Deuteronomy 20 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: You Can Trust Jesus - March 11, 2022

Denalyn and I have been married more than 35 years. We no longer converse; we communicate in code. She walks into the kitchen while I’m making a sandwich. “Denalyn?” I ask. “No, I don’t want one,” she says. I’ll open the refrigerator and stare for a few moments. “Denalyn?” She’ll answer, “Mayo on the top shelf. Pickles on the door.” She knows me better than anyone. She is the authority on Max.

How much more does Jesus know God! And when Jesus says, “You are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31), you can trust him. He knows the value of every creature. When Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2), count on it. He knows. He has walked them. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish” (John 3:16). Trust Him.

Deuteronomy 20

When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and soldiers far outnumbering you, do not recoil in fear of them; God, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. When the battle is about to begin, let the priest come forward and speak to the troops. He’ll say, “Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you’re going to do battle with your enemies. Don’t waver in resolve. Don’t fear. Don’t hesitate. Don’t panic. God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win.”

5-7 Then let the officers step up and speak to the troops: “Is there a man here who has built a new house but hasn’t yet dedicated it? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man dedicate it. And is there a man here who has planted a vineyard but hasn’t yet enjoyed the grapes? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man enjoy the grapes. Is there a man here engaged to marry who hasn’t yet taken his wife? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man take her.”

8 The officers will then continue, “And is there a man here who is wavering in resolve and afraid? Let him go home right now so that he doesn’t infect his fellows with his timidity and cowardly spirit.”

9 When the officers have finished speaking to the troops, let them appoint commanders of the troops who shall muster them by units.

10-15 When you come up against a city to attack it, call out, “Peace?” If they answer, “Yes, peace!” and open the city to you, then everyone found there will be conscripted as forced laborers and work for you. But if they don’t settle for peace and insist on war, then go ahead and attack. God, your God, will give them to you. Kill all the men with your swords. But don’t kill the women and children and animals. Everything inside the town you can take as plunder for you to use and eat—God, your God, gives it to you. This is the way you deal with the distant towns, the towns that don’t belong to the nations at hand.

16-18 But with the towns of the people that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, it’s different: don’t leave anyone alive. Consign them to holy destruction: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, obeying the command of God, your God. This is so there won’t be any of them left to teach you to practice the abominations that they engage in with their gods and you end up sinning against God, your God.

19-20 When you mount an attack on a town and the siege goes on a long time, don’t start cutting down the trees, swinging your axes against them. Those trees are your future food; don’t cut them down. Are trees soldiers who come against you with weapons? The exception can be those trees which don’t produce food; you can chop them down and use the timbers to build siege engines against the town that is resisting you until it falls.

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Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, March 11, 2022

Today's Scripture
Proverbs 3:5–8
(NIV)

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. 6Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. 7*Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong. 8If you do, it will be like good medicine, healing your wounds and easing your pains.

Insight

The main purpose of the book of Proverbs is to impart wisdom for godly living. In these wise sayings, we see a variety of topics, including youth, discipline, family life, resisting temptation, and our speech. The key to wisdom in all areas is found in Proverbs 3:5: wholeheartedly trusting in God, the only true source of wisdom. As Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” We gain wisdom and by implication live wisely when we have a relationship with God. In 2:6 we read that “the Lord gives wisdom,” but we’re also to “search for it as for hidden treasure” (v. 4). In other words, God gives wisdom to those who earnestly seek it. Other helps on the road to wisdom include not being a “companion of fools” (13:20), seeking the counsel of godly advisers (15:22), and listening to advice and accepting discipline (19:20). By: Alyson Kieda

Tackling Indecision

In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:6

We live in a world that offers a wide range of choices—from paper towels to life insurance. In 2004, psychologist Barry Schwartz wrote a book titled The Paradox of Choice in which he argued that while freedom of choice is important to our well-being, too many choices can lead to overload and indecision. While the stakes are certainly lower when deciding on which paper towel to buy, indecision can become debilitating when making major decisions that impact the course of our lives. So how can we overcome indecision and move forward confidently in living for Jesus?

As believers in Christ, seeking God’s wisdom helps us as we face difficult decisions. When we’re deciding on anything in life, large or small, the Scriptures instruct us to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). When we rely on our own judgment, we can become confused and worry about missing an important detail or making the wrong choice. When we look to God for the answers, however, He’ll “make [our] paths straight” (v. 6). He’ll give us clarity and peace as we make decisions in our day-to-day lives.

God doesn’t want us to be paralyzed or overwhelmed by the weight of our decisions. We can find peace in the wisdom and direction He provides when we bring our concerns to Him in prayer. By:  Kimya Loder

Reflect & Pray

What major decisions have you been considering lately? How will you seek God’s wisdom in prayer, the Scriptures, and the godly counsel of other believers?

Heavenly Father, I know You hold the answers to all the choices I face. As I seek Your wisdom, please give me clarity and the strength to boldly move forward with You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 11, 2022

Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”

I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19

If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).

It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.  Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 11, 2022

The Power of Broken - #9175

It's kind of hard to think of any good news when you just broke your hand, but there can be some. Yeah. My wife learned that when she was in an accident in our car with two of our children. They were rear-ended. Somebody slammed into the back of them, and the result for my wife was a broken hand and six weeks in a cast. Well, she was unable to use her working hand; her writing hand even for about a month and a half.

