Haggai 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S GRACE IS GREATER

One stumble does not define or break a person. Though you’ve failed God’s love does not. Face your failures with faith in God’s goodness. He tells you what He told Joshua: “Arise, go…you and all this people, to the land which I am giving” (Joshua 1:2). There is no condition in that covenant. God’s Promised Land offer does not depend on your perfection. It depends on His.

In God’s hands, no defeat is a crushing defeat. “The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take.  If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with His hand” (Psalm 37:23-24). Miss this truth and miss your new beginning. You must believe that God’s grace is greater than your failures.

Haggai 2

This Temple Will End Up Better Than It Started Out

 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: “Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people: ‘Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?

4-5 “‘So get to work, Zerubbabel!’—God is speaking.

“‘Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!’

“‘Get to work, all you people!’—God is speaking.

“‘Yes, get to work! For I am with you.’ The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! ‘Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.’

6-7 “This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: ‘Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I’ll shake down all the godless nations. They’ll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.’ God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.

8     ‘I own the silver,
    I own the gold.’
        Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

9 “‘This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.’ Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”

* * *

10-12 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (again, this was in the second year of Darius), God’s Message came to Haggai: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: Consult the priests for a ruling. If someone carries a piece of sacred meat in his pocket, meat that is set apart for sacrifice on the altar, and the pocket touches a loaf of bread, a dish of stew, a bottle of wine or oil, or any other food, will these foods be made holy by such contact?”

The priests said, “No.”

13 Then Haggai said, “How about someone who is contaminated by touching a corpse—if that person touches one of these foods, will it be contaminated?”

The priests said, “Yes, it will be contaminated.”

14 Then Haggai said, “‘So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.’ God says so.

15-17 “‘Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn’t it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn’t seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.’ God’s Decree.

18-19 “‘Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.’”

* * *

20-21 God’s Message came a second time to Haggai on that most memorable day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah:

21-23 “‘I am about to shake up everything, to turn everything upside down and start over from top to bottom—overthrow governments, destroy foreign powers, dismantle the world of weapons and armaments, throw armies into confusion, so that they end up killing one another. And on that day’”—this is God’s Message—“‘I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, as my personal servant and I will set you as a signet ring, the sign of my sovereign presence and authority. I’ve looked over the field and chosen you for this work.’” The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Read: Matthew 21:1–9 |

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”

INSIGHT
It’s not surprising that the Jewish people were expecting a political savior. The Old Testament prophets repeatedly foretold of a military deliverance from oppressive enemies. Importantly, Matthew 21:5 quotes the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 and informs us this is a reference to Jesus. Zechariah spoke of a “righteous and victorious” King who would come “lowly and riding on a donkey” (v. 9), just as Jesus did. But where was the victory the people were expecting? The context of the entire chapter of Zechariah 9 is one of military conquest and deliverance.

As with many messianic prophecies, this one has only been fulfilled in part, and even that fulfillment wasn’t what the people were expecting. They never thought the Messiah would go to the cross as part of God’s plan. Jesus will fulfill the rest of the messianic prophecies when He returns for us, as He has promised to do.

The Problem Within
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Matthew 21:9

A few years ago, a woodpecker began tapping on the siding of our home. We thought the problem was only external. Then one day, my son and I climbed up a ladder into the attic only to have a bird fly past our startled faces. The problem was worse than we’d suspected: it was inside our house.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, the crowd was hoping He would be the one to fix their external problem—their oppression by the Romans. They went wild, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9). This was the moment they’d been waiting for; God’s appointed King had come. If God’s chosen Deliverer was going to begin reforming things, wouldn’t He start with all the wrong out there? But in most gospel accounts, the “triumphal entry” is followed by Jesus driving out exploitative moneychangers . . . from the temple (vv. 12–13). He was cleaning house, and from the inside out.

That’s what happens when we welcome Jesus as King; He comes to set things right—and He starts with us. He makes us confront the evil inside. Jesus on the donkey is like the warriors in the Trojan horse. The horse was welcomed as a symbol of peace, but its ultimate aim was unconditional surrender. Jesus our King requires the same from us.

What does it mean for Jesus to be your King? Why is it vital for you to surrender your all to Him?

Dear Jesus, You’re the true King. Forgive me for wanting You to only fix the problems in the world around me and not to confront the sin in my heart. Show me where I’m prone to wander and expose the ways I want to run my own life.

By Glenn Packiam

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Look Again and Consecrate

If God so clothes the grass of the field…, will He not much more clothe you…? —Matthew 6:30

A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field…” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed “the cares of this world” to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the “much more” of our heavenly Father.

“Look at the birds of the air…” (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your “feathers” too.

“Consider the lilies of the field…” (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the “much more” He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ.  The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Living Sheepishly - #8882

There's this picture that hangs on the wall in our living room. It has meant a lot to me in recent years. Just like an identical picture did was I was four years old. That's when my baby brother died suddenly. My grieving dad, who was not a churchgoer, decided he should take his surviving son to church somewhere.

Every Sunday he dropped me off at this one nearby church while he waited in the car, smoked and read his Sunday paper. That church is where I first heard the name Jesus. And it's where I first saw the picture. It was my first impression of Jesus. It shows Jesus as a shepherd, leading a flock of sheep beside a stream. In His arms, there's this little lamb, looking up at the shepherd who looks lovingly at him. And I said, "That's me! I'm the lamb in Jesus' arms!" Not just then. But on the darkest day of my life.

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

Karen was the love of my life since I was 19. The only person I've done my whole adult life with. Then, on that May 16, she was suddenly gone. And I was suddenly lost. Oh, how I needed my Shepherd. And He was there. Again, I was the lamb in His arms. My one safe place. He wants to be that for you.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from what many call "The Shepherd Psalm." It contains some of the most comforting, hope-filled words in the Bible. Psalm 23:1 and then verse 4 tell us: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil..." Now, wait! If the surroundings are that dark and dangerous, why will I "fear no evil? Well, He says, "because you are with me."

Suddenly, on that heartbreaking day, I was in the valley of the shadow of death. And one day I'll be walking the valley of the shadow of my own death. And while that valley may be the darkest and the most devastating, there are other dark valleys that shake us to our core. That bad news from the doctor. The marriage that once was a dream, and now it's collapsing into a nightmare. The disaster that destroyed a lifetime of treasures. Financial disaster. A job lost - or a child, a breakup, betrayal. We all have lonely valleys to walk through.

