Exodus 30, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Troubles Come with Life - October 29, 2021

How do we survive the bitterly cold winds of life? When the account has no cash. When the marriage has no joy. When the crib is empty or the grave is occupied. Well Scripture offers a couple of starchy observations.

First, no one gets a free pass. Trouble knocks at the door of us all. Someone needs that reminder. Someone has been led to believe that the Christian life is a yellow-brick road. Consequently, when the inevitable bad stuff happens, the person is forced to face the tough questions about a God who didn’t keep his promises. To which God says, “Well I never made those promises.” God did promise, in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble.” Troubles come with life. We gain nothing by pretending they don’t.

No one gets a free pass, but we can believe this: one way or another, relief and deliverance will come.

Exodus 30

The Altar of Incense

“Make an Altar for burning incense. Construct it from acacia wood, one and one-half feet square and three feet high with its horns of one piece with it. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold, its top, sides, and horns, and make a gold molding around it with two rings of gold beneath the molding. Place the rings on the two opposing sides to serve as holders for poles by which it will be carried. Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold.

6-10 “Place the Altar in front of the curtain that hides the Chest of The Testimony, in front of the Atonement-Cover that is over The Testimony where I will meet you. Aaron will burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he polishes the lamps, and again in the evening as he prepares the lamps for lighting, so that there will always be incense burning before God, generation after generation. But don’t burn on this Altar any unholy incense or Whole-Burnt-Offering or Grain-Offering. And don’t pour out Drink-Offerings on it. Once a year Aaron is to purify the Altar horns. Using the blood of the Absolution-Offering of atonement, he is to make this atonement every year down through the generations. It is most holy to God.”
The Atonement-Tax

11-16 God spoke to Moses: “When you take a head count of the Israelites to keep track of them, all must pay an atonement-tax to God for their life at the time of being registered so that nothing bad will happen because of the registration. Everyone who gets counted is to give a half-shekel (using the standard Sanctuary shekel of a fifth of an ounce to the shekel)—a half-shekel offering to God. Everyone counted, age twenty and up, is to make the offering to God. The rich are not to pay more nor the poor less than the half-shekel offering to God, the atonement-tax for your lives. Take the atonement-tax money from the Israelites and put it to the maintenance of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial fund for the Israelites in honor of God, making atonement for your lives.”
The Washbasin

17-21 God spoke to Moses: “Make a bronze Washbasin; make it with a bronze base. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar. Put water in it. Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet in it. When they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the Altar to serve there or offer gift offerings to God, they are to wash so they will not die. They are to wash their hands and their feet so they will not die. This is the rule forever, for Aaron and his sons down through the generations.”
Holy Anointing Oil

22-25 God spoke to Moses: “Take the best spices: twelve and a half pounds of liquid myrrh; half that much, six and a quarter pounds, of fragrant cinnamon; six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane; twelve and a half pounds of cassia—using the standard Sanctuary weight for all of them—and a gallon of olive oil. Make these into a holy anointing oil, a perfumer’s skillful blend.

26-29 “Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Chest of The Testimony, the Table and all its utensils, the Lampstand and its utensils, the Altar of Incense, the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offerings and all its utensils, and the Washbasin and its base. Dedicate them so they’ll be soaked in holiness, so that anyone who so much as touches them will become holy.

30-33 “Then anoint Aaron and his sons. Consecrate them as priests to me. Tell the Israelites, ‘This will be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.’ Don’t pour it on ordinary men. Don’t copy this mixture to use for yourselves. It’s holy; keep it holy. Whoever mixes up anything like it, or puts it on an ordinary person, will be exiled.”
Holy Incense

34-38 God spoke to Moses: “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, galbanum—and add pure frankincense. Mix the spices in equal proportions to make an aromatic incense, the art of a perfumer, salted and pure—holy. Now crush some of it into powder and place some of it before The Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will meet with you; it will be for you the holiest of holy places. When you make this incense, you are not to copy the mixture for your own use. It’s holy to God; keep it that way. Whoever copies it for personal use will be excommunicated.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, October 29, 2021
Today's Scripture
Zephaniah 3:14–17
(NIV)

Sing, Daughter Zion;j

shout aloud,k Israel!

Be glad and rejoicel with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;m

never again will you fearn any harm.o

16 On that day

they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.p

17 The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.q

He will take great delightr in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,s

but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Insight

While the book of Zephaniah (which means “the Lord hides/conceals”) ends on a note of joy and singing in view of God’s restoration (Zephaniah 3:14–20), the bulk of the book records God’s judgment on Judah and the nations. “The day of the Lord” is the primary theme (1:2–3:8). This term refers to a day when God settles accounts with those who oppose Him (a day of judgment) and rewards the remnant of faithful followers (a day of deliverance/salvation). Indeed, “the Mighty Warrior who saves [and] will take great delight in you” (3:17) is also “the Mighty Warrior [who] shouts his battle cry” (1:14). The sovereign God of all the earth has the right to call the nations into account. By: Arthur Jackson

God Sings Over You

[God] will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

Seventeen months after our first child—a boy—was born, along came a little girl. I was overjoyed at the thought of having a daughter, but I was also a bit uneasy because while I knew a few things about little boys, this was uncharted territory. We named her Sarah, and one of my privileges was rocking her to sleep so my wife could rest. I’m not sure why, but I started trying to sing her to sleep, and the song of choice was “You Are My Sunshine.” Whether holding her in my arms or standing above her in her crib, I quite literally sang over her, and loved every minute of it. She’s in her twenties now, and I still call her Sunshine.

We usually think about angels singing. But when was the last time you thought about God singing? That’s right—God singing. And furthermore, when was the last time you thought about Him singing over you? Zephaniah is clear in his message to Jerusalem: “The Lord your God” takes great delight in you, so much so that He “rejoice[s] over you with singing” (3:17). Although this message speaks directly to Jerusalem, it’s likely God sings over us—those who have received Jesus as Savior—too! What song does He sing? Well, Scripture’s not clear on that. But the song is born out of His love, so we can trust it’s true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable (Philippians 4:8). By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

What feelings are stirred when you consider God singing over you? Is that something unbelievable or something comforting? Why?

Good Father, the thought that You would sing over me in joy is such an assurance and comfort. Thank You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 29, 2021
Substitution

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. —2 Corinthians 5:21

The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made…to be sin….” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9, where Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” was spoken to His disciples.

That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15)— not, “He died my death”— and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold— “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see Galatians 4:19).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Both nations and individuals have tried Christianity and abandoned it, because it has been found too difficult; but no man has ever gone through the crisis of deliberately making Jesus Lord and found Him to be a failure. The Love of God—The Making of a Christian, 680 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 18-19; 2 Timothy 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 29, 2021

Slowly, But Surely, Submerged - #9080

There's this one restaurant in our area that offers more than food - it offers some unique live entertainment - at this one table. See, it's pretty much in the center of the restaurant where everyone can see. Several unsuspecting diners are sitting at this round table, just minding their own business, eating their meal - as the table starts to rise very, very slowly. So slowly that no one seems to even notice that their food is getting closer to their mouth and that their fork is making a shorter and shorter trip each time. The last time we were there, the diners were chattering and eating away as the table rose nearly to eye level. And then, and only then, did someone begin to realize that they were having to lower their fork to get the food to their mouth!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Slowly, But Surely, Submerged."

It's amazing but true - when a change is gradual, you hardly even notice. Until it's up to your eyes! Satan, who is God's enemy and your enemy; he's counting on that being true in your life. He knows you won't fall for a blatant temptation to do something obviously sinful. That's OK with him. For now, he'll settle with just a small, seemingly harmless, step in that direction. Because he knows that step will lead to another, and another - and ultimately to spiritual disaster you can't even imagine now. He'll destroy you not by explosion, but by erosion.