Now, when we learned that, we got the family together and had a little pep rally and it was led by cheerleader Dad. And I said, "Hey, you know what? We finally have an opportunity here to give back to Mom some of what she's been giving to us. We can really help her like we don't usually do." So, my wife had a very interesting experience. She found out that when something is broken, you could have resources to help that you don't normally have.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Broken."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is in Psalm 51:16-17. Speaking of broken, David says to the Lord, "You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it." Wait a minute! That's the highest religious thing you could do if you were a Jew. But He goes on to say, "You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." So God's most prized gift from us is not some religious activity or office we hold or a big gift we give. He says "the greatest gift you can give Me is your brokenness."

Ironically, guess what we don't want to be? We don't want to be broken; we want to be together. But God blesses brokenness. He uses brokenness. And what's happening in your life right now just might be part of God's plan to melt you, to mold you, to soften you, and yes to break you. Not to destroy you; that's not His purpose.

My wife found that because she had a break, she found reserves from her family to help her because of what was broken. Now, when you reach the end of you and you're broken, God's power can finally go to work on your behalf as He's wanted to all along. You're out of the way, and you've never quite experienced His power like you do in those broken moments. You finally release God's omnipotence - His all powerfulness - because there's no you left to do it.

Only when you're broken are you going to repent fully and deal with those sinful strongholds. "God, I'm so desperate! I'll even let this go." You'll worship lavishly when you're broken. Like that lady who broke open her perfume and poured it out for the Lord. It's only when you're broken that you can be used mightily. Don't be afraid of this softening process that God's bringing you through right now. It's not because He doesn't love you; it's because He does. It's not because He's finished with you. It's because He's starting something brand new. The beginning of the answers you seek may be that very moment when you prostrate yourself before God and say, "God, I'm empty. I'm desperate. I have no answers. I have no strength. I have no resources."

That flips a power switch in heaven that can now do something supernatural for your life and through your life. That is the power of broken. And maybe God's allowed you to be broken so you could finally be healed; to finally see that you really do need Him, to be forgiven by Him, to have a personal relationship with Him, to actually take personally for yourself what Jesus did on the cross to tear down the wall between you and God. It takes being broken so often before we see that He was broken on a cross by His choice for you and me. At the Lord's Supper - the Eucharist - the communion, He said, "This is My body which was broken for you."

Today, maybe at the end of your brokenness, you'll finally find the Savior who could put your life together like it's never been before. This could be the beginning of that relationship. Go to our website ANewStory.com. All you need to know about how to be sure you belong to Him.

"All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful out of my life." He'll do that for you beginning today.

Luke 5:17-39 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: An Unearthly Love - March 10, 2022

I have a feeling most people who defy and deny God do so more out of fear than conviction. For all our chest pumping and braggadocio, we’re anxious folk. We can’t see a step into the future, can’t hear the one who owns us. No wonder we try to bite the hand that feeds us.

But God reaches and touches. If he’s touching you, let him. Mark it down: God loves you with an unearthly love. You can’t win it by being winsome. You can’t lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind enough to resist it. Don’t. For heaven’s sake, don’t! For your sake, don’t. Others demote you. God claims you. Let the definitive voice of the universe say, “You are part of my plan!”

Luke 5:17-39

One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him.

18-20 Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, “Friend, I forgive your sins.”

21 That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins.”

22-26 Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, “Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,’ or to say ‘Get up and start walking’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both.?.?.?.” He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: “Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way. The people rubbed their eyes, stunned—and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, “We’ve never seen anything like that!”

27-28 After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” And he did—walked away from everything and went with him.

29-30 Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. “What is he doing eating and drinking with misfits and ‘sinners’?”

31-32 Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.”

33 They asked him, “John’s disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?”

34-35 Jesus said, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to exercise moderation, but this isn’t the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. When the groom is gone, the fasting can begin. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!

36-39 “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put wine in old, cracked bottles; you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Today's Scripture
Philippians 4:1–7
(NIV)

Instructions

4 So then, my brothers and sisters, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you! This then, dear brothers and sisters, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.

2 Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. 3And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow-workers, whose names are in God’s book of the living.

4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!

5 Show a gentle attitude towards everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.

Insight

As Paul begins to bring his letter to a close, he emphasizes two important thoughts that underlie all he’s written to the Philippians. First, he’s repeatedly lifted up their shared partnership and mission (1:1–7, 27–30). Second, over and over he’s also urged them to embrace the attitudes of humility, joy, and love that reflect the spirit of Jesus and make their shared calling credible and good for others (vv. 9–11; 2:1–11). These two basics—mission and attitude—show up in the first few sentences of his introduction. In referring to his readers as “holy,” he used a word that reminded them that they’ve been “set apart” to represent Christ to their world (1:1–5). In praying that their love would continue to grow “in knowledge and depth of insight” (vv. 9–11), he signaled how important it was for them to help and care for one another. By: Mart DeHaan

Revelation and Reassurance

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

Baby-gender reveals in 2019 were dramatic. In July, a video showed a car emitting blue smoke to indicate, “It’s a boy!” In September, a crop-duster plane in Texas dumped hundreds of gallons of pink water to announce, “It’s a girl!” There was another “reveal,” though, that uncovered significant things about the world these children will grow up in. At the conclusion of 2019, YouVersion revealed that the most shared, highlighted, and bookmarked verse of the year on its online and mobile Bible app was Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

That’s quite the revelation. People are anxious about many things these days—from the needs of our sons and daughters, to the myriad ways family and friends are divided, to natural catastrophes and wars. But in the middle of all these worries, the good news is that many people cling to a verse that says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Furthermore, those same people encourage others as well as themselves to present every request to God “in every situation.” The mindset that doesn’t ignore but faces life’s anxieties is one of “thanksgiving.”

