Proverbs 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Keep Praising and Walking

Yell a loud NO to the Devil and watch him scamper! He must retreat. He is not allowed in the place where God is praised. Just keep praising and walking.

“But, Max, I’ve been walking a long time,” you say. Yes, it seems like it. It must have seemed that way to the Hebrews too. Joshua didn’t tell them how many trips they’d have to make around the city of Jericho. God told Joshua the walls would fall on the seventh day but Joshua didn’t tell the people. They just kept walking.

Our Joshua [Jesus] didn’t tell us either. Through the pen of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:58, Jesus urges us to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Keep walking! For all you know, this may be the day the walls come down.

From Glory Days

Proverbs 16

We can make our own plans,
    but the Lord gives the right answer.
2 People may be pure in their own eyes,
    but the Lord examines their motives.
3 Commit your actions to the Lord,
    and your plans will succeed.
4 The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.
5 The Lord detests the proud;
    they will surely be punished.
6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.
    By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.
7 When people’s lives please the Lord,
    even their enemies are at peace with them.
8 Better to have little, with godliness,
    than to be rich and dishonest.
9 We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps.
10 The king speaks with divine wisdom;
    he must never judge unfairly.
11 The Lord demands accurate scales and balances;
    he sets the standards for fairness.
12 A king detests wrongdoing,
    for his rule is built on justice.
13 The king is pleased with words from righteous lips;
    he loves those who speak honestly.
14 The anger of the king is a deadly threat;
    the wise will try to appease it.
15 When the king smiles, there is life;
    his favor refreshes like a spring rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold,
    and good judgment than silver!
17 The path of the virtuous leads away from evil;
    whoever follows that path is safe.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
    and haughtiness before a fall.
19 Better to live humbly with the poor
    than to share plunder with the proud.
20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper;
    those who trust the Lord will be joyful.
21 The wise are known for their understanding,
    and pleasant words are persuasive.
22 Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it,
    but discipline is wasted on fools.
23 From a wise mind comes wise speech;
    the words of the wise are persuasive.
24 Kind words are like honey—
    sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
25 There is a path before each person that seems right,
    but it ends in death.
26 It is good for workers to have an appetite;
    an empty stomach drives them on.
27 Scoundrels create trouble;
    their words are a destructive blaze.
28 A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
    gossip separates the best of friends.
29 Violent people mislead their companions,
    leading them down a harmful path.
30 With narrowed eyes, people plot evil;
    with a smirk, they plan their mischief.
31 Gray hair is a crown of glory;
    it is gained by living a godly life.
32 Better to be patient than powerful;
    better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
33 We may throw the dice,[a]
    but the Lord determines how they fall.

Footnotes:

16:33 Hebrew We may cast lots.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Read: Ezra 9:1-9

Ezra’s Prayer concerning Intermarriage

When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.”

3 When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me because of this outrage committed by the returned exiles. And I sat there utterly appalled until the time of the evening sacrifice.

5 At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees and lifted my hands to the Lord my God. 6 I prayed,

“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed, captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.

8 “But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us some relief from our slavery. 9 For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

Pride at the Core

By Tim Gustafson

Ezra . . . was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses. Ezra 7:6

“He thinks he’s really something!” That was my friend’s assessment of a fellow Christian we knew. We thought we saw in him a spirit of pride. We were saddened when we learned that he soon was caught in some serious misdeeds. By elevating himself, he had found nothing but trouble. We realized that could happen to us as well.

It can be easy to minimize the terrible sin of pride in our own hearts. The more we learn and the more success we enjoy, the more likely we are to think we’re “really something.” Pride is at the core of our nature.

#Humility lets us trust in the goodness of our forgiving God.
In Scripture, Ezra is described as “a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6). King Artaxerxes appointed him to lead an expedition of Hebrew exiles back to Jerusalem. Ezra could have been a prime candidate to succumb to the sin of pride. Yet he didn’t. Ezra didn’t only know God’s law; he lived it.

After his arrival in Jerusalem, Ezra learned that Jewish men had married women who served other gods, defying God’s express directions (9:1-2). He tore his clothes in grief and prayed in heartfelt repentance (vv. 5-15). A higher purpose guided Ezra’s knowledge and position: his love for God and for His people. He prayed, “Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence” (v. 15).

Ezra understood the scope of their sins. But in humility he repented and trusted in the goodness of our forgiving God.

Lord, fill us with such a love for You that we think first of what will please You, not ourselves. Free us from the subtle captivity of our own pride.

Pride leads to every other vice: It is the complete anti-God state of mind. C. S. Lewis

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Impulsiveness or Discipleship?

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith… —Jude 20

There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman— an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.

Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he “followed Him at a distance” on dry land (Mark 14:54). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises— human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God— but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people— and this is not learned in five minutes.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Rescue Glue - #7508


I think we all have some awful memories of some painful scenes at Ground Zero in the rubble of the World Trade Center after September 11 - firemen, policemen, emergency personnel, combing through the wreckage for their fallen brothers and sisters. Later, pausing for a moment of silent tribute as the remains of one of them would be carried out. But at a time when there was talk of reducing the number of workers at the site, I saw a scene that was painful in a different way. Tempers flared in the raw emotions of that moment, and some of those firefighters and police who had been fighting together to save or find people in the rescue and recovery effort were suddenly fighting with one another at Ground Zero.

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

The moment was short-lived, but it still hurt - people who on September 11, and the days that followed had been so united in trying to rescue the dying, were now fighting with each other. Let me tell you, that kind of heartache is something God's been all too familiar with for a long time. His people, who should be united in an all-out effort to rescue the spiritually dying, are instead battling one another. That's not a new issue.

Way back in Philippians 4:2-3, our word for today from the Word of God, Paul was writing about some rescuers who had turned on each other. He said, "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. (These two women had been co-workers of Paul's.) Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life."

