Nehemiah 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:The Cry of a Sinner

What is the fruit of sin? Step into the briar patch of humanity and feel a few thistles. Shame.  Fear.  Disgrace.  Discouragement.  Anxiety! Haven't our hearts been caught in these brambles?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not.  He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. Anxiety?  He never worried.  Guilt?  He was never guilty. Fear?  He never left the presence God, He never knew the fruits of sin until He became sin for us.
Can't you hear the emotion in His prayer?  "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?"  These are not the words of a saint.  This is the cry of a sinner.
And these are words we should say, but these are words we don't have to say because Jesus said them for us.
From He Chose the Nails

Nehemiah 4

“I Stationed Armed Guards”

 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he exploded in anger, vilifying the Jews. In the company of his Samaritan cronies and military he let loose: “What are these miserable Jews doing? Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight? Make building stones out of make-believe?”

3 At his side, Tobiah the Ammonite jumped in and said, “That’s right! What do they think they’re building? Why, if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight.”

* * *

4-5 Nehemiah prayed, “Oh listen to us, dear God. We’re so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads; have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return; don’t forgive their iniquity, don’t wipe away their sin—they’ve insulted the builders!”

6 We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height because the people had a heart for the work.

7-9 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem were going so well—that the breaks in the wall were being fixed—they were absolutely furious. They put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could. We countered with prayer to our God and set a round-the-clock guard against them.

10 But soon word was going around in Judah,

The builders are pooped,
    the rubbish piles up;
We’re in over our heads,
    we can’t build this wall.

11-12 And all this time our enemies were saying, “They won’t know what hit them. Before they know it we’ll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!” The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, “They have us surrounded; they’re going to attack!” If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.

13-14 So I stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable places of the wall and assigned people by families with their swords, lances, and bows. After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: “Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

15-18 Our enemies learned that we knew all about their plan and that God had frustrated it. And we went back to the wall and went to work. From then on half of my young men worked while the other half stood guard with lances, shields, bows, and mail armor. Military officers served as backup for everyone in Judah who was at work rebuilding the wall. The common laborers held a tool in one hand and a spear in the other. Each of the builders had a sword strapped to his side as he worked. I kept the trumpeter at my side to sound the alert.

19-20 Then I spoke to the nobles and officials and everyone else: “There’s a lot of work going on and we are spread out all along the wall, separated from each other. When you hear the trumpet call, join us there; our God will fight for us.”

21 And so we kept working, from first light until the stars came out, half of us holding lances.

22 I also instructed the people, “Each person and his helper is to stay inside Jerusalem—guards by night and workmen by day.”

23 We all slept in our clothes—I, my brothers, my workmen, and the guards backing me up. And each one kept his spear in his hand, even when getting water.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Read: John 20:11–18
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 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.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, 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, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

INSIGHT
While there are differences in each of the gospel accounts of the discovery of Jesus’ empty tomb, John’s account (John 20:11–18) is unique in that Mary’s emotion takes center stage. Mary is crying when she’s introduced in this scene, and her tears are the impetus of the question asked by both the angels and the risen Lord: “Woman, why are you crying?” (vv. 13, 15). To the angels she responds, “They have taken my Lord away” (v. 13). She has lost Him twice—first through death and now through an apparent conspiracy. The angels and Jesus knew why she was crying, but this is where Jesus meets her. When he says her name—“Mary”—she recognizes Him (v. 16). He meets her where she is in her grief and confusion.

In the Garden - By Our Daily Bread
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” John 20:18

My dad loved to sing the old hymns. One of his favorites was “In the Garden.” A few years back, we sang it at his funeral. The chorus is simple: “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known.” That song brought joy to my dad—as it does to me.

Hymn writer C. Austin Miles says he wrote this song in spring 1912 after reading chapter 20 of the gospel of John. “As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, ‘Rabboni [Teacher].’ ”

In John 20, we find Mary Magdalene weeping near Jesus’ empty tomb. There she met a man who asked why she was crying. Thinking it was the gardener, she spoke with the risen Savior—Jesus! Her sorrow turned to joy, and she ran to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” (v. 18).

We too have the assurance that Jesus is risen! He’s now in heaven with the Father, but He hasn’t left us on our own. Believers in Christ have His Spirit inside us, and through Him we have the assurance and joy of knowing He’s with us, and we are “His own.”

How is it comforting to know that you don’t have to do this life on your own? When have you intimately felt Jesus’ presence?

Jesus, I’m so thankful You’re alive and that as Your child You live in me!

To learn more about the resurrection of Jesus, visit ChristianUniversity.org/resurrection.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, April 04, 2021
The Way to Permanent Faith

Indeed the hour is coming…that you will be scattered… —John 16:32

Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.

“…you…will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental.

“…be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Seeing is never believing: we interpret what we see in the light of what we believe. Faith is confidence in God before you see God emerging; therefore the nature of faith is that it must be tried.  He Shall Glorify Me, 494 R

Bible in a Year: Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25

Luke 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Only You and God

When I lived in Brazil I took my mom and her friend to see Iguacu Falls, the largest water falls in the world. I’d become an expert by reading an article in National Geographic magazine. Surely, I thought, my guests would appreciate their good fortune in having me as their guide.

To reach the lookout point, you must walk a winding trail that leads through a forest.  I used the time to give a nature report to my mom and her friend. I caught myself speaking louder and louder.  Finally I was shouting above the roar.  Even my mother would rather see the splendor than hear my description.  So, I shut my mouth.

There are times when to speak is to violate the moment.  When silence represents the highest respect. The word for such times is reverence.  The prayer for such times is “Hallowed be Thy name!” (Matthew 6:9).

from The Great House of God

Luke 2

 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

An Event for Everyone
8-12 There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the shepherds were impressed.

19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The shepherds returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!

Blessings
21 When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

22-24 Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.

25-32 In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant;
    release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
    it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
    and of glory for your people Israel.

33-35 Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

This child marks both the failure and
    the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
    the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
    as God reveals who they really are.

36-38 Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

39-40 When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him.

They Found Him in the Temple
41-45 Every year Jesus’ parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. When it was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it. Thinking he was somewhere in the company of pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for him among relatives and neighbors. When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for him.

46-48 The next day they found him in the Temple seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. The teachers were all quite taken with him, impressed with the sharpness of his answers. But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt.

His mother said, “Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you.”

49-50 He said, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?” But they had no idea what he was talking about.

51-52 So he went back to Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these things dearly, deep within herself. And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, April 03, 2021
Read: Psalm 89:5–17

The heavens praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

9 You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
    you founded the world and all that is in it.
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[a]

Footnotes
Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.

