Seal the cracks, for the land trembles.
3 You have been very hard on us,
    making us drink wine that sent us reeling.
4 But you have raised a banner for those who fear you—
    a rallying point in the face of attack. Interlude
5 Now rescue your beloved people.
    Answer and save us by your power.
6 God has promised this by his holiness[b]:
“I will divide up Shechem with joy.
    I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine,
    and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
    and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.
8 But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
    and I will wipe my feet on Edom
    and shout in triumph over Philistia.”
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
    Who will bring me victory over Edom?
10 Have you rejected us, O God?
    Will you no longer march with our armies?
11 Oh, please help us against our enemies,
    for all human help is useless.
12 With God’s help we will do mighty things,
    for he will trample down our foes.
Footnotes:

60:Title Hebrew miktam. This may be a literary or musical term.
60:6 Or in his sanctuary.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 13, 2015

Read: John 21:15-22

 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[a]”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others[b] will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”

22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

Footnotes:

21:15 Or more than these others do?
21:18 Some manuscripts read and another one.

INSIGHT:
Today’s text is often used to show there is forgiveness for even the gravest of sins because Jesus forgave Peter for denying that he knew Him. What must not be overlooked in this wonderful story is that Peter’s confessed love for Jesus is met with Jesus’ expectation of service. Each time Peter says that he loves Jesus, Jesus asks Peter to do something for Him.

What Is That to You?

By Julie Ackerman Link

Jesus said to him, “. . . You follow Me.” —John 21:22

Social media is useful for many things, but contentment is not one of them. At least not for me. Even when my goals are good, I can become discouraged by continual reminders that others are accomplishing them first or with greater results. I am prone to this kind of discouragement, so I frequently remind myself that God has not short-changed me. He has already given me everything I need to accomplish the work He wants me to do.

This means I don’t need a bigger budget or the assurance of success. I don’t need a better work environment or a different job. I don’t need the approval or permission of others. I don’t need good health or more time. God may give me some of those things, but everything I need I already have, for when He assigns work He provides the resources. My only assignment is to use whatever time and talents He has given in a way that blesses others and gives God the glory.

Jesus and Peter had a conversation that got around to this subject. After making breakfast on the shore of Galilee, Jesus told Peter what would happen at the end of his life. Pointing at another disciple, Peter asked, “What about him?” Jesus responded, “What is that to you?”

That is the question I need to ask myself when I compare myself to others. The answer is, “None of my business.” My business is to follow Jesus and be faithful with the gifts and opportunities He gives to me.

In what ways do I need to learn not to compare myself with others? How has God blessed me to fulfill His purposes?


Share your answers to these questions with others at www.odb.org

Resentment comes from looking at others; contentment comes from looking at God.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 13, 2015

…come, follow Me. —Luke 18:22

Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.

If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.

Have I come to Him? Will I come now?

2 Samuel 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Enjoy God's Presence

You will never go where God is not. Envision the next few hours of your life. Where will you find yourself? In a school? God indwells the classroom. On the highways? His presence lingers among the traffic. In the hospital, the boardroom, the living room, the funeral home? God will be there.
Acts 17:27 says, "He is not far from each one of us." Each of us. God doesn't play favorites. All people can enjoy God's presence. But many don't. They plod through life as if their only strength was their own. As if their only solution comes from within, not from above. They live God-less lives. Lay claim to the nearness of God. Grip God's promise like the parachute it is. Repeat it to yourself over and over. "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
From You'll Get Through This

2 Samuel 9

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.

“Yes sir, I am,” Ziba replied.

3 The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”

Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.”

5 So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. 6 His name was Mephibosheth[h]; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”

Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.”

7 “Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!”

8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master’s household.[i] But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Ziba replied, “Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table,[j] like one of the king’s own sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.

Footnotes:

9:6 Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
9:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads your master’s grandson.
9:11 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads my table.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 12, 2015

Read: Galatians 6:1-10

We Harvest What We Plant

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly[b] should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Footnotes:

6:1a Greek Brothers, if a man.
6:1b Greek spiritual.