The verse that didn’t make “verse of the year” but follows it is—“And the peace of God . . . will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7). That’s quite the reassurance!

Reflect & Pray

What are two or three situations you’re worried about? How might reflecting on the ways God’s peace has carried you in the past be helpful?   

Jesus, some days and weeks and years feel overwhelming. Thank You for Your peace, which guards me yesterday, today, and forever.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Being an Example of His Message

Preach the word! —2 Timothy 4:2

We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message— “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.

There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God’s truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. “…you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8).

Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come.  Shade of His Hand, 1226 L

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 12:1-27

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Running Red Lights - #9174

Okay, we didn't have much of a car in the first place. It was less of a car by the end of the day. We hadn't been married very long, and our used car was pretty humble, but it was ours. We were in heavy traffic in downtown Chicago about five o'clock one afternoon, sitting in the middle of one of those Rush Hour blood clots they call a "traffic jam." I'd stopped for a red light not far from the Art Institute on Michigan Boulevard. I can still picture this. To our right, was a city bus that pretty much blocked my view of the traffic on the intersecting street. The light turned green. I drove out into the intersection. Bam! Suddenly we were hit very hard, stopped cold, and left with a crumpled hood with smoke coming from underneath. A delivery truck had run the red light and into us. Thankfully, we weren't hurt. Our little car was, though! It wouldn't move. So we just went to the curb and stood on the sidewalk, waiting for help to come, and we watched as one driver after another pulled up to this car of ours that was obviously wrecked, unoccupied, disabled, and they honked. Weird!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Red Lights."

Bad things can happen when you run a red light, especially if it's one of God's red lights. All too often, we are racing to get where we want to go and we blow right by a red light that God is flashing to stop us. The results are going to be damaging, and they're going to be costly.

I love it when God gives us a flesh-and-blood picture of a principle, and He gives us a good one about His red lights in our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 22, beginning with verse 21. The Moabites are not friends of God's people, the Jews, and they're mucho concerned when the Jews start to get close to their territory. So Balak, Moab's king, calls for a prophet named Balaam and he offers him big bucks to come and put a curse on this people that God blesses.

So Balaam sets out toward Moab on his donkey. The Bible says, "God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him...When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field." Did Balaam turn back? Oh no. No, it says, he "beat her to get her back on the road." The angel of the Lord stands in his way for a second time, seen only by the donkey who tries to stop again, and she gets whipped again. "The angel of the Lord," the Bible says, "moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn." This time the donkey just lies down and gets it again.

Finally, God actually speaks to Balaam through his donkey. (I guess because the donkey's obviously smarter than the prophet.) By the way, God still speaks through donkeys. I know. The Lord opens Balaam's eyes and he falls face down before the Lord saying, "I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me."

I wonder how many times your Lord has tried to stop you on the road you're on, and how many times have you just kept going the way you want to go, running God's red lights? I'm a donkey when I do that. And here again God is trying to stand in your way, right here today even through our little visit together, trying to turn you around from those choices you've been making; that direction you're going. Because He loves you too much to let you end up where He knows this road will take you.

It's just plain foolish not to stop when the God of the universe says to. If you run the red light, one of two hurtful things is going to happen. Either God will do something more drastic and more painful to stop you, or He'll get out of your way and He'll let you walk right into the very unhappy ending down the road. But today He's giving you one more chance to stop before that cliff up ahead. Don't choose the pain of running God's red light. Stop before you get hit.

Deuteronomy 19 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Object of God’s Love - March 9, 2022

Scripture employs an artillery of terms for love, each one calibrated to reach a different target. Consider the one Moses used with his followers in Deuteronomy 10:15: “The LORD chose your ancestors as the objects of his love.” What the Hebrews heard in their language was this: “The LORD binds himself to his people.” Binds is the word hasaq, and it speaks of a tethered love, a love attached to something or someone. Harnessed. The strap serves two functions, yanking and claiming. Like yanking your child out of trouble and, in doing so, to proclaim, “Yes, he is as wild as a banshee. But he’s mine.”

In this case, God chained himself to Israel. God loves Israel—and the rest of us—because he chooses to do so. God’s love is the love that won’t let go of the object of his love.

Deuteronomy 19

When God, your God, throws the nations out of the country that God, your God, is giving you and you settle down in their cities and houses, you are to set aside three easily accessible cities in the land that God, your God, is giving you as your very own. Divide your land into thirds, this land that God, your God, is giving you to possess, and build roads to the towns so that anyone who accidentally kills another can flee there.

4-7 This is the guideline for the murderer who flees there to take refuge: He has to have killed his neighbor without premeditation and with no history of bad blood between them. For instance, a man goes with his neighbor into the woods to cut a tree; he swings the ax, the head slips off the handle and hits his neighbor, killing him. He may then flee to one of these cities and save his life. If the city is too far away, the avenger of blood racing in hot-blooded pursuit might catch him since it’s such a long distance, and kill him even though he didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t his fault. There was no history of hatred between them. Therefore I command you: Set aside the three cities for yourselves.