INSIGHT
Psalm 89 deals with God’s covenant with David (vv. 3–4), but it wasn’t written by David. The superscription attributes authorship to Ethan the Ezrahite. What do we know about him? First Kings 4:31 implies he was wise—his wisdom exceeded only by Solomon. Additionally, some scholars believe he’s the Ethan mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:16–18, the son of Kushaiah and one of the Levites appointed to lead Israel’s musical worship. While this gives us some basic information about the songwriter, we’ve nothing to indicate when or why Psalm 89 was written. In celebrating the Davidic covenant, however, it focuses on God’s greatness as Creator and His faithfulness as Israel’s God—even when that faithfulness can’t always be seen with human eyes.

Riding the Waves -By Our Daily Bread
Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty and your faithfulness surrounds you. Psalm 89:8

As my husband strolled down the rocky beach taking photos of the Hawaiian horizon, I sat on a large rock fretting over another medical setback. Though my problems would be waiting for me when I returned home, I needed peace in that moment. I stared at the incoming waves crashing against the black, jagged rocks. A dark shadow in the curve of the wave caught my eye. Using the zoom option on my camera, I identified the shape as a sea turtle riding the waves peacefully. Its flippers spread wide and still. Turning my face into the salty breeze, I smiled.

The “heavens praise [God’s] wonders” (Psalm 89:5). Our incomparable God rules “over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, [God] stills them” (v. 9). He “founded the world and all that is in it” (v. 11). He made it all, owns it all, manages it all, and purposes it all for His glory and our enjoyment.

Standing on the foundation of our faith—the love of our unchanging Father—we can “walk in the light of [His] presence” (v. 15). God remains mighty in power and merciful in His dealings with us. We can rejoice in His name all day long (v. 16). No matter what obstacles we face or how many setbacks we have to endure, God holds us as the waves rise and fall.

When facing rough waves in life, how can reflecting on God’s wonders fill you with peace, courage, and confidence in His ongoing presence and sufficient care? What situations do you need to release to God as you ride the waves of life?

Father, thank You for empowering me to ride the waves of life with courageous faith, anchored in Your proven faithfulness.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, April 03, 2021
“If You Had Known!”

If you had known…in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. —Luke 19:42
Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there– the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? Do you have a strange god– not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis “by the skin of my teeth,” only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.

“If you had known….” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut– doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him.  The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L

Bible in a Year: Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50

Matthew 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: UNWRAPPING THE GIFTS OF GRAC

Much has been said about Jesus’ gift of the cross. But what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns, the garments taken by the soldiers? Have you taken time to open these gifts?

He didn’t have to give us these gifts, you know. The only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood. Yet he did much more, so much more. Search the scene of the cross and what do you find? A wine-soaked sponge. A sign. Two crosses beside Christ. Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, and your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, “You did this for me?”

Dare we think such thoughts? Let’s unwrap these gifts of grace as if for the first time. Pause and listen. Perchance you will hear Him whisper, “I did it just for you.”

Matthew 1

The family tree of Jesus Christ, David’s son, Abraham’s son:

2-6 Abraham had Isaac,

Isaac had Jacob,

Jacob had Judah and his brothers,

Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar),

Perez had Hezron,

Hezron had Aram,

Aram had Amminadab,

Amminadab had Nahshon,

Nahshon had Salmon,

Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),

Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),

Obed had Jesse,

Jesse had David,

and David became king.

6-11 David had Solomon (Uriah’s wife was the mother),

Solomon had Rehoboam,

Rehoboam had Abijah,

Abijah had Asa,

Asa had Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat had Joram,

Joram had Uzziah,

Uzziah had Jotham,

Jotham had Ahaz,

Ahaz had Hezekiah,

Hezekiah had Manasseh,

Manasseh had Amon,

Amon had Josiah,

Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers,

and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile.

12-16 When the Babylonian exile ended,

Jeconiah had Shealtiel,

Shealtiel had Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel had Abiud,

Abiud had Eliakim,

Eliakim had Azor,

Azor had Zadok,

Zadok had Achim,

Achim had Eliud,

Eliud had Eleazar,

Eleazar had Matthan,

Matthan had Jacob,

Jacob had Joseph, Mary’s husband,

the Mary who gave birth to Jesus,

the Jesus who was called Christ.

17 There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David,

another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile,

and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ.

The Birth of Jesus
18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they enjoyed their wedding night, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic revelation to full term:

Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).

24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, April 02, 2021

Read: John 19:25–30

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Footnotes
John 19:26 The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.

INSIGHT
Why is the gospel of John so different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke? The likely answer is that John was writing somewhat later in the first century ad and under different circumstances. While the biggest challenge facing the authors of Matthew, Mark, and Luke was whether Jesus was the promised Messiah who inaugurated God’s kingdom, for John the most pressing question is whether Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. Some false teachers had begun to claim that Jesus was merely human and not truly God. Others said Jesus may be divine, but He only appeared to be human. John writes to combat both false teachings. Only if Jesus is fully human and fully divine can He provide salvation for the sins of the world. The consistent theme throughout John’s gospel is that Jesus is the self-revelation of God, who provides eternal life to all who believe (see 3:16).

Adapted from Understanding the Bible: The Gospels. Read it at DiscoverySeries.org/Q0414.

The Cost -By Our Daily Bread

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

Michelangelo’s works explored many facets of the life of Jesus, yet one of the most poignant was also one of the most simple. In the 1540s he sketched a pieta (a picture of Jesus’ mother holding the body of the dead Christ) for his friend Vittoria Colonna. Done in chalk, the drawing depicts Mary looking to the heavens as she cradles her Son’s still form. Rising behind Mary, the upright beam of the cross carries these words from Dante’s Paradise, “There they don’t think of how much blood it costs.” Michelangelo’s point was profound: when we contemplate the death of Jesus, we must consider the price He paid.

The price paid by Christ is captured in His dying declaration, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The term for “it is finished” (tetelestai) was used in several ways—to show a bill had been paid, a task finished, a sacrifice offered, a masterpiece completed. Each of them applies to what Jesus did on our behalf on the cross! Perhaps that’s why the apostle Paul wrote, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

Jesus’ willingness to take our place is the eternal evidence of how much God loves us. As we contemplate the price He paid, may we also celebrate His love—and give thanks for the cross.

How could each meaning of tetelestai be applied to the cross of Jesus and what He accomplished there? Why does each one have meaning to you?

Father, when I consider the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf, I am humbled and deeply grateful. Thank You for Jesus, and thank You for the cross.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 02, 2021
The Glory That’s Unsurpassed

…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight… —Acts 9:17

When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.