INSIGHT:
The churches of Galatia, a province in ancient Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), were recipients of this emotionally charged letter from Paul. He had founded these churches (Gal. 1:8; 4:13,19), yet they had fallen away from the gospel of grace that he had preached to them. Instead, they had begun embracing a blend of the gospel and legalistic Judaism. Because grace (rooted in God’s kindness) and legalism (rooted in our performance) are incompatible, Paul responded with this letter in which he expresses deep concern for their spiritual condition.

Don’t Lose Heart

By Keila Ochoa

In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. —Galatians 6:9

Cooking can become tedious work when I do it three times a day, week after week. I get tired of peeling, cutting, slicing, mixing, and then waiting for food to bake, grill, or boil. But eating is never tedious! It’s actually something we truly enjoy even though we do it day after day.

Paul used the illustration of sowing and reaping because he knew that doing good can be tiring (Gal. 6:7-10). He wrote, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (v.9). It’s difficult to love our enemies, discipline our children, or pray without ceasing. However, reaping the good we have sown isn’t tedious! What a joy when we do get to see love conquering strife, or children following God’s ways, or answers to prayer.

While the cooking process can take hours, my family usually finishes a meal in 20 minutes or less. But the reaping that Paul talks about will be eternal. As we have the opportunity, let’s do what is good and wait for the blessings in God’s timing. Don’t lose heart today as you go about following God’s ways. Remember that joy is guaranteed for more than a lifetime.

Dear Lord, help me not to become weary of doing good today. I’m thankful that some day I will be with You for a joy-filled eternity!

Keep running the race with eternity in view.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 12, 2015

Getting There (2)

They said to Him, "Rabbi…where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." —John 1:38-39

Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They…remained with Him that day….” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

“You are Simon….You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “…We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 12, 2015

Your Personal A.D. - #7415

Easter night millions of Americans tuned in to Jesus, like they did two years ago with "The Bible" miniseries on cable TV. Except this time, "A.D. - The Bible Continues" was on a major network. I was one of those millions who was watching on Easter, plunged into the world-changing events of that first Good Friday and Easter.

I couldn't help but connect it to a touching Facebook post I saw on Good Friday about a bookstore visit that a dear Native American friend had with her young grandson - who she calls "Handsome." Handsome spotted a painting that really got his attention. It was Jesus nailed to the cross. He went straight to it and he said "with passion" in his voice, his grandma said, "Gramma look! Can we buy it? It's the last one. If we don't buy it, someone else will get it!"

Here's what our friend wrote: "Today is Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross for me. How could I not buy the picture for Handsome?" Well, I'll tell you, that picture of that little boy hugging that painting is tattooed in my mind. It occurred to me that the little guy was onto something.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Personal A.D."

You know what I think that little boy had? I think he had the idea that you need to make Jesus yours while you can. Not because there's a limited supply, but because that ultimate spiritual opportunity won't always be there.

Jesus described that opportunity this way in Revelation 3:20, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in." If I hadn't already "opened the door" to Jesus, I think watching that TV reminder of His awful death might just have done it. Looking there and realizing a little of the price He paid to rescue me from the death penalty for what I've done against Him; for my sins. In the Bible's words, "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

I suspect a lot of us have felt that knock on the door, that tugging in our heart maybe many times. But just like that little Native boy realized, it's important to grab Jesus while you can, because we never know when our heart is going to beat for the last time. And we'll suddenly be on the brink of eternity.

Or because we have reached the spiritual point of no return. There is one the Bible calls the "Hardening of your heart." Ignoring Jesus' knock so many times you just don't hear Him anymore. The Bible has this warning and it is our word for today from the Word of God. It is from Hebrews 4:7. And who knows, it might have your name on it today. "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7).

