Exodus 22 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Chats in the Closet

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

Exodus 22

 “If someone steals an ox or a lamb and slaughters or sells it, the thief must pay five cattle in place of the ox and four sheep in place of the lamb. If the thief is caught while breaking in and is hit hard and dies, there is no bloodguilt. But if it happens after daybreak, there is bloodguilt.

3-4 “A thief must make full restitution for what is stolen. The thief who is unable to pay is to be sold for his thieving. If caught red-handed with the stolen goods, and the ox or donkey or lamb is still alive, the thief pays double.

5 “If someone grazes livestock in a field or vineyard but lets them loose so they graze in someone else’s field, restitution must be made from the best of the owner’s field or vineyard.

6 “If fire breaks out and spreads to the brush so that the sheaves of grain or the standing grain or even the whole field is burned up, whoever started the fire must pay for the damages.

7-8 “If someone gives a neighbor money or things for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. If the thief is not caught, the owner must be brought before God to determine whether the owner was the one who took the neighbor’s goods.

9 “In all cases of stolen goods, whether oxen, donkeys, sheep, clothing, anything in fact missing of which someone says, ‘That’s mine,’ both parties must come before the judges. The one the judges pronounce guilty must pay double to the other.

10-13 “If someone gives a donkey or ox or lamb or any kind of animal to another for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or lost and there is no witness, an oath before God must be made between them to decide whether one has laid hands on the property of the other. The owner must accept this and no damages are assessed. But if it turns out it was stolen, the owner must be compensated. If it has been torn by wild beasts, the torn animal must be brought in as evidence; no damages have to be paid.

14-15 “If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it gets injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must pay for it. But if the owner was with it, he doesn’t have to pay. If the animal was hired, the payment covers the loss.

* * *

16-17 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the marriage price and marry her. If her father absolutely refuses to give her away, the man must still pay the marriage price for virgins.

18 “Don’t let a sorceress live.

19 “Anyone who has sex with an animal gets the death penalty.

20 “Anyone who sacrifices to a god other than God alone must be put to death.

21 “Don’t abuse or take advantage of strangers; you, remember, were once strangers in Egypt.

22-24 “Don’t mistreat widows or orphans. If you do and they cry out to me, you can be sure I’ll take them most seriously; I’ll show my anger and come raging among you with the sword, and your wives will end up widows and your children orphans.

25 “If you lend money to my people, to any of the down-and-out among you, don’t come down hard on them and gouge them with interest.

26-27 “If you take your neighbor’s coat as security, give it back before nightfall; it may be your neighbor’s only covering—what else does the person have to sleep in? And if I hear the neighbor crying out from the cold, I’ll step in—I’m compassionate.

28 “Don’t curse God; and don’t damn your leaders.

29-30 “Don’t be stingy as your wine vats fill up.

“Dedicate your firstborn sons to me. The same with your cattle and sheep—they are to stay for seven days with their mother, then give them to me.

31 “Be holy for my sake.

“Don’t eat mutilated flesh you find in the fields; throw it to the dogs.”

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Today's Scripture John 16:12–15 (NIV)
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.z 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth,a comes, he will guide you into all the truth.b He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine.c That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Insight

Before Jesus left the earth, He promised His disciples He would send “the Spirit of truth,” who would guide them “into all the truth” (John 16:13). The Spirit would relay what Jesus made known to Him. Jesus also told them that when they were arrested and brought to trial, they needn’t “worry beforehand about what to say.” Instead they were to speak whatever was given them to say because it would be “the Holy Spirit” speaking (Mark 13:11). In Luke, Jesus says something similar: “When you are brought before . . . authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (12:11–12; see John 14:26). In a season of persecution, the Holy Spirit will help and equip all believers in Jesus. By: Alyson Kieda

Insight from the Spirit

When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
John 16:13

As the French soldier dug in the desert sand, reinforcing the defenses of his army’s encampment, he had no idea he would make a momentous discovery. Moving another shovelful of sand, he saw a stone. Not just any stone. It was the Rosetta Stone, containing a listing of the good things King Ptolemy V had done for his priests and the people of Egypt written in three scripts. That stone (now housed in the British Museum) would be one of the most important archaeological finds of the nineteenth century, helping to unlock the mysteries of the ancient Egyptian writing known as hieroglyphics.

For many of us, much of Scripture is also wrapped in deep mystery. Still, the night before the cross, Jesus promised His followers that He would send the Holy Spirit. He told them, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is, in a sense, our divine Rosetta Stone, shedding light on the truth—including truths behind the mysteries of the Bible.

While we’re not promised absolute understanding of everything given to us in the Scriptures, we can have confidence that by the Spirit we can comprehend everything necessary for us to follow Jesus. He will guide us into those vital truths. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

What are some portions of the Bible you have found difficult? List them and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into better understanding of those Scriptures.

God of all truth, help me to rest in the Spirit of truth that I might better understand the wisdom You’ve provided.

Read A Message for All Time: Understanding and Applying the Bible.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 17, 2021
The Key of the Greater Work

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

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

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

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

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

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

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 50-52; 1 Thessalonians 5

Exodus 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Look to Jesus to Comfort You

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

Exodus 21

“These are the laws that you are to place before them:

2-6 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years. The seventh year he goes free, for nothing. If he came in single he leaves single. If he came in married he leaves with his wife. If the master gives him a wife and she gave him sons and daughters, the wife and children stay with the master and he leaves by himself. But suppose the slave should say, ‘I love my master and my wife and children—I don’t want my freedom,’ then his master is to bring him before God and to a door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl, a sign that he is a slave for life.

7-11 “When a man sells his daughter to be a handmaid, she doesn’t go free after six years like the men. If she doesn’t please her master, her family must buy her back; her master doesn’t have the right to sell her to foreigners since he broke his word to her. If he turns her over to his son, he has to treat her like a daughter. If he marries another woman, she retains all her full rights to meals, clothing, and marital relations. If he won’t do any of these three things for her, she goes free, for nothing.

12-14 “If someone hits another and death results, the penalty is death. But if there was no intent to kill—if it was an accident, an ‘act of God’—I’ll set aside a place to which the killer can flee for refuge. But if the murder was premeditated, cunningly plotted, then drag the killer away, even if it’s from my Altar, to be put to death.

15 “If someone hits father or mother, the penalty is death.

16 “If someone kidnaps a person, the penalty is death, regardless of whether the person has been sold or is still held in possession.

17 “If someone curses father or mother, the penalty is death.

18-19 “If a quarrel breaks out and one hits the other with a rock or a fist and the injured one doesn’t die but is confined to bed and then later gets better and can get about on a crutch, the one who hit him is in the clear, except to pay for the loss of time and make sure of complete recovery.