Now, notice, when these women were actively involved in what Paul calls "the cause of the gospel" - in other words, getting the life-or-death message of Jesus to people - they were together. But when they drifted away from the rescue mission of Jesus, they stopped contending for the Gospel and started contending with each other. That's still happening today.

Rescue unites God's people. When believers, when a church, when a ministry is focused on rescuing the spiritually dying whatever it takes, there's no time to battle with each other. We're too busy battling for the lives of the lost people around us. There was no conflict between those New York police and firefighters when they were in that wreckage desperately working together to bring some people out alive. Turf, ego and divisive issues: they're just not important when people are dying.

But so many of us, so many of our churches, are focused on ourselves rather than on those who are dying all around us spiritually. And, when we start focusing on our issues, our kingdoms, our distinctives, our likes and dislikes, our agendas, we start bickering, forming cliques and power blocks, criticizing our brothers and sisters, and elevating things that are relatively trivial to being way too important. Important enough even to fight over; to split over.

Remember this: rescue unites - self-focus divides. It's a sad scene when the people who are supposed to be rescuers start turning on each other. You see, while God's spiritual rescuers are battling with each other, we're losing the battle for people who will die if we don't get to them. We have to fight for them, not fight against each other!

Acts 2:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:Our Strongholds

Does a stronghold have a strong hold on you? Do you feel nothing but despair? Do you think thoughts of defeat? A stronghold is a false premise that denies God's promise. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says "it sets itself up against the knowledge of God." It attempts to magnify the problem and minimize God's ability to solve it.
God could never forgive me- That's the stronghold of guilt.
Bad things always happen to me- That's the stronghold of self-pity.
I have to be in charge- The stronghold of pride.
I don't deserve to be loved- The stronghold of rejection.
Most Christians don't recognize strongholds. But we don't have to be among them. Our weapons are from God and have divine power to demolish strongholds. Isn't that what you want? Keep God at center stage. Turn off the computer and open the Bible more! And turn to God for help.
From Glory Days

Acts 2:1-21
The Holy Spirit Comes

On the day of Pentecost[a] all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,[b] as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

Peter Preaches to the Crowd
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,
    ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young men will see visions,
    and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
    even on my servants—men and women alike—
    and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below—
    blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
    and the moon will turn blood red
    before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
    will be saved.’[c]
Footnotes:

2:1 The Festival of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover (when Jesus was crucified).
2:4 Or in other tongues.
2:17-21 Joel 2:28-32.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Read: 1 Samuel 16:1-7

Samuel Anoints David as King

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

2 But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”

4 So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”

5 “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.

6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

INSIGHT:
David is often used as an example of the best and the worst of human behavior. Even though his sins are recorded in the pages of Scripture, the final verdict on his life is that he was a man “after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). What we often miss is the reason that he is given this high acclaim. David’s nearness to the heart of God is reflected most by his repentance after he sinned. Acknowledging that God’s way is right (exemplified in the act of repentance) is the clearest demonstration of love for Him. J.R. Hudberg


An Inside View

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

The Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Retired physicist Arie van’t Riet creates works of art in an unusual way. He arranges plants and deceased animals in various compositions and then x-rays them. He scans the developed x-rays into a computer and then adds color to certain parts of his pictures. His artwork reveals the inner complexity of flowers, fish, birds, reptiles, and monkeys.

An inside view of something is often more fascinating and more significant than an exterior view. At first glance, Samuel thought Eliab looked like he could be Israel’s next king (1 Sam. 16:6). But God warned Samuel not to look at Eliab’s physical traits. He told Samuel, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (v. 7). God chose David, instead of Eliab, to be Israel’s next king.

When God looks at us, He is more interested in our hearts than our height, the state of our soul than the structure of our face. He doesn’t see us as too old, too young, too small, or too big. He zeroes in on the things that matter—our response to His love for us and our concern for other people (Matt. 22:37-39). Second Chronicles 6:30 says that God alone knows the human heart. When the God who has done so much for us looks at our heart, what does He see?

Dear God, help me to value what You value. As I follow Your example, I pray that You will be pleased with what You see in my heart.

The true measure of a person is what’s in the heart.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Is God’s Will My Will?

This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3

Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, “Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.” No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.

All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold.  Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 20, 2015

When You Need to Know God's Will - #7507

It's not uncommon for me to meet a truck driver who says, "Yeah, as I travel across the country I know what station you're on and we listen to that program. I listen to Christian radio across the country." Well, that's nice to hear. And so I've learned from truckers, of course, that CB radio is very important to them. Actually, a few years ago, there was a national craze of CB radio. And we actually picked up some words in our vocabulary from that time. The CB invasion left us with words like a policeman is called a "Smokey." Your name is your "handle." When everything's OK, you're supposed to say, "10/4 good buddy." I like the phrase that CB'ers use when they want to see if you're tuned in. They say something like this, "You got your ears on?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Need To Know God's Will."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 9. In this chapter, God wants to introduce a young man named Saul to his destiny. He's about to become, by God's choosing, the first king of Israel. Now, God needs to get him to His representative, Samuel, so Saul can find out what his assignment's going to be. And we see what made Saul a man that God would turn to - to be Israel's king. It's a trait that will serve you well if you need to know God's will right now, and I'll bet you do.

First Samuel chapter 9, some excerpts, "Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father, Kish, were lost. And Kish said to his son, Saul, 'Take one of the servants with you and go out and look for the donkeys.'" Well, they went out and looked, and looked, and looked. And it says, "When they reach the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, 'Come, let's go back or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.' But the servant replied, 'Look, in this town there's a man of God. He's highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us the way to take.'"

Well, they begin to do that. Saul says, "'Let's go.' So they set out for the town where the man of God was. And as they were going up the hill to the town, they meet some girls coming out to draw water. And they asked them, 'Is the prophet here?'" And the story goes on to say that they asked the advice of these girls in finding where Samuel was.