But here's some of the best news you'll ever hear. You don't have to walk that valley alone. Ever. "I will fear no evil; for You are with me." And the Bible says of Jesus: "He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord...and they will live securely (Micah 5:4).

The vulnerable, frightened sheep is safe in the Shepherd's arms. And it just might be He's come looking for you today right where you are. Because the Bible says we're all lost sheep. It says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way" (Isaiah 53:6). Put another way, each of us has sinned, hijacked our life from the One who gave it to us. We are away from the Shepherd we were made for. So we'll always be lost in this life, and when we die, we'll be away from Him forever.

But the Shepherd loved you too much to leave you lost. So He came to die on a cross, to pay for the sin you and I deserve to pay for. Then He walked out of His grave three days later - and He's waiting to walk into your life today. If you'll tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

I'd love to help you get started with this life-changing relationship. Just head for our website as soon as you can. It's where many people have found what they needed to begin a relationship with Jesus. Just go to ANewStory.com.

Let this be the day when you make the Shepherd your shepherd, so you can say, "The Lord is my Shepherd." You'll discover what millions like me have discovered. However great the loss, Jesus is enough. And you are safe. The lamb in the loving Shepherd's arms.

Haggai 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD USES FAILURE

Failure finds us all. Failure is so universal that we must wonder why more self-help gurus don’t address it. Bookstores overflow with volumes on how to succeed, but you’ll look a long time before you’ll find a section called “How to Succeed at Failing.” Maybe no one knows what to say.

But God does. His book is written for failures. It is full of folks who were foul-ups and flops but got a second chance. David was a moral failure, yet he became a man after God’s own heart. Jonah was in the belly of a fish when he prayed his most honest prayer and then saw revival in Nineveh. Perfect people? No. Perfect messes? You bet. Yet God used them all. A surprising and welcome discovery of the Bible is this: God uses failures.

Haggai 1

Caught Up with Taking Care of Your Own Houses

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God’s Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:

2 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

3-4 Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

5-6 And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
    Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
    but you haven’t much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
    but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
    but you’re always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
    but you can’t get warm.
And the people who work for you,
    what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
    a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.”

7 That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
    Think it over.”

* * *

8-9 Then God said:

“Here’s what I want you to do:
    Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
    Do it just for me. Honor me.
You’ve had great ambitions for yourselves,
    but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
    I’ve blown away—there was nothing to it.

9-11 “And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a meager crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”

* * *

12 Then the governor, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak, and all the people with them listened, really listened, to the voice of their God. When God sent the prophet Haggai to them, they paid attention to him. In listening to Haggai, they honored God.

13 Then Haggai, God’s messenger, preached God’s Message to the people: “I am with you!” God’s Word.

14-15 This is how God got Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people moving—got them working on the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. This happened on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, January 25, 2021
Read: Ezra 8:15–21

The Return to Jerusalem
15 I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. 16 So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning, 17 and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God. 18 Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all; 19 and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. 20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants—a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.

21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

INSIGHT
King Artaxerxes decreed that any exiled Israelites who wanted to return to their homeland could do so. Included in the king’s proclamation were priests and Levites (Ezra 7:13). So Ezra began leading a group back to Jerusalem. While traveling, however, he discovered that no Levites were part of the group (8:15). Why did Ezra need Levites? Because Artaxerxes had given Ezra permission to “appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God” (7:25). And Ezra was to teach those who didn’t know the laws. This required that Levites be part of the group that returned. They served as officers and judges (1 Chronicles 26:29) and were the ones who taught the law (2 Chronicles 35:3). After Ezra sent for Levites to join them, God’s “gracious hand” brought them home to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:18, 31–32).

Ripple Effect
Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:28

The little Bible college in northern Ghana didn’t look impressive—just a tin-roofed cinder-block building and a handful of students. Yet Bob Hayes poured his life into those students. He gave them leadership roles and encouraged them to preach and teach, despite their occasional reluctance. Bob passed away years ago, but dozens of thriving churches, schools, and two additional Bible institutes have sprung up across Ghana—all started by graduates of that humble school.

During the reign of King Artaxerxes (465–424 bc), Ezra the scribe assembled a band of Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. But Ezra found no Levites among them (Ezra 8:15). He needed Levites to serve as priests. So he commissioned leaders to “bring attendants to us for the house of our God” (v. 17). They did so (vv. 18–20), and Ezra led them all in fasting and prayer (v. 21).

Ezra’s name means “helper,” a characteristic that resides at the heart of good leadership. Under Ezra’s prayerful guidance, he and his protégés would lead a spiritual awakening in Jerusalem (see chapters 9–10). All they had needed was a little encouragement and wise direction.

That’s how God’s church works too. As good mentors encourage and build us up, we learn to do the same for others. Such an influence will reach far beyond our lifetime. Work done faithfully for God stretches into eternity.
Who is your primary spiritual mentor? (If you don’t have one, who might you ask to mentor you?) Why is mentoring in Christ something vital for you to receive and extend to others? By Tim Gustafson


Father, show me someone I can mentor.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 25, 2021
Leave Room for God
When it pleased God… —Galatians 1:15

As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him— to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “…when it pleased God….”

Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 25, 2021
The Sweet Celebration of the Loyal Fans - #8879

I guess it was inevitable. With our boys growing up in northern New Jersey, it was predestined that they, and I for that matter, would become New York Giants football fans. Big Giants fans. Even in the season when they won only three games, and even when they had a string of bad seasons. Even when the airplane flew over a game with the banner that said, "Fifteen years of lousy football." What used to really annoy my boys was when friends who claimed to be Giants fans kept "jumping ship" when they kept losing. Then came the playoff Giants, and then the Giants that won the Super Bowl. Suddenly, there were gazillions of Giants fans everywhere, jumping up and down, celebrating the champions. But they could never know the joy of fans like my two sons who never lost hope, and who never stopped rooting for their team.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Sweet Celebration of the Loyal Fans."

It's true in sports; it's true in life. Victory is sweetest for those who are loyal through it all. Like Mary Magdalene in our word for today from the Word of God, taken directly from the glorious Easter story. Mary had been there at the cross, when all but one of Jesus' disciples had disappeared like scared rabbits. She had gone to the tomb for his burial. And now, after having been, along with some friends, the first one at Jesus' tomb that early Sunday morning, she just can't leave. She has found the tomb empty and now she has sunk to even greater despair, believing that someone has now stolen her Master's body.