20-21 “If a slave owner hits a slave, male or female, with a stick and the slave dies on the spot, the slave must be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he’s not to be avenged—the slave is the owner’s property.

22-25 “When there’s a fight and in the fight a pregnant woman is hit so that she miscarries but is not otherwise hurt, the one responsible has to pay whatever the husband demands in compensation. But if there is further damage, then you must give life for life—eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

26-27 “If a slave owner hits the eye of a slave or handmaid and ruins it, the owner must let the slave go free because of the eye. If the owner knocks out the tooth of the male or female slave, the slave must be released and go free because of the tooth.

28-32 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned. The meat cannot be eaten but the owner of the ox is in the clear. But if the ox has a history of goring and the owner knew it and did nothing to guard against it, then if the ox kills a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned and the owner given the death penalty. If a ransom is agreed upon instead of death, he must pay it in full as a redemption for his life. If a son or daughter is gored, the same judgment holds. If it is a slave or a handmaid the ox gores, thirty shekels of silver is to be paid to the owner and the ox stoned.

33-34 “If someone uncovers a cistern or digs a pit and leaves it open and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay whatever the animal is worth to its owner but can keep the dead animal.

35-36 “If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the ox dies, they must sell the live ox and split the price; they must also split the dead animal. But if the ox had a history of goring and the owner knew it and did nothing to guard against it, the owner must pay an ox for an ox but can keep the dead animal.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, October 16, 2021
Today's Scripture
Ecclesiastes 7:1–4
(NIV)

Wisdom

A good name is better than fine perfume,u

and the day of death better than the day of birth.v

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning

than to go to a house of feasting,

for deathw is the destinyx of everyone;

the living should take this to heart.

3 Frustration is better than laughter,y

because a sad face is good for the heart.

4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Insight

Scholars have heavily debated the authorship of Ecclesiastes. The opening verse identifies the author as “the Teacher” (Hebrew Qohelet), but that is a title, not a proper name. The traditional view has ascribed authorship to Solomon because of statements summarized well in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: “The author also identified himself as a ‘son of David’ (1:1), a ‘king in Jerusalem’ (1:1), and ‘king over Israel in Jerusalem’ (1:12). Moreover, in the autobiographical section (1:12–2:26) he said he was wiser ‘than anyone who [had] ruled over Jerusalem before’ him (1:16); that he was a builder of great projects (2:4–6); and that he possessed numerous slaves (2:7), incomparable herds of sheep and cattle (2:7), great wealth (2:8), and a large harem (2:8). In short he claimed to be greater than anyone who lived in Jerusalem before him (2:9).” These statements seem to provide more than enough evidence to support Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes. By: Bill Crowder

Living Well

Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.
Ecclesiastes 7:2

Free funerals for the living. That’s the service offered by an establishment in South Korea. Since it opened in 2012, more than 25,000 people—from teenagers to retirees—have participated in mass “living funeral” services, hoping to improve their lives by considering their deaths. Officials say “the simulated death ceremonies are meant to give the participant a truthful sense of their lives, inspire gratitude, and aid in forgiveness and reconnection among family and friends.”

These words echo the wisdom given by the teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes. “Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Death reminds us of the brevity of life and that we only have a certain amount of time to live and love well. It loosens our grip on some of God’s good gifts—such as money, relationships, and pleasure—and frees us to enjoy them in the here and now as we store up “treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).

As we remember that death may come knocking anytime, perhaps it’ll compel us to not postpone that visit with our parents, delay our decision to serve God in a particular way, or compromise our time with our children for our work. With God’s help, we can learn to live wisely. By:  Poh Fang Chia

Reflect & Pray

What changes will you make in your life today as you think about death? How can you be more conscious about death amid the hustle and bustle of life?

Loving God, help me to remember the brevity of life and to live well today.

To learn more about what happens after death.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 16, 2021
The Key to the Master’s Orders

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

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

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

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.  The Highest Good, 544 R

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 47-49; 1 Thessalonians 4

Matthew 27:27-50, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Conform or Be Transformed - October 15, 2021

Romans 12:2 urges, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We can conform or we can be transformed. In Esther’s story, she and Mordecai chose at first to conform and disguise their identity. Later, they took a courageous stand.

You know, Bible characters are complex. They aren’t one-dimensional felt figures that fit easily into a Sunday school curriculum box. Moses was a murderer before he was a liberator. Joseph was a punk before he was a prince. Yes, the apostle Peter proclaimed Christ on the day of Pentecost. But he also denied Christ on the eve of the crucifixion. The people of the Bible were exactly that: real people. And, like you and me, they had their good moments, and, well, they were known to hide their faith.

Choose to be transformed.

Matthew 27:27-50

The Crucifixion

27-31 The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red robe. They plaited a crown from branches of a thornbush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” they said. “Bravo!” Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion.

32-34 Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus’ cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call “Skull Hill,” they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn’t drink it.

35-40 After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they killed time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”

41-44 The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—he can’t save himself! King of Israel, is he? Then let him get down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then! He was so sure of God—well, let him rescue his ‘Son’ now—if he wants him! He did claim to be God’s Son, didn’t he?” Even the two criminals crucified next to him joined in the mockery.

45-46 From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

47-49 Some bystanders who heard him said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let’s see if Elijah comes and saves him.”

50 But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, October 15, 2021

Today's Scripture
Psalm 37:3–7
(NIV)

Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the landz and enjoy safe pasture.a

4 Take delightb in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.c

5 Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in himd and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteous rewarde shine like the dawn,f

your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be stillg before the Lord

and wait patientlyh for him;

do not freti when people succeed in their ways,j

when they carry out their wicked schemes

Insight

When David urged his nation not to envy those who seemed to be winning by deceit or violence (Psalm 37:1, 7), he was writing out of his own experience. He knew what it was to be stalked by Saul, his own king and father-in-law. His psalm reflects what he’d seen in God, who helped him overcome Goliath, the betrayals of friends and family, and the military advantage of enemies. Learning to trust an unseen God at a time when visible people hated him was his recurring challenge. Reflecting on a hard road traveled, Psalm 37 foreshadows what the apostle Paul would one day express. In the service of Christ, he too learned to see beyond the temporary, outward appearance (2 Corinthians 4:16–18). By: Mart DeHaan

God’s Plans for You

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For six years, Agnes tried to make herself the “perfect minister’s wife,” modeling herself after her adored mother-in-law (also a pastor’s wife). She thought that in this role she couldn’t also be a writer and painter, but in burying her creativity she became depressed and contemplated suicide. Only the help of a neighboring pastor moved her out of the darkness as he prayed with her and assigned her two hours of writing each morning. This awakened her to what she called her “sealed orders”—the calling God had given her. She wrote, “For me to be really myself—my complete self—every . . . flow of creativity that God had given me had to find its channel.”