You know, there seems to be one other especially disturbing way that we can miss Jesus; one that can make postponing Jesus life's biggest mistake. "Call on Him while He is near," the Bible says. (Isaiah 55:6) Which suggests He won't always be near. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father...draws them to Me" (John 6:44). I've got to come to Jesus, not when I'm ready, but when He's ready. When I "hear His voice."

If you feel that tugging, if you hear His voice inside, He's ready. It's time! You say, "Ron, I've never gotten this settled. Let's get this done today. "Jesus, I'm yours." Would you tell Him that in your heart? Tell Him that out loud if you choose. I would urge you to come to our website. It is all about securing your personal relationship with Jesus and thus securing your eternity. It's ANewStory.com. Would you meet me there?

I remember the day I heard that voice and I opened the door. It changed my life forever and my eternal destination; moving from the emptiness of life without Jesus to the amazingness of life with Him - my personal "A.D."

2 Samuel 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Don't Settle for a Small Destiny

We re-define ourselves according to our catastrophes. As a result, we settle for a small destiny!
Think you've lost it all? You haven't. The truth of Romans 11:29 is that God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty-never canceled, never rescinded.
Here's how it works. Your boss calls you into the office. As kind as it sounds, a layoff is a layoff. How will I pay the bills? Who's going to hire me? Dread dominates your thoughts. But then you remember your destiny. What do I have that I cannot lose? Wait a second- I am still God's child. My life is more than this life. God will make something good out of this. I will work hard, stay faithful, and trust Him-no matter what.
Bingo! You just trusted your destiny. Another victory for God. It begins with a yes to God's call on your life!
From You'll Get Through This

2 Samuel 8

David’s Military Victories

After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest town.[a] 2 David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money.

3 David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers,[b] and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.

5 When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. 6 Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

7 David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem, 8 along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns of Tebah[c] and Berothai.

9 When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram to congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies and were often at war. Joram presented David with many gifts of silver, gold, and bronze.

11 King David dedicated all these gifts to the Lord, as he did with the silver and gold from the other nations he had defeated— 12 from Edom,[d] Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek—and from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 So David became even more famous when he returned from destroying 18,000 Edomites[e] in the Valley of Salt. 14 He placed army garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. In fact, the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

15 So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah was the court secretary. 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard.[f] And David’s sons served as priestly leaders.[g]

Footnotes:

8:1 Hebrew by conquering Metheg-ammah, a name that means “the bridle,” possibly referring to the size of the town or the tribute money taken from it. Compare 1 Chr 18:1.
8:4 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version (see also 1 Chr 18:4); Masoretic Text reads captured 1,700 charioteers.
8:8 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 1 Chr 18:8); Hebrew reads Betah.
8:12 As in a few Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions (see also 8:14; 1 Chr 18:11); most Hebrew manuscripts read Aram.
8:13 As in a few Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions (see also 8:14; 1 Chr 18:12); most Hebrew manuscripts read Arameans.
8:18a Hebrew of the Kerethites and Pelethites.
8:18b Hebrew David’s sons were priests; compare parallel text at 1 Chr 18:17.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:25-31

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[a] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,[b] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”[c]

Footnotes:

1:26 Or high born.
1:28 Or God chose those who are low born.
1:31 Jer 9:24.

INSIGHT:
Paul started the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey (AD 50, Acts 18:1-18). After staying for another 18 months (v. 11), Paul left Apollos to continue the work (Acts 18:27–19:1; 1 Cor. 3:6). Peter may have been in Corinth too (1 Cor. 1:12). Four years later (AD 56), while in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, Paul received two disturbing reports of divisions, disorders, difficulties, and denial of the resurrection in the church (1:10-11; 11:18-22). Paul wrote this letter to address those problems.

he Unlikely

By Bill Crowder

God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. —1 Corinthians 1:27

Fanny Kemble was a British actress who moved to America in the early 1800s and married a southern plantation owner named Pierce Butler. Fanny enjoyed the life afforded by the wealth of the plantation, until she saw the cost of that luxury—a cost paid by the slaves who worked her husband’s plantations.