John 20, beginning with verse 11, says, "Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put Him.' At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't realize it was Jesus. 'Woman.' He said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking He was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him' ... Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward Him and cried out... 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher)."

Then it says, "Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord.'" You bet she had, as no one had ever seen Him before. Who did Jesus choose as the first one to ever see Him alive again? The one who had been loyal to Him when every reason to be loyal seemed gone. Those are the people who see Jesus in ways that His fair-weather fans will never see Him.

Maybe you're going through a time that could be a major test of your loyalty to Jesus. It's dark, plans have been shattered, it's tempting to desert because of that tragedy, that loss, that awful hurt. You don't understand why this is happening. Maybe a lot of others have deserted Him. God seems silent and things seem to be getting worse instead of better. Your hopes were just sealed in a tomb.

Now is the moment of truth in your relationship with the man who gave His life for you. He did not abandon you when it meant the cross. Are you going to abandon Him? It's Mary Magdalene time: time to stand by Jesus, to stand firm in your commitment to Him, even when it feels like there's no reason to. The wisdom of many a veteran, of many a spiritual battle, still rings true today, "Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light."

Yes, it's like a Good Friday for you right now. But Easter is coming. And the one who stands by Jesus when everything seems to be falling apart is the one who's going to see Jesus in all His power and all His glory. Victory is sweetest for those who never leave Him.

1 John 5 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Power of a Seed

Want to see a miracle? Take a small seed, put it under several inches of dirt. Give it light, water, and fertilizer. It doesn’t matter that the ground is a zillion times the weight of the seed. The seed will push it back! Never underestimate the power of a seed.

James, the epistle writer, wasn’t a farmer.  But he knew the power of a seed sown in fertile soil. “Those who are peacemakers,” he said, “will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18).

How good are you at sowing seeds of peace? Jesus modeled peace through acts of love, washing the feet of men he knew would betray him, and honoring the sinful woman whom society had scorned.

Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heart-deep in a person’s life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens!

From The Applause of Heaven

1 John 5

Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-born. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God’s children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome.

The Power That Brings the World to Its Knees
4-5 Every God-born person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

6-8 Jesus—the Divine Christ! He experienced a life-giving birth and a death-killing death. Not only birth from the womb, but baptismal birth of his ministry and sacrificial death. And all the while the Spirit is confirming the truth, the reality of God’s presence at Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion, bringing those occasions alive for us. A triple testimony: the Spirit, the Baptism, the Crucifixion. And the three in perfect agreement.

9-10 If we take human testimony at face value, how much more should we be reassured when God gives testimony as he does here, testifying concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God inwardly confirms God’s testimony. Whoever refuses to believe in effect calls God a liar, refusing to believe God’s own testimony regarding his Son.

11-12 This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.

The Reality, Not the Illusion
13-15 My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

16-17 For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is “fatal,” leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that. Everything we do wrong is sin, but not all sin is fatal.

18-21 We know that none of the God-born makes a practice of sin—fatal sin. The God-born are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Read: Mark 10:26–31

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

INSIGHT
The Jews believed that material wealth was a merited reward from God for one’s obedience to the Torah (Deuteronomy 28:1–6). In Mark 10:17–22, a rich man claimed he’d faithfully kept the law since his youth, so he assumed he deserved eternal life. When challenged to give up his wealth to follow Jesus, he wouldn’t because he loved his money more. In contrast, the disciples had left their families and professions to follow Christ (Matthew 4:18–22; 9:9). Peter boasted, “We have left everything to follow you!” (Mark 10:28). Jesus said the reward gained from following Him would far outweigh any loss, but He also warned they too must face persecution (v. 30). To follow Jesus is to serve, and that will include suffering (8:34–36; John 15:20). The disciples weren’t to look down on others just because they sacrificed more or followed Jesus first: “Many who are first will be last, and the last first” (10:31).

Surrendering All - By Amy Boucher Pye
Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” Mark 10:28


Two men remembered for serving others for Jesus left careers in the arts to commit themselves to where they believed God had called them. James O. Fraser (1886–1938) decided not to pursue being a concert pianist in England to serve the Lisu people in China, while the American Judson Van DeVenter (1855–1939) chose to become an evangelist instead of pursuing a career in art. He later wrote the hymn “I Surrender All.”

While having a vocation in the arts is the perfect calling for many, these men believed God called them to relinquish one career for another. Perhaps they found inspiration from Jesus counseling the rich, young ruler to give up his possessions to follow Him (Mark 10:17–25). Witnessing the exchange, Peter exclaimed, “We have left everything to follow you!” (v. 28). Jesus assured him that God would give those who follow Him “a hundred times as much in this present age” and eternal life (v. 30). But He would give according to His wisdom: “Many who are first will be last, and the last first” (v. 31).

No matter where God has placed us, we’re called to daily surrender our lives to Christ, obeying His gentle call to follow Him and serve Him with our talents and resources—whether in the home, office, community, or far from home. As we do, He’ll inspire us to love others, putting their needs above our own.

Who comes to mind when you think of someone who’s sacrificed for Jesus? How is God calling you to surrender?

Jesus, help me to surrender my all for You today as I serve You and those around me for Your honor.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 24, 2021
God’s Overpowering Purpose

I have appeared to you for this purpose… —Acts 26:16

The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go…” (John 15:16).

When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision” — not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ. Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “…to make you a minister and a witness….” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

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

Bible in a Year: Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39

Ezra 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Change Your Heart

A woman battles with depression. What's the solution suggested by some well-meaning friend? Buy yourself a new outfit! A husband is in an affair that brings him as much guilt as it does adventure. The solution? Hang out with people who don't make you feel guilty. Change your style. Get a new haircut. Case after case of treating the outside while ignoring the inside.
And the result? The woman gets a new outfit, and the depression disappears…for a day, maybe. The husband finds a bunch of buddies who sanction his adultery.  The result…peace, until the crowd's gone. Then the guilt is back. The exterior polished, the interior corroding. The outside altered, the inside faltering. One thing is clear. Cosmetic changes are only skin deep!
Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart" (Matthew 5:8).  And the message of the Beatitude is a clear one. You change your life by changing your heart!
From The Applause of Heaven

Ezra 4

The Building Stopped

Old enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building The Temple of the God of Israel. They came to Zerubbabel and the family heads and said, “We’ll help you build. We worship your God the same as you. We’ve been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon king of Assyria brought us here.”

3 Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the family heads of Israel said to them, “Nothing doing. Building The Temple of our God is not the same thing to you as to us. We alone will build for the God of Israel. We’re the ones King Cyrus of Persia commanded to do it.”