Later, she pointed to one of David’s songs that expressed how she found her calling: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). As she committed her way to God, trusting Him to lead and guide her (v. 5), He made a way for her not only to write and paint but to help others to better communicate with Him.

God has a set of “sealed orders” for each of us, not only that we’ll know we’re His beloved children but understand the unique ways we can serve Him through our gifts and passions. He’ll lead us as we trust and delight in Him. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How does Agnes’ story of living someone else’s life resonate with you? What has God put in your “sealed orders”?

Creator God, You’ve made me in Your image. Help me to know and embrace my calling that I might better love and serve You.

Explore how your identity is rooted in Christ.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 15, 2021
The Key to the Missionary’s Message

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

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

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

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

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”?  Disciples Indeed, 389 L

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 45-46; 1 Thessalonians 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 15, 2021

You Never Know Who's Watching - #9070

When I consider today's young people and even my own kids when they were teenagers, I realize that their generations are about to lose some of civilization's greatest wisdom. Some of those old clichés that we were told, well, maybe they've never heard. How about this? "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Well, we have to make sure they get that wisdom. Or probably not, huh?

Or there's one that really stuck with me. I think it was from my grandmother. It goes like this: "When you kiss at the garden gate, remember love is blind but the neighbors ain't." Okay, it doesn't rhyme very well, but it's true. I always imagined when I heard that old Mrs. Murphy was across the street with her binoculars and a notepad. Actually, though, there is a life lesson in that old cliché that covers a lot more than a good night kiss. In fact, it was probably working invisibly in your life today.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Never Know Who's Watching."

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Genesis 24. It's one of the great love stories in the history of the world. Eliezer is Abraham's ageing servant, and he has been sent to find the woman God has destined for son Isaac - Abraham's child of promise. In a sense, Isaac is the prince and it turns out that Rebekah is going to be the princess. But Eliezer doesn't know that at this point, so he prays.

He gets to the location where he's been told to go, back in Abraham's home turf where there are some believers to choose from. And in essence, Eliezer prays and says, "Lord, here I am at the well where all the women come to draw water. I want you to show me the woman of your choosing through her unselfish care for me and my animals. She won't know why I'm here, but I just want to pray that she'll come and offer me water and then go water my camels. And I'll know then how unselfish she is."

It's interesting that this little intrigue takes place. "Before he had finished praying" it says, "Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder." Then the story goes on to say, "The girl was very beautiful...a virgin. She went down to the spring and filled her water and came up again." Okay, so we've got a girl that might be the one. But listen. "As she goes and takes care of water for him and for the camels without knowing anything about what he's prayed, it says, "Without saying a word, the man watched her closely." Okay, now Rebekah's being watched by Eliezer.

She was simply going about her work. Little did she know she was being closely watched. But then, do you know so are you? You're building a reputation without even knowing it. You're advertising about Jesus without even realizing it. You say, "Well, I don't think I'm being watched." You are. "Well, I don't want to be watched." Too bad, you are.

People are noticing how you control your temper or how you don't, how you compete, how you win, how you lose. They're noticing how you respond to people's needs; to their need for attention, to their need for somebody to listen to them. They're noticing how you act when you're tired, when you're under pressure, how you handle failure, how you're handling your responsibilities, how you keep your promises. They're watching how you treat those who treat you badly, and how you react when you're threatened.

And it makes me think twice about how Christlike I really am. Just imagine you're being watched by your children, your grandchildren, your parents, by people who are making a choice about Jesus based on what they see in you; by your friends, by your teachers, your supervisors. You just can't go off duty as a Jesus follower; you're always His ambassador. So, would you pray through your day?

Someone might be basing their verdict about Jesus on the way you handle your circumstances, your emotions, your situations. Really, you never know who's watching.

Exodus 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: Stand Out and Assist - October 14, 2021

1 Peter chapter 2, verses 9 and12 read, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”

How do God’s people live in a godless society? Do they blend in and assimilate? No, this is the time to stand out and assist. We were made for this moment. This is no time to play around. You were made for more than social media and flashy parties. You were made to serve the almighty God and be a temple of his Holy Spirit. Society offers nothing. Hollywood can’t satisfy your needs. Madison Avenue makes big promises but leaves people naked of hope. Godless living is no life to live.

Exodus 20

God spoke all these words:

I am God, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of a life of slavery.

3 No other gods, only me.

4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

7 No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.

8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

12 Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

13 No murder.

14 No adultery.

15 No stealing.

16 No lies about your neighbor.

17 No lusting after your neighbor’s house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don’t set your heart on anything that is your neighbor’s.

* * *

18-19 All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid—they pulled back and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we’ll listen, but don’t have God speak to us or we’ll die.”

20 Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won’t sin.”

21 The people kept their distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

22-26 God said to Moses, “Give this Message to the People of Israel: ‘You’ve experienced firsthand how I spoke with you from Heaven. Don’t make gods of silver and gods of gold and then set them alongside me. Make me an earthen Altar. Sacrifice your Whole-Burnt-Offerings, your Peace-Offerings, your sheep, and your cattle on it. Every place where I cause my name to be honored in your worship, I’ll be there myself and bless you. If you use stones to make my Altar, don’t use dressed stones. If you use a chisel on the stones you’ll profane the Altar. Don’t use steps to climb to my Altar because that will expose your nakedness.’”

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Today's Scripture
Romans 6:16–23
(NIV)

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obeyy—whether you are slaves to sin,z which leads to death,a or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to Godb that, though you used to be slaves to sin,c you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teachingd that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sine and have become slaves to righteousness.f

19 I am using an example from everyday lifeg because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousnessh leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin,i you were free from the control of righteousness.j 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!k 22 But now that you have been set free from sinl and have become slaves of God,m the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.n 23 For the wages of sin is death,o but the gift of God is eternal lifep inb Christ Jesus our Lord.

Insight

Writing to believers in Jesus at Rome, some of whom may have been slaves, Paul says, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:16). The word Paul uses for slave is doulos. It refers to “someone who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own.” This word is derived from another word that means “to tie or bind, to ensnare or capture.” Paul is telling the Roman believers that they don’t serve themselves; they serve the one they’re bound to. They’re either owned by sin or owned by God.

A Beginner’s Guide to Life

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

After my mother’s sudden death, I was motivated to start blogging. I wanted to write posts that would inspire people to use their minutes on earth to create significant life moments. So I turned to a beginner’s guide to blogging. I learned what platform to use, how to choose titles, and how to craft compelling posts. And in 2016, my first blog post was born.