We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.

The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).

Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.

Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Gazing on the Crucified.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Judges 16-18; Luke 7:1-30

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 02, 2021

The Beacon From the Graveyard - #8930

J. R. R. Tolkien, one of England's literary greats from a generation ago, wrote about this fantasy world called Middle-Earth, and that world has captured the imagination of millions of people in this generation. His trilogy of books known as "The Lord of the Rings" has really been popularized through three blockbuster movies that were based on them.

The final book and movie, "The Return of the King," portrays this world where the armies of darkness, which are made up of these vicious subhuman beings, are moving to destroy the last bastions of human life in Middle-Earth. But as the rightful king of Middle-Earth begins to emerge, the humans are rallied to what becomes the decisive battle against this advancing evil.

In one drama-packed moment, one of the main characters climbs to the top of this daunting mountain, where there's a massive pile of wood waiting to be ignited. And then he takes a torch, lights the signal fire, and a waiting sentinel sees that fire and lights the fire on his mountain. And that summons-by-fire spreads across the kingdom, from mountaintop to mountaintop, and the sentinels shout this triumphant news "The beacons are lit!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Beacon From the Graveyard."

Two thousand years ago, it appeared that the forces of darkness had won their ultimate victory. The Son of God was dead, buried in a tomb. Those who followed Him - total despair. That was Friday, but Sunday was coming. And when it did, Jesus blew the doors off His grave, walked out under His own power, leaving death - man's ultimate enemy - vanquished and powerless.

And that Easter morning, the beacons were lit. From the mountaintop of that generation, the message that Jesus is alive and death has lost has ignited a fire on the mountain of the next generation. And today, 20 centuries later, we are the ones left here by Jesus to light the beacon for our generation.

Listen to what the resurrection of Jesus has done, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning with verse 54. "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Now, I love what one of my friends often says: "If non-Christians want to know what belonging to Jesus is really all about, let them come to our funerals."

Well, it's there - the beacon from Easter morning shines the brightest there where everything from earth has no answers. It is there, at the moments of our greatest loss, that we win because Jesus wins.

In Revelation 1:17-18, our word for today from the Word of God, the living Christ appears to the Apostle John in all His glory and He says: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." WOW! The blazing beacon of Jesus' victory over death means there is nothing in your life that is bigger than He is, and if you belong to Him, nothing can defeat His plans for you.

You know, today He's counting on you to light the fire for the people in your world. They can't see Jesus, but they can see you. Tell them that He died for them. Tell them He's alive for them. Don't let the fire die in your hands. Don't let them die without a chance at Jesus.

And speaking of a chance at Jesus, if you've never given your life to the rightful King; if you've never committed yourself to the King who died and rose again from the dead for you - then let this be your day to trade your guilt for His forgiveness and your death penalty for His eternal life.

You just say, "Jesus, I've been running my life. I'm done. I believe when you died on that cross it was for sinning I've done. And beginning today, I'm yours." I invite you to go to our website, ANewStory.com, because I think there you will find the biblical information you need to be sure you belong to Jesus this Easter.

You don't have to live in the darkness anymore. From the empty tomb of the Son of God, the beacons are lit!

Nehemiah 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE GIFT OF THE CROSS

Oh, the things we do to give gifts to those we love! Grownups in toy stores, dads in teen stores, wives in the tool department, and husbands in the purse department. We’re at our best in giving. Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? Really, we could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and gray – we wouldn’t have known the difference. But He didn’t. He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would He?

In Matthew 7:11, Jesus asked, “If you sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask Him?” God’s love came not wrapped in paper, but in passion. Not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood. The gift of the cross.


Nehemiah 3

The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests were up and at it: They went to work on the Sheep Gate; they repaired it and hung its doors, continuing on as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. The men of Jericho worked alongside them; and next to them, Zaccur son of Imri.

3-5 The Fish Gate was built by the Hassenaah brothers; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, worked; next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel; next to him Zadok son of Baana; and next to him the Tekoites (except for their nobles, who wouldn’t work with their master and refused to get their hands dirty with such work).

6-8 The Jeshanah Gate was rebuilt by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, which was under the rule of the governor from across the Euphrates, worked alongside them. Uzziel son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths’ guild worked next to him, and next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers. They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

9-10 The next section was worked on by Rephaiah son of Hur, mayor of a half-district of Jerusalem. Next to him Jedaiah son of Harumaph rebuilt the front of his house; Hattush son of Hashabneiah worked next to him.

11-12 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab rebuilt another section that included the Tower of Furnaces. Working next to him was Shallum son of Hallohesh, mayor of the other half-district of Jerusalem, along with his daughters.

13 The Valley Gate was rebuilt by Hanun and villagers of Zanoah; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. They went on to repair 1,500 feet of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.

14 The Dung Gate itself was rebuilt by Malkijah son of Recab, the mayor of the district of Beth Hakkerem; he repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars.

15 The Fountain Gate was rebuilt by Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, mayor of the Mizpah district; he repaired it, roofed it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. He also rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam at the King’s Garden as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.

16 After him came Nehemiah son of Azbuk, mayor of half the district of Beth Zur. He worked from just in front of the Tomb of David as far as the Pool and the House of Heroes.

17-18 Levites under Rehum son of Bani were next in line. Alongside them, Hashabiah, mayor of half the district of Keilah, represented his district in the rebuilding. Next to him their brothers continued the rebuilding under Binnui son of Henadad, mayor of the other half-district of Keilah.

19-23 The section from in front of the Ascent to the Armory as far as the Angle was rebuilt by Ezer son of Jeshua, the mayor of Mizpah. From the Angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest was done by Baruch son of Zabbai. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, took it from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of Eliashib’s house. Priests from the neighborhood went on from there. Benjamin and Hasshub worked on the wall in front of their house, and Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, did the work alongside his house.

24-27 The section from the house of Azariah to the Angle at the Corner was rebuilt by Binnui son of Henadad. Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the Angle and the tower that projects from the Upper Palace of the king near the Court of the Guard. Next to him Pedaiah son of Parosh and The Temple support staff who lived on the hill of Ophel worked up to the point opposite the Water Gate eastward and the projecting tower. The men of Tekoa did the section from the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

28-30 Above the Horse Gate the priests worked, each priest repairing the wall in front of his own house. After them Zadok son of Immer rebuilt in front of his house and after him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate; then Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph; then Meshullam son of Berekiah rebuilt the wall in front of his storage shed.