4-5 So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years, throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia and on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 In fact, in the reign of Xerxes, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against those living in Judah and Jerusalem.

7 Again later, in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote regarding the Jerusalem business to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. (What follows is written in Aramaic.)

8-16 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

From: Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, backed by the rest of their associates, the judges and officials over the people from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, Elamites of Susa, and all the others whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and other places in the land across the Euphrates.

(This is the copy of the letter they sent to him.)

To: King Artaxerxes from your servants from the land across the Euphrates.

We are here to inform the king that the Jews who came from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and have set about rebuilding that rebellious and evil city. They are busy at work finishing the walls and rebuilding the foundations. The king needs to know that once that city is rebuilt and the wall completed they will no longer pay a penny of tribute, tax, or duty. The royal treasury will feel the loss. We’re loyal to the king and cannot sit idly by while our king is being insulted—that’s why we are passing this information on. We suggest that you look into the court records of your ancestors; you’ll learn from those books that that city is a rebellious city, a thorn in the side to kings and provinces, a historic center of unrest and revolt. That’s why the city was wiped out. We are letting the king know that if that city gets rebuilt and its walls restored, you’ll end up with nothing in your province beyond the Euphrates.

17-22 The king sent his reply to Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates who lived in Samaria and other places beyond the Euphrates.

Peace be with you. The letter that you sent has been translated and read to me. I gave orders to search the records, and sure enough it turns out that this city has revolted against kings time and again—rebellion is an old story there. I find that they’ve had their share of strong kings who have taken over beyond the Euphrates and exacted taxes, tribute, and duty. So do this: Order these men to stop work immediately—not a lick of rebuilding in that city unless I order it. Act quickly and firmly; they’ve done enough damage to kings!

23 The letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates. They lost no time. They went to the Jews in Jerusalem and made them quit work.

24 That put a stop to the work on The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Nothing more was done until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Read: Psalm 6

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
    or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
    How long, Lord, how long?

4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
    save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
    Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping
    and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
    they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
    for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
    they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

INSIGHT
Some hear David’s words in Psalm 6 echoed in Jesus’ words of anguish in John 12:27 as He anticipated His death on the cross. Both gave reason to believe in the mercies and love of God. Both David and Jesus were surrounded by enemies that came from within their own nation. But whereas David’s personal failures contributed to much of his opposition, Jesus attracted enemies by exposing the hypocrisy of religious leaders. David prays that God would rescue him from death (Psalm 6:4–5), but Jesus’ purpose was to rescue His enemies rather than to be saved from them (John 12:23–26). He endured suffering far greater than David feared. By overcoming the grave, Jesus gave those who hated Him a reason to discover the mercies and everlasting love of God.

The Deepest Places
I am worn out from my groaning. Psalm 6:6

Victor Hugo (1802–1885), a poet and novelist during the social and political upheavals of nineteenth-century France, is perhaps best known for his classic Les Miserables. Over a century later, a musical adaptation of his novel has become one of our generation’s most popular productions. This shouldn’t surprise us. As Hugo once said, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”

The psalmists would have agreed. Their songs and prayers provide us with honest reflections on life and its inevitable pain. They touch us in places we find difficult to access. For example, in Psalm 6:6 David cries out, “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”

The fact that such raw honesty is included in the inspired songs of the Scriptures gives us great encouragement. It invites us to bring our fears to God, who welcomes us into His presence for comfort and help. He embraces us in our heartfelt honesty.

Music can give us the ability to express our feelings when words are hard to come by, but whether that expression is sung, prayed, or silently cried, our God reaches into the deepest places in our hearts and gives us His peace.

How would you characterize your prayer life? How does it make you feel to realize that God Himself allows you to come into His presence just as you are?

Thank You, loving God, for welcoming me with all my pain, fear, struggle, and disappointment. Thank You that You don’t want “correct” or “sanitized” prayers, but my honest heart instead.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Transformed by Beholding

We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image… —2 Corinthians 3:18

The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.

The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord….”

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

Bible in a Year: Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20

Ezra 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HEAVEN NOTICES WHEN WE TRUST

Jesus once went to the house of a little girl who had just died. Mourners were gathered at the door. “’Why are you crying?’ he asked them” (Mark 5:39). You see, when we see death, we see reason to cry. When Jesus sees death, he sees deliverance. That was too much for the people to take. “They laughed at him” (v. 40). You’re not going to believe what Jesus did next. He threw the mourners out!

You know, God is still busy casting out the critics and silencing the voices that could deter you. Some of his work you’ve seen, most of it you haven’t. Only when you get home will you know how many times he has protected you from mocking voices of unbelief. He knows you and I are blind. I think that’s one reason he raised the girl from the dead. Not for her sake—she was better off in heaven—but for our sake, to teach us that heaven notices when we trust.


Ezra 3

The Building Begun

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled into their towns, the people assembled together in Jerusalem. Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brother priests, along with Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and his relatives, went to work and built the Altar of the God of Israel to offer Whole-Burnt-Offerings on it as written in The Revelation of Moses the man of God.

3-5 Even though they were afraid of what their non-Israelite neighbors might do, they went ahead anyway and set up the Altar on its foundations and offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings on it morning and evening. They also celebrated the Festival of Booths as prescribed and the daily Whole-Burnt-Offerings set for each day. And they presented the regular Whole-Burnt-Offerings for Sabbaths, New Moons, and God’s Holy Festivals, as well as Freewill-Offerings for God.

6 They began offering Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God from the very first day of the seventh month, even though The Temple of God’s foundation had not yet been laid.

7 They gave money to hire masons and carpenters. They gave food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians in exchange for the cedar lumber they had brought by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, a shipment authorized by Cyrus the king of Persia.

8-9 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, in company with their brother priests and Levites and everyone else who had come back to Jerusalem from captivity, got started. They appointed the Levites twenty years of age and older to direct the rebuilding of The Temple of God. Jeshua and his family joined Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, along with the extended family of Henadad—all Levites—to direct the work crew on The Temple of God.

10-11 When the workers laid the foundation of The Temple of God, the priests in their robes stood up with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise God in the tradition of David king of Israel. They sang antiphonally praise and thanksgiving to God:

Yes! God is good!
Oh yes—he’ll never quit loving Israel!