Paul wrote a “beginner’s guide” that explains how to obtain eternal life. In Romans 6:16–18, he contrasts the fact that we’re all born in rebellion to God (sinners) with the truth that Jesus can help us be “set free from [our] sin” (v. 18). Paul then describes the difference between being a slave to sin and a slave to God and His life-giving ways (vv. 19–20). He continues by stating that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” (v. 23). Death means being separated from God forever. This is the devastating outcome we face when we reject Christ. But God has offered us a gift in Jesus—new life. It’s the kind of life that begins on earth and continues forever in heaven with Him.

Paul’s beginner’s guide to eternal life leaves us with two choices—choosing sin, which leads to death, or choosing Jesus’ gift, which leads to eternal life. May you receive His gift of life, and if you’ve already accepted Christ, may you share this gift with others today! By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

How would you describe what it means to receive the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ? What’s the difference between being a slave to sin and a slave to God and His life-giving ways?

Jesus, thank You for loving me and forgiving me. You paid a debt I couldn’t pay and gave me a gift I couldn’t buy.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 14, 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.  The Place of Help, 1051 L

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Very Away and Very Alone - #9069

I used to think that the more I got on planes and went places the easier it would get. Wrong! It always got tougher to be away from home.

I remember one major trip I took to South Africa. I knew I'd be gone for like two and a half weeks, and as the family took me to the airport, we said a quick goodbye. We figure quick goodbyes are the easiest. And I remember as I walked through the door and left them behind and I got out of their sight, I was choking back tears. And I said, "Boy, I'm not like this very often." But honestly it hurt to leave them.

Now, I was really busy in South Africa. I was very blessed while I was there, but I was really lonely away from them. Frankly, it's really hard to be away from someone you love, right? But there is a kind of away that I have never experienced, and I never will. You might, but you don't have to.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Very Away and Very Alone."

We're going to turn for our word for today from the Word of God to Matthew 27:45-46. It will take us on a visit through the winding streets of Old Jerusalem, outside the city gate to a hill that's a garbage dump. It's also a place of execution. It's a place to be avoided by anyone who lives inside the law. And there we will find on a cross, the carpenter from Nazareth - Jesus. He's God's only Son. Remember that as I read this to you.

God's only Son - He has for all of eternity had an unbroken, uninterrupted relationship with God, the Father. But listen to His cry in Matthew 27. "From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" And in this moment, that eternally unbroken relationship between God the Father and God the Son is ripped apart and broken by my sin.

I said that's a kind of away I've never been. Oh, I've missed the people I love when I've been away, but what an away this is - God the Father turning His back on His only Son. God the Son is totally cut off in this moment. This is the moment Jesus tried to avoid in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, "Father, take this away from Me if it is possible." But on that cross He is very away from God. He is very alone. Why?

The Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, told us that God is of purer eyes than to look on sin. You say, "But Jesus didn't commit any." No, He didn't; but I have, and you have. And voluntarily Jesus Christ is suffering the penalty you and I should pay. He is being cut off from God so you don't ever have to be. See, that's what hell would be. Everything good, pure, loving, and beautiful on earth is because of God. And hell is total "away-ness" from God with no party, no friends, no music, no money to drown out that awful emptiness. Jesus was suffering that hell for you and me on the cross.

You can't pay your own bill to God or Jesus would never have gone through all that. If you know Him, live for Him with a new appreciation for what He paid for you. And if you're not sure you know Him, if you're not sure there's been a time you began a relationship with Him, get to that cross. Give Him what He paid for; who He paid for. God turned His back on His own Son so He wouldn't have to turn His back on you.

And now, maybe for our visit together, He's come. He's stirring your heart, and that tug in your heart is Jesus saying, "Let Me in." And maybe for all your religion, there's never been a moment you've done that. Would you do that today where you are? And say, "Jesus, I'm Yours. You died for me, You came out of Your grave - You're alive! I'm not running things any more; I am Yours."

Our website has been a big help to people who have wanted to be sure that they have begun this relationship with Jesus. I want to invite you to check it out as soon as you can today. I hope you meet us at that website. It's ANewStory.com.

See, Jesus was on that cross very away and very alone so you don't ever have to be again.

Exodus 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Hope the World Needs - October 13, 2021

You know, we’re caretakers of the message of Jesus. As you and I live out our faith, he is delivered into a faith-famished culture. We have the hope this world needs, but sometimes we forget. Billion-dollar industries are conning you by luring you into lifestyles that will leave you wounded and weary.

How about some examples? Pornography is one. Pornography, they say, is a harmless expression of sexuality. Hardly – it is as addictive as alcohol and drugs. Or this one: Whoever dies with the most toys wins. Take on the liability. Borrow the money. But your Maker tells you, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20).

The lies are everywhere, and their consequences are devastating. Be careful! Don’t get too cozy in this culture.

Exodus 19

Mount Sinai

Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites entered the Wilderness of Sinai. They followed the route from Rephidim, arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp. Israel camped there facing the mountain.

3-6 As Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you’re special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’

“This is what I want you to tell the People of Israel.”

7 Moses came back and called the elders of Israel together and set before them all these words which God had commanded him.

8 The people were unanimous in their response: “Everything God says, we will do.” Moses took the people’s answer back to God.

* * *

9 God said to Moses, “Get ready. I’m about to come to you in a thick cloud so that the people can listen in and trust you completely when I speak with you.” Again Moses reported the people’s answer to God.

10-13 God said to Moses, “Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God. Have them scrub their clothes so that on the third day they’ll be fully prepared, because on the third day God will come down on Mount Sinai and make his presence known to all the people. Post boundaries for the people all around, telling them, ‘Warning! Don’t climb the mountain. Don’t even touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain dies—a certain death. And no one is to touch that person, he’s to be stoned. That’s right—stoned. Or shot with arrows, shot to death. Animal or man, whichever—put to death.’

“A long blast from the horn will signal that it’s safe to climb the mountain.”

14-15 Moses went down the mountain to the people and prepared them for the holy meeting. They gave their clothes a good scrubbing. Then he addressed the people: “Be ready in three days. Don’t sleep with a woman.”

16 On the third day at daybreak, there were loud claps of thunder, flashes of lightning, a thick cloud covering the mountain, and an ear-piercing trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp shuddered in fear.

17 Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God. They stood at attention at the base of the mountain.

18-20 Mount Sinai was all smoke because God had come down on it as fire. Smoke poured from it like smoke from a furnace. The whole mountain shuddered and heaved. The trumpet blasts grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered in thunder. God descended to the peak of Mount Sinai. God called Moses up to the peak and Moses climbed up.