Now, let's stop. There's a valuable trait here. Maybe you saw it in Saul. He's got his ears on "good buddy." Everywhere he goes he's listening for the advice that will lead him to God's will. He listens to his servant's advice. He's not too proud to seek the advice of a man of God. In fact, he'll even seek information from some little girls. A person is leadable by God when his ears are always open to a word from the Lord; when He's always tuned to the Lord's channel.

You never know where God's direction's going to come from. It might come from someone who works for you or with you. It might come from a Christian, or maybe through an unbeliever. Maybe it'll come from a godly stranger. It could come from a child, as part of it did here for Saul. Maybe from a radio program you just happened to pick up, an article you read, or a family member.

Maybe you're wondering, as it says in this passage, what way to take. You say, "Well, I'm just not sure what God wants right now." Well, get your spiritual ears on and listen for His voice everywhere you go, with everyone you're meeting.

You know, Jesus said several times in John 10, "My sheep listen to My voice and they follow Me." And He said, "They know my voice." You've got to be able to recognize the voice of God speaking to you throughout the day. You know how you do that? You recognize voices you listen to a lot don't you; the people you hear all the time? They don't even have to tell you who it is. You need to be spending time in God's Word on a regular basis so you know how to recognize the voice of God.

Look, it's not the whole answer to finding God's will. But it is the next step. I mean, each of these people had something to say from God - the people that were in Saul's pathway. They gave him the clue as to the next step in God's plan. That's how God leads you. Take a step, see a step. Take a step, see a step.

You never know who God's going to use to show you that next step. So, always stay tuned to His channel, waiting for the message He wants to give you. Got your ears on?

Proverbs 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Here's What You Need to Know

Here's what you need to know about the walls of Jericho. They were immense. They wrapped around the city like a suit of armor. Here's what you need to know about Jericho's inhabitants. They were ferocious and barbaric. They withstood all sieges and repelled all invaders. Until the day Joshua showed up. Until the day his army marched in. Until the day everything shook. Until mighty Jericho crumbled.
But here's what you need to know about Joshua. He didn't bring the walls down. The shaking, quaking of the thick, impervious walls? God did that for him. And God will do that for you! Your Jericho is your fear, your anger, your bitterness, your guilt about the past. It stands between you and your Glory Days. And its walls must fall! Life will always bring challenges. But God will always give strength to face them.
From Glory Days

Proverbs 15

A gentle answer deflects anger,
    but harsh words make tempers flare.
2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing,
    but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.
3 The Lord is watching everywhere,
    keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.
4 Gentle words are a tree of life;
    a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
5 Only a fool despises a parent’s[f] discipline;
    whoever learns from correction is wise.
6 There is treasure in the house of the godly,
    but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble.
7 The lips of the wise give good advice;
    the heart of a fool has none to give.
8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
    but he delights in the prayers of the upright.
9 The Lord detests the way of the wicked,
    but he loves those who pursue godliness.
10 Whoever abandons the right path will be severely disciplined;
    whoever hates correction will die.
11 Even Death and Destruction[g] hold no secrets from the Lord.
    How much more does he know the human heart!
12 Mockers hate to be corrected,
    so they stay away from the wise.
13 A glad heart makes a happy face;
    a broken heart crushes the spirit.
14 A wise person is hungry for knowledge,
    while the fool feeds on trash.
15 For the despondent, every day brings trouble;
    for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.
16 Better to have little, with fear for the Lord,
    than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.
17 A bowl of vegetables with someone you love
    is better than steak with someone you hate.
18 A hot-tempered person starts fights;
    a cool-tempered person stops them.
19 A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers,
    but the path of the upright is an open highway.
20 Sensible children bring joy to their father;
    foolish children despise their mother.
21 Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense;
    a sensible person stays on the right path.
22 Plans go wrong for lack of advice;
    many advisers bring success.
23 Everyone enjoys a fitting reply;
    it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!
24 The path of life leads upward for the wise;
    they leave the grave[h] behind.
25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud,
    but he protects the property of widows.
26 The Lord detests evil plans,
    but he delights in pure words.
27 Greed brings grief to the whole family,
    but those who hate bribes will live.
28 The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking;
    the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.
29 The Lord is far from the wicked,
    but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart;
    good news makes for good health.
31 If you listen to constructive criticism,
    you will be at home among the wise.
32 If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself;
    but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.
33 Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom;
    humility precedes honor.

Footnotes:

15:5 Hebrew father’s.
15:11 Hebrew Sheol and Abaddon.
15:24 Hebrew Sheol.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 19, 2015

Read: Psalm 9:1-10

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Death of the Son.”

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you.
    I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies retreated;
    they staggered and died when you appeared.
4 For you have judged in my favor;
    from your throne you have judged with fairness.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
    you have erased their names forever.
6 The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
    the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
7 But the Lord reigns forever,
    executing judgment from his throne.
8 He will judge the world with justice
    and rule the nations with fairness.
9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
    a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

INSIGHT:
Psalm 9 is a song of David that captures the stress and pressure he was under at the time he composed it. While we are not given the specific incidents that triggered the writing of these words, we can feel the heat of the trials he was experiencing. In the first section of the song (vv. 1-12), David is praising God for His rescue and protection. These are words of faith directed to the listener of the song. The second half of the psalm (vv. 13-20), however, shows a heart filled with fear and speaks directly to God Himself. Bill Crowder

Waiting for an Answer

By James Banks

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

When our daughter was 15, she ran away. She was gone more than 3 weeks. Those were the longest 3 weeks of our lives. We looked everywhere for her and sought help from law enforcement and friends. During those desperate days, my wife and I learned the importance of waiting on God in prayer. We had come to the end of our strength and resources. We had to rely on God.

It was on a Father’s Day that we found her. We were in a restaurant parking lot, on our way to dinner, when the phone rang. A waitress at another restaurant had spotted her. Our daughter was only three blocks away. We soon had her home, safe and sound.

Waiting on God is never easy, but no matter the end result, it is always worth it.
We have to wait on God when we pray. We may not know how or when He will answer, but we can put our hearts constantly before Him in prayer. Sometimes the answers to our prayers don’t come when we would hope. Things may even go from bad to worse. But we have to persevere, keep believing, and keep asking.