8-10 When God, your God, enlarges your land, extending its borders as he solemnly promised your ancestors, by giving you the whole land he promised them because you are diligently living the way I’m commanding you today, namely, to love God, your God, and do what he tells you all your life; and when that happens, then add three more to these three cities so that there is no chance of innocent blood being spilled in your land. God, your God, is giving you this land as an inheritance—you don’t want to pollute it with innocent blood and bring guilt upon yourselves.

11-13 On the other hand, if a man with a history of hatred toward his neighbor waits in ambush, then jumps him, mauls and kills him, and then runs to one of these cities, that’s a different story. The elders of his own city are to send for him and have him brought back. They are to hand him over to the avenger of blood for execution. Don’t feel sorry for him. Clean out the pollution of wrongful murder from Israel so that you’ll be able to live well and breathe clean air.

* * *

14 Don’t move your neighbor’s boundary markers, the longstanding landmarks set up by your pioneer ancestors defining their property.

* * *

15 You cannot convict anyone of a crime or sin on the word of one witness. You need two or three witnesses to make a case.

16-21 If a hostile witness stands to accuse someone of a wrong, then both parties involved in the quarrel must stand in the Presence of God before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. The judges must conduct a careful investigation; if the witness turns out to be a false witness and has lied against his fellow Israelite, give him the same medicine he intended for the other party. Clean the polluting evil from your company. People will hear of what you’ve done and be impressed; that will put a stop to this kind of evil among you. Don’t feel sorry for the person: It’s life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, March 09, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 36:5–10
(NIV)

     God’s love is meteoric,

his loyalty astronomic,

His purpose titanic,

his verdicts oceanic.

Yet in his largeness

nothing gets lost;

Not a man, not a mouse,

slips through the cracks.

7–9     How exquisite your love, O God!

How eager we are to run under your wings,

To eat our fill at the banquet you spread

as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.

You’re a fountain of cascading light,

and you open our eyes to light.

10–12     Keep on loving your friends;

do your work in welcoming hearts.

Insight

Psalm 36 is found in Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41), which, along with Book Two (Psalms 42–72), features the majority of David’s biblical psalms. Many of his songs in this portion of the Psalter are laments, cries for God’s mercy and help in the dark and difficult seasons of life. In Psalm 36, however, the poem’s tone is very different. Here, David saw those who were living apart from God as individuals marked by an absence of the fear of God (vv. 1–4), and their example prompted David to pray for God’s continued lovingkindness to him and those who sought to live in right relationship with Him (vv. 5–10). The singer then concludes with a plea to God to protect him from the dangers of his own pride and the influence of those who’d turned from Him (vv. 11–12). By: Bill Crowder

All Creatures Great and Small

You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
Psalm 36:6

Michelle Grant trained a baby beaver named Timber to return to the wild. When she took him for swims in a pond, he’d come back to her kayak to snuggle and rub noses. One morning Timber didn’t return. Michelle scoured the pond for six hours before giving up. Weeks later she found a beaver skull. Assuming it was Timber, she began to cry.

My soul ached for Michelle and Timber. I told myself, “Snap out of it. He’s just a large, aquatic rodent.” But the truth is, I cared—and so does God. His love reaches high to the heavens and down to the smallest creature, part of the creation He calls us to steward well (Genesis 1:28). He preserves “both people and animals” (Psalm 36:6), providing “food for the cattle and for the young ravens” (147:9).

One day Michelle was kayaking in a neighbor’s pond and—surprise—there was Timber! He’d found a beaver family and was helping them raise two kits. He surfaced beside Michelle’s kayak. She smiled, “You look well. You have a beautiful family.” He cooed, splashed his tail, and swam to his new mom.

I love happy endings, especially my own! Jesus promised that as His Father feeds the birds, so He will supply whatever we need (Matthew 6:25–26). Not one sparrow falls “to the ground outside your Father’s care. . . . So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (10:29–31). By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What care do you need to give to your heavenly Father? What need of others might He want you to meet?

Father, I lift up my cares and worries to You

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 09, 2022

The Surrendered Life

I have been crucified with Christ… —Galatians 2:20

To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself.  The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 5-7; Mark 11:1-18

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 09, 2022

No Such Thing As Retirement - #9173

It's probably one of the most memorable, most identifiable advertising campaigns in advertising history. And, you know what, it's hard to do that when what you're selling is something as boring as batteries. But Energizer did it. Right? Now, what are you thinking right now? You can probably imagine their rabbit in your mind right now: he's got sunglasses on, drumsticks in his hand, and a big bass drum in front of him. And he moves across the landscape, seemingly unstoppable, beating his drum all the way because he's powered by Energizer batteries, of course.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Such Thing As Retirement."

Yeah, the Energizer bunny. He keeps "going and (You can say it with me.) going and going and going." So do faithful followers of Jesus Christ, no matter how long they've been going. God says so in our word for today from the Word of God.

According to Psalm 92, beginning with verse 12, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God." Now, listen to this part. "They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, 'The Lord is upright; He is my Rock." Oh I love this! People in the later years of their lives, not just playing shuffleboard or watching TV, but still making a difference. Still praising their faithful Lord every chance they get. Still talking about the 'Rock' who has sustained them through every battle of their life. In fact, speaking as only those who have walked with God a long time can speak of Him!