11-13 All the people boomed out hurrahs, praising God as the foundation of The Temple of God was laid. As many were noisily shouting with joy, many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first Temple, when they saw the foundations of this Temple laid, wept loudly for joy. People couldn’t distinguish the shouting from the weeping. The sound of their voices reverberated for miles around.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, January 22, 2021/2014
Read: Exodus 6:1-13

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[a] but by my name the Lord[b] I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”

12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[c]?”
Family Record of Moses and Aaron

13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
Footnotes:

    Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
    Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
    Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30

Insight
Today’s reading anticipates that Pharaoh will pit himself against the living God. Inevitably, when a human heart stubbornly rebels against the sovereign God, conflict ensues. Fallen human beings still continue their rebellion against Him. Yet there is hope through the offer of redemption to all who repent and believe (John 1:12).

Bricks Without Straw
January 22, 2014 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

I will rescue you . . . , and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. —Exodus 6:6

Many of us face the challenge of working with limited resources. Equipped with less money, less time, dwindling energy, and fewer helpers, our workload may remain the same. Sometimes, it even increases. There’s a saying that sums up this predicament: “More bricks, less straw.”

This phrase refers to the Israelites’ hardship as slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh decided to stop supplying them with straw, yet he required them to make the same number of bricks each day. They scoured the land to find supplies, while Pharaoh’s overseers beat them and pressured them to work harder (Ex. 5:13). The Israelites became so discouraged that they didn’t listen when God said through Moses, “I will rescue you . . . , and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm” (6:6).

Although the Israelites refused to hear God’s message, God was still guiding and directing Moses, preparing him to speak to Pharaoh. God remained firmly on Israel’s side—at work behind the scenes. Like the Israelites, we can become so downhearted that we ignore encouragement. In dark times, it’s comforting to remember that God is our deliverer (Ps. 40:17). He is always at work on our behalf, even if we can’t see what He is doing.
Lord, please help me to trust You despite my
discouragement. I invite You to fill me with
hope through the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Let my life testify of Your faithfulness.
Times of trouble are times for trust.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 22, 2021
Am I Looking To God?
Look to Me, and be saved… —Isaiah 45:22

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved….” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me….”

Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved….” Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.

Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me….” Salvation is yours the moment you look.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.
The Place of Help

Bible in a Year: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 22, 2021
Your Backpack...Unpacked - #8880

We were on a reservation basketball court. Our On Eagles' Wings team of young Native Americans were there to share the hope they had found with their generation. Teresa would be the main speaker that night. The one carrying the heavy backpack around all night. She set it down when she spoke. And started pulling out . . . rocks. She said, "You know, a lot of us spend our life carrying around an invisible load like this. A backpack full of rocks from our past - rocks we don't have to be carrying any more."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Backpack...Unpacked!"

I know what a lot of those rocks might be labeled. "Regrets." The things we wish we hadn't done - maybe thought we'd never do. The things we wish we had done - and now it's too late.

I'll tell you one time when the weight of those rocks of regret get a lot heavier. When someone you love dies. Regrets are part of the sting of grief. Because grief surfaces the way we failed - or we think we failed - the one we love.

Two weeks after my Karen went to heaven, I wrote: "Lord, never far away are my regrets for the times I disappointed Karen. That I spoke harshly. That she just waited to talk with me when I work, work, worked." I know there were many times I put a smile on her face. It's the other times that add more weight to the grief. Regrets are heavy rocks.

I've discovered there are three ways to deal with life's regrets. The first is to confess them. To God. I had to dump my whole ugly backpack at Jesus' feet. Because He promised this in Acts 3:19, our word for today from the Word of God: "Repent...and turn to God that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

The liberating news from Jesus is that, when He was dying on that awful cross, He was paying for every sin, every shortcoming of my life and yours. Including those that live in our memory as guilty regrets. Something powerful happens, my friend, when you apply what Jesus did on that cross to all the things you should or should not have done. That freedom and forgiveness becomes available to you the day you put all your trust in Jesus to be your Savior from your sin. Then it's a matter of learning to forgive what a perfect God has now forgiven. And leaving your backpack at the cross.

But there are two other keys to dealing with regrets. The first is to confess them. The second is to calculate them. Before you make a "feel good now" choice that you're going to regret for a long time later. That's why there's so much wisdom in the challenge Jesus gave us about how to make "no regrets" decisions. In Luke 14:28, He says, "First sit down and estimate the cost."

Oh, it looks good right now. But what's it going to cost you in your reputation, your family, in people's trust, in relationships, in your self-esteem, in your closeness to God, your collateral damage? The bill will last longer than the thrill. The time to think about the rocks of regret is before they happen!

Confess your regrets. Calculate the regrets. And confront the regrets.

As a man who suddenly lost the love of his life in a single day, let me ask you this question. If this turned out to be the last day on earth for that loved one, that friend, what would your regrets be? What would you wish you had done? Or hadn't done? Well, thank God, they're still here. You can still make it right. Do it - while you can.

And if you've never brought your lifetime backpack of guilt and regrets to Jesus - never invited Him to be your Savior from all those sins - do that today. There's a lot more on our website about that, that will help you confirm that relationship with Jesus Christ. The website's ANewStory.com. It could be the beginning of your new story.

You've carried those sins long enough, those regrets. Jesus is waiting to take that backpack. See, He already carried what's in it to His cross.

1 John 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S VIEW OF DEATH

God’s view and our view of death tend to be different. We see death as the end; God sees it as a beginning. From God’s viewpoint death is not permanent. It is a necessary step for passing from this world to the next. From God’s perspective death is a small price to pay for the privilege of sitting at his table. The Scripture says, “Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God…This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:50, 53).

In other words, we must die for our body to be exchanged for a new one. So from God’s viewpoint death is not to be dreaded; it’s to be welcomed.

1 John 4

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

2-3 Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!

4-6 My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

God Is Love
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

13-16 This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

To Love, to Be Loved
17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Matthew 19:16–26

The Rich and the Kingdom of God
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Footnotes
Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
Matthew 19:19 Lev. 19:18

Insight
There are several interpretations of Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:24: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” One view suggests “the eye of the needle” refers to a gate opening that could only be entered by a camel that had been relieved of its cargo. Another hypothesis is that the word for “camel” was mistranslated and should be translated “rope.” But these unlikely explanations rob this statement of its true meaning. The point is that apart from God’s grace, it’s not just difficult but impossible to be saved.