Waiting is never easy, but the end result, whatever it is, will be worth it. David put it this way: “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you” (Ps. 9:10). Keep seeking. Keep trusting. Keep asking. Keep praying.

What’s on your heart that you need to talk to God about today? Will you trust Him and keep praying?


James Banks is an author who has written several books, including Prayers for Prodigals.

Time spent in prayer is always time well spent.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 19, 2015

The Unheeded Secret

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world." —John 18:36

The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation….For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.

We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.

It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 19, 2015

The Treadmill Syndrome - #7506

One Christmas our kids gave my wife and me a pretty great compliment. They let us know they wanted us to live longer. Isn't that nice? The way they made their point was to chip in and buy us a treadmill. They put Hebrew words on there, "L'chaim - to life!" They figured it was good for our longevity to have a means of exercise that was convenient, all weather, and time-efficient. So since then I've been trying to put in my time on that old treadmill. I know it's doing some good, but it is frustrating for a man like me. I'm a man of action! I like progress. There's lots of motion, a lot of energy exerted, a lot of sweat, but after all that, you're in the same spot you were before all that. It just seems like you're not going anywhere!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Treadmill Syndrome."

Treadmill might be a good way to describe how you feel about your life right now. There's a lot of motion, a lot of energy expended, plenty of sweat, but maybe it doesn't feel like you're getting anywhere!

The reason might be in our word for today from the Word of God. The book of Haggai is probably not a book of the Bible you were discussing over breakfast. But it's a book for people like us, even though it was originally about God's ancient people. They had returned to Israel from years of forced exile. And in Jerusalem they found the great temple of God in ruins. God wanted them to rebuild it. They started, then they stopped. He sends the prophet Haggai to wake them up.

He describes the frustrations they've been experiencing in words that sounded a little like the treadmill syndrome. Haggai 1:5, "Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." Much activity - not much progress. Sound familiar? It's that feeling of knowing your life is very full but not very fulfilled.

Listen to God's diagnosis now in verse 9, "You expected much, but see it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?' declares the Lord Almighty. 'Because of My house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house." Their lives were so full of their agenda they didn't have much left for God's agenda. Their stuff was doing fine, but the work and priorities of God were in shambles.

In verse 3, God asks a convicting question "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" Why all this activity and yet the feeling they're not going anywhere? Why were their lives full but not fulfilled? Priorities. It's what happens when our life is mostly self-focused when it comes to the things that really matter. It happens to really busy people like you and me, stressed people, successful people. It happens to people with a lot of pain. You start focusing on building your own kingdom or protecting your kingdom instead of building Jesus' kingdom.

Today God isn't building a temple. He's building a family. Jesus said, "I will build My Church." And He was talking about rescuing lost people and developing them into His followers. That's what the number one priority is supposed to be for our time, our money, and our energy. But throughout God's kingdom, much of His work is hurting because "each of you is busy with his own house."

Jesus promised that all the other things would be added to you if you "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). It's time to make the things that matter most to Jesus the things that matter most to you.

In Haggai's day, when these people finally got the message; when they got busy on God's thing, He said, "From this day on I will bless you" (Haggai 2:19). I believe He'll do the same for you. And you can finally trade that treadmill for a walk that's really going somewhere!

Proverbs 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He is Preparing a Place

God's purpose from all eternity is to prepare a family to indwell the kingdom of God. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).
God's plotting for our good. In all the setbacks, He is ordaining the best for our future. Every event of our day is designed to draw us toward our God and our destiny. When people junk you in the pit, God can use it for good. When family members sell you out, God will recycle the pain. Falsely accused?  Utterly abandoned?  You may stumble but you will not fall.  You will get through this!
Not because you are strong, but because God is. Not because you are big, but because God is. Not because you're good, but because God is. He has a place prepared for you!
From You'll Get Through This

Mark 10:1-31

Proverbs 14

The wise woman builds her house,
    but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
2 Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly,
    but those who despise him are devious in their ways.
3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,
    but the lips of the wise protect them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.
5 An honest witness does not deceive,
    but a false witness pours out lies.
6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
    but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
7 Stay away from a fool,
    for you will not find knowledge on their lips.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
    but the folly of fools is deception.
9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,
    but goodwill is found among the upright.
10 Each heart knows its own bitterness,
    and no one else can share its joy.
11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
    but the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death.
13 Even in laughter the heart may ache,
    and rejoicing may end in grief.
14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
    and the good rewarded for theirs.
15 The simple believe anything,
    but the prudent give thought to their steps.
16 The wise fear the Lord and shun evil,
    but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.
17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things,
    and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.
18 The simple inherit folly,
    but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good,
    and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,
    but the rich have many friends.
21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor,
    but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.
22 Do not those who plot evil go astray?
    But those who plan what is good find[c] love and faithfulness.
23 All hard work brings a profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.
24 The wealth of the wise is their crown,
    but the folly of fools yields folly.
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
    but a false witness is deceitful.
26 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
    and for their children it will be a refuge.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
    turning a person from the snares of death.
28 A large population is a king’s glory,
    but without subjects a prince is ruined.
29 Whoever is patient has great understanding,
    but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.
30 A heart at peace gives life to the body,
    but envy rots the bones.
31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
    but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
    but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.
33 Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning
    and even among fools she lets herself be known.[d]
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
    but sin condemns any people.
35 A king delights in a wise servant,
    but a shameful servant arouses his fury.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 14:22 Or show
Proverbs 14:33 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac discerning / but in the heart of fools she is not known

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 18, 2015

Read: John 19:21-30

Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”

22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice[a] for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.”[b] So that is what they did.

25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”[c] 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

Footnotes:

19:24a Greek cast lots.
19:24b Ps 22:18.
19:28 See Pss 22:15; 69:21.