I love the way the Bible includes real-life stories that help us picture a concept we might otherwise miss. When it comes to the slow but sure takeover of sin and its consequences, the story of Samson just about says it all. Here is a man specially called and gifted by God with personal magnetism, supernatural strength, and spiritual leadership. This man, feared by the Jews' bitter enemies, the Philistines, ends up as their blind and helpless slave, pushing a grinding wheel in prison. Did this happen suddenly? Oh, of course not. Samson wouldn't have fallen for that. It happened one little compromise at a time. Just like the devil is planning to have it happen to you.

According to the Book of Judges, Samson's weakness was women. So, he sees a pagan Philistine woman who looks good to him and he proceeds to marry her - out of God's bounds. When the Philistines want information from Samson, they convince his wife to coax him into telling. The Bible says, "She threw herself on him, sobbing" and he "finally told her."

Well, Samson's next woman is a prostitute, and he's almost trapped by the Philistines while he's with her. Then along comes another woman working with the Philistines named Delilah. They bribe her to find out what the secret of Samson's strength is, which is his hair. Three attempts fail, but the Bible says, "With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death" (Judges 16:16). He tells her his secret, he loses his source of strength, and the Philistines have him.

Now our word for today from the Word of God in James 1:15: "After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." Sin always kills, so stop it when it's small. Maybe you've been falling for Satan's slow but sure seduction. "Just a little"... "just this once"... "everybody else is"... "it's not that bad"... "you deserve it"... "you need it"... "no one will know." One little compromise - to start taking you where you think you will never end up.

You've got to stop that killer strategy with the first look, the first date, the first lie, the first flirtation, the first thoughts of divorce, the first detour from God's Word. This is going to take you where you don't want to go - unless you stop it now. Before today's compromise gives birth to tomorrow's tragedy, run from it.

Exodus 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Call to Courage - October 28, 2021

When Mordecai learned that the Persian king had issued a decree to kill the Jews, he urged Esther to reach out to the king. Esther reminded Mordecai that if she went in to the throne room uninvited, the king could have her head. Mordecai responded with the greatest one paragraph call to courage ever spoken by a human tongue.

He said “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13–14).

Mordecai knew this: relief will come. What he said to Esther, God says to you: you were made for this moment.

Exodus 29-
Consecration of Priests

“This is the ceremony for dedicating them as priests. Take a young bull and two rams, healthy and without defects. Using fine wheat flour but no yeast make bread and cakes mixed with oil and wafers spread with oil. Place them in a basket and carry them along with the bull and the two rams. Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

5-9 “Then take the vestments and dress Aaron in the tunic, the robe of the Ephod, the Ephod, and the Breastpiece, belting the Ephod on him with the embroidered waistband. Set the turban on his head and place the sacred crown on the turban. Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, anointing him. Then bring his sons, put tunics on them and gird them with sashes, both Aaron and his sons, and set hats on them. Their priesthood is upheld by law and is permanent.

9-14 “This is how you will ordain Aaron and his sons: Bring the bull to the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons will place their hands on the head of the bull. Then you will slaughter the bull in the presence of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Take some of the bull’s blood and smear it on the horns of the Altar with your finger; pour the rest of the blood on the base of the Altar. Next take all the fat that covers the innards, fat from around the liver and the two kidneys, and burn it on the Altar. But the flesh of the bull, including its hide and dung, you will burn up outside the camp. It is an Absolution-Offering.

15-18 “Then take one of the rams. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on the head of the ram. Slaughter the ram and take its blood and throw it against the Altar, all around. Cut the ram into pieces; wash its innards and legs, then gather the pieces and its head and burn the whole ram on the Altar. It is a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God, a pleasant fragrance, an offering by fire to God.

19-21 “Then take the second ram. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on the ram’s head. Slaughter the ram. Take some of its blood and rub it on Aaron’s right earlobe and on the right earlobes of his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the rest of the blood against all sides of the Altar. Then take some of the blood that is on the Altar, mix it with some of the anointing oil, and splash it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes so that Aaron and his clothes and his sons and his sons’ clothes will be made holy.

22-23 “Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh: this is the ordination ram. Also take one loaf of bread, an oil cake, and a wafer from the breadbasket that is in the presence of God.

24-25 “Place all of these in the open hands of Aaron and his sons who will wave them before God, a Wave-Offering. Then take them from their hands and burn them on the Altar with the Whole-Burnt-Offering—a pleasing fragrance before God, a gift to God.

26 “Now take the breast from Aaron’s ordination ram and wave it before God, a Wave-Offering. That will be your portion.

27-28 “Bless the Wave-Offering breast and the thigh that was held up. These are the parts of the ordination ram that are for Aaron and his sons. Aaron and his sons are always to get this offering from the Israelites; the Israelites are to make this offering regularly from their Peace-Offerings.

29-30 “Aaron’s sacred garments are to be handed down to his descendants so they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest is to wear them for seven days and enter the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

31-34 “Take the ordination ram and boil the meat in the Holy Place. At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons will eat the boiled ram and the bread that is in the basket. Atoned by these offerings, ordained and hallowed by them, they are the only ones who are to eat them. No outsiders are to eat them; they’re holy. Anything from the ordination ram or from the bread that is left over until morning you are to burn up. Don’t eat it; it’s holy.

35-37 “Do everything for the ordination of Aaron and his sons exactly as I’ve commanded you throughout the seven days. Offer a bull as an Absolution-Offering for atonement each day. Offer it on the Altar when you make atonement for it: Anoint and hallow it. Make atonement for the Altar and hallow it for seven days; the Altar will become soaked in holiness—anyone who so much as touches the Altar will become holy.

38-41 “This is what you are to offer on the Altar: two year-old lambs each and every day, one lamb in the morning and the second lamb at evening. With the sacrifice of the first lamb offer two quarts of fine flour with a quart of virgin olive oil, plus a quart of wine for a Drink-Offering. The sacrifice of the second lamb, the one at evening, is also to be accompanied by the same Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering of the morning sacrifice to give a pleasing fragrance, a gift to God.

42-46 “This is to be your regular, daily Whole-Burnt-Offering before God, generation after generation, sacrificed at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. That’s where I’ll meet you; that’s where I’ll speak with you; that’s where I’ll meet the Israelites, at the place made holy by my Glory. I’ll make the Tent of Meeting and the Altar holy. I’ll make Aaron and his sons holy in order to serve me as priests. I’ll move in and live with the Israelites. I’ll be their God. They’ll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am God, your God.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Today's Scripture
1 John 5:13–15
(NIV)

Concluding Affirmations

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of Godi so that you may know that you have eternal life.j 14 This is the confidencek we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.l 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we knowm that we have what we asked of him.

Insight

In 1 John 5:14–15, we find a conditional promise for answered prayer: God hears our prayers and gives us what we ask for when “we ask anything according to his will.” To pray according to God’s will is to “ask for anything that pleases him” (nlt) or “in accord with his own plan” (J. B. Phillips). The psalmist, painfully aware that God’s promise of answered prayer is conditioned upon a right relationship with Him, cautioned, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). The apostle James warns that God won’t give us what we pray for when we “ask with wrong motives, that [we] may spend what [we] get on [our] pleasures” (James 4:3). A right relationship with Jesus is required: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). By: K. T. Sim

Is God Listening?

If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
1 John 5:14

When I served on my church’s congregational care team, one of my duties was to pray over the requests penciled on pew cards during the services. For an aunt’s health. For a couple’s finances. For a grandson’s discovery of God. Rarely did I hear the results of these prayers. Most were anonymous, and I had no way of knowing how God had responded. I confess that at times I wondered, Was He really listening? Was anything happening as a result of my prayers?

Over our lifetimes, most of us question, “Does God hear me?” I remember my own Hannah-like pleas for a child that went unanswered for years. And there were my pleas that my father find faith, yet he died without any apparent confession.

Etched across the millennia are myriad instances of God’s ear bending to listen: to Israel’s groans under slavery (Exodus 2:24); to Moses on Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 9:19); to Joshua at Gilgal (Joshua 10:14); to Hannah’s prayers for a child (1 Samuel 1:10–17); to David crying out for deliverance from Saul (2 Samuel 22:7).

First John 5:14 crescendos, “If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” The word for “hears” means to pay attention and to respond on the basis of having heard.