Small Fish
Come, follow me. Matthew 19:21

Over several years, a British couple living in West Africa developed a strong friendship with a man in their town and many times shared the love of Jesus and the story of salvation with him. Their friend, however, was reluctant to relinquish the lifetime of allegiance he had to another religion, even though he came to recognize that faith in Christ was “the greater truth.” His concern was partly financial, since he was a leader in his faith and depended on the compensation he received. He also feared losing his reputation among the people in his community.

With sadness, he explained, “I’m like a man fishing with my hands in a stream. I have caught a small fish in one, but a bigger fish is swimming by. To catch the bigger fish, I have to let go of the smaller one!”

The rich young ruler Matthew wrote about in Matthew 19 had a similar problem. When he approached Jesus, he asked, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (v. 16). He seemed sincere, but he didn’t want to fully surrender his life to Jesus. He was rich, not only in money, but also in his pride of being a rule-follower. Although he desired eternal life, he loved something else more and rejected Christ’s words.

When we humbly surrender our life to Jesus and accept His free gift of salvation, He invites us, “Come, follow me” (v. 21). By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray
What one thing does Jesus require of us to receive salvation and the promise of eternal life with Him? What’s keeping you from fully surrendering to Him?

Dear Father, thank You for offering Your Son as payment for my sin. Help me to surrender wholly to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Recall What God Remembers

Thus says the Lord: "I remember…the kindness of your youth…" —Jeremiah 2:2

Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?

God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember…the love of your betrothal…” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?

As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance…” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 1-3; Matthew 14:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 21, 2021
The Sweet Celebration of the Loyal Fans - #8879

I guess it was inevitable. With our boys growing up in northern New Jersey, it was predestined that they, and I for that matter, would become New York Giants football fans. Big Giants fans. Even in the season when they won only three games, and even when they had a string of bad seasons. Even when the airplane flew over a game with the banner that said, "Fifteen years of lousy football." What used to really annoy my boys was when friends who claimed to be Giants fans kept "jumping ship" when they kept losing. Then came the playoff Giants, and then the Giants that won the Super Bowl. Suddenly, there were gazillions of Giants fans everywhere, jumping up and down, celebrating the champions. But they could never know the joy of fans like my two sons who never lost hope, and who never stopped rooting for their team.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Sweet Celebration of the Loyal Fans."

It's true in sports; it's true in life. Victory is sweetest for those who are loyal through it all. Like Mary Magdalene in our word for today from the Word of God, taken directly from the glorious Easter story. Mary had been there at the cross, when all but one of Jesus' disciples had disappeared like scared rabbits. She had gone to the tomb for his burial. And now, after having been, along with some friends, the first one at Jesus' tomb that early Sunday morning, she just can't leave. She has found the tomb empty and now she has sunk to even greater despair, believing that someone has now stolen her Master's body.

John 20, beginning with verse 11, says, "Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put Him.' At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't realize it was Jesus. 'Woman.' He said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking He was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him' ... Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward Him and cried out... 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher)."

Then it says, "Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord.'" You bet she had, as no one had ever seen Him before. Who did Jesus choose as the first one to ever see Him alive again? The one who had been loyal to Him when every reason to be loyal seemed gone. Those are the people who see Jesus in ways that His fair-weather fans will never see Him.

Maybe you're going through a time that could be a major test of your loyalty to Jesus. It's dark, plans have been shattered, it's tempting to desert because of that tragedy, that loss, that awful hurt. You don't understand why this is happening. Maybe a lot of others have deserted Him. God seems silent and things seem to be getting worse instead of better. Your hopes were just sealed in a tomb.

Now is the moment of truth in your relationship with the man who gave His life for you. He did not abandon you when it meant the cross. Are you going to abandon Him? It's Mary Magdalene time: time to stand by Jesus, to stand firm in your commitment to Him, even when it feels like there's no reason to. The wisdom of many a veteran, of many a spiritual battle, still rings true today, "Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light."

Yes, it's like a Good Friday for you right now. But Easter is coming. And the one who stands by Jesus when everything seems to be falling apart is the one who's going to see Jesus in all His power and all His glory. Victory is sweetest for those who never leave Him.

Ezra 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CHOOSE TO SEE THE UNSEEN

A prisoner carved these words on the wall of a concentration camp: I believe in the sun, even though it doesn’t shine. I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown. I believe in God, even when he doesn’t speak. What eyes could have seen good in such horror? There is only one answer: eyes that chose to see the unseen.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Jesus asks us to make a choice. Either to live by the facts or to see by faith. When tragedy strikes, we, are left to choose what we see. We can see either the hurt or the Healer. The choice is ours.

Ezra 2

 These are the people from the province who now returned from the captivity, exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried off captive. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his hometown. They came in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The numbers of the returning Israelites by families of origin were as follows:

Parosh, 2,172

Shephatiah, 372

Arah, 775

Pahath-Moab (sons of Jeshua and Joab), 2,812

Elam, 1,254

Zattu, 945

Zaccai, 760

Bani, 642

Bebai, 623

Azgad, 1,222

Adonikam, 666

Bigvai, 2,056

Adin, 454

Ater (sons of Hezekiah), 98

Bezai, 323

Jorah, 112

Hashum, 223

Gibbar, 95.

Israelites identified by place of origin were as follows:

Bethlehem, 123

Netophah, 56

Anathoth, 128

Azmaveth, 42

Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743

Ramah and Geba, 621

Micmash, 122

Bethel and Ai, 223

Nebo, 52

Magbish, 156

Elam (the other one), 1,254

Harim, 320

Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725

Jericho, 345

Senaah, 3,630.

Priestly families:

Jedaiah (sons of Jeshua), 973

Immer, 1,052

Pashhur, 1,247

Harim, 1,017.

Levitical families:

Jeshua and Kadmiel (sons of Hodaviah), 74.

Singers:

Asaph’s family line, 128.

Security guard families:

Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai, 139.

Families of temple support staff:

Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,

Keros, Siaha, Padon,

Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,

Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan,

Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,

Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,

Uzza, Paseah, Besai,

Asnah, Meunim, Nephussim,

Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,

Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,

Barkos, Sisera, Temah,

Neziah, and Hatipha.

Families of Solomon’s servants:

Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,

Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,

Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and Ami.

Temple support staff and Solomon’s servants added up to 392.

59-60 These are those who came from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. They weren’t able to prove their ancestry, whether they were true Israelites or not:

61 Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, 652 in all.

Likewise with these priestly families:

Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai, who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and took that name.