INSIGHT:
At Jesus’ crucifixion, all of the disciples (except John) were in hiding (Matt. 26:56; John 19:26). However, a group of women from Galilee kept vigil at the execution grounds until His burial (Matt. 27:55; Luke 23:55-46). “Many other women” were also there (Mark 15:41), but only four are identified in John 19:25: “his mother” (Mary); “his mother's sister” (whom scholars say is Salome, the mother of Zebedee's sons James and John); “Mary the wife of Clopas” (believed to be “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph”); and “Mary Magdalene” (see Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40). Sim Kay Tee

The Cross and the Crown

By Bill Crowder

I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. John 11:25

Westminster Abbey in London has a rich historical background. In the 10th century, Benedictine monks began a tradition of daily worship there that still continues today. The Abbey is also the burial place of many famous people, and every English monarch since ad 1066 has been crowned at the Abbey. In fact, 17 of those monarchs are also buried there—their rule ending where it began.

No matter how grandiose their burial, world rulers rise and fall; they live and die. But another king, Jesus, though once dead, is no longer buried. In His first coming, Jesus was crowned with thorns and crucified as the “king of the Jews” (John 19:3,19). Because Jesus rose from the dead in victory, we who are believers in Christ have hope beyond the grave and the assurance that we will live with Him forever. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (11:25-26).

We serve a risen King! May we gladly yield to His rule in our lives now as we look forward to the day when the “Lord God Almighty” will reign for all eternity (Rev. 19:6).

Thank You, Jesus, for rising from the dead and that You are alive forever.


To learn more about the crown and cross Christ bore, check out The Mockery and Majesty of the Cross at discoveryseries.org/hp081

Jesus' resurrection spelled the death of death.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 18, 2015

The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion

…they went forth for His name’s sake… —3 John 7

Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.

Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.

The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.

The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R

Proverbs 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Chats in the Closet

Religious leaders loved to make theater out of their prayers. The show nauseated Jesus. In Matthew 6:6 He said, "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you."
The words surely stunned Jesus' audience. The people were simple farmers and stonemasons. They couldn't enter the temple. But they could enter their closets. The point? He is low on fancy, high on accessibility. You need not woo him with location! Or wow him with eloquence. It's the power of a simple prayer.
Join me every day for 4 weeks, to pray 4 minutes, a simple prayer. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Before Amen

Proverbs 13

A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline;[a]
    a mocker refuses to listen to correction.
2 Wise words will win you a good meal,
    but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.
3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life;
    opening your mouth can ruin everything.
4 Lazy people want much but get little,
    but those who work hard will prosper.
5 The godly hate lies;
    the wicked cause shame and disgrace.
6 Godliness guards the path of the blameless,
    but the evil are misled by sin.
7 Some who are poor pretend to be rich;
    others who are rich pretend to be poor.
8 The rich can pay a ransom for their lives,
    but the poor won’t even get threatened.
9 The life of the godly is full of light and joy,
    but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
10 Pride leads to conflict;
    those who take advice are wise.
11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
    wealth from hard work grows over time.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 People who despise advice are asking for trouble;
    those who respect a command will succeed.
14 The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain;
    those who accept it avoid the snares of death.
15 A person with good sense is respected;
    a treacherous person is headed for destruction.[b]
16 Wise people think before they act;
    fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.
17 An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble,
    but a reliable messenger brings healing.
18 If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace;
    if you accept correction, you will be honored.
19 It is pleasant to see dreams come true,
    but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.
20 Walk with the wise and become wise;
    associate with fools and get in trouble.
21 Trouble chases sinners,
    while blessings reward the righteous.
22 Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren,
    but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.
23 A poor person’s farm may produce much food,
    but injustice sweeps it all away.
24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
    Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
25 The godly eat to their hearts’ content,
    but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.

Footnotes:

13:1 Hebrew A wise son accepts his father’s discipline.
13:15 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the way of the treacherous is lasting.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 17, 2015

Read: Psalm 25:4-11

Show me the right path, O Lord;
    point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God who saves me.
    All day long I put my hope in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
    which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
    Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
    for you are merciful, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
    he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
    teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
    all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
11 For the honor of your name, O Lord,
    forgive my many, many sins.

INSIGHT:
In verse 8 of today’s reading, David describes the Lord as good and upright. What God’s character causes Him to do, however, is quite surprising. Rather than His holiness leading Him away from us—who are sinful and far from holy—His mercy leads Him to instruct us in His ways. Because we know God is good, we can trust Him. J.R. Hudberg

The Rugged Road

By David Roper

Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16

A fishing buddy of mine told me about an alpine lake located high on the north flank of Jughandle Mountain here in Idaho. Rumor had it that large cutthroat trout lurked up there. My friend got a pencil and scrap of napkin and drew a map for me. Several weeks later I gassed up my truck and set out to follow his directions.

His map put me on one of the worst roads I’ve ever driven! It was an old logging road that had been bulldozed through the forest and never regraded. Washouts, fallen timber, deep ruts, and large rocks battered my spine and bent the undercarriage of my truck. It took half a morning to reach my destination, and when I finally arrived I asked myself, “Why would a friend send me up a road like this?”

But the lake was magnificent and the fish were indeed large and scrappy! My friend had put me on the right road—one I would have chosen myself and patiently endured had I known what I knew at the end.

There is a faithful saying: “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant” (Ps. 25:10). Some of God’s paths for us are rough and rugged, others tedious and boring, but all are filled with His love and faithfulness. When we come to the end of our journey and know what we then will know, we will say, “God’s path was best for me.”

Father, we don’t see the end of the road, but You do. We trust You for what we can’t see. We know that You are bringing us through it.

Our path may have obstacles, but God will lead us.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 17, 2015

The Key of the Greater Work

…I say to you, he who believes in Me,…greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. —John 14:12

Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered; a “wise” man does not (see Matthew 11:25).

Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. And He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…” (John 14:13). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).