As we go to God today, may we have the confidence of His listening ear spanning the history of His people. He hears our pleas. By:  Elisa Morgan

Reflect & Pray

Pause to consider what you’ve most recently asked of God. What motivated you to ask? How can you know that God hears you?

Father, I come asking and trusting You to hear me because You say that You do.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 28, 2021

Justification by Faith

If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. —Romans 5:10

I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.

The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

It is in the middle that human choices are made; the beginning and the end remain with God. The decrees of God are birth and death, and in between those limits man makes his own distress or joy.  Shade of His Hand, 1223 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 15-17; 2 Timothy 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 28, 2021

Escaping the Flood, Or Not - #9079

I think I still remember one line of poetry from high school, "Water, water everywhere." Well, you know what? For lots of folks during the spring, that isn't poetry. It's their town, their neighborhood, their house. Rivers overflowing, backing up into every creek and stream. It can be a mess.

When my wife hears the word "flood," she actually feels something inside. Because the defining event for the town she grew up in was the flood that turned a quiet creek into a raging torrent - actually a deadly torrent. Those who lived it, like she did, will never forget it.

The saddest part of the story is the people who died, because well, they didn't have to. As those flash floods cascaded down from the mountains toward their town, rescuers came by a house in a boat to warn the people there and take them to safety. But they chose to ignore the warning. You know what they said? "Aw, we've been OK here for years. We're not leaving now." Their bodies were found days later, and miles away.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Escaping the Flood, Or Not."

You know, God grieves over people like that. Actually, I do, too. People who've been warned that there's danger, even death coming. People who have a rescuer at their door and think they can make it on their own and they die, when they could have lived...forever.

Our word today from the Word of God is in Deuteronomy 30:19. God pleads with us, "I have set before you life and death...choose life." Now, that "life" is a person - His Son. Here's the Bible again, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (1 John 5:11). The judgment of God for us hijacking our life from Him is racing our direction. The Bible says, "God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing" (Ecclesiastes 12:14). But there's a rescuer at the door. It's Jesus.

He says, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). He can take us to safety because He did all the dying for all our sinning when He hung on that cross.

Now, maybe you've never realized that that is what Jesus did for you. Maybe you've never realized that what Jesus did was for you. Maybe you've never made your way in your heart to that cross and said those two eternity-changing words, "For me. Lord Jesus, what you were doing there was for me." Maybe you've been around this a lot and you've heard His knocking more times than you can count. You've just never opened the door. You've continued to put it off.

See, either way, whether you've never known this before or you've heard it all your life, it's important. It's eternally important that you answer the door and let Jesus save you. The Bible cries out, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart" (Hebrews 4:7).

It could be that there's a tug in your heart today. You're hearing the voice of Jesus. You're hearing the knock of the Rescuer at your door saying, "Judgment is coming. The flood is coming, but you don't have to be taken by it. I took your punishment for you." He took all the flood of all of God's judgment on Himself at that cross. And I'd say to you as you hear this that the more times you have heard His voice and done nothing, the harder your heart becomes. And that is the edge of an abyss that no one should risk.

If you're hearing His voice today, listen to what God said. Obey His command, "Do not harden your heart." Open your heart to hear Jesus today, to the Savior who died for you. What a tragedy if you would go on and pay for all eternity for what He already paid for on the cross.

Right now you could say to Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." And if that's where your heart is, I'd encourage you to get to our website. I've done everything I could there to explain in plain words, with God's Word out of the Bible, how you can begin your relationship with Jesus and know you have. That website is ANewStory.com.

If you've never gotten into the boat with Jesus, God's Rescuer, I beg you to do that today. The flood is coming, and you won't make it without Him.

Mark 1:23-45, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: Decide Now - October 26, 2021

Resistance matters. Long after acts of compliance are forgotten, acts of courage are pondered. In the story of Esther, Mordecai refused to bow before evil Haman. And his refusal to bow was the first link in a chain of courageous acts that led to the salvation of his people. Your resolve might be the decisive gesture that breaks the stronghold.

So decide now what you will do then. Don’t wait until the heat of the moment. A crisis is no time to prepare an escape plan. Being in the arms of your date in a motel room is not the time or place to make up your mind about morality. There is a reason the airline attendant points out the emergency exits before the plane leaves the ground. We do not think clearly during a free fall. The time to determine to resist temptation is before it strikes. May you take a stand for what is right.

Mark 1:23-45

Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out, “What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to! You’re the Holy One of God, and you’ve come to destroy us!”

25-26 Jesus shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly—and got out.

27-28 Everyone there was spellbound, buzzing with curiosity. “What’s going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and tells them to get lost!” News of this traveled fast and was soon all over Galilee.

29-31 Directly on leaving the meeting place, they came to Simon and Andrew’s house, accompanied by James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed, burning up with fever. They told Jesus. He went to her, took her hand, and raised her up. No sooner had the fever left than she was up fixing dinner for them.

32-34 That evening, after the sun was down, they brought sick and evil-afflicted people to him, the whole city lined up at his door! He cured their sick bodies and tormented spirits. Because the demons knew his true identity, he didn’t let them say a word.
The Leper

35-37 While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed. Simon and those with him went looking for him. They found him and said, “Everybody’s looking for you.”

38-39 Jesus said, “Let’s go to the rest of the villages so I can preach there also. This is why I’ve come.” He went to their meeting places all through Galilee, preaching and throwing out the demons.

40 A leper came to him, begging on his knees, “If you want to, you can cleanse me.”

41-45 Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there the leprosy was gone, his skin smooth and healthy. Jesus dismissed him with strict orders: “Say nothing to anyone. Take the offering for cleansing that Moses prescribed and present yourself to the priest. This will validate your healing to the people.” But as soon as the man was out of earshot, he told everyone he met what had happened, spreading the news all over town. So Jesus kept to out-of-the-way places, no longer able to move freely in and out of the city. But people found him, and came from all over.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Today's Scripture
Job 42:1–9
(NIV)

Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do all things;d

no purpose of yours can be thwarted.e

3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’f

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.g

4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.’h

5 My ears had heard of youi

but now my eyes have seen you.j

6 Therefore I despise myselfk

and repentl in dust and ashes.”m

Epilogue

7 After the Lord had said these things to Jobn, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends,o because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.p 8 So now take seven bulls and seven ramsq and go to my servant Jobr and sacrifice a burnt offerings for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayert and not deal with you according to your folly.u You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”v 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathitew did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

Insight

After encountering God face to face, Job finds his anger and questions fading, and even describes himself repenting “in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). Yet God doesn’t rebuke Job for his questions and in fact suggests that in his grief and pain he was closer to the truth than his friends. In their quickness to defend what they saw as an attack on God, Job’s friends spoke arrogantly and without compassion. They preferred to blame Job for his pain than to have their ideas about God challenged—such as God always protecting the righteous from genuine tragedy. Ironically, in their hurry to defend Him, they “had not spoken the truth about [Him],” while Job had spoken honestly (v. 7). God’s approval of Job reveals that God doesn’t want us to suppress our pain, anger, and hard questions but deeply values genuine, honest relationship with Him. By: Monica La Rose

A Purpose in Suffering

I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.
Job 42:7

“So what you’re saying is, it may not be my fault.” The woman’s words took me by surprise. Having been a guest speaker at her church, we were now discussing what I’d shared that morning. “I have a chronic illness,” she explained, “and I have prayed, fasted, confessed my sins, and done everything else I was told to do to be healed. But I’m still sick, so I thought I was to blame.”

I felt sad at the woman’s confession. Having been given a spiritual “formula” to fix her problem, she had blamed herself when the formula hadn’t worked. Even worse, this formulaic approach to suffering was disproved generations ago.

Simply put, this old formula says that if you’re suffering, you must have sinned. When Job tragically lost his livestock, children, and health, his friends used the formula on him. “Who, being innocent, has ever perished?” Eliphaz said, suspecting Job’s guilt (Job 4:7). Bildad even told Job that his children only died because they had sinned (8:4). Ignorant of the real cause of Job’s calamities (1:6–2:10), they tormented him with simplistic reasons for his pain, later receiving God’s rebuke (42:7).