21-22 God said to Moses, “Go down. Warn the people not to break through the barricades to get a look at God lest many of them die. And the priests also, warn them to prepare themselves for the holy meeting, lest God break out against them.”

23 Moses said to God, “But the people can’t climb Mount Sinai. You’ve already warned us well telling us: ‘Post boundaries around the mountain. Respect the holy mountain.’”

24 God told him, “Go down and then bring Aaron back up with you. But make sure that the priests and the people don’t break through and come up to God, lest he break out against them.”

25 So Moses went down to the people. He said to them:

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Today's Scripture
Jeremiah 36:27–32
(NIV)

After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,b the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scrollc and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from itd both man and beast?”e 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakimf king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown outg and exposedh to the heat by day and the frost by night.i 31 I will punish him and his childrenj and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disasterk I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.l’ ”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,m Baruch wroten on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burnedo in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Insight

King Jehoiakim’s rejection of the words of God demonstrated by his reckless burning of Jeremiah’s scroll wasn’t an isolated event. The prophet Jeremiah had touched a nerve in a land once entrusted to a nation of freed slaves. Since the days of Moses, there'd been a humane law in Israel requiring Hebrew slaves to be freed after seven years (Exodus 21:2). But this law had long since been ignored by wealthy land owners accustomed to living off the backs of a captive and oppressed workforce (Jeremiah 34:8–17). Their social privilege made it easy to ignore a troublesome prophet who claimed to speak the word of Israel’s God (37:1–2). According to Jeremiah, a looming Babylonian invasion was the inevitable corrective. What even Jeremiah couldn’t foresee, however, is that the flagrant burning of a scroll would foreshadow something far more horrific—a literal rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, the living Word of God. By: Mart DeHaan

Words that Endure

This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord.
Jeremiah 36:1

In the early nineteenth century, Thomas Carlyle gave a manuscript to philosopher John Stuart Mill to review. Somehow, whether accidentally or intentionally, the manuscript got tossed into a fire. It was Carlyle’s only copy. Undaunted, he set to work rewriting the lost chapters. Mere flames couldn’t stop the story, which remained intact in his mind. Out of great loss, Carlyle produced his monumental work The French Revolution.

In the waning days of ancient Judah’s decadent kingdom, God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you” (Jeremiah 36:2). The message revealed God’s tender heart, calling on His people to repent in order to avoid imminent invasion (v. 3).

Jeremiah did as he was told. The scroll soon found its way to Judah’s king, Jehoiakim, who methodically shredded it and threw it into the fire (vv. 23–25). The king’s act of arson only made matters worse. God told Jeremiah to write another scroll with the same message. He said, “[Jehoiakim] will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night” (v. 30).

It’s possible to burn the words of God by tossing a book into a fire. Possible, but utterly futile. The Word behind the words endures forever. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

What has caused you or those you know to ignore the words of God? Why is it vital for you to submit to and obediently follow what He’s instructed?

Father, help me to take Your words to heart, even if they’re difficult to hear. Please give me a heart of repentance—not defiance.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
    
Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth

…when Moses was grown…he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. —Exodus 2:11

Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, “ ‘…bring My people…out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go…?’ ” (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.

We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses’ forty years in the wilderness. It’s as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. And then we begin to tremble and say, “Who am I that I should go…?” We must learn that God’s great stride is summed up in these words— “I AM WHO I AM…has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him— our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, “I know this is what God wants me to do.” But we have not yet learned to get into God’s stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

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

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 41-42; 1 Thessalonians 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Where is Malaysia Air 370 and its 239 passengers? Boy, a few years ago, that question obsessed people around the world and in the news day after day after day. I can't remember a time when so many nations (I think there were something like 26 at some point) mounted such a huge search-and-rescue effort across such a wide swath of the world. It was incredible. Why? Well, to search for and, if possible, try to save the people who were lost.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Four Lessons From the Search for a Missing Plane."

As I was watching the unfolding news...and praying at that time, God seemed to say to me, "There's something else I want you to see here, Ron." Suddenly I was hearing in my heart the words of Jesus. He said, "I've come to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).

Then it hit me. Jesus has launched a search-and-rescue force from every corner of the globe to seek and save hijacked lives that are heading for an unthinkable destination. His worldwide rescue force is His church; His people from "every nation, tribe...and language" (Revelation 7:9).

As ships and planes and computers were searching for that missing plane, they were looking by "grids." In other words, each one had its own assigned stretch of ocean or land to cover. That's like the rescue forces of Christ. Each of us who follows Christ has our assigned "grid." And it's the spiritually dying people who are in our circle of influence. We all have a circle of influence. There's so much ground to cover; there's so many eternities in the balance. The only way every unbeliever is going to have a chance at Jesus is if every believer is a rescuer.

Now our word for today from the Word of God asks these haunting questions in Romans 10:14. "How can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?" The life-saving mission of my Jesus compels me to consider those questions in light of the people I know. "How can (fill in the blank) __________ hear about Him (in my case) unless Ron tells them if they're in my circle of influence?"

Neighbors. Coworkers. Online friends. Social media friends. Family social acquaintances. They're the "grid" where the Great Rescuer has assigned me and you to "seek and to save." And the desperate search that dominated our headlines several years ago for that missing plane has a lot to teach us about our rescue assignment from Jesus.

1. Seek them - We can't expect those who are lost to show up where we are. We have to go where they are, taking that eternity-changing news of Jesus outside the walls of the church. Showing up with Jesus at the office, the gym, the club, the store, the school, the game, the hospital.

2. Deploy every means possible. They put out ships and planes and computers to find that missing plane - every conceivable tool for the mission. We who know the eternal stakes of our life-saving mission can do no less. Social networks. Websites. Acts of kindness. Fervent prayer. Intentional relationships. Paul said, "That by all possible means, I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:23).

3. Work together - The Malaysian Air search depended on people from all kinds of different backgrounds coming together for a cause larger than their differences. Our failure to do so as the rescue force of Jesus is costing lives.

4. Time is lives - That's what a Chinese official said about delays in that search. You know, that must echo God's heart as His rescuers focus on themselves while lost people just keep slipping away into an awful eternity.

I answer and you answer to the Final Orders of our Jesus - as does every child of God. "Go and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere" (Mark 16:15 NLT). It's the passion of God's heart. It must be mine.

Matthew 27:1-26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Billboards of God’s Message - October 12, 2021

In the story of Esther, the Jews were three generations and more than a thousand miles removed from their days in Jerusalem. The Jews who remained in Persia chose to remain in Persia. Exile had been kind to them. All they had to do was abide by the rules and fade into the fabric of the culture.