There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint who makes the ideas of his Master possible. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Acts 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Look to Jesus to Comfort You

Joshua 5:14 says "Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped." He was a five-star general. Forty-thousand soldiers saluted as he passed. Two-million people looked up to him. Yet in the presence of God, he fell on his face, and worshiped.
We're never so strong or mighty that we don't need to worship. Worship-less people have no power greater than themselves to call on. The worship-less heart faces Jericho all alone. Don't go to your Jericho without first going to your Commander. Let him remind you of his all-encompassing power.
In Hebrews 13:5 he has given you this promise. "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." Look to Jesus for comfort. Turn your gaze away from Jericho. You've looked at it long enough. Your Jericho may be strong but your Jesus is stronger. Let him be your strength.
From Glory Days

Acts 1

The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Matthias Replaces Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.[c] 13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

15 During this time, when about 120 believers[d] were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. 16 “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17 Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

18 (Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. 19 The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

20 Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’[e]

21 “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— 22 from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

Footnotes:

1:1 The reference is to the Gospel of Luke.
1:5 Or in; also in 1:5b.
1:12 Greek a Sabbath day’s journey.
1:15 Greek brothers.
1:20 Pss 69:25; 109:8.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 16, 2015

Read: Matthew 6:19-24

Teaching about Money and Possessions
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

INSIGHT:
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is His well-known teaching on kingdom living. Because of the importance of the ideas conveyed, it is likely that He revisited these themes multiple times during His earthly ministry. The Scriptures describe two of those presentations, which are similar yet distinct. Matthew 5–7 tells us that Jesus taught His message on a mountain (5:1), while Luke’s account takes place on a level area (6:17-49). Matthew’s account includes eight blessings known as the Beatitudes (5:3-12), while Luke’s rendering includes only four blessings and a series of four woes (6:20-26). Bill Crowder

Treasures in Heaven

By Lawrence Darmani

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. —nkjv Matthew 6:20

Poorly installed electric wiring caused a fire that burned down our newly built home. The flames leveled our house within an hour, leaving nothing but rubble. Another time, we returned home from church one Sunday to find our house had been broken into and some of our possessions stolen.

In our imperfect world, loss of material wealth is all too common—vehicles are stolen or crashed, ships sink, buildings crumble, homes are flooded, and personal belongings are stolen. This makes Jesus’ admonition not to put our trust in earthly wealth very meaningful (Matt. 6:19).

Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others.
Jesus told a story of a man who accumulated abundant treasures and decided to store up everything for himself (Luke 12:16-21). “Take life easy,” the man told himself; “eat, drink and be merry” (v. 19). But that night he lost everything, including his life. In conclusion, Jesus said, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (v. 21).

Material wealth is temporary. Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others. Giving of our time and resources to spread the good news, visiting those who are lonely, and helping those in need are just some of the many ways to store up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20).

In what ways are you storing up treasures in heaven? How might you change and grow in this area of your life?

Our real wealth is what we invest for eternity.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Key to the Master’s Orders

Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. —Matthew 9:38

The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest….” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.

From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them.  The Place of Help, 1032 L


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 16, 2015
THE BAD NEWS OF A DYING MARRIAGE - #7505

There's nothing like a famous divorce to sell newspapers. You know, people put together the words fault and divorce, and an American public collectively says, "Oh, tell me more! Whose fault? Tell me more! Put it in the newspapers! Put it on the news!" So the press obliges us, and rumors become front page headlines, especially as you're checking out of the supermarket. There are speculations about every gory detail: financial, historical, interpersonal, and extramarital.

I remember when my friends who only came every three years from being missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon would stop at our house – last stop before they left after visiting Christians all over the country. And I would always ask them the same question, "What's changed since you were here last time?" And I remember they soberly said to me after this one trip, "Christian divorce." They said, "It just wasn't like this only three years ago."

Oh, it's not just in the headlines. It's in lives all around us. Sometimes you feel like saying, "Enough all ready! I'm sick of all this talk about divorce." Well, I know someone who's been feeling that way for a long time.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bad News of a Dying Marriage."

Here's the word for today from the Word of God. It's from Malachi, and I'm reading from the second chapter. Verse 13 says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer looks with favor on your offering or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not God made you One? You belong to Him in body and spirit. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth." Listen to these words, "'I hate divorce' says the Lord God of Israel."

There was a time when a believer in Christ just didn't consider divorce as an option no matter what their marital troubles were. God calls this broken faith with your marriage partner. Of course, today divorce is not an attractive option for a Christian who's struggling in a marriage, but a whole lot feel it's an option. See, they continued to widen the justifiable grounds for ending a marriage, at least in their own minds.

While we discourage divorce, we see it happening all around. Listen to the clear voice of God, "I hate divorce." He seems to be saying here that breaking the marriage covenant is tearing up your relationship with Him too. Those three words should be deeply etched on our hearts; on the heart of every married person – God's words, "I hate divorce."

Now, He didn't say, "I hate divorced people." But God does not take the death of a family lightly and neither should we. We need to hate it like He does. After hearing so much about people trying to justify divorce, I've had people say, "I'm sick about all this talk about divorce." Well, actually, that's how God feels about our softness to what He hates. I know you want God's blessing in your life.

Well, you need to nail shut that back door; that one that's on your marriage vows that is a door that you feel like, "Well, maybe if I have to, I'll slip out the back door." The moment you allow divorce to be even a possible option, you make it much more likely that it will happen. You start to divide your energy. You start to say, "Well, there is that possibility."

You've got to focus your energy on making this marriage thrive. Fight for a marriage, face the problems, don't deny them, and determine before God you will fight for it.

Divorce is an option, but God hates it and a divorce is always really bad news!