31-32 Malkijah the goldsmith repaired the wall as far as the house of The Temple support staff and merchants, up to the Inspection Gate, and the Upper Room at the Corner. The goldsmiths and the merchants made the repairs between the Upper Room at the Corner and the Sheep Gate.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, April 01, 2021
Read: 1 Peter 4:7–11

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

INSIGHT
In 1 Peter 4:10–11, Peter briefly mentions the value of spiritual gifts, a topic Paul discusses more fully in Romans 12:4–8 and 1 Corinthians 12–14. Romans 12 gives what some scholars view as a sampling (as opposed to an exhaustive catalog) of spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12–14, Paul lists many of those same gifts, but adds several others. The main feature of 1 Corinthians 12, however, is that it provides the primary purpose of gifts: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (v. 7). Notice the phrase “for the common good.” Our gifts aren’t for us; they’re for one another. When all the members of the body are using their gifts, all members of the body are being served well.

“So Helpful” - By Our Daily Bread

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13

The caller to the Christian radio station said that his wife was coming home from the hospital following surgery. Then he shared something that spoke deeply to my heart: “Everyone in our church family has been so helpful in taking care of us during this time.”

When I heard this simple statement, it reminded me of the value and necessity of Christian hospitality and care. I began to think that the love and support of fellow believers for one another is one of the greatest ways to demonstrate the life-changing power of the gospel.

In First Peter, the apostle was writing a letter to be circulated among the first-century churches in what’s now the country of Turkey. In that letter, he compelled his readers to do something that his friend Paul wrote about in Romans 12:13: “Practice hospitality.” Peter said, “Love each other deeply . . . offer hospitality,” and he told them to use the gifts God gave them to “serve others” (1 Peter 4:8–10). These are clear directions to all believers in Jesus for how we’re to treat fellow believers.

All of us know people like that caller’s wife—those who need someone to come alongside and show concern and Christlike love. In God’s strength, may we be among the ones who are noted for being “so helpful.”

What has God equipped you to do for those in need? How has God revealed His own hospitable nature?

Loving God, help me to look around for people who need an encouraging word or action from me. Then help me offer hospitality to them.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 01, 2021
Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?

It is Christ…who also makes intercession for us….the Spirit…makes intercession for the saints… —Romans 8:34, 27

Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors– that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.

Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.

Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 13-15; Luke 6:27-49

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 01, 2021

Easter Eggs - #8929

It's actually a true story, courtesy of Ida Mae Kempel. The names have been changed. Jeremy was 12 years old and he was only in the second grade, but he was seemingly unable to learn. His body was kind of distorted, and he had learning disabilities. That was evident. And his teacher, Doris Miller? She often became exasperated with him because he was squirming sometimes and, you know, making funny noises. But at other times he spoke really clearly and distinctly. It was like a spot of light had penetrated the darkness in his brain. No one could have guessed that Jeremy would end up teaching his entire class and his teacher.

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

Doris Miller finally became so exasperated with Jeremy that she asked his parents to come to St. Theresa's for a consultation. When she explained that it would be better for Jeremy and the other students if, well you know, if he were in a special school. His mother begged for Jeremy to stay where he felt safe.

After they left, the teacher struggled with what to do. She wanted to sympathize with the parents. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But what about the other students?

Well, God did something in her heart that day. She ended up praying for the patience to be what Jeremy needed. From that day she tried to ignore his noises and his blank stares. One day he limped up to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. And out loud, Jeremy exclaimed, "I love you, Miss Miller!" The other students kind of snickered and she was a little embarrassed.

Easter approached and Doris told her students the story of Jesus, and she emphasized the idea of new life. She gave each child a large plastic egg and she gave them an interesting assignment. She said, "Bring it back the next day with something inside that shows new life." Well, the children were excited, well that is, all except Jeremy. Doris saw no signs that he "got it." She was going to call his parents that night to explain the assignment. She forgot.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in this large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. Then came the time to open their eggs. Well, one had a flower in her egg, another a plastic butterfly, another one had a rock with moss on it - all symbols of new life. When Doris opened the fourth egg, she just kind of gasped. The egg was empty! Yeah, it was Jeremy's.

She was going to quickly set it aside, but Jeremy suddenly spoke up, "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Doris said, "But your egg is empty, Jeremy!" He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too! Jesus was killed, but His Father raised Him up!" The recess bell rang and the children ran out to play. And that teacher cried.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the funeral home were kind of surprised by what they saw there. On top of Jeremy's casket, there were 19 eggs - all of them empty.

And now, our word for today from the Word of God in John 14:19 - something Jeremy really understood. Jesus said, "Because I live, you also will live." The tomb is empty. The arguments about the way to God end at that empty tomb. Our little, earthbound lives don't have to be small anymore when we open up to the power of the One who blew the doors off His grave, who died on a cross to pay for every sin we've ever done. Our questions and our fears about what happens after our last heartbeat are answered at that empty tomb.

Jesus is alive today! The question is, "Do you belong to Him?" Have you ever opened the door of your heart and said, "Jesus, I'm putting all my trust in You to be my Savior from my sin"? If you never have, don't go into another Easter weekend; don't do Good Friday without opening your heart to Him.

I'd love to help you with that, and I think you'll find encouragement to begin a relationship with Him right where a lot of other people have - at our website ANewStory.com.

Jesus has beaten what has beaten every other person who ever lived. And because He lives, you can live also...forever.

Nehemiah 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE MATTER OF THE HEART

Isn’t there a time or two when you went outside for a solution when you should have gone inward? Reminds me of the golfer who was about to hit his first shot on the first hole. He swung and missed the ball. Swung and whiffed again. Tried a third time, missed again. In frustration he judged, “Man, this is a tough golf course.” He may have been right, but the golf course wasn’t the problem.

You may be right, as well. Your circumstances may be challenging, but blaming them is not the solution. Nor is neglecting them. Consider the prayer of David. He said, “Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Real change is an inside job. You might alter things a day or two with money and systems, but the heart of the matter is, and always will be, the matter of the heart.

Nehemiah 2

I was cupbearer to the king.

It was the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king. At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before, so he asked me, “Why the long face? You’re not sick are you? Or are you depressed?”

2-3 That made me all the more agitated. I said, “Long live the king! And why shouldn’t I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?”

4-5 The king then asked me, “So what do you want?”

Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, “If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it.”

6 The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, “How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?”

I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me.

7-8 Then I said, “If it please the king, provide me with letters to the governors across the Euphrates that authorize my travel through to Judah; and also an order to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of The Temple fortress, the wall of the city, and the house where I’ll be living.”

8-9 The generous hand of my God was with me in this and the king gave them to me. When I met the governors across The River (the Euphrates) I showed them the king’s letters. The king even sent along a cavalry escort.