Suffering is a part of living in a fallen world. Like Job, it can happen for reasons we may never know. But God has a purpose for you that goes beyond the pain you endure. Don’t get discouraged by falling for simplistic formulas. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

How else do you see the “suffering = sin” formula being used? Why do you think it’s still so prevalent?

Great Physician, give me words to heal, not hurt, in times of pain.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

The Method of Missions

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… —Matthew 28:19

Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go…make disciples of all the nations….” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.

The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me….Go therefore…” (Matthew 28:18-19).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them.  Biblical Psychology, 189 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 12-14; 2 Timothy 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

The Problem with Bible Clubs - #9078

A Bible is pretty versatile. It can be a file. Did you ever notice how much people stick in their Bible? I look at mine sometimes, and I find a number of things in there I don't want to lose. Unfortunately it does hurt the binding a little bit. Sometimes the Bible can be a record book. You see these Bibles where people put important dates, their family tree, weddings, deaths, and the autographs of people whose ministry they want to remember.

A Bible can be an antique. You can go into an antique store and drop quite a few bucks getting one of those old Bibles. And a Bible is a great gift. I've gotten several as a gift. A Bible can be your identification. I used to carry mine to school. My kids carried theirs to school; it sort of identifies you as a follower of Christ. And at some times in my life the Bible's been a textbook. Oh yeah, there are a lot of ways you can use your Bible. There's one I hope you never use.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Problem with Bible Clubs."

Our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Timothy 4:2 - "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." This is a call, I think, to Bible balance. First of all, Paul is saying, "Use God's Word to help people know what's right; that's correct. To warn them about what they're doing wrong; that's rebuke. And to encourage them in what they're doing right. Use this book boldly to change people's lives. That's certainly part of it.

Here's the other part: Do it gently, do it patiently, do it carefully. Don't use the Bible as a club! You can use it for a lot of things, but not as a club to win an argument, or to beat a person down, or shame them, or corner them. I know it's good to have some Bible clubs where kids meet to study the Bible around the school. I did that in high school. But don't use the Bible as a club. Too many people use the words of the Bible but they lose the spirit of the Bible while they're doing it.

Ephesians 4:15 is the perfect balance, "Speaking the truth in love." The problem is that often the truth bearers leave out the love, and the lovers leave out the truth. It's important to be sure that you measure everything you believe and behave by God's Word. There is no room for, "Well, in my opinion..." Or, "I don't feel like it..." Or, "It doesn't seem right to me." Or, "I just read this great Christian book and it says..." No, show me what the Bible says. God has spoken - the final word.

It's important to remind each other of what the Bible says about how we're living. But it's important to be gentle, non-condemning and patient like God has been with you. We want to make sure that when we're communicating the truth, we're also communicating, "I care about you. That's why I'm doing this. That's why I'm giving you what the Bible says, to correct, or to rebuke or encourage. I want God's best in your life. You're made for more. You're better than this." Not, "I'm sitting in judgment, and here are my verses."

Hebrews 4:12 says, "The Bible penetrates between soul and spirit." It's a sword that does that; it judges. We don't judge, God's Word judges. So let God's Word do the judging. Share it and then let it do the penetrating work God has promised.

Use God's Word to love people with the truth. Don't use it as a club.

Exodus 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Decide Now - October 26, 2021

Resistance matters. Long after acts of compliance are forgotten, acts of courage are pondered. In the story of Esther, Mordecai refused to bow before evil Haman. And his refusal to bow was the first link in a chain of courageous acts that led to the salvation of his people. Your resolve might be the decisive gesture that breaks the stronghold.

So decide now what you will do then. Don’t wait until the heat of the moment. A crisis is no time to prepare an escape plan. Being in the arms of your date in a motel room is not the time or place to make up your mind about morality. There is a reason the airline attendant points out the emergency exits before the plane leaves the ground. We do not think clearly during a free fall. The time to determine to resist temptation is before it strikes. May you take a stand for what is right.

Exodus 28

The Vestments

 “Get your brother Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites to serve me as priests: Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamar. Make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron to symbolize glory and beauty. Consult with the skilled craftsmen, those whom I have gifted in this work, and arrange for them to make Aaron’s vestments, to set him apart as holy, to act as priest for me. These are the articles of clothing they are to make: Breastpiece, Ephod, robe, woven tunic, turban, sash. They are making holy vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons as they work as priests for me. They will need gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine linen.
The Ephod

6-14 “Have the Ephod made from gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine twisted linen by a skilled craftsman. Give it two shoulder pieces at two of the corners so it can be fastened. The decorated band on it is to be just like it and of one piece with it: made of gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and of fine twisted linen. Next take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them in the order of their birth, six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a jeweler engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in settings of filigreed gold. Fasten the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod—they are memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will wear these names on his shoulders as a memorial before God. Make the settings of gold filigree. Make two chains of pure gold and braid them like cords, then attach the corded chains to the settings.
The Breastpiece

15-20 “Now make a Breastpiece of Judgment, using skilled craftsmen, the same as with the Ephod. Use gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine twisted linen. Make it nine inches square and folded double. Mount four rows of precious gemstones on it.

    First row: carnelian, topaz, emerald.
    Second row: ruby, sapphire, crystal.
    Third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst.
    Fourth row: beryl, onyx, jasper.

20-21 “Set them in gold filigree. The twelve stones correspond to the names of the Israelites, with twelve names engraved, one on each, as on a seal for the twelve tribes.

22-28 “Then make braided chains of pure gold for the Breastpiece, like cords. Make two rings of gold for the Breastpiece and fasten them to the two ends. Fasten the two golden cords to the rings at the ends of the Breastpiece. Then fasten the other ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the Ephod in front. Then make two rings of gold and fasten them to the two ends of the Breastpiece on its inside edge facing the Ephod. Then make two more rings of gold and fasten them in the front of the Ephod to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces, near the seam above the decorated band. Fasten the Breastpiece in place by running a cord of blue through its rings to the rings of the Ephod so that it rests secure on the decorated band of the Ephod and won’t come loose.

29-30 “Aaron will regularly carry the names of the sons of Israel on the Breastpiece of Judgment over his heart as he enters the Sanctuary into the presence of God for remembrance. Place the Urim and Thummim in the Breastpiece of Judgment. They will be over Aaron’s heart when he enters the presence of God. In this way Aaron will regularly carry the Breastpiece of Judgment into the presence of God.
The Robe

31-35 “Make the robe for the Ephod entirely of blue, with an opening for the head at the center and a hem on the edge so that it won’t tear. For the edge of the skirts make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material all around and alternate them with bells of gold—gold bell and pomegranate, gold bell and pomegranate—all around the hem of the robe. Aaron has to wear it when he does his priestly work. The bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place and comes into the presence of God, and again when he comes out so that he won’t die.
The Turban, Tunic, Underwear

36-38 “Make a plate of pure gold. Engrave on it as on a seal: ‘Holy to God.’ Tie it with a blue cord to the front of the turban. It is to rest there on Aaron’s forehead. He’ll take on any guilt involved in the sacred offerings that the Israelites dedicate, no matter what they bring. It will always be on Aaron’s forehead so that the offerings will be acceptable before God.

39-41 “Weave the tunic of fine linen. Make the turban of fine linen. The sash will be the work of an embroiderer. Make tunics, sashes, and hats for Aaron’s sons to express glory and beauty. Dress your brother Aaron and his sons in them. Anoint, ordain, and dedicate them to serve me as priests.