It's God's will that you should "bear fruit in your old age," that you stay fresh and productive, not stale, not on the sidelines. You can retire from a career. You can retire from a company or an occupation, but you can't retire from the service of Jesus Christ! There are those who say, "Well, I've served my time. I've done my part. I'll just sit here and rest until Jesus comes for me." Oh boy! Listen, when you love the Lord Jesus, when you've surrendered your life to His leadership, you don't look for an opportunity to quit. You say, "Man, if I live to be 100, I'm never going to have enough time to do for my Lord what I want to do!" God wants you to be one of His "Energizer bunnies" going and going and going until He decides your work is finished.

Yes, your body may slow down. Your health may not be what it used to be. But you still have so much to give. He's still got lives for you to touch. Wherever He's put you, don't go off duty! He's still got young people He wants you to encourage with your long view of the ways of God. He's still got battles for you to fight, other people's burdens for you to carry at least in prayer, situations that need your wisdom, people who need you for them to have a chance to even go to heaven. They need the Jesus you know. How can you retire? Yes, you may retire from a ministry position, but don't ever retire from ministry! People ask me, "Will I retire?" I say, "Yes. Re-tire; I'm going to put new tires on so I can go farther and faster than I've ever gone before."

So many people get more self-centered the older they get. That isn't God's plan for you and me. He doesn't want our world to keep shrinking. The closer we get to seeing Jesus, the less we should be thinking about ourselves and the more we should be thinking about serving Him and storing up treasures in heaven! Isn't it exciting to know that God wants to keep using your life for your whole life? Because the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, never gets old, never wears out, and never goes off duty. Because of that, you're going to keep "going and going and going" for Jesus until the day you see Him!

Deuteronomy 18 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go - March 8, 2022

George Matheson was a teenager when doctors told him he was going blind. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1861. By the time he finished graduate seminary studies, he was sightless. His fiancée returned his engagement ring with a note: “I cannot see my way clear to go through life bound by the chains of marriage to a blind man.”

Matheson adapted to his sightless world but never quite recovered from his broken heart. He became a powerful and poetic pastor, led a full and inspiring life, turning to the unending love of God for comfort. He penned these words: “O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.” The love of people may come and go. But God’s love – it never leaves.

Deuteronomy 18

The Levitical priests—that’s the entire tribe of Levi—don’t get any land-inheritance with the rest of Israel. They get the Fire-Gift-Offerings of God—they will live on that inheritance. But they don’t get land-inheritance like the rest of their kinsmen. God is their inheritance.

3-5 This is what the priests get from the people from any offering of an ox or a sheep: the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach. You must also give them the firstfruits of your grain, wine, and oil and the first fleece of your sheep, because God, your God, has chosen only them and their children out of all your tribes to be present and serve always in the name of God, your God.

6-8 If a Levite moves from any town in Israel—and he is quite free to move wherever he desires—and comes to the place God designates for worship, he may serve there in the name of God along with all his brother Levites who are present and serving in the Presence of God. And he will get an equal share to eat, even though he has money from the sale of his parents’ possessions.

* * *

9-12 When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you, don’t take on the abominable ways of life of the nations there. Don’t you dare sacrifice your son or daughter in the fire. Don’t practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery, casting spells, holding séances, or channeling with the dead. People who do these things are an abomination to God. It’s because of just such abominable practices that God, your God, is driving these nations out before you.

13-14 Be completely loyal to God, your God. These nations that you’re about to run out of the country consort with sorcerers and witches. But not you. God, your God, forbids it.

15-16 God, your God, is going to raise up a prophet for you. God will raise him up from among your kinsmen, a prophet like me. Listen obediently to him. This is what you asked God, your God, for at Horeb on the day you were all gathered at the mountain and said, “We can’t hear any more from God, our God; we can’t stand seeing any more fire. We’ll die!”

17-19 And God said to me, “They’re right; they’ve spoken the truth. I’ll raise up for them a prophet like you from their kinsmen. I’ll tell him what to say and he will pass on to them everything I command him. And anyone who won’t listen to my words spoken by him, I will personally hold responsible.

20 “But any prophet who fakes it, who claims to speak in my name something I haven’t commanded him to say, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.”

21-22 You may be wondering among yourselves, “How can we tell the difference, whether it was God who spoke or not?” Here’s how: If what the prophet spoke in God’s name doesn’t happen, then obviously God wasn’t behind it; the prophet made it up. Forget about him.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, March 08, 2022

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 52:7–10
(NIV)

How wonderful it is to see

a messenger coming across the mountains,

bringing good news, the news of peace!

He announces victory and says to Zion,

“Your God is king!”

8    Those who guard the city are

shouting, shouting together for joy!

They can see with their own eyes

the return of the Lord to Zion!

9    Break into shouts of joy,

you ruins of Jerusalem!

The Lord will rescue his city

and comfort his people.

10    The Lord will use his holy power;

he will save his people,

and all the world will see it.