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very upset, angry that anyone would come to look after the interests of the People of Israel.

“Come—Let’s Build the Wall of Jerusalem”
11-12 And so I arrived in Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, I got up in the middle of the night, I and a few men who were with me. I hadn’t told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I was riding.

13-16 Under cover of night I went past the Valley Gate toward the Dragon’s Fountain to the Dung Gate looking over the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken through and whose gates had been burned up. I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and headed for the King’s Pool but there wasn’t enough room for the donkey I was riding to get through. So I went up the valley in the dark continuing my inspection of the wall. I came back in through the Valley Gate. The local officials had no idea where I’d gone or what I was doing—I hadn’t breathed a word to the Jews, priests, nobles, local officials, or anyone else who would be working on the job.

17-18 Then I gave them my report: “Face it: we’re in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come—let’s build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer.” I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up.

They said, “We’re with you. Let’s get started.” They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work.

19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they laughed at us, mocking, “Ha! What do you think you’re doing? Do you think you can cross the king?”

20 I shot back, “The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We’re his servants and we’re going to work, rebuilding. You can stick to your own business. You get no say in this—Jerusalem’s none of your business!”

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Read: Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

INSIGHT
In the Bible we read of God’s omniscience—His knowledge of everything. In 1 Samuel 2:3, Hannah declares that He’s the “God who knows.” In Psalm 44:21, the psalmist says “he knows the secrets of the heart.”

In Psalm 139, David marvels that God knows his every move and thought (vv. 1–4). Yet instead of trembling with fear, David’s awestruck at the thought that God has such intimate knowledge of him (v. 6). Why? Because David has a close relationship with God—he loves and is loved by Him. As a result, he can ask God to search his heart and, if he’s found wanting, to lead him down the right path (vv. 23–24). Our all-seeing and all-knowing God “searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Wisely Weeding- By Patricia Raybon
Search me, God, and know my heart. Psalm 139:23

My grandchildren are running around my backyard. Playing games? No, pulling weeds. “Pulling them up by the roots!” the youngest says, showing me a hefty prize. Her delight as we tackled weeds that day was how much we enjoyed plucking the weedy roots—clearing away each pesky menace. Before the joy, however, came the choice to go after them.

Intentional weeding is also the first step in removing personal sin. Thus, David prayed: “Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24).

What a wise approach, to go after our sin by asking God to show it to us. He above all knows everything about us. “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me,” wrote the psalmist. “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (vv. 1–2).

“Such knowledge,” David added, “is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (v. 6). Even before a sin takes root, therefore, God can alert us to the danger. He knows our “landscape.” So when a sneaky sinful attitude tries to take root, He’s first to know and point it out.  

“Where can I go from your Spirit,” wrote David. “Where can I flee from your presence?” (v. 7). May we closely follow our Savior to higher ground!

When you ask God to search your heart, what personal wrongs do you discover? How does intentional “weeding” help rid you of a relentless sin?

Loving God, when You show me my personal sin, point me to Your plan to pull those weeds.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. —1 John 5:16

If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.

One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.

Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ. Approved Unto God, 4 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Letting Go of Your Little Ones - #8928

It's common to most every religious tradition, some ceremony or service where you dedicate or commit your new child to God. In some Christian traditions, it takes the form of baptism. Others have a brief baby dedication. The last baby we dedicated was our youngest child and that was more than a few years ago. I held the little guy in my hands. I don't do that anymore. Times have changed. I don't pick him up anymore. I would hurt myself badly. He picks me up literally. I mean, he'd greet me at the airport and pick me off the ground and spin me around. That's my baby. A lot of things have changed. One thing never has.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Letting Go of Your Little Ones."

Well, all three of our children grew up. But the transaction that took place that day we dedicated each of them to God is one thing that's still being repeated today. No, we can't hold them physically in our hands anymore. But we can, we must, keep giving them over to the One who gave them to us. The problem is that all too often, we actually try to keep them in our hands, don't we?

There is no more beautiful "release your child" model in all the Bible than Hannah, the woman who prayed fervently for years that God would bless her infertility with a child. God answered that prayer by giving her a boy named Samuel, who was destined to become one of the great leaders of Israel. In obedience to God, Hannah brought her young son to the temple to be trained for spiritual leadership. In part of her prayer in 1 Samuel 1:27 and 28 we find our word for today from the Word of God. She says of this child for whom she had waited so long, "So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given over to the Lord."

Do you know how often we moms and dads need to tell God that? Every day for the rest of your life, no matter how old or young your children are. No matter how close to God or far from God they are. But be careful, we're talking here about releasing our son or daughter to God, which means helping them become the person God created them to be, not trying to shape them into the person we want them to be. It means talking to God far more about your child than talking to your child about God, as important as that is.

For some of us who tend to be like control freaks, we have to make sure we're not trying to "play God" ourselves in our child's life. Parents who truly place their son or daughter in God's hands can lay off the nagging, the manipulating, the meddling, the constant criticizing. What we try to control we often end up crushing.

Our job is to say to God each new day, "You gave me this child, Lord. Again, for this new day, I'm giving her, I'm giving him, back to you. I'm available for anything you want me to do to join you in what you're doing in their life, whether you ask me to speak up, or remain silent. Whether you ask me to apologize, to forgive, to sacrifice, or even to change."

A surrendered parent is a parent at peace - a parent who knows that this treasure God has entrusted to them has this day been placed again in God's all-powerful hands. A God who knows the plans He has for that boy, for that girl, plans for good and not for evil, to give them a future. To give them a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

No matter how big your little ones get, remember whose they really are.

Nehemiah 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE DWELLING PLACE OF GOD

Do-it-yourself Christianity isn’t much encouragement to the done-in and worn-out. “Try a little harder” is little encouragement for the abused. At some point we need more than good advice; we need help. Somewhere on this journey we realize that the fifty-fifty proposition is too little. We need help from the inside out. The kind of help Jesus promised. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him. But know him, because he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Note the dwelling place of God: in you. Not near us, above us. But in us. In the hidden recesses of our beings dwells not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but God. Imagine that.

Nehemiah 1

The memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

It was the month of Kislev in the twentieth year. At the time I was in the palace complex at Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, had just arrived from Judah with some fellow Jews. I asked them about the conditions among the Jews there who had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.

3 They told me, “The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders.”

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven.

5-6 I said, “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.

7-9 “We’ve treated you like dirt: We haven’t done what you told us, haven’t followed your commands, and haven’t respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant Moses: ‘If you betray me, I’ll scatter you to the four winds, but if you come back to me and do what I tell you, I’ll gather up all these scattered peoples from wherever they ended up and put them back in the place I chose to mark with my Name.’