42-43 “Make linen underwear to cover their nakedness from waist to thigh. Aaron and his sons must wear it whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the Altar to minister in the Holy Place so that they won’t incur guilt and die. This is a permanent rule for Aaron and all his priest-descendants.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Today's Scripture
Romans 1:1–6
(NIV)

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostlea and set apartb for the gospel of Godc—2 the gospel he promised beforehandd through his prophetse in the Holy Scripturesf 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly lifea g was a descendant of David,h 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in powerb i by his resurrection from the dead:j Jesus Christ our Lord.k 5 Through him we received gracel and apostleship to call all the Gentilesm to the obedience that comes fromc faithn for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

Insight

Paul wrote to the Roman church during his three-month stay in Corinth at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:2–3). Telling them of his proposed visit and soliciting support for his future work in Spain (Romans 1:10–13, 15; 15:23–24, 28–29), he explained the theological foundation of the gospel (chs. 1–8). In chapters 1–3, Paul set out to show that all human beings are sinners, concluding that “all have sinned and fall short” of God’s standards (3:23). We aren’t saved by obeying the law but by God’s action of justifying us through faith in Jesus (1:16–17; 3:22–26). We’re justified (declared righteous and made right with God) by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide), and in Christ alone (solus Christus). By: K. T. Sim

Set Apart

Paul was . . . set apart for the gospel of God.
Romans 1:1

The three-wheeled taxis of Sri Lanka, known as “tuk tuks,” are a convenient and delightful mode of transport for many. Lorraine, a resident of the capital of Colombo, also realized that they’re a mission field. Hopping onto a tuk tuk one day, she found the friendly driver more than happy to engage in conversation about religion. The next time, she told herself, she would talk to the driver about the good news.

The book of Romans starts with Paul declaring himself as “set apart for the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). The Greek word for “gospel” is evangelion, which means “good news.” Paul was essentially saying that his main purpose was to tell God’s good news.

What is this good news? Romans 1:3 says that the gospel of God is “regarding his Son.” The good news is Jesus! It’s God who wants to tell the world that Jesus came to save us from sin and death, and He’s chosen us to be His mode of communication. What a humbling fact!

Sharing the good news is a privilege all believers in Jesus have been given. We’ve “received grace” to call others to this faith (vv. 5–6). God has set us apart to carry the exciting news of the gospel to those around us, whether on tuk tuks or wherever we are. May we, like Lorraine, look for opportunities in our daily life to tell others the good news that is Jesus.By:  Asiri Fernando

Reflect & Pray

What barriers do you experience in sharing your faith? What talents or interests can you use to present the good news?

Jesus, thank You for making me Your mouthpiece for Your good news. May Your Spirit give me the courage and love to share about You today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 26, 2021

What is a Missionary?

Jesus said to them again, "…As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." —John 20:21

A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19).

When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, “What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!” But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 9-11; 1 Timothy 6

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 26, 2021

How a Girl Becomes a Princess - #9077

You know, there's something about a princess. I know our granddaughters growing up, boy they sure thought so. They got princess everything, the dolls, the sheets, the tiaras. We probably got most of them for them. You get the picture. But, you know, our granddaughters weren't that unusual. So many little girls, from lots of generations, have grown up with dreams of being a princess. And look! What's at the center of Disney World's Fantasyland when you go there? Well, of course, Cinderella's Castle.

You know, in past years, much of the world was enthralled when a "commoner" became a royal princess. In that sea of people that were in London for that royal wedding, the camera spotted one lady with a sign that simply said, "It should have been me." I smiled and then I thought, "How many girls, even the ones who are all grown up, wish the princess thing was more than a fantasy?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How a Girl Becomes A Princess."

You know, sadly, so many women have been treated like anything but a princess. They've been betrayed, used, abused, excluded, diminished. In a word, undervalued. Maybe you know some of those feelings. Princess dreams go down in flames when the men around you are less than men. Or when those air-brushed images of beauty in our world make you feel like anything but special. And yet, there are many women who may never wear a crown, but who have discovered how a woman becomes a true princess.

When the Royal Wedding was about to take place, I was on a live radio call-in show, talking about it. One lady called in to express her fascination with what was then the wedding of Prince William and Kate (of course now, more properly, Katherine). What was different, though, was the reason for her fascination. She said, "I love this because I know I'm a princess because of Jesus."

Woah! She's right! Our word for today from the word of God, 2 Corinthians 6:18, the Bible says, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Now look! If you're a daughter of the "Lord Almighty," you are a princess, because what makes a girl a princess is her relationship with the King.

And the King of all kings has made it clear how a person becomes part of His Royal Family. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says, "To all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). I find that amazing, because God is sinless, God's holy. We're sinners. We're all guilty of dishonoring Him and disobeying Him in so many ways. We've disqualified ourselves from being His child.

But Jesus changed all that. God loved us so much that He didn't want to lose us. The Bible says, "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world...as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). And the Bible goes on to say, "and they crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). God's Son, the Lord of glory, died for me and for you. There's no greater love story on this planet.

And God says when we open up our life to Jesus as our only hope, we get born into His family. This birthday could be today for you; the day you are born into God's family. There ought to be a time you can know for sure that you've begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That you have personally appropriated what He died on the cross to give you; when He walked out of His grave to prove that He can give it to you.

Right now He's ready to walk into your life at your invitation and begin the greatest love relationship of your life and of all eternity. You just tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours. I'm done running my life. I believe You died for me. I believe You're alive and I want You to come into my life and be the center of it beginning today."

We've got a website that's all about helping you get there. You can go there today. It's ANewStory.com. I hope you get there today.

You can become a son of the King, a daughter of the King, because of your personal relationship, beginning today, with the King of the universe.

Exodus 27 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Stand Up and Stand Out - October 25, 2021

Can we talk honestly for a moment? You are weary, wounded, and worried. Weary of the struggle, wounded from the battle, worried that this winter will never cease. You feel far from home. Someone cut the ropes to the dock and set you adrift. This world can be a cruddy place – no one disagrees with that. Tough times can also be the petri dish for bad decisions. So I urge you, don’t make matters worse by caving in.

Living as a person of faith in a faithless world requires courage and acts of resistance. Chances are high that you’ll be tempted to compromise your beliefs or to remain silent in the face of injustice and evil. Tests are coming your way, instances in which our true allegiance is revealed. Everyone else gives in. May God give you the courage to stand up and stand out.

Exodus 27

The Altar

“Make an Altar of acacia wood. Make it seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. Make horns at each of the four corners. The horns are to be of one piece with the Altar and covered with a veneer of bronze. Make buckets for removing the ashes, along with shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. Make all these utensils from bronze. Make a grate of bronze mesh and attach bronze rings at each of the four corners. Put the grate under the ledge of the Altar at the halfway point of the Altar. Make acacia wood poles for the Altar and cover them with a veneer of bronze. Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the Altar for carrying. Use boards to make the Altar, keeping the interior hollow.
The Courtyard

9-11 “Make a Courtyard for The Dwelling. The south side is to be 150 feet long. The hangings for the Courtyard are to be woven from fine twisted linen, with their twenty posts, twenty bronze bases, and fastening hooks and bands of silver. The north side is to be exactly the same.

12-19 “For the west end of the Courtyard you will need seventy-five feet of hangings with their ten posts and bases. Across the seventy-five feet at the front, or east end, you will need twenty-two and a half feet of hangings, with their three posts and bases on one side and the same for the other side. At the door of the Courtyard make a screen thirty feet long woven from blue, purple, and scarlet stuff, with fine twisted linen, embroidered by a craftsman, and hung on its four posts and bases. All the posts around the Courtyard are to be banded with silver, with hooks of silver and bases of bronze. The Courtyard is to be 150 feet long and seventy-five feet wide. The hangings of fine twisted linen set on their bronze bases are to be seven and a half feet high. All the tools used for setting up The Holy Dwelling, including all the pegs in it and the Courtyard, are to be made of bronze.