Insight

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet brings two distinct messages to the people of God. In chapters 1–39, he brings warnings of certain judgment because of their continued idolatry and rejection of God. In chapters 40–66, however, the prophet’s message becomes one of hope and rescue—continuing to offer many references to the promised Messiah. Bible teacher Warren W. Wiersbe wrote that this significant messianic component to Isaiah’s prophecy accounts for how frequently the New Testament cites this important book. The apostle Paul, a trained Jewish scholar, quoted from or alluded to Isaiah’s prophecies at least eighty times, and the Servant Song (52:13–53:12) is cited almost forty times by New Testament writers. As such, Wiersbe contends, “Isaiah is much more than a prophet: He is an evangelist who presents Jesus Christ and the Good News of the Gospel."

Learn more about the book of Isaiah. By: Bill Crowder

Beautiful Feet

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.
Isaiah 52:7

John Nash was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994, recognizing his pioneering work in mathematics. His equations have since been used by businesses around the world in understanding the dynamics of competition and rivalry. A book and a full-length movie have documented his life and refer to him as having “a beautiful mind”—not because his brain had any particular aesthetic appeal, but because of what it did.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah uses the word beautiful to describe feet—not because of any visible physical attribute but because he saw beauty in what they did. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isaiah 52:7). After seventy years of captivity in Babylon resulting from their unfaithfulness to God, messengers arrived with encouraging words that God’s people would soon be returning home because “the Lord has . . . redeemed Jerusalem” (v. 9).

The good news wasn’t attributed to the military might of the Israelites or any other human effort. Rather it was the work of God’s “holy arm” on their behalf (v. 10). The same is true today, as we have victory over our spiritual enemy through Christ’s sacrifice for us. In response, we become the messengers of good news, proclaiming peace, good tidings, and salvation to those around us. And we do so with beautiful feet.  By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

Who brought you the good news of Christ’s sacrifice? To whom can you deliver that news?

Thank You, Father, for sending people into my life to share the news of Christ’s sacrifice. Help me to share it joyously with others.

Read Evangelism: Reaching Out Through Relationships.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
The Source of Abundant Joy

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. —Romans 8:37

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that “in all these things we are more than conquerors.” We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him” “in all these things”; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself.  The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 3-4; Mark 10:32-52

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
The Bends in the Road - #9172

Okay, it's an adult privilege to get nostalgic every once in a while, right? My wife and I would suddenly get this far-away look, and you know, drift back to some childhood incident. But frankly, I liked it when my wife was telling about her childhood on the farm in the Ozarks. I enjoyed hearing about it.

She told me one day about her walk to school. She was a five-year-old girl, they lived quite a ways from the main highway, and she had a long road ahead. Okay, she's got this big, long walk to the bus, so for the first leg of the trip, she'd have her Mom in sight. Now, Mom had another little girl there, so she couldn't leave. So she'd watch my wife until she got to a bend in the road. And then this little girl would go around the bend and there was Grandma, because Grandma's place was down the next stretch. And then she'd go around another bend, and around the next bend was a friendly neighbor's house who usually would spot little Karen coming and she would wave at her. And then there was one more bend, and then the bus. Guess what part of the journey my wife said she really didn't like? Yeah, the bends in the road.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bends In the Road."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Isaiah 43, and I'll begin reading at verse 1. "Fear not for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze." You know what the Lord's talking about here? He's talking about the bends in the road. It's those places where nobody's there but Him.

Now, our life journey is not unlike my wife's childhood walk to the school bus. At each major phase of our journey, God puts a strategic person or people in our path just like my wife would see Mom, and Grandma, and the neighbor, and then finally the people at the bus. In a sense, God will put flesh and blood representatives of His love right there when you need someone. And you can think back to who some of those people might have been in your life, right?

But as you've entered each new chapter and you've rounded each bend, there waiting for you has been God's person for that episode in your life. But then there are the bends in the road and there's no one there. The Bible talks about passing through the river, and the fire, and the waters. And for a time, you're without a support person. Maybe you're there now.

My wife said to me, "I learned that I had Jesus when I hit the bend in the road, and only Jesus." Hey, you might be in a bend like that right now, and there's no one who will be there for you. Or maybe they would be, but they just can't meet your need right now. Well, listen to His promise again. He has said all through the waters, and the fire, "I will be with you. I am the Lord your God."

Paul found out in his prison, "Everyone had deserted me, but the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength." See, the plan of God includes places where you will have no one but Him. Why is that? So you can experience life's greatest security of all. You say, "Ron, I'm religious, but I don't have that kind of a close thing going with God." Well, you might have a religion about Jesus and be missing the relationship with Jesus. And the reason for that is the wall between us and Him. That wall is our sin, our running of our own life. And the beautiful thing is that Jesus, who wants to walk with you every moment the rest of your life, went to a cross to die for the sin that separates you from God and will forever unless you begin a relationship with Him by putting all your trust in Him.

If you go to our website, there's a lot there about how to begin this relationship. It's ANewStory.com.

You'll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you've got. And you know where you discover that? At the scary, lonely, and precious bends in the road.

Deuteronomy 17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Live with a Hard Heart - March 7, 2022

Short memories harden the heart, so make careful note of God’s blessings. Declare with David: “[I will] daily add praise to praise.  I’ll write the book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation the livelong day, never run out of good things to write or say” (Psalm 71:14-15 MSG).

Catalog God’s goodnesses. Meditate on them. He has led you and earned your trust. Remember what he’s done for you. And acknowledge what you’ve done against God. The scripture says, “If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts” (1 John 1:10 NLT). Sin-hoarding stiffens us. Confession softens us.