10-11 “Well, there they are—your servants, your people whom you so powerfully and impressively redeemed. O Master, listen to me, listen to your servant’s prayer—and yes, to all your servants who delight in honoring you—and make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Read: Exodus 12:12–19

 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel.

INSIGHT
In preparation for the last plague on Egypt, God told His people to slaughter a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts of their houses (Exodus 12:1–13). God’s angel of death would move across Egypt and take the lives of all firstborn sons but would pass over any household with the sprinkled blood. The lamb was then roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The unleavened bread signified Israel’s haste to leave Egypt. When leaven was added to dough, it would take hours for the dough to rise before baking. The Israelites didn’t have time to wait for the dough to rise. The herbs symbolized the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

Got Your Nose - By Mike Wittmer
I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. Exodus 12:12

“Why are the statues’ noses broken?” That’s the number one question visitors ask Edward Bleiberg, curator of Egyptian art at the Brooklyn Museum.

Bleiberg can’t blame it on normal wear and tear; even two-dimensional painted figures are missing noses. He surmises that such destruction must have been intentional. Enemies meant to kill Egypt’s gods. It’s as if they were playing a game of “got your nose” with them. Invading armies broke off the noses of these idols so they couldn’t breathe.

Really? That’s all it took? With gods like these, Pharaoh should have known he was in trouble. Yes, he had an army and the allegiance of a whole nation. The Hebrews were weary slaves led by a timid fugitive named Moses. But Israel had the living God, and Pharaoh’s gods were pretenders. Ten plagues later, their imaginary lives were snuffed out.

Israel celebrated their victory with the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when they ate bread without yeast for a week (Exodus 12:17; 13:7–9). Yeast symbolizes sin, and God wanted His people to remember their rescued lives belong entirely to Him.

Our Father says to idols, “Got your nose,” and to His children, “Got your life.” Serve the God who gives you breath, and rest in His loving arms.

What false god is suffocating your life? How might you show God you’re trusting only in Him?

Father of life, I give You my life. Help me recognize that any perceived “enemies” in my life are nothing compared to Your power.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Holiness or Hardness Toward God?

He…wondered that there was no intercessor… —Isaiah 59:16

The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial— that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, “But God, I just don’t see how you are going to do this”? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don’t worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.

Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?

Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work— work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him.  Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L

Bible in a Year: Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
The Final Exam - #8927


There are two words that send a shudder through almost everyone who is either in school or was ever in school, because you remember the fear that goes with these words. And if you're currently a student, you don't have to remember them at all; you're right there living with them. The words - final exam! A chill just goes through the room when you hear those words.

There are two words that send a shudder through almost everyone who is either in school or was ever in school, because you remember the fear that goes with these words. And if you're currently a student, you don't have to remember them at all; you're right there living with them. The words - final exam! A chill just goes through the room when you hear those words.

Now, different students have learned different ways of dealing with final exam time. You remember the teacher that said that the exam was going to be on the honor system. The only problem was that the teachers had the honor and the students had the system.

Well, occasionally you'll hear of an incident where students actually get a copy of an exam, take a peek at the questions so they can be prepared. Well, I don't recommend that as a good way to go through finals, but I do want to tell you this: whatever your situation as far as being a student is concerned, you have a final exam scheduled for you. Yep, in fact, it's scheduled for all of us. Now, our final exam will come at different times. I don't know when mine will be or yours. But you know what? I've taken a peek at the one question on the exam, and you can be ready for this one.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God is a peek at that final exam. It says in Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" See, this is looking ahead to the time when we're going to stand before God and have to answer that final exam question related to and what we did with this wonderful thing He describes as "such great salvation."

Now, what He's referring to is what happened on that middle cross outside of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, when the only son God has, took my rap - took your rap - and paid our payment for our sins so we could get back into the orbit we were built to live in; an orbit around God.

You notice here it says that we neglect salvation. Now, that's the way that most good things end up being wasted. I mean, you don't say, "Oh, I think I'm going to grow some weeds in my garden this year. Yeah, I'd like to see what kind of weed crop I can get?" No, the way weeds grow is by neglect. You don't intend to grow them. How about your weight? I'm sorry to bring that up, but I'm an expert on this. A lot of times the old pounds just start piling up again, and you know, you don't ever say, "I want to gain ten pounds this month." It's just done through neglect; it just kind of creeps up. We didn't mean to do it; we didn't do anything, it just happened. We just didn't exercise! We didn't control our eating.

How about our car? All of a sudden our car grinds to a halt and starts smoking. Why? You neglected the maintenance. You didn't do anything bad; you just didn't do what you could have done. The same thing holds true for marriages - they can die from neglect.

Okay now, about neglecting such a great salvation. Do you know that most people don't reject Christ; they just neglect Him. They've got other things to think about until they neglect themselves right into eternity. That could be something you're in danger of right now. You're not against Jesus; you're just neglecting making your peace with Him.

Do you want to know that question on your final exam when you keep your appointment with God? He's going to ask you, "What did you do with My Son?" No, not what did you do with your church, or your religion, or that guy on the radio. "What did you do with My Son?" That's the issue that will settle your eternal address, because what God cares about most is what His Son did for you.

His death on the cross is your only hope of getting into heaven, because you can't get into heaven with your sin. It can only be forgiven by the One who paid for it. That's Jesus! You've got to grab Him and take that gift of eternal life. And maybe you've been sitting around church for years; you've been through all kinds of opportunities to do something with Jesus. But you've passed them by. Today's your day to change your eternal address. Would you just say, "Jesus, this is my day I'm making you "the Savior" of my sin."

And let me encourage you, then, to go to our website. There's where you can nail down belonging to Him. It's ANewStory.com.

Maybe you've had opportunities to reach out to Christ before and you didn't. Isn't it time to say now, "This is my day, Lord. I give my life to You." He made His move on the cross. It's your move now.

Revelation 16 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LET CHRIST BE KIND TO YOU

There is a correlation between the way you feel about yourself and the way you feel about others. If you are at peace with yourself you will get along with others. The converse is also true. If you don’t like yourself, if you’re ashamed, embarrassed, or angry, other people are going to know it. Unless the cycle is interrupted.

Which takes us to one of the kindest verses in the Bible. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives” (Matthew 11:28). “Come to me,” the verse reads. Let Christ be kind to you. And as you do, you’ll find it easier to be kind to others.

Revelation 16

Pouring Out the Seven Disasters

 I heard a shout of command from the Temple to the Seven Angels: “Begin! Pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on earth!”