Proverbs 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He is in Charge

We need to know that God is near. We are never alone. In our darkest hour, in our deepest questions, the Lord never leaves us!
When my daughters were small, they would occasionally cry out in the middle of the night. They would hear a noise on the street. They would shout, "Daddy!" I would do what all daddies do-tell their mother. (Just kidding). I would get up, walk down the hall, and step into their room. When I did the atmosphere changed. Strange noises didn't matter. Daddy was here.
You need to know this- your Father is here. Do you face a diagnosis, difficulty or defeat that keeps you from entering your Promised Land? Paul says in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" All authority has been given to him. He is in charge of it all. He has the final word on everything!
From Glory Days

Proverbs 12

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but whoever hates correction is stupid.
2 Good people obtain favor from the Lord,
    but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.
3 No one can be established through wickedness,
    but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
    but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
5 The plans of the righteous are just,
    but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.
6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
    but the speech of the upright rescues them.
7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
    but the house of the righteous stands firm.
8 A person is praised according to their prudence,
    and one with a warped mind is despised.
9 Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
    than pretend to be somebody and have no food.
10 The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
    but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
    but the root of the righteous endures.
13 Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,
    and so the innocent escape trouble.
14 From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,
    and the work of their hands brings them reward.
15 The way of fools seems right to them,
    but the wise listen to advice.
16 Fools show their annoyance at once,
    but the prudent overlook an insult.
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
    but a false witness tells lies.
18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
    but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
    but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
    but those who promote peace have joy.
21 No harm overtakes the righteous,
    but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
    but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
    but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
24 Diligent hands will rule,
    but laziness ends in forced labor.
25 Anxiety weighs down the heart,
    but a kind word cheers it up.
26 The righteous choose their friends carefully,
    but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 The lazy do not roast[d] any game,
    but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
28 In the way of righteousness there is life;
    along that path is immortality.

Footnotes:
Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 15, 2015

Read: Proverbs 3:1–8

Trusting in the Lord

My child,[a] never forget the things I have taught you.
    Store my commands in your heart.
2 If you do this, you will live many years,
    and your life will be satisfying.
3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
    Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
    Write them deep within your heart.
4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,
    and you will earn a good reputation.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
    Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 Then you will have healing for your body
    and strength for your bones.
Footnotes:

3:1 Hebrew My son; also in 3:11, 21.

INSIGHT:
The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, advice, instructions, and warnings. It is structured as a life manual from a father to his son—an encouragement to live wisely and in a way that obeys and honors God. Solomon, who spoke about 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), is the main author (see Prov. 1:1-6; 10:1; 25:1). Other authors include unnamed Jewish wise men (22:17–24:34), Agur (ch. 30), and Lemuel (ch. 31). In today’s reading Solomon admonishes us not to neglect God’s Word but to obey it (3:1). A wise person is faithful (v. 3), trusts and depends on God (vv. 5-6), is not proud and avoids evil (v. 7), puts God first in everything (v. 9), and learns from God’s discipline (v. 11). Sim Kay Tee

God’s Direction

By David McCasland

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. —nkjv Proverbs 3:6

A century ago, 41-year-old Oswald Chambers arrived in Egypt to serve as a YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth troops during World War I. He was assigned to a camp at Zeitoun, six miles north of Cairo. On his first night there, October 27, 1915, Chambers wrote in his diary, “This [area] is absolutely desert in the very heart of the troops and a glorious opportunity for men. It is all immensely unlike anything I have been used to, and I am watching with interest the new things God will do and engineer.”

Kathleen, Biddy and Oswald, summer 1913.

Chambers believed and practiced the words of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6 nkjv).

Wherever God puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him.
This is both a comfort and a challenge. There is security in knowing that the Lord will lead us each day, but we must not become so attached to our plans that we resist God’s redirection or His timing.

“We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for,” said Chambers. “God engineers everything. Wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work.”

Lord, may I love and serve You with all my heart where You have placed me today.


Read more of Oswald Chambers’ work at utmost.org

As we trust in God, He directs our steps.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 15, 2015

The Key to the Missionary’s Message

He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. —1 John 2:2

The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.

The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.

A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13).  Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 15, 2015

How Accidents Happen - #7504

We were in a radio studio getting ready to tape a live youth broadcast. One of the things that made this program exciting is that we had a live studio audience of young people. This particular night a youth group was coming to be that audience.

Well, we waited, and we waited, and they never came. Consequently we never got to do the program. No one had even called us! Either they were pretty irresponsible, or they found out what we pay – which is nothing – or something had happened. Actually, something had happened. The man driving had looked down for just a second and they plowed into the rear of a construction truck. Thankfully no one was seriously injured, and they even came back another time to do a program. I think someone else was driving.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Accidents Happen."

It really didn't take much to cause that crash – just one look away! Actually, that's been the cause of many accidents, many spiritual accidents. Our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Samuel 11:1. I find this one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. "In the Spring, at a time when Kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem."

David's job was to be out there fighting God's battles right then. Instead he decided he would take a day off in more ways than one. Verse 2: "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'She is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah,'" who, by the way, was one of his trusted men. "She came to him and he slept with her." There was a moral crash that night that David could never have foreseen and all the damages that would follow.

Chapter 12, the prophet says to David, "You despised the Word of the Lord." In other words he got tempted and he stopped caring what God would think. Have you ever been there? Then the prophet says, "The sword will never depart from your house." Oh, David's sin is forgiven but the consequences will haunt him for the rest of his life. Then the prophet says, "The Lord has taken away your sin, but by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt"(Ch.12 vs.14).

God's reputation has been smeared because of what one of His children did. How many times have we seen that happen? What caused this very costly moral accident? The same thing that caused the crash of that van – one look away. I believe someone is listening right now, and God wants to say to you, "You're about to crash because you've looked away." He doesn't want you to crash. He doesn't want you to pay for the damages. So He's sending you this loving warning today.

You've looked away from His book. You've put your Bible on a shelf and seldom are you showing up for your time with the Lord anymore. You've looked away from His calling on your life and you're on a spiritual vacation. You've looked away from Jesus and you've let something or someone else take over your heart. You're headed for a terrible accident.

David took a spiritual day off and he paid for that day with the rest of his life. It could be you've been taking some spiritual days off and Satan is using your complacency, he's using your carelessness to make you drift off the road that God once had you on. Listen, it's time to look up, it's time to wake up, and it's time to quit flirting with that temptation. God said flee from it, not flirt with it!