Having written a memoir of the cruel treatment slaves often suffered, Kemble was eventually divorced from her husband. Her writings were widely circulated among abolitionists and published in 1863 as Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839. Because of her opposition to slavery, the former wife of a slave owner became known as “The Unlikely Abolitionist.”

In the body of Christ, God often wonderfully surprises us. He regularly uses the unlikely—people and circumstances—to accomplish His purposes. Paul wrote, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen” (1 Cor. 1:27-28).

This reminds us that God, in His grace, can use anyone. If we will allow His work to be done in us, we might be surprised at what He can do through us!

How will you let God use you today?

God desires willing hearts ready to be used.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 10, 2015

And After That What’s Next To Do?

…seek, and you will find… —Luke 11:9

Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “…seek, and you will find….” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “…seek, [focus,] and you will find….”

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.

“…knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God…” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands…” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify your hearts…” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament…” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves…” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “…to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 10, 2015

I was twelve years old when I was baptized. And I thought getting in that baptismal tank at our church was hard! Well, my wife was nine years old when she was baptized, and she grew up in the Ozarks where they baptized folks the John the Baptist way - in the creek (or crick).

Well, her Mom helped her get this white baptismal gown on, and then my wife (little girl then) stood on the bank as the pastor prepared to baptize her. She didn't move. The pastor thought maybe she was having a spiritual struggle over getting baptized. That never crossed her mind. What did cross her mind was the only other time she had been in a creek like this. She'd been swimming and encountered the little beady eyes of a poisonous water moccasin snake. Now, when she contemplated going into that water for Jesus, she couldn't help but also contemplate the possibility of those little beady eyes.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why You Don't Have To Be Afraid."

Well, did she or didn't she? She did! Here's how my wife tells it: She says, "I decided that if I could trust Jesus to save me forever, I guess I could trust Him to protect me from the snakes." She knew God wanted her to step into that water for Him. She also knew the danger that could be there. All of us have moments like that. Maybe you're at one of those "faith versus fear" crossroads right now.

Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 40:1-3, and it starts with the ultimate answer to the fear that could be holding you back right now. "Fear not" God says, "I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine." See, my wife moved into that scary water because she decided she could totally trust the One who had redeemed her.

God says, "You belong to Me. I paid for you with the life of my Son. Do you really think I'll let you be hurt by obeying Me?" Then He goes on to say, "When you pass through the waters I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord your God, the holy One of Israel, your Savior."

Notice it says here, "When you pass through the waters and the fire." There's no exemption from going through the deep waters or the fire. It doesn't say "if you do". It says, "when". But a promise from the Lord is here, from your God, your Savior, that you will not be overwhelmed by them or destroyed by them. You may get wet. You may get hot, but you won't get drowned and you won't get burned up.

As David was hiding in a cave from a king who was trying to kill him, he made this amazing statement in Psalm 34:4, one that has answered my wife's fears and my own fears so many times. Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord and He heard me and He delivered me from all my fears." Wow!

You could put your fear in there. "He delivered me from my fear of ______." Maybe today you're standing on the bank, knowing God wants you to step in but you've been focused on the risks of obeying Him. As long as you focus on the dangers and the scary possibilities, fear is going to be your master. But like a little girl learned on the banks of an Ozark creek, if you focus on the One who rescued you from an eternal hell, the One who holds you in His strong and loving arms, then faith will win. If Jesus is strong enough to take you to heaven, isn't He strong enough to take care of the snakes?

You know, David said in the famous 23rd Psalm, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me. I wonder if you have that kind of an intimate and personal relationship with the God of heaven? Because with Him, you can even walk through the valley of the shadow of death - the most fearful stretch of all - and say, "I know that Jesus died for me. I know my sins have been forgiven, for I have put my life in His hands."

If you've never done that, would you do that today? Go to our website and find out more about how you can be sure of this relationship. It's ANewStory.com. And trade your fears for the peace of Christ.