2 The first Angel stepped up and poured his bowl out on earth: Loathsome, stinking sores erupted on all who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second Angel poured his bowl on the sea: The sea coagulated into blood, and everything in it died.

4-7 The third Angel poured his bowl on rivers and springs: The waters turned to blood. I heard the Angel of Waters say,

Righteous you are, and your judgments are righteous,
    The Is, The Was, The Holy.
They poured out the blood of saints and prophets
    so you’ve given them blood to drink—
    they’ve gotten what they deserve!

Just then I heard the Altar chime in,

Yes, O God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Your judgments are true and just!

8-9 The fourth Angel poured his bowl on the sun: Fire blazed from the sun and scorched men and women. Burned and blistered, they cursed God’s Name, the God behind these disasters. They refused to repent, refused to honor God.

10-11 The fifth Angel poured his bowl on the throne of the Beast: Its kingdom fell into sudden eclipse. Mad with pain, men and women bit and chewed their tongues, cursed the God-of-Heaven for their torment and sores, and refused to repent and change their ways.

12-14 The sixth Angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River: It dried up to nothing. The dry riverbed became a fine roadbed for the kings from the East. From the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet I saw three foul demons crawl out—they looked like frogs. These are demon spirits performing signs. They’re after the kings of the whole world to get them gathered for battle on the Great Day of God, the Sovereign-Strong.

15 “Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You’re blessed if, awake and dressed, you’re ready for me. Too bad if you’re found running through the streets, naked and ashamed.”

16 The frog-demons gathered the kings together at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.

17-21 The seventh Angel poured his bowl into the air: From the Throne in the Temple came a shout, “Done!” followed by lightning flashes and shouts, thunder crashes and a colossal earthquake—a huge and devastating earthquake, never an earthquake like it since time began. The Great City split three ways, the cities of the nations toppled to ruin. Great Babylon had to drink the wine of God’s raging anger—God remembered to give her the cup! Every island fled and not a mountain was to be found. Hailstones weighing close to a hundred pounds plummeted, crushing and smashing men and women as they cursed God for the hail, the epic disaster of hail.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, March 29, 2021
Read: Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

In the Lord I take refuge.
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
    they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
    at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
    his eyes examine them.
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulfur;
    a scorching wind will be their lot.

7 For the Lord is righteous,
    he loves justice;
    the upright will see his face.

INSIGHT
In Psalm 11, the name “the Lord” is used for God five times. When “Lord” appears in English versions of the Bible in capital letters, it’s the translation of the Hebrew word Yahweh (Jehovah is an equivalent rendering). It’s rendered this way to distinguish it from other Hebrew words translated “Lord” or “lord.” Yahweh is the personal (or proper) name of Israel’s God and means “the eternal” or “self-existing One.” The noun comes from the Hebrew “to be” verb hâyâh. In the Old Testament, the name is often combined with other words to emphasize various aspects of God’s ability, care, or character. In Genesis 22:14 the Lord is revealed as Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord will provide.” God’s name, “the Lord,” speaks of His trustworthiness at all times, in all situations, in every battle.

Facing the Battles with God - By Arthur Jackson
In the Lord I take refuge. Psalm 11:1

The heroic deeds of US Army soldier Desmond Doss are featured in the 2016 movie Hacksaw Ridge. While Doss’ convictions wouldn’t allow him to take human life, as an army medic he committed himself to preserving life even at the risk of his own. The citation read at Doss’ Medal of Honor ceremony on October 12, 1945, included these words: “Private First Class Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the escarpment. . . . He unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer.”

In Psalm 11, David’s conviction that his refuge was in God compelled him to resist suggestions to flee rather than face his foes (vv. 2–3). Six simple words comprised his statement of faith: “In the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1). That well-rooted conviction would guide his conduct.

David’s words in verses 4–7 amplified God’s greatness. Yes, life can sometimes be like a battlefield, and hostile fire can send us scattering for cover when we’re bombarded with health challenges or financial, relational, and spiritual stresses. So, what should we do? Acknowledge that God is the king of the universe (v. 4); take delight in His amazing capacity to judge with precision (vv. 5–6); and rest in His delight in what’s right, fair, and equitable (v. 7). We can run swiftly to God for shelter!

When have you experienced life’s hostile fire and been tempted to find shelter in something other than God? Can you recall times when God came to your rescue and your hope in Him was renewed?

Father, help me to see You more clearly than any force that opposes me and run to You for true safety and security.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 29, 2021
Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also be ready… —Luke 12:40

A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle— we must be spiritually real.

If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Judges 7-8; Luke 5:1-16

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 29, 2021

The Weather Channel's Executive Producer - #8926

So we watched the Weather Channel on TV, and we changed our plans. A big storm was coming, faster than originally anticipated, so we took off almost immediately to avoid getting seriously delayed or, you know, driving on dangerous roads. It was just one of those countless times when the weather changed our plans. Like the numerous times that storms have delayed or cancelled airplane flights I was on. And, because I travel a lot, I'm a faithful viewer of the Weather Channel. It's really something to watch the weather form and move across the country, and even across the world, and to watch how often it surprises all of us, including the weatherman sometimes. Of course, these aren't random developments we're watching unfold on that map. No, not for those of us who belong to the Lord of the weather.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Weather Channel's Executive Producer."

Over the years, I've been frustrated by the weather, delayed by the weather, cancelled by the weather, held back by the weather. But increasingly, I'm learning to be amazed by the weather. Actually, to be amazed by the One who makes the weather.

Recently, I read these awe-inspiring verses from Job 37, beginning with verse 5. They reveal the ways that we can see and celebrate the power and majesty of our God by just looking at the weather, and they're our word for today from the Word of God. Listen to this, "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' So that all men He has made may know His work, He stops every man from His labor." Boy, is that true! We've all got our big schedules - our plans. And then God intervenes with something we have absolutely no control over - the weather. It's a powerful reminder that we are not in charge and God is.

Job goes on: "The tempest goes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them. At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them." Wow! Man! The winds, the fronts, the storms, the clouds - they're doing what God tells them to do! I'm reminded of the prophet Nahum's observation that the Lord has "His way in the whirlwind and the storm" (Nahum 1:3).

So when we're watching the weather on TV, we're watching the hand of God. He's making weather that will accomplish His purposes, to change plans, to direct our lives, to get people's attention, to chastise where necessary, sometimes to call people home to Him, to protect us from making mistakes. He's doing the same thing with the changing weather of your life: the unexpected storms, the sunshine in your life, the foggy times, the cold seasons in your life, the warm seasons. God reaches into His weather tool kit and He pulls out whatever system will turn us to Him that will line us up with His plans, or remind us of who's really in charge here.