The book of Esther depicts a people who are distant from their land. Jerusalem was far away, and Persia was, well, so relevant, so lush, so inviting. The point of the first chapter of Esther is simply this: Persia is lying to you.

Do we need the same reminder? God displays his glory, God displays his goodness through the church. As we worship God, as we love our neighbors, as we cherish our families, we become billboards of God’s message. We were made for this moment.

Matthew 27:1-26

Thirty Silver Coins

In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.

3-4 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”

They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”

5 Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.

6-10 The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn’t know what to do with them. “It wouldn’t be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple.” They decided to get rid of it by buying the “Potter’s Field” and use it as a burial place for the homeless. That’s how the field got called “Murder Meadow,” a name that has stuck to this day. Then Jeremiah’s words became history:

They took the thirty silver pieces,
The price of the one priced by some sons of Israel,
And they purchased the potter’s field.

And so they unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter.
Pilate

11 Jesus was placed before the governor, who questioned him: “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”

Jesus said, “If you say so.”

12-14 But when the accusations rained down hot and heavy from the high priests and religious leaders, he said nothing. Pilate asked him, “Do you hear that long list of accusations? Aren’t you going to say something?” Jesus kept silence—not a word from his mouth. The governor was impressed, really impressed.

15-18 It was an old custom during the Feast for the governor to pardon a single prisoner named by the crowd. At the time, they had the infamous Jesus Barabbas in prison. With the crowd before him, Pilate said, “Which prisoner do you want me to pardon: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Christ?” He knew it was through sheer spite that they had turned Jesus over to him.

19 While court was still in session, Pilate’s wife sent him a message: “Don’t get mixed up in judging this noble man. I’ve just been through a long and troubled night because of a dream about him.”

20 Meanwhile, the high priests and religious leaders had talked the crowd into asking for the pardon of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus.

21 The governor asked, “Which of the two do you want me to pardon?”

They said, “Barabbas!”

22 “Then what do I do with Jesus, the so-called Christ?”

They all shouted, “Nail him to a cross!”

23 He objected, “But for what crime?”

But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was imminent, he took a basin of water and washed his hands in full sight of the crowd, saying, “I’m washing my hands of responsibility for this man’s death. From now on, it’s in your hands. You’re judge and jury.”

25 The crowd answered, “We’ll take the blame, we and our children after us.”

26 Then he pardoned Barabbas. But he had Jesus whipped, and then handed over for crucifixion.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Today's Scripture Isaiah 40:12–14 (NIV)

Who has measured the watersd in the hollow of his hand,e

or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?f

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

or weighed the mountains on the scales

and the hills in a balance?g

13 Who can fathom the Spiritd h of the Lord,

or instruct the Lord as his counselor?i

14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,

and who taught him the right way?

Who was it that taught him knowledge,j

or showed him the path of understanding?

Insight

Scholars generally divide the book of Isaiah into two major sections. Chapters 1–39 deal primarily with warnings of divine chastening upon the people of Judah, represented often by Jerusalem; chapters 40–66 focus on God’s promises to deliver and restore Judah from the coming season of discipline they’d encounter in captivity in Babylon. As such, Isaiah 40 launches this section of promise and hope by reflecting on the greatness of God with whom they have a special relationship. This dramatic overture of His majesty is of critical importance because it serves as a reminder to the people that though they’d be distanced from their homeland, God was more than capable to bring them back and restore them—initially to the land and ultimately to Himself. It’s that assurance of His abiding care that underscores the offer of comfort in Isaiah 40:1. By: Bill Crowder

The Greatest Teacher

Who was it that taught [the Lord] knowledge? Isaiah 40:14

“I don’t get it!” My daughter slapped her pencil down on the desk. She was working on a math assignment, and I’d just begun my “job” as a homeschooling mom/teacher. We were in trouble. I couldn’t recall what I’d learned thirty-five years ago about changing decimals into fractions. I couldn’t teach her something I didn’t already know, so we watched an online teacher explain the skill.

As human beings, we’ll struggle at times with things we don’t know or understand. But not God; He’s the all-knowing One—the omniscient One. Isaiah wrote, “Who can . . . instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:13–14). The answer? No one!

Humans have intelligence because God created us in His own image. Still, our intelligence is just an inkling of His. Our knowledge is limited, but God knows everything from eternity past to eternity future (Psalm 147:5). Our knowledge is increasing today with the aid of technology, but we still get things wrong. Jesus, however, knows all things “immediately, simultaneously, exhaustively and truly,” as one theologian put it.

No matter how much humans advance in knowledge, we’ll never surpass Christ’s all-knowing status. We’ll always need Him to bless our understanding and to teach us what’s good and true. By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

In what types of situations are you thankful for God’s omniscience? How does knowing that Jesus understands everything encourage you?

Jesus, I praise You as the One who knows everything. Teach me what You want me to learn, and help me to love You with all my mind.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Getting into God’s Stride

Enoch walked with God… —Genesis 5:24

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged…” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 39-40; Colossians 4

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Sunsets Should Be Beautiful - #9067

Ah, sunset! It must be one of the favorite times of the day for photographers and for couples going on a romantic walk. Actually, for just about all of us. I've had the privilege to see the sun sinking beautifully into the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, over many of America's majestic mountain ranges, the flaming desert sunsets, and even from many parts of this world. It just doesn't matter where you are on this planet, sunset is just plain beautiful.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sunsets Should Be Beautiful."

I've had the great joy of being there when the sun rose on the lives of each of our children, and now on the lives of grandchildren who lead our next generation. Beautiful sunrises! But sooner than any of us can comprehend, life's sun has moved across the sky to the West, and it starts to set.

Sunsets should be beautiful, right? Sadly, for many people who are beginning to see the sun of their life move slowly but surely toward sunset, their sunset isn't very beautiful. In the years when you have so much to give, when every day should count more than ever, too many of us actually become uglier as we get older.

Oh, we've all seen it - the older person who is often complaining, self-pitying, demanding. Honestly, it's not very pretty. The older some of us get, the more we can - if we let ourselves - become people who are bitter, picky, mean-spirited. That's the word that describes some folks as they move toward their sunset. And self-absorption? That's ugly at any age!

Yes, our later years can have their share of physical pain, disappointed dreams (that's true), financial strain, grievous losses, frustrating limitation, and even hurtful neglect. We can't choose our circumstances, but we can, whatever our age, choose our attitude. We can choose what kind of climate we're going to bring with us wherever we go: selfish or unselfish, gentle or harsh, praising or griping, critical or encouraging.

Our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 71, beginning with verse 17, is an exciting perspective as the sun of your life drifts toward the western sky. It's how later life can be when you focus on the faithful God who has been your anchor through it all. "Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, and your might to all who are to come."