It's time to drop that person or the people who are pulling you away from your Savior. No more compromise, no more drifting, it will cost you too much. Look up again at Jesus who suffered and died for the very sin you've been playing with. Come back to His love. Come back to His Lordship. It's so much better there.

If you look away much longer the crash is going to be inevitable and it's going to be costly.

Proverbs 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Know and Remember

Romans 6:11 says, "Consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God." When the devil draws near, stand against him. Don't take his lies. When he dredges up your past, tell him whose you are. He has no recourse to this truth. He knows who you are. He just hopes that you don't, or that you will forget.
So prove to him that you know and remember. Tell him what 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind." Romans 8:35- "I cannot be separated from the love of God." And Philippians 4:13- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Promised Land people think like this. They live out of their inheritance. They show the devil the new name on their spiritual passport. Remember whose you are!
From Glory Days

Proverbs 11

The Lord detests dishonest scales,
    but accurate weights find favor with him.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,
    but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
    but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
7 Hopes placed in mortals die with them;
    all the promise of[c] their power comes to nothing.
8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
    and it falls on the wicked instead.
9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
    but through knowledge the righteous escape.
10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
    when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
    but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
    but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
13 A gossip betrays a confidence,
    but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
14 For lack of guidance a nation falls,
    but victory is won through many advisers.
15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,
    but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.
16 A kindhearted woman gains honor,
    but ruthless men gain only wealth.
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves,
    but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
    but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19 Truly the righteous attain life,
    but whoever pursues evil finds death.
20 The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
    but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
    but those who are righteous will go free.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
    is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
    but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
    another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
25 A generous person will prosper;
    whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
    but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor,
    but evil comes to one who searches for it.
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,
    but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
    and the fool will be servant to the wise.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
    and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
    how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

Footnotes:
Proverbs 11:7 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac and Targum When the wicked die, their hope perishes; / all they expected from

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Read: Hebrews 11:8-16

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[a] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Footnotes:
11:11 Or It was by faith that he [Abraham] was able to have a child, even though Sarah was barren and he was too old. He believed.

INSIGHT:
We can take courage and hope from those who have preceded us in the life of faith. The author of Hebrews lists many examples of people who acted in faith despite their circumstances and despite the fact that they had not yet received what “had been promised” (11:39). This is why Hebrews 11 begins by saying that “faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” J.R. Hudberg

All Safe! All Well!

By Randy Kilgore

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

In January 1915, the ship Endurance was trapped and crushed in the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The group of polar explorers, led by Ernest Shackleton, survived and managed to reach Elephant Island in three small lifeboats. Trapped on this uninhabited island, far from normal shipping lanes, they had one hope. On April 24, 1916, 22 men watched as Shackleton and five comrades set out in a tiny lifeboat for South Georgia, an island 800 miles away. The odds seemed impossible, and if they failed, they would all certainly die. What joy, then, when more than four months later a boat appeared on the horizon with Shackleton on its bow shouting, “Are you all well?” And the call came back, “All safe! All well!”

Ernest Shackleton, 752 days

What held those men together and kept them alive over those months? Faith and hope placed in one man. They believed that Shackleton would find a way to save them.

This human example of faith and hope echoes the faith of the heroes listed in Hebrews 11. Their faith in the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” kept them going through great difficulties and trials (Heb. 11:1 nkjv).

As we look out upon the horizon of our own problems, may we not despair. May we have hope through the certainty of our faith in the One Man—Jesus, our God and Savior.

Thank You, Father, for the promise of forgiveness made possible by Jesus. May that promise lighten the darkest of our days.

The hope of Jesus shines brightly even on our darkest day.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 14, 2015

The Key to the Missionary’s Work

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…" —Matthew 28:18-19

The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”

“Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.

“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.

“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;…  The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Guarding My Morsel, Missing the Meal - #7503

Curtis and his Great Puppy Adventure. That was the lunch time talk around our office when one of our team members became the proud owner of eight new puppies – thanks to his trusty dog, Sister. Each day seemed to bring a new episode; especially as Curtis would compare the way of the puppy with the ways of people. He told us one day about trying to replenish their food. His intention was to load up their container with a lot of good things. But they really made it very difficult. See, the puppies were too busy fighting over two little pieces that were left in the corner.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I'd like to have A Word With You today about "Guarding My Morsel, Missing the Meal."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 133:1, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity...it is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore."

Do you get what God's saying here? "I've got so many good things I want to give you." Notice when He gives it, when we "live together in unity." I wonder how often God feels a little like my friend Curtis did. He wanted to pour out good things for the puppies, "I want to, but they're all getting in the way. You're too busy fighting over a little piece for yourself."

It happens in marriages. God wants to do some wonderful things in a couple, for a couple, but they're just focused on each defending their territory, getting their way in their marriage. God wants to bless some parents and children, but they're too busy staking out their ground, trying to again get their way. When people are just fighting for what they think are their rights, their way, the Lord just can't give them all He wants them to have. He responds to people working together, not working separately. He blesses peace and unity. He likes people looking out for each other, not looking out for themselves.

This same preoccupation with "my stuff" limits God's blessing on ministries and on churches. Where Christian leaders are only concerned with their turf, their work, their needs, then the atmosphere there is stressful, self-centered, and even cold. If they only knew the power and the joy they could have with God's unhindered blessing on them.

But they're living way below what could be because there isn't that unselfishness and unity where God says He'll pour out His blessing.

Even whole communities are missing God's outpouring because churches, ministries and leaders are not working together. Again, each one is fighting for their program, their budget, their territory, and God just turns away and says, "If you only knew what could happen in your town if you could ever get together."

Those crazy puppies – they missed so much because they were so busy only caring about their own little piece. Just like us. Would you be willing to lay down your sense of entitlement, to release your rights, your interests, your little piece and let God pour out all those good things that He's been wanting to give you?