Watching the weather forecast ought to be an experience of praise and worship for the child of God. In a sense, the Weather Channel becomes the "Worship Channel" for seeing God at work. That is your all-wise, all-loving, all-powerful Heavenly Father, reminding the world that He is in control. No government is, no billionaire is, no power broker is, God is in control. And don't be surprised if He uses the weather to blow you right into His arms!

Ezra 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Spiritual MRI

We can't live with foreign objects buried in our bodies or our souls. What would an X-ray of your interior reveal?  Remorse over a poor choice?  Shame about the marriage that didn't work, the temptation you couldn't resist?  Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface, festering, irritating.  Sometimes so deeply embedded you don't know the cause.
And you can be touchy, you know.  Understandable, since you have a shank of shame lodged in your soul. Would you like an extraction?  Here's what you do. Confess! Ask God to help you.  Psalm 139:23-24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Confession.  You see, confessors find a freedom that deniers don't.  If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins!  He will cleanse us.  Not might, could, would, or should.  He WILL!
From Grace

Ezra 10

Ezra Takes Charge

Ezra wept, prostrate in front of The Temple of God. As he prayed and confessed, a huge number of the men, women, and children of Israel gathered around him. All the people were now weeping as if their hearts would break.

2-3 Shecaniah son of Jehiel of the family of Elam, acting as spokesman, said to Ezra: “We betrayed our God by marrying foreign wives from the people around here. But all is not lost; there is still hope for Israel. Let’s make a covenant right now with our God, agreeing to get rid of all these wives and their children, just as my master and those who honor God’s commandment are saying. It’s what The Revelation says, so let’s do it.

4 “Now get up, Ezra. Take charge—we’re behind you. Don’t back down.”

5 So Ezra stood up and had the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel solemnly swear to do what Shecaniah proposed. And they did it.

6 Then Ezra left the plaza in front of The Temple of God and went to the home of Jehohanan son of Eliashib where he stayed, still fasting from food and drink, continuing his mourning over the betrayal by the exiles.

* * *

7-8 A notice was then sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem ordering all the exiles to meet in Jerusalem. Anyone who failed to show up in three days, in compliance with the ruling of the leaders and elders, would have all his possessions confiscated and be thrown out of the congregation of the returned exiles.

9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin met in Jerusalem within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. They all sat down in the plaza in front of The Temple of God. Because of the business before them, and aggravated by the buckets of rain coming down on them, they were restless, uneasy, and anxious.

10-11 Ezra the priest stood up and spoke: “You’ve broken trust. You’ve married foreign wives. You’ve piled guilt on Israel. Now make your confession to God, the God of your ancestors, and do what he wants you to do: Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

12 The whole congregation responded with a shout, “Yes, we’ll do it—just the way you said it!”

13-14 They also said, “But look, do you see how many people there are out here? And it’s the rainy season; you can’t expect us to stand out here soaking wet until this is done—why, it will take days! A lot of us are deeply involved in this transgression. Let our leaders act on behalf of the whole congregation. Have everybody who lives in cities and who has married a foreign wife come at an appointed time, accompanied by the elders and judges of each city. We’ll keep at this until the hot anger of our God over this thing is turned away.”

15-17 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this. So the exiles went ahead with the plan. Ezra the priest picked men who were family heads, each one by name. They sat down together on the first day of the tenth month to pursue the matter. By the first day of the first month they had finished dealing with every man who had married a foreign wife.

* * *

18-19 Among the families of priests, the following were found to have married foreign wives:

The family of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They all promised to divorce their wives and sealed it with a handshake. For their guilt they brought a ram from the flock as a Compensation-Offering.

20 The family of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

21 The family of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

22 The family of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23 From the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah—that is, Kelita—Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24 From the singers: Eliashib.

From the temple security guards: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

25 And from the other Israelites:

The family of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.

26 The family of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

27 The family of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

28 The family of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

29 The family of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

30 The family of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

31-32 The family of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33 The family of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

34-37 The family of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

38-42 The family of Binnui: Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43 The family of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

44 All these had married foreign wives and some had also had children by them.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Read: Matthew 21:12–17

Jesus at the Temple

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[b]”

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[c]?”

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

INSIGHT
Matthew’s gospel begins, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David” (Matthew 1:1). Such was the hope of the crowd that welcomed Christ into Jerusalem soon after He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:9–15). But Matthew moves quickly to an awkward moment. He describes how Jesus visited the temple to bare His heart and drive out the money-changers (Matthew 21:12–13), echoing the words of the prophets who spoke of a house of prayer that had become a den of thieves (Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11).

Tension must have been in the air as Jesus walked into the courtyard to heal those who couldn’t see or walk. For fear of the religious leaders, adults in the crowd probably realized this wasn’t the time or place to declare Him king. It was left to the little ones to celebrate, in all their innocence, the implications of Jesus’ miracles (Matthew 21:15)—in contrast to teachers of the law who were secretly planning to kill the Son of David.

Watch Me! - By Alyson Kieda
From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise. Matthew 21:16

“Watch my fairy princess dance, Grandma!” my three-year-old granddaughter gleefully called as she raced around the yard of our cabin, a big grin on her face. Her “dancing” brought a smile; and her big brother’s glum, “She’s not dancing, just running,” didn’t squelch her joy at being on vacation with family.

The first Palm Sunday was a day of highs and lows. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the crowds enthusiastically shouted, “Hosanna! . . . Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9). Yet many in the crowd were expecting a Messiah to free them from Rome, not a Savior who would die for their sins that same week.

Later that day, despite the anger of the chief priests who questioned Jesus’ authority, children in the temple expressed their joy by shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David” (v. 15), perhaps leaping and waving palm branches as they ran around the courtyard. They couldn’t help but worship Him, Jesus told the indignant leaders, for “from the lips of children and infants [God has] called forth [His] praise” (v. 16). They were in the presence of the Savior!

Jesus invites us to also see Him for who He is. When we do, like a child overflowing with joy, we can’t help but revel in His presence.

How do the daily distractions and discontent of others draw your focus away from God? What will help you to keep your eyes on Jesus?

Loving God, thank You for all You’ve done for me! I’m amazed at the great lengths You went to so that I could find joy in You. Help me to keep my focus firmly on You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Isn’t There Some Misunderstanding?

"Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "…are You going there again?" —John 11:7-8

Just because I don’t understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God’s directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.

Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn’t. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to your ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R

Bible in a Year: Judges 4-6; Luke 4:31-44