62-63 They had thoroughly searched for their family records but couldn’t find them. And so they were barred from priestly work as ritually unclean. The governor ruled that they could not eat from the holy food until a priest could determine their status with the Urim and Thummim.

64-67 The total count for the congregation was 42,360. That did not include the male and female slaves, which numbered 7,337. There were also 200 male and female singers, and they had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

* * *

68-69 Some of the heads of families, on arriving at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, made Freewill-Offerings toward the rebuilding of The Temple of God on its site. They gave to the building fund as they were able, about 1,100 pounds of gold, about three tons of silver, and 100 priestly robes.

70 The priests, Levites, and some of the people lived in Jerusalem. The singers, security guards, and temple support staff found places in their hometowns. All the Israelites found a place to live.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 104:24–35

How many are your works, Lord!
    In wisdom you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro,
    and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27 All creatures look to you
    to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.[a]

Footnotes
Psalm 104:35 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; in the Septuagint this line stands at the beginning of Psalm 105.

Insight
Psalm 104 displays some striking similarities to the Egyptian Akhenaten’s great Hymn to the Sun (fourteenth century bc), including depictions of creatures of night and day, provision for beasts and birds, descriptions of the sea and its ships, and the dependence of all creatures on their Creator. But Psalm 104 is structured by the sequence of creation found in Genesis 1: light is produced on day one (Psalm 104:2), the “vault” or “firmament” on day two (vv. 2–4), land and water are separated on day three (vv. 5–9), and so on. The psalm’s connection to Genesis 1 highlights the Creator’s role in creation. While the Egyptian hymn calls for worship of the sun, Psalm 104 calls for worship of the sun’s Maker. It seems the psalmist deliberately alludes to the Egyptian hymn in order to critique it and to make this very point: true worship is offered to the Creator, not the creation.

God’s Footprints
How many are your works, Lord! Psalm 104:24

“I know where God lives,” our four-year-old grandson told my wife, Cari. “Where is that?” she asked, her curiosity piqued. “He lives in the woods beside your house,” he answered.

When Cari told me about their conversation, she wondered what prompted his thinking. “I know,” I responded. “When we went for a walk in the woods during his last visit, I told him that even though we can’t see God, we can see the things He’s done.” “Do you see the footprints I’m making?” I had asked my grandson as we stepped through a sandy place by a river. “The animals and the trees and the river are like God’s footprints. We know that He’s been here because we can see the things He’s made.”

The writer of Psalm 104 also pointed to the evidence for God in creation, exclaiming “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (v. 24). The Hebrew word for wisdom found here is often used in the Bible to describe skillful craftsmanship. God’s handiwork in nature proclaims His presence and makes us want to praise Him.

Psalm 104 begins and ends with the words: “Praise the Lord” (vv. 1, 35). From a baby’s hand to an eagle’s eye, our Creator’s artistry all around us speaks of His consummate skill. May we take it all in with wonder today—and praise Him for it! By:  James Banks


Reflect & Pray
Where do you see God’s handiwork in creation? How might you point someone to it—and to Him—today?

I praise You for all You’ve made, God! Help me to live in wonder at Your wisdom and goodness today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Are You Fresh for Everything?

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." —John 3:3

Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?

Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7).

Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.

Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.


WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.  My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
God's in the Personnel Business - #8878

When a member of our family would "shirk" a chore they had at our house, we had a familiar line that we used jokingly. Somebody would say, "Oh, it's so hard to get good help these days." Actually, I first heard that from a friend of mine who said that about trying to find a housekeeper. Now, that wasn't a real heavy issue for us, hiring a good housekeeper. We had a family!

But the saying does have some truth in it. I mean, how do you find the best person for a job: want ads, call an agency, put out a sign, do an interview? Well, it's always a risk trying to match a person with a position. And often we're disappointed, as the worker turns out to be the wrong person for the job. That can happen all too often in God's work, but it doesn't have to if you and I will do our part.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's in the Personnel Business."

Our word for today from the Word of God is from Matthew 9; I'll start reading at verse 36. "When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.'"

Okay, here's what Jesus saw then and what I believe He sees now as He looks at the world you and I live in. There's a desperate need. There's a leadership shortage, and there's a personnel plan. You know what it is? One four-letter word - pray.

He gives here a prayer assignment for you and me. He says, "Ask the Lord of the harvest for the leaders of His choosing." Now, we often tend to pray for those who are already in His work. But often we don't pray for those who aren't in His work who should be. The words of Jesus indicate that God does not call and send these workers without our prayer. The active verb on our part is to pray. We pray - He will send.

The greatest danger of Christian work is that workers go out who have not been sent by God. It was said of John the Baptist in John 1:6, "He was a man sent from God." See, if they've not been sent from God, the work they do is only the work of man no matter how talented they are. There are people in leadership who never should have been. There are people not in leadership who should be. And we are partly to blame. We need to fervently and specifically pray that God will send out His choices, sovereignly matching people with assignments, and that God will weed out those who should not lead His Kingdom.

Maybe you see a leadership need right now in His Kingdom. Well, pray! Focus on that need until God sends His laborer. Maybe you see a leader who doesn't seem to be put there by God. Well, don't gossip. Don't complain! Don't backstab! Pray to the Lord of the harvest. Or maybe God will lay on your heart some man or woman that He wants in His service, and you can quietly pray them from the job they now have to the ministry they should have.

Consider if possibly you're the answer to your prayer, and that the Lord of the harvest is calling you. As inadequate as you feel, He'll use you because you know you're inadequate. It's hard to think of a more important and more neglected prayer task. If the right person gets in the right place, there's almost no end to what they can do.

Sure, it's hard to get good help these days. But prayer to the Lord of the harvest is how it gets done. After all, God is in the personnel business.

Ezra 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: DON’T BE AFRAID, JUST TRUST

Jesus and Jairus are interrupted by emissaries from his house. In the Gospel of Mark we read, “’Your daughter is dead’ they said. ‘There is no need to bother the teacher anymore’ (Mark 5:35). But Jesus paid no attention to what they said.” (v. 36). I love that line! It describes the critical principle for seeing the unseen: Ignore what people say. Close your ears. And, if you must, walk away. Ignore the ones who say it’s too late to begin again. Turn a deaf ear toward those who say you aren’t smart enough, fast enough, tall enough, or big enough. Faith sometimes begins by stuffing your ears with cotton.

Jesus turns immediately to Jairus and pleads: “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (v. 36). And Jesus compels Jairus to see the unseen. When Jesus says, “Just believe.” he is imploring, “Don’t be afraid, just trust.” Is he saying the same words to you?