This is life with a mission - to be a display window for the grace of God, especially to the next generations. And I can focus my life on showing the love and the greatness of God whether I'm healthy or hurting, living by myself or in a senior housing facility, I can be in a neighborhood, a nursing home, even a hospital bed. A man or woman on a mission to show Jesus, however I am, wherever I am.

See, if you belong to Jesus, you discover that He's the one who makes our sunset beautiful. And you have this promise from the one who began your life and who will decide when your work is done. It's from Isaiah 46:3-4. He says, "I have upheld you since you were conceived, and have carried you since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

You know, as you begin to see the sun starting to set, it's so important to be sure that you're ready for what's beyond for eternity. Jesus came to take down the wall between us and God to pay on the cross for the sin that would make it impossible for us to go to heaven. And then to walk out of His grave so He could walk into our life upon our invitation. Make sure that you belong to Him. You know what? You'll never walk another day alone.

How to do that? Would you visit our website? It will really help with that. It's ANewStory.com.

When you can say no to the darkness of the sunset years, that's when your sunset can be what a sunset ought to be. Remember? Unforgettably beautiful!

Exodus 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Caretakers of God’s Covenant - October 11, 2021

God gave this promise to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and I will place a curse on those who harm you. And all the people on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3 NCV). When God called Abraham out of Ur, he made a covenant—a promise—that Abraham would be the father of a holy nation.

Exactly how would God bless the world through Israel? First, they would model a way of living that reflected the glory and goodness of God. And secondly, they would provide a lineage through whom Jesus Christ, the greatest global blessing, would be born. They were the curators and caretakers of God’s covenant to Abraham. For this reason they were to remain separate. Different. Holy. Set apart. And so are we. The assignment given to the Jews has been passed on to us.

Exodus 18

Jethro, priest of Midian and father-in-law to Moses, heard the report of all that God had done for Moses and Israel his people, the news that God had delivered Israel from Egypt. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah, Moses’ wife who had been sent back home, and her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (Sojourner) for he had said, “I’m a sojourner in a foreign land”; the name of the other was Eliezer (God’s-Help) because “The God of my father is my help and saved me from death by Pharaoh.”

5-6 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought Moses his sons and his wife there in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God. He had sent a message ahead to Moses: “I, your father-in-law, am coming to you with your wife and two sons.”

7-8 Moses went out to welcome his father-in-law. He bowed to him and kissed him. Each asked the other how things had been with him. Then they went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law the story of all that God had done to Pharaoh and Egypt in helping Israel, all the trouble they had experienced on the journey, and how God had delivered them.

9-11 Jethro was delighted in all the good that God had done for Israel in delivering them from Egyptian oppression. Jethro said, “Blessed be God who has delivered you from the power of Egypt and Pharaoh, who has delivered his people from the oppression of Egypt. Now I know that God is greater than all gods because he’s done this to all those who treated Israel arrogantly.”

12 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices to God. And Aaron, along with all the elders of Israel, came and ate the meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

13-14 The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?”

15-16 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up, they come to me. I judge between a man and his neighbor and teach them God’s laws and instructions.”

17-23 Moses’ father-in-law said, “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can’t do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They’ll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They’ll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they’ll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also.”

24-27 Moses listened to the counsel of his father-in-law and did everything he said. Moses picked competent men from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people who were organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They took over the everyday work of judging among the people. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but in the routine cases they were the judges. Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law who went home to his own country.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, October 11, 2021

Today's Scripture
2 Samuel 9:6–13
(NIV)

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.l

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.m I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.n”

8 Mephiboshetho bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dogp like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandsonq may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’sa table like one of the king’s sons.r

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.s 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

Insight

David made a covenant with his best friend Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:12–17) that even after Jonathan’s death, David would treat his family with covenantal love and unfailing kindness (Hebrew hesed, v. 14). Second Samuel 9:6–13 records how David, having become king, now fulfills that promise to Jonathan. As the heir to Saul’s throne, Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson, ought to have been killed under the new regime. Instead, David gave Mephibosheth all of Saul’s land and wealth and appointed servants to look after him. He even honored him as if he were a prince—one of David’s own sons. By: K. T. Sim

At the King’s Table

So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.
2 Samuel 9:11

“He’ll live,” the vet announced, “but his leg will have to be amputated.” The stray mongrel my friend had brought in had been run over by a car. “Are you the owner?” There would be a hefty surgery bill, and the puppy would need care as it recovered. “I am now,” my friend replied. Her kindness has given that dog a future in a loving home.

Mephibosheth saw himself as a “dead dog,” unworthy of favor (2 Samuel 9:8). Being lame in both feet due to an accident, he was dependent on others to protect and provide for him (see 4:4). Furthermore, after the death of his grandfather, King Saul, he probably feared that David, the new king, would order all enemies and rivals to the throne killed, as was the common practice of the time.

Yet, out of love for his friend Jonathan, David ensured that Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth would always be safe and cared for as his own son (9:7). In the same way, we who were once God’s enemies, marked for death, have been saved by Jesus and given a place with Him in heaven forever. That’s what it means to eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God that Luke describes in his gospel (Luke 14:15). Here we are—the sons and daughters of a King! What extravagant, undeserved kindness we’ve received! Let’s draw near to God in gratitude and joy. By:  Karen Kwek

Reflect & Pray

When are you likely to forget that God protects and cares for you? How could 2 Samuel 9:6–13 encourage you during such times?

Dear Jesus, thank You for saving me and giving me a place at Your table forever. Remind me that I’m Your dear child, and help me to always praise and trust You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 11, 2021
God’s Silence— Then What?

When He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. —John 11:6

Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35).

A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 37-38; Colossians 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 11, 2021

Brighter Skies Ahead - #9066

It was April in the mountains of the West, which means you can experience any or all of the four seasons in just one trip. We'd recently started our journey in warm temperatures, but by the time we hit that mountain pass, it started to snow - I mean the thick, big flakes kind of snow. You know what? Actually all of us started singing Christmas carols - even though it was just a few days before Easter. We were racing a deadline, so the snow was a mixed blessing. It was incredibly beautiful, but it was almost blinding at times, and it made our trip slower; it made it more treacherous. And then we saw it - this thin line of sunshine between the bottom of the snow clouds and the tops of the mountains ahead. We were excited because that was our future.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Brighter Skies Ahead."

It was tough driving, and the journey was getting more difficult and more dangerous. But we were okay with that because we knew there were brighter skies ahead. And soon we were actually basking in sunshine everywhere.