20-21 “Now, order the Israelites to bring you pure, clear olive oil for light so that the lamps can be kept burning. In the Tent of Meeting, the area outside the curtain that veils The Testimony, Aaron and his sons will keep this light burning from evening until morning before God. This is to be a permanent practice down through the generations for Israelites.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, October 25, 2021

Today's Scripture
Genesis 22:1–3
,
6–12
(NIV)

Abraham Tested

22 Some time later God testeda Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,”b he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your sonc, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah.d Sacrifice him there as a burnt offeringe on a mountain I will show you.f”

3 Early the next morningg Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac,i and he himself carried the fire and the knife.j As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lambk for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will providel the lambm for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about,n Abraham built an altaro there and arranged the woodp on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar,q on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knifer to slay his son.s 11 But the angel of the Lordt called out to him from heaven,u “Abraham! Abraham!”v

“Here I am,”w he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,x because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.

Insight

Genesis 22:1, 15–18 make it clear that God tested Abraham to examine his heart. While God may test our faith and obedience (James 1:2–4), He never tempts us to do wrong (v. 13). The writer of Hebrews commended the patriarch’s deep faith: “Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again” (Hebrews 11:19 nlt). The apostle James said that “Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. . . . His actions made his faith complete” (James 2:21–22 nlt). By: K. T. Sim

The Testing

Some time later God tested Abraham.
Genesis 22:1

The first time I took my sons to hike a Colorado Fourteener—a mountain with an elevation of a least 14,000 feet—they were nervous. Could they make it? Were they up to the challenge? My youngest stopped on the trail for extended breaks. “Dad, I can’t go any more,” he said repeatedly. But I believed this test would be good for them, and I wanted them to trust me. A mile from the peak, my son who’d insisted he could go no further caught his second wind and beat us to the summit. He was so glad he trusted me, even amid his fears.

I marvel at the trust Isaac had in his father as they climbed their mountain. Far more, I’m undone by the trust Abraham had in God as he raised his knife over his son (Genesis 22:10). Even with his confused and wrenching heart, Abraham obeyed. Mercifully, an angel stopped him. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” God’s messenger declared (v. 12). God never intended for Isaac to die.

As we draw parallels from this unique story to our own with caution, it’s crucial to note the opening line: “God tested Abraham” (v. 1). Through his test, Abraham learned how much he trusted God. He discovered His loving heart and profound provision.

In our confusion, darkness, and testing, we learn truths about ourselves and about God. And we may even find that our testing leads to a deeper trust in Him. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

How do you believe you’ve been tested by God? What was that experience like, and what did you take away from it?

God, I don’t know if what I’m experiencing is Your testing or not, but either way, I want to trust You. I give my future to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 25, 2021
Submitting to God’s Purpose
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. —1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— “…Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

“I chose you…” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.

Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside…to the right or the left…” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

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

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 6-8; 1 Timothy 5

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 25, 2021

Never Forgetting What It Cost - #9076

It was the worst day of this dear woman's life. Her 13-year-old daughter was killed at the hands of a drunk driver. To make it worse, just two days earlier the offender had been released on bail for a hit-and-run drunk driving crash. And he already had two drunk driving convictions with a third that was plea-bargained to "reckless accident." Well, the grief in this Mom turned from grief into righteous anger. She and some friends got together at a steakhouse in California and discussed with them her plan to do something about what had killed her daughter. They formed a group called MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. And they have been a powerful force for helping to save lives since then.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Forgetting What It Cost."

Clearly, this mother has made a difference because she never forgot the death of the one she loved. I hate to say it, but too many of us tend to forget the death of the one who loved us the most, and that's why we aren't making much of a difference.

The vivid portrayal of the death and suffering of Jesus in the movie several years ago, "The Passion of the Christ," was one reminder of what we cannot afford to forget. Christianity Today magazine reported the telling comment of one woman after she saw His suffering portrayed in the movie. She said, "I'm sorry. I forgot." Jesus never meant for us to, but He knew we would.

That's one of the main reasons He did what He did at the Last Supper. Our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 22:19-20 says: "He took bread and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way, after the supper, He took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.'" And later, the Apostle Paul said of communion, the visual reminder of Jesus' sacrifice for us: "Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

It's obvious Jesus did not want us to ever forget the total humiliation, the ripping of His flesh, the crown of thorns jammed into his forehead, the mangling of the body of the Son of God, the total abandonment. And above all, the agony of your eternal hell that He went through on the cross so you would never have to. We should not forget, but we tend to. The words "Jesus died for your sins" tend to become sterile and glib and just safely "theological." And that's when we start downhill.

When you forget the enormity of the price paid for you, you tend to become careless about your sin. You forget how horrific that sin is as displayed on that cross. And your love for Jesus starts to cool, and living His way deteriorates from being what you do because you love Him into just a spiritual performance.

Forget the cross, and you start feeling like trash again; forgetting how much Jesus thinks you're worth. Forget the cross, and you'll start settling for junk instead of holding out for the best that He died to give you. And if you forget the cross, you'll probably be ashamed of Him, ashamed to let people know you belong to Him and how they can belong to Him. But when I envision the shame He went through for me...when I remember that He was not ashamed of me, even when it meant hanging on that cross, how can I be ashamed of Him?"

Each new day, make your way in your heart up that skull-shaped hill again and picture yourself at the foot of that old rugged cross. Let His blood cover the sin that you brought with you. Let His love poured out there capture your heart again. And let His sacrifice there give you the courage to live for Him, whatever it takes, and whatever it costs.

Mark 1:1-22 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Unnecessary Messes

A lot of us make unnecessary messes. But we can change that. May I make a suggestion? Before you face the world, face your Father.
Take this "pocket prayer:"
"Father. . .You are good. Your heart is good." The words come slowly at first, but stay at it… "Your ways are right. The weather's bad, the economy is bad, but God, you are awesome."
Don't underestimate the power of this moment. You just opened the door to God and welcomed truth to enter your heart. Who knows, you might even start to worship. Is your world different because you prayed? In one sense, no. But you are different. You have peace. You've talked with your Father.
Here's my challenge to you today! With a "pocket prayer" you'll find at BeforeAmen.com-join me every day for 4 weeks to pray 4 minutes-it'll change your life forever!
Before Amen

Mark 1:1-22

John the Baptizer

The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Watch closely: I’m sending my preacher ahead of you;
He’ll make the road smooth for you.
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

4-6 John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.

7-8 As he preached he said, “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out.”

9-11 At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God’s Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”
God’s Kingdom Is Here

12-13 At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him.

14-15 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.”

16-18 Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed.

19-20 A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee’s sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed.
Confident Teaching

21-22 Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, October 24, 2021

Today's Scripture
Romans 8:14–21
(NIV)

For those who are led by the Spirit of Godi are the children of God.j 15 The Spiritk you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;l rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.f And by him we cry, “Abba,g Father.”m 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spiritn that we are God’s children.o 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirsp—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferingsq in order that we may also share in his glory.r

Present Suffering and Future Glory

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.s 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of Godt to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,u in hope 21 thath the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decayv and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

Insight

Romans 7 deals with the conflict we face with sin and concludes by Paul saying, “I myself . . . am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (v. 25). In contrast, Romans 8 begins with this magnificent assurance: “Therefore, there is no now condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (v. 1). Believers in Jesus are now free to live out the joyous victory found by following Him. Verse 5 provides the key: “Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is absolutely crucial. And so verse 14 appropriately says, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” It’s this Spirit that “testifies with our spirit that we’re God’s children” (v. 16). By: Tim Gustafson

Talk, Trust, Feel

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear.
Romans 8:15

“Don’t talk, don’t trust, don’t feel was the law we lived by,” says Frederick Buechner in his powerful memoir Telling Secrets, “and woe to the one who broke it.” Buechner is describing his experience of what he calls the “unwritten law of families who for one reason or another have gone out of whack.” In his own family, that “law” meant Buechner was not allowed to talk about or grieve his father’s suicide, leaving him with no one he could trust with his pain.

Can you relate? Many of us in one way or another have learned to live with a warped version of love, one that demands dishonesty or silence about what’s harmed us. That kind of “love” relies on fear for control—and is a kind of slavery.