Ezra 1

Cyrus King of Persia: “Build The Temple of God!”

 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—this fulfilled the Message of God preached by Jeremiah—God prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows:

From Cyrus king of Persia, a Proclamation: God, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship in Jerusalem, Judah. Who among you belongs to his people? God be with you! Go to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build The Temple of God, the God of Israel, Jerusalem’s God. Those who stay behind, wherever they happen to live, will support them with silver, gold, tools, and pack animals, along with Freewill-Offerings for The Temple of God in Jerusalem.

5-6 The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone, in fact, God prodded—set out to build The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Their neighbors rallied behind them enthusiastically with silver, gold, tools, pack animals, expensive gifts, and, over and above these, Freewill-Offerings.

7-10 Also, King Cyrus turned over to them all the vessels and utensils from The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had hauled from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia put Mithredath the treasurer in charge of the transfer; he provided a full inventory for Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah, including the following:

30 gold dishes

1,000 silver dishes

29 silver pans

30 gold bowls

410 duplicate silver bowls

1,000 miscellaneous items.

11 All told, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles that Sheshbazzar took with him when he brought the exiles back from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 26:3–13

You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground
    and casts it down to the dust.
6 Feet trample it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,
    the footsteps of the poor.

7 The path of the righteous is level;
    you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[a]
    we wait for you;
your name and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
    in the morning my spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
    and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,
    but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame;
    let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.

12 Lord, you establish peace for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name alone do we honor.

Insight
In calling His people to trust Him instead of trusting in other nations, God proclaimed Himself sovereign over all human history (Isaiah 24–27). God is at work behind the scenes, orchestrating events to the triumphant outcome He planned for the end of time. He’ll judge and punish the wicked and the proud (24:16–23; 25:10–12), but will bless those who humble themselves and trust in Him (25:1–8). Isaiah 26 is a song of praise celebrating the salvation and blessings God will bestow on those who trust, obey, and honor Him (vv. 7–9).

Unbreakable Faith
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

After doctors diagnosed their first-born son with autism, Diane Dokko Kim and her husband grieved facing a lifetime of caring for a cognitively disabled child. In her book Unbroken Faith, she admits to struggling with adjusting their dreams and expectations for their beloved son’s future. Yet through this painful process, they learned that God can handle their anger, doubts, and fears. Now, with their son reaching adulthood, Diane uses her experiences to encourage parents of children with special needs. She tells others about God’s unbreakable promises, limitless power, and loving faithfulness. She assures people that He gives us permission to grieve when we experience the death of a dream, an expectation, a way or a season of life.

In Isaiah 26, the prophet declares that God’s people can trust in the Lord forever, “for the Lord . . . is the Rock eternal” (v. 4). He’s able to sustain us with supernatural peace in every situation (v. 12). Focusing on His unchanging character and crying out to Him during troublesome times revitalizes our hope (v. 15).

When we face any loss, disappointment, or difficult circumstance, God invites us to be honest with Him. He can handle our ever-changing emotions and our questions. He remains with us and refreshes our spirits with enduring hope. Even when we feel like our lives are falling apart, God can make our faith unbreakable. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray
Have you ever struggled with being honest with God when life feels overwhelming? How has God helped you deal with the death of a dream or expectation?

Loving God, please help me believe You can always be trusted with my honest emotions.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Vision and Darkness

When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. —Genesis 15:12

Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light— that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).

Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God…”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13:1-30

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
The High Price of Saving Your Life - #8877

Just another day on the subways of New York. That's what Wesley Autrey thought it was going to be as he waited for the next train with his two young daughters. There it was - the light of the approaching subway. Suddenly, a young man near him stumbled off the platform and fell onto the tracks below. Later, that 19-year-old's family said it was because of a recurring medical problem he had. With the subway approaching, Wesley Autrey made his choice. He literally dove on top of the fallen man and rolled him into the drainage trough between the tracks. Then he threw his body on top of the young man, forcing him to stay down. It was too late for the subway to stop. The train ran right over the spot where one man was literally laying his life on the line for another man. The subway missed them by two inches.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Price of Saving Your Life."

Every national newscast used the same word to describe Wesley Autrey that night: hero. He really was. The young man's parents believe he's alive today because of one man who put himself between their son and what would have killed him. Clearly, the rescuer was willing to give his life so someone else could live.

I'm alive today because of a hero who did that for me; except it cost Him His life for me to live. That Rescuer is, of course, Jesus. In all the meetings and creeds and denominations and beliefs, it's easy to miss what Jesus is really all about.

When the blockbuster movie The Passion of the Christ came out, it took millions of people back to before there was a Christianity - to where it was just Christ being beaten and butchered and crucified on a bloody cross. He could have called thousands of angels to rescue Him, but He refused to be rescued because He was rescuing me and you. He was rescuing a world of us who have broken God's laws, who deserve the hell that's the penalty for it.

That's the Jesus that comes knocking on the door of your heart this very day. He's giving you an opportunity to open your life to the only One who can rescue you from the death penalty for your sin. He died so you don't have to. You need to hear what He Himself says about His love for you and the price He paid for you because He does.

He talked about it in John 10, beginning with verse 11, our word for today from the Word of God. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep...I lay down My life...No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord." Wait! Jesus wasn't a victim of religious leaders or Roman executioners. He created those people. He created the tree they nailed Him to. They didn't take His life; He gave His life.

And here's the part you just don't miss. He gave it for you. He put Himself between you and the judgment of Almighty God, and He took it for you. The Bible sums it up in eight powerful words: "Jesus laid down His life for us." You might as well put your name in that verse. "Jesus Christ laid down His life for" (there's your name). Or, "Jesus Christ laid down His life for me."

It doesn't make sense to ignore this Rescuer; to push Him away. On His behalf, I beg you, let Jesus rescue you! He did all He could do so you could live, but it's your move now. He didn't stay dead. He rose from the dead, so He's knocking on the door of your heart today. Tell Him, "Jesus, I have no hope but You. I can't just sit here when You gave Your life for me. I'm turning from my sin to embrace You as my Rescuer from my sin." Don't you want this?

At this crossroads moment, this would be a great time for you to see what awaits you at our website. Because the information is there to help you know you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. That website is ANewStory.com.

No one's ever loved you like Jesus has. This is the day you could have that love; the day that you finally belong to the One who loves you the most.