It could be that you're driving a stretch in your life-journey right now that's pretty rough. You're getting tired of how hard it is to keep moving. You're anxious about what could happen and you're wondering how long it's going to be like this. You need to see some sunshine. And there is some. I love this simple reassurance of Psalm 30:5. It's our word for today from the Word of God, where He says, "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." That's some sunshine, huh? The Bible never denies that we will have seasons of hurt then weeping, but God wants us to see the sun beneath the clouds ahead. It won't always be this way. He promises that. He says that after tears in the night, there will be joy in the morning.

My wife was driving when we hit that heavy snow in the mountains. But when she saw that line of sunlight ahead, she said, "If I knew I had to drive like this all night, it would be tough. But I know there's better road ahead." Well, that's God's guarantee for every child of His. Whenever I think I've got a heavy burden, it helps me to think about the load the Apostle Paul carried - shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, rejection, and death threats. I mean, major storms. That was one perilous journey.

But he said, "We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all." Paul calls all those painful times (did you notice?) "light and momentary" even though he's in the middle of some of that pain. He's comparing it to the sunshine ahead, knowing that compared to how good and how long the good times are going to be, this junk is light and momentary. So, he says, "we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Temporary. This too shall pass. And the day on the other side of this night is going to be awesome!

The difference is what you choose to fix your eyes on. If you focus on the storm you're in, you'll lose hope. You'll give up. But if you keep your eyes on the sun on the horizon - the rewards for your faithfulness, the deepening of your relationship with your Lord, the better thing God will give you in place of what you have lost - then there will be joy in the journey. So, keep on driving. Drive carefully. Look down the road at the beauty that's ahead. For just like us on that snowy, stormy day, you'll soon be celebrating a break in the clouds and a day that is flooded with glorious sunlight. No matter how dark it looks now, there are brighter skies ahead!

Exodus 17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:  The Land is Conquered

If we are co-heirs with Christ, why do we struggle through life? Our inheritance is perfect peace, yet we feel like a perfect mess. God promises to meet every need, yet we still worry and fret. Why? Perhaps no one ever told us about what Paul describes in Ephesians 1:19- "the exceeding greatness of His (God's) power toward us who believe." No one told us the land is already conquered. The gift has been given. Will you trust it? Joshua 1:3 is the reminder, "I made this offer to the people of Moses' day but they didn't take it. They chose the wilderness."
You are embedded with the presence of God. You can't break the habit, but God can. You can't control your temper, or sexual urges, but God can. You can say with confidence, "These days are Glory Days…God will get me through!"
Join me at GloryDaysToday.com.

Exodus 17

Directed by God, the whole company of Israel moved on by stages from the Wilderness of Sin. They set camp at Rephidim. And there wasn’t a drop of water for the people to drink. The people took Moses to task: “Give us water to drink.” But Moses said, “Why pester me? Why are you testing God?”

3 But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses, “Why did you take us from Egypt and drag us out here with our children and animals to die of thirst?”

4 Moses cried out in prayer to God, “What can I do with these people? Any minute now they’ll kill me!”

5-6 God said to Moses, “Go on out ahead of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile. And go. I’m going to be present before you there on the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock. Water will gush out of it and the people will drink.”

6-7 Moses did what he said, with the elders of Israel right there watching. He named the place Massah (Testing-Place) and Meribah (Quarreling) because of the quarreling of the Israelites and because of their testing of God when they said, “Is God here with us, or not?”

* * *

8-9 Amalek came and fought Israel at Rephidim. Moses ordered Joshua: “Select some men for us and go out and fight Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on top of the hill holding God’s staff.”

10-13 Joshua did what Moses ordered in order to fight Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. But Moses’ hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle.

14 God said to Moses, “Write this up as a reminder to Joshua, to keep it before him, because I will most certainly wipe the very memory of Amalek off the face of the Earth.”

15-16 Moses built an altar and named it “God My Banner.” He said,

Salute God’s rule!
God at war with Amalek
Always and forever!

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Today's Scripture
Romans 14:13–21
(NIV)

Therefore let us stop passing judgmentb on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.c 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.d But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.e 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.f Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.g 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.h 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,i but of righteousness, peacej and joy in the Holy Spirit,k 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.l

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peacem and to mutual edification.n 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.o All food is clean,p but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.q 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

Insight

Key to understanding today’s passage (Romans 14:13–21) is Paul’s statement in verse 1: “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.” What is meant by weak faith? In this context, Paul is talking about followers of Christ whose conscience required them to adhere to certain Jewish dietary laws. A “strong” Christian (15:1) understands that as believers in Christ saved by grace we’re not bound to the law. A person who insists on imposing their standards on others in these “disputable matters” is misguidedly judgmental. We’re never to insist that others give up their freedoms based on our personal convictions. By: Tim Gustafson

For Others’ Sake

All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
Romans 14:20

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Singaporeans stayed home to avoid being infected. But I blissfully continued swimming, believing it was safe.

My wife, however, feared that I might pick up an infection at the public pool and pass it on to her aged mother—who, like other seniors, was more vulnerable to the virus. “Can you just avoid swimming for some time, for my sake?” she asked.

At first, I wanted to argue that there was little risk. Then I realized that this mattered less than her feelings. Why would I insist on swimming—hardly an essential thing—when it made her worry unnecessarily?

In Romans 14, Paul addressed issues like whether believers in Christ should eat certain foods or celebrate certain festivals. He was concerned that some people were imposing their views on others.

Paul reminded the church in Rome, and us, that believers in Jesus may view situations differently. We also have diverse backgrounds that color our attitudes and practices. He wrote, “Let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister” (v. 13).

God’s grace gives us great freedom even as it helps us express His love to fellow believers. We can use that freedom to put the spiritual needs of others above our own convictions about rules and practices that don’t contradict the essential truths found in the gospel (v. 20). By:  Leslie Koh

Reflect & Pray

What are some of the rules and practices you keep as a believer in Christ? How might they affect other believers who think differently?

Jesus, give me the grace to give way on things that don’t contradict the gospel truth and the love to put the feelings of others above my own.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 10, 2021

How Will I Know?

Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father…that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes." —Matthew 11:25

We do not grow into a spiritual relationship step by step— we either have a relationship or we do not. God does not continue to cleanse us more and more from sin— “But if we walk in the light,” we are cleansed “from all sin” (1 John 1:7). It is a matter of obedience, and once we obey, the relationship is instantly perfected. But if we turn away from obedience for even one second, darkness and death are immediately at work again.

All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. Let God’s truth work into you by immersing yourself in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know the truth of God is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you. You could read volumes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things as clear as sunlight. Don’t say, “I suppose I will understand these things someday!” You can understand them now. And it is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours. Yet God will never reveal more truth about Himself to you, until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming one of the “wise and prudent.” “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…” (John 7:17).

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: Isaiah 34-36; Colossians 2