We can’t afford to forget just how different Jesus’ invitation to love is from the kind of conditional love we often experience—a kind of love we’re always afraid we could lose. As Paul explains, through Christ’s love we can finally understand what it means to not live in fear (Romans 8:15) and start to understand the kind of glorious freedom (v. 21) that’s possible when we know we’re deeply, truly, and unconditionally loved. We’re free to talk, to trust, and to feel once more—to learn what it means to live unafraid. By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

Are there any unspoken “rules” you’ve learned as conditions for acceptance and love? How might you live differently if you believed you didn’t have to follow those rules to be loved?

Loving God, at times I’m afraid to live honestly with myself and with others—thinking that by doing so I’ll no longer be loved. Heal my heart, and help me believe in and live for the glory, freedom, and joy Your love makes possible.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 24, 2021

The Proper Perspective

Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ… —2 Corinthians 2:14

The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.

The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him…” (Romans 8:37).

“We are to God the fragrance of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 3-5; 1 Timothy 4

Exodus 26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Don't Put Your Trust in Stuff

Don't put your trust in stuff! Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."
The rich in this world-that's you…that's me…and that's okay. Prosperity is a common consequence of faithfulness. Paul didn't tell the rich to feel guilty about being rich; he just urged caution. The abundance or lack of money will only be felt for one life. Don't get tangled up in it. If you and I stockpile earthly treasures and not heavenly treasures, what does that say about where we put our trust? Glory Days happen to the degree that we trust God. Whom do you trust? God or King More?
From Glory Days


Exodus 26

 “Make The Dwelling itself from ten panels of tapestry woven from fine twisted linen, blue and purple and scarlet material, with an angel-cherubim design. A skilled craftsman should do it. The panels of tapestry are each to be forty-six feet long and six feet wide. Join five of the panels together, and then the other five together. Make loops of blue along the edge of the outside panel of the first set and the same on the outside panel of the second set. Make fifty loops on each panel. Then make fifty gold clasps and join the tapestries together so that The Dwelling is one whole.

7-11 “Next make tapestries of goat hair for a tent that will cover The Dwelling. Make eleven panels of these tapestries. The length of each panel will be forty-five feet long and six feet wide. Join five of the panels together, and then the other six. Fold the sixth panel double at the front of the tent. Now make fifty loops along the edge of the end panel and fifty loops along the edge of the joining panel. Make fifty clasps of bronze and connect the clasps with the loops, bringing the tent together.

12-14 “Hang half of the overlap of the tapestry panels over the rear of The Dwelling. The eighteen inches of overlap on either side will cover the sides of the tent. Finally, make a covering for the tapestries of tanned rams’ skins dyed red and over that a covering of dolphin skins.

15-25 “Frame The Dwelling with planks of acacia wood, each section of frame fifteen feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide, with two pegs for securing them. Make all the frames identical: twenty frames for the south side with forty silver sockets to receive the two pegs from each of the twenty frames; the same construction on the north side of The Dwelling; for the rear of The Dwelling, which faces west, make six frames with two additional frames for the rear corners. Both of the two corner frames need to be double in thickness from top to bottom and fit into a single ring—eight frames altogether with sixteen sockets of silver, two under each frame.

26-30 “Now make crossbars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of The Dwelling, five for the other side, and five for the back side facing west. The center crossbar runs from end to end halfway up the frames. Cover the frames with a veneer of gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. And cover the crossbars with a veneer of gold. Then put The Dwelling together, following the design you were shown on the mountain.

31-35 “Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Have a design of angel-cherubim woven into it by a skilled craftsman. Fasten it with gold hooks to four posts of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold, set on four silver bases. After hanging the curtain from the clasps, bring the Chest of The Testimony in behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Holy-of-Holies. Now place the Atonement-Cover lid on the Chest of The Testimony in the Holy-of-Holies. Place the Table and the Lampstand outside the curtain, the Lampstand on the south side of The Dwelling and the Table opposite it on the north side.

36-37 “Make a screen for the door of the tent. Weave it from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Frame the weaving with five poles of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold and make gold hooks to hang the weaving. Cast five bronze bases for the poles.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Today's Scripture
Luke 16:1–9
(NIV)

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.q 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “ ‘Nine hundred gallonsa of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“ ‘A thousand bushelsb of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this worldr are more shrewds in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.t 9 I tell you, use worldly wealthu to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Insight

The main character in the story Jesus told in Luke 16:1–8 is referred to as a “manager.” The word translated “manager” is oikonómos. Such persons were in charge of household affairs (to include finances, servants, children, flocks, and fields). Though English translations don’t necessarily reflect this, words derived from this root word appear seven times in this passage, including what’s translated “my job” in verses 3 and 4. In 1 Corinthians 4:1–2 and Titus 1:7, Paul uses oikonómos to refer to Christian leaders. Peter uses the term to refer to believers in Jesus in general (1 Peter 4:10). Each has been entrusted with gifts and responsibilities for which we’re accountable to God. Wisely using these gifts and responsibilities goes with good stewardship. By: Arthur Jackson

Wise Christians

The people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
Luke 16:8

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in canceled schools around the world. In China, teachers responded with DingTalk, a digital app that enabled class to be held online. Then their students figured out that if DingTalk’s rating fell too low, it might be removed from the App Store. Overnight, thousands of one-star reviews dropped DingTalk’s score.

Jesus wouldn’t be impressed with the students shirking their responsibilities, but He might admire their ingenuity. He told an unusual story about a fired manager who on his final day slashed the bills of his master’s debtors. Jesus didn’t praise the manager’s dishonesty. Rather He commended his cleverness and wished His followers would be equally shrewd: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).

When it comes to money, most people look at how much they might lose. Wise people look for what they can use. Jesus said giving to others “gain[s] friends,” which provides safety and influence. Who is the leader in any group? The one who pays. Giving also gains “eternal dwellings,” for our willingness to part with our cash shows our trust is in Jesus.

Even if we don’t have money, we do have time, skills, or a listening ear. Let’s ask God to show us how to creatively serve others for Jesus. By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

Who does Jesus want you to serve today? How might you creatively use your skills, money, or time to bless this person?

Jesus, I want to give to others for You.

Nothing of the Old Life!

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, “God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind…is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 1-2; 1 Timothy 3

Exodus 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Will Give You Courage - October 22, 2021

The Persian king and his right-hand man, Haman, had such disregard for human life that they could pronounce a bloodbath and then enjoy cocktails. As recorded in the book of Esther, Haman dispatched couriers to each of the provinces with a command and an offer. The command? Kill all Jews. The offer? Plunder their possessions. The date dictated by the casting of the die was still eleven months away. But Proverbs 16:33 says, “People throw lots to make a decision, but the answer comes from the Lord.”

Chance did not determine the date; God did. And even though this book of Esther does not mention his name, it reveals his will. It was God who delayed the date for eleven months, giving his plan time to unfold. And it was God who prompted Mordecai and Esther to take a stand for what is right. And God will do the same with you my friend.

Exodus 25

Instructions on the Mountain: The Offerings

God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats’ hair; tanned rams’ skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece. Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them. You are to construct it following the plans I’ve given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings.
The Chest

10-15 “First let them make a Chest using acacia wood: make it three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide and deep. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold inside and out and make a molding of gold all around it. Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Make poles from acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold and insert them into the rings on the sides of the Chest for carrying the Chest. The poles are to stay in the rings; they must not be removed.

16 “Place The Testimony that I give you in the Chest.

17 “Now make a lid of pure gold for the Chest, an Atonement-Cover, three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide.

18-22 “Sculpt two winged angels out of hammered gold for either end of the Atonement-Cover, one angel at one end, one angel at the other. Make them of one piece with the Atonement-Cover. Make the angels with their wings spread, hovering over the Atonement-Cover, facing one another but looking down on it. Set the Atonement-Cover as a lid over the Chest and place in the Chest The Testimony that I will give you. I will meet you there at set times and speak with you from above the Atonement-Cover and from between the angel-figures that are on it, speaking the commands that I have for the Israelites.
The Table

23-28 “Next make a Table from acacia wood. Make it three feet long, one and one-half feet wide and two and one-quarter feet high. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold. Make a molding all around it of gold. Make the border a handbreadth wide all around it and a rim of gold for the border. Make four rings of gold and attach the rings to the four legs parallel to the tabletop. They will serve as holders for the poles used to carry the Table. Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold. They will be used to carry the Table.

29 “Make plates, bowls, jars, and jugs for pouring out offerings. Make them of pure gold.

30 “Always keep fresh Bread of the Presence on the Table before me.
The Lampstand

31-36 “Make a Lampstand of pure hammered gold. Make its stem and branches, cups, calyxes, and petals all of one piece. Give it six branches, three from one side and three from the other; put three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three on the next, and so on—the same for all six branches. On the main stem of the Lampstand, make four cups shaped like almonds, with calyx and petals, a calyx extending from under each pair of the six branches, the entire Lampstand fashioned from one piece of hammered pure gold.

37-38 “Make seven of these lamps for the Table. Arrange the lamps so they throw their light out in front. Make the candle snuffers and trays out of pure gold.

39-40 “Use a seventy-five-pound brick of pure gold to make the Lampstand and its accessories. Study the design you were given on the mountain and make everything accordingly.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, October 22, 2021
Today's Scripture
1 Peter 4:8–11
(NIV)

Above all, love each other deeply,g because love covers over a multitude of sins.h 9 Offer hospitalityi to one another without grumbling.j 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,k as faithfull stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.m If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,n so that in all things God may be praisedo through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Insight

Writing to believers in Jesus who are suffering because of persecution (1 Peter 4:12–16), Peter tells them not to be fearful but to remain faithful, to “revere Christ as Lord” (3:14–15), and to live in a way that honors God before a hostile and unbelieving world (2:11–12). In today’s passage (4:8–11), he encourages believers to “love each other deeply” (v. 8), which is demonstrated when we forgive one another, offer hospitality (v. 9), and unselfishly use our spiritual gifts to serve one another (v. 10). Believers aren’t to use their gifts for their own selfish ends but be “good managers of God’s diverse gifts” (ceb); we’re to responsibly use them to edify others and glorify God (v. 11). Elsewhere, the apostle Paul lists some of these spiritual gifts and how they’re to be used (Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–31; Ephesians 4:11–16). By: K. T. Sim

Live to Serve

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10

After ten-year-old Chelsea received an elaborate art set, she discovered that God used art to help her feel better when she was sad. When she found out that some kids didn’t have art supplies readily available, she wanted to help them. So when it was time for her birthday party, she asked her friends not to bring her gifts. Instead, she invited them to donate art supplies and help fill boxes for children in need.

Later, with her family’s help, she started Chelsea’s Charity. She began asking more people to help her fill boxes so she could help more kids. She has even taught art tips to groups who have received her boxes. After a local newscaster interviewed Chelsea, people started donating supplies from all over the country. As Chelsea’s Charity continues sending art supplies internationally, this young girl is demonstrating how God can use us when we’re willing to live to serve others.

Chelsea’s compassion and willingness to share reflects the heart of a faithful steward. The apostle Peter encourages all believers in Jesus to be faithful stewards as they “love each other deeply” by sharing the resources and talents God has given them (1 Peter 4:8–11).

Our small acts of love can inspire others to join us in giving. God can even rally supporters to serve alongside us. As we rely on Him, we can live to serve and give Him the glory He deserves. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How can you rely on God to help you serve others today? In what way has God been nudging you to serve Him that seems too big for you to handle alone?

Faithful Father, please give me all I need to serve You by loving others with my words and actions today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 22, 2021
The Witness of the Spirit

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit… —Romans 8:16

We are in danger of getting into a bargaining spirit with God when we come to Him— we want the witness of the Spirit before we have done what God tells us to do.

Why doesn’t God reveal Himself to you? He cannot. It is not that He will not, but He cannot, because you are in the way as long as you won’t abandon yourself to Him in total surrender. Yet once you do, immediately God witnesses to Himself— He cannot witness to you, but He instantly witnesses to His own nature in you. If you received the witness of the Spirit before the reality and truth that comes from obedience, it would simply result in sentimental emotion. But when you act on the basis of redemption, and stop the disrespectfulness of debating with God, He immediately gives His witness. As soon as you abandon your own reasoning and arguing, God witnesses to what He has done, and you are amazed at your total disrespect in having kept Him waiting. If you are debating as to whether or not God can deliver from sin, then either let Him do it or tell Him that He cannot. Do not quote this or that person to Him. Simply obey Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden….” Come, if you are weary, and ask, if you know you are evil (see Luke 11:9-13).

The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else. He cannot witness to our reason. We are inclined to mistake the simplicity that comes from our natural commonsense decisions for the witness of the Spirit, but the Spirit witnesses only to His own nature, and to the work of redemption, never to our reason. If we are trying to make Him witness to our reason, it is no wonder that we are in darkness and uncertainty. Throw it all overboard, trust in Him, and He will give you the witness of the Spirit.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 22, 2021

Not In Charge After All - #9075

Our kids always loved that amusement park ride where they get to drive those little race cars around the track. I guess I should put the word "drive" in quotes. Oh yeah, kids grab that steering wheel and they do their NASCAR thing as the car speeds around that track at this eye-blurring 3 or 4 MPH speed or something. I could hardly blink! But driving, well that's kind of an overstatement. See, that car is attached to a little rail, and it's going to go where it's going to go, no matter what little Miss or Mr. NASCAR does at the wheel. We won't tell them this, but they're not really in control at all.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not In Charge After All."

We're so much like those kids in that little race. We think we're in control of things, until something comes along that shows us big-time that we're not in charge at all.

Look at the, oh, you know, there was a tsunami tragedy in Japan several years ago. From technology to transportation to trade, I mean, Japan has demonstrated amazing resourcefulness and industry. But none of that could keep the ground from erupting violently...or a tsunami from erasing part of a nation...and even as they struggled to put the genie back in the broken nuclear bottle. Hey, and think of the pandemic we've been through. And, boy, didn't that say you're not in control?

Maybe this is part of what's making us a little queasy. I mean, we have seen lots of forces that man cannot control. I probably will see some more. See, no matter how powerful a country is or a person is, you can't insulate you from the life altering waves that are beyond your control.

And that makes, or it ought to make us, think about questions that we normally ignore when we're on our daily gerbil wheel. Questions about what really matters, about how we should live the rest of our lives, about what needs changing, about what God is trying to tell us.

We're self-reliant, often self-absorbed people until God sends or allows crises in our lives that rock our world. History's iconic suffering man, Job, said: "So that all men He has made may know His work, He stops every man from his labor" (Job 37:7).

In Deuteronomy 8:11, our word for today from the Word of God, the Lord says to His chosen people, the ancient Israelites: "When you have eaten and are satisfied...be careful that you do not forget the Lord." But we do. He goes on to say, "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Lord your God..." (Deuteronomy 8:18). You know, actually sometimes we don't remember until in the Bible's words, "the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down" (Deuteronomy 28:52).

I know when God arrests my relentless forward momentum, gets my attention and gets the steering wheel back. It's when there's suddenly something I can't fix, or I can't control, or I can't change: a child, a marriage melting down, a financial or interpersonal tsunami, news from the doctor that rocks our world. Those are the kinds of things that get our attention. And it's in those kinds of times that I seek Him. That's when I realize how very much I need Him.

I'm convinced that God uses our out-of-control times to get our attention, to show us that any control we think we have in our life is the illusion of control. We live as He gives us breath and we die on His timetable. As the Bible says, "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

The destiny of every human is defined in six words in the Bible, "all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). But we marginalize Him, we drift from Him, we're away from Him until things spin way out of our control. That's when people and even nations open their hearts to the only real source of hope and healing and answers - the God who knows all too well about our suffering, our pain. He watched His Son die a brutal death on a cross so we could run to Him instead of from Him; so He could envelop us in His love, which He would love to do for you today .

If you've never given yourself to Him, would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website ANewStory.com. Times like these are wakeup calls, and we ought to pick up the phone. It might be God on the other end reminding us that He's God and we're not.