Is your heart hard? Take it to the Father. You’re only a prayer away from tenderness. You live in a hard world, but you don’t have to live with a hard heart.

Deuteronomy 17
And don’t sacrifice to God, your God, an ox or sheep that is defective or has anything at all wrong with it. That’s an abomination, an insult to God, your God.

* * *

2-5 If you find anyone within the towns that God, your God, is giving you doing what is wrong in God’s eyes, breaking his covenant by going off to worship other gods, bowing down to them—the sun, say, or the moon, or any rebel sky-gods—look at the evidence and investigate carefully. If you find that it is true, that, in fact, an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you are to take the man or woman who did this evil thing outside your city gates and stone the man or the woman. Hurl stones at the person until dead.

6-7 But only on the testimony of two or three witnesses may a person be put to death. No one may be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The witnesses must throw the first stones in the execution, then the rest of the community joins in. You have to purge the evil from your community.

8-9 When matters of justice come up that are too much for you—hard cases regarding homicides, legal disputes, fights—take them up to the central place of worship that God, your God, has designated. Bring them to the Levitical priests and the judge who is in office at the time. Consult them and they will hand down the decision for you.

10-13 Then carry out their verdict at the place designated by God, your God. Do what they tell you, in exactly the way they tell you. Follow their instructions precisely: Don’t leave out anything; don’t add anything. Anyone who presumes to override or twist the decision handed down by the priest or judge who was acting in the Presence of God, your God, is as good as dead—root him out, rid Israel of the evil. Everyone will take notice and be impressed. That will put an end to presumptuous behavior.

* * *

14-17 When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you and take it over and settle down, and then say, “I’m going to get me a king, a king like all the nations around me,” make sure you get yourself a king whom God, your God, chooses. Choose your king from among your kinsmen; don’t take a foreigner—only a kinsman. And make sure he doesn’t build up a war machine, amassing military horses and chariots. He must not send people to Egypt to get more horses, because God told you, “You’ll never go back there again!” And make sure he doesn’t build up a harem, collecting wives who will divert him from the straight and narrow. And make sure he doesn’t pile up a lot of silver and gold.

18-20 This is what must be done: When he sits down on the throne of his kingdom, the first thing he must do is make himself a copy of this Revelation on a scroll, copied under the supervision of the Levitical priests. That scroll is to remain at his side at all times; he is to study it every day so that he may learn what it means to fear his God, living in reverent obedience before these rules and regulations by following them. He must not become proud and arrogant, changing the commands at whim to suit himself or making up his own versions. If he reads and learns, he will have a long reign as king in Israel, he and his sons.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, March 07, 2022

Today's Scripture
James 5:7–12
(NIV)

Patience and Prayer

7 Be patient, then, my brothers and sisters, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains. 8You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.

9 Do not complain against one another, my brothers and sisters, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear. 10My brothers and sisters, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering. 11*We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job’s patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.

12 *Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God’s judgement.

Insight

Because James’ readers lived in agricultural communities, many understood the patience required to wait for a harvest. They may not have given enough thought, however, to waiting for more lasting and profitable returns. So James paints a picture of contrast. First, he describes the impatience of wealthy landowners who aren’t willing to wait for the payoff of a life well lived (James 5:1–6). With eyes set on getting rich quickly, they built wealth off the backs of underpaid and mistreated harvesters. Then James makes a turn. He urges brothers and sisters in Jesus to consider whether by grumbling against one another they’re showing similar lack of concern for others. He urges them to weigh the value of a harvest of wisdom and peace rather than conflict (1:5; 3:13–18)—a harvest assured by a loving God and a Judge “full of compassion and mercy” (5:11) who’s promised to return (v. 8). By: Mart DeHaan

Willing to Wait

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
James 5:7

Waiting can be a culprit in stealing our peace. According to computer scientist Ramesh Sitaraman, few things “inspire universal frustration and ire” in internet users as waiting for a sluggish web browser to load. His research says that we’re willing to wait an average of two seconds for an online video to load. After five seconds, the abandonment rate is about twenty-five percent, and after ten seconds, half of the users desert their efforts. We’re certainly an impatient bunch!

James encouraged believers in Jesus to not abandon Him while they were waiting for His second coming. Christ’s return would motivate them to stand firm in the face of suffering and to love and honor one another (James 5:7–10). James used the example of the farmer to make his point. Like the farmer, who waited patiently for “autumn and spring rains” (v. 7) and for the land to yield its valuable crop, James encouraged believers to be patient under oppression until Jesus returned. And when He returned, He would right every wrong and bring shalom, peace.

Sometimes, we’re tempted to forsake Jesus while we wait for Him. But as we wait, let’s “keep watch” (Matthew 24:42), remain faithful (25:14–30), and live out His character and ways (Colossians 3:12). Though we don’t know when Jesus will return, let’s wait patiently for Him, as long as it takes. By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What’s hardest about waiting for Jesus’ return? How’s His return an incentive for living out His character and ways?

Jesus, I’ll wait for You. Though the world is dark and filled with pain, suffering, injustice, and uncertainty, I’ll wait for You. Though I don’t know the day or the time, I’ll wait for You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 07, 2022

March 7
The Source of Abundant Joy


In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. —Romans 8:37

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that “in all these things we are more than conquerors.” We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him” “in all these things”; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).


Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 3-4; Mark 10:32-52


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 07, 2022

So I'm in the backyard with our then six-year-old grandson when, out of the blue, he says, "Grandpa, I'm going to be married someday." Oh boy. I'm searching for something wise to say as grandfathers are supposed to do. My grandson saved me - with five little words, "But it's up to Jesus." That little conversation has replayed in my head and my heart a dozen times I think.

See, I'm a guy who's worked with - and still works with - a lot of young people. Many of them bear the scars of the mistakes they've made for love. But then, so do many married couples I've been close to over the years.

Our desire to be loved, and to belong, to be married - all normal, even God-given. But those desires can be so strong or so impatient that we just out-and-out say, "I'm going to be married." Minus "It's up to Jesus." Because we've made up our mind that married is what we're going to be.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mistakes We Make For Love."

That's where so many decisions have been made that led to loneliness more than love, to a nightmare instead of that dream come true. When it comes to love, we're not really sure like the Bible says, "the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1 ). You know, if God's taking too long, it's our choice, not God's, right? And then we run around or ahead of God and ahead of His perfect plan for our lives. And we end up with a lifetime of regret wondering what might have been.

Our daughter had a plaque up in her room during her teenage years. It was a constant reminder to let the love of your life be your Heavenly Father's choice. It said, "God reserves His very best for those who leave the choice to Him."

Or, as our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 37 tells us beginning in verse 4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass." I take that to say, "You chase after the heart of God, and God will take care of seeing you have the love you need."

That statement about "He will give you the desires of your heart"? I've never known whether that means He will give you what you desire or He'll put His desires in your heart. Maybe it's some of each. Major on loving Him, and you'll be wanting what He wants to give you. At just the right time, in just the right way, He'll provide it.

So many wish that they had waited for God's choice. They wish they hadn't dethroned God when it came to their lifetime love. Thank God, there's grace from Him to redeem a human "mistake" with one of His miraculous marriage makeovers. But it's so much better to get it right from the start, which means surrendering to a loving Savior your right to be married; to trust Him to decide if and who and when. Because "as for God, (the Bible says) His way is perfect" (Psalm 18:30). Anyone who loved you enough to die for you is never going to do you wrong. Listen to the Bible: "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all - how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

After every "I want" should come four little words that mark the road to God's best. "It's up to Jesus." It's often our broken dreams and our messed up plans that actually turn our heart in God's direction. And that's where we finally find the love and the purpose that we were made for; that we've looked for our whole life. It's in the One who loved us like no one ever loved us - enough to die for our sin so we could be with Him forever. Not a dead Savior. A living Savior, who walked out of His grave three days after He died under His own power, so He could walk into your life today on your invitation and fill it with the love your heart has been so hungry for.

Maybe it's time to investigate letting Jesus drive, and how you can belong to Him now and forever. Our website's got a kind of "roadmap" for that. Would you check it out? It's ANewStory.com.

Look, haven't you lived long enough without the love you were made for?

Luke 5:1-16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God's Best Idea

Your dad makes you come to church, but he can't make you listen.  At least that's what you've always muttered to yourself.  But this morning you listen because he speaks of a God who loves prodigals, and you feel like the worst sort of one.   You can't keep the pregnancy a secret much longer.  Soon your parents will know.   The preacher will know.  He says God already knows.  You wonder what God thinks!
Grace is God's best idea.   Rather than tell us to change, he creates the change.  Do we clean up so he can accept us?  No, he accepts us and begins cleaning us up.  What a difference this makes.
Can't forgive your past?  Christ can, and he is on the move, aggressively budging you from graceless to grace-shaped living.  Forgiven people forgiving people.  Deep sighs of relief.
Grace is everything Jesus!
From GRACE

Luke 5:1-16

Push Out into Deep Water

Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd.

4 When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”

5-7 Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.

8-10 Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. “Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.” When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee’s sons, coworkers with Simon.

10-11 Jesus said to Simon, “There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him.
Invitation to a Changed Life

12 One day in one of the villages there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus he fell down before him in prayer and said, “If you want to, you can cleanse me.”

13 Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there his skin was smooth, the leprosy gone.

14-16 Jesus instructed him, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.” But the man couldn’t keep it to himself, and the word got out. Soon a large crowd of people had gathered to listen and be healed of their sicknesses. As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Sunday, March 06, 2022

Today's Scripture
Romans 8:22–27
(NIV)

     All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

26–28     Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.

Insight

Romans 8 is significant in understanding the role of the Spirit of God in the lives of believers in Jesus. The chapter’s emphasis on the Spirit’s ministry includes His role as liberating us from sin and death and empowering us to please God (vv. 2–8). His powerful indwelling presence (vv. 9–11) helps us in overcoming our fallen human nature (vv. 12–13). He’s the One whose ministry brings us into the family of God and who bears witness to our status as His children (vv. 14–17). The Spirit’s assistance in prayer comes into focus in verses 26–27. But not only do believers in Jesus have the Spirit’s help in prayer, Christ also intercedes for us: “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (v. 34). By: Arthur Jackson

Tongue-Tied in Prayer

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Romans 8:26

When my baby brother underwent surgery, I was concerned. My mother explained that “tongue-tie” (ankyloglossia) was a condition he was born with and that without help, his ability to eat and eventually to speak would be hindered. Today we use the term tongue-tied to describe being at a loss for words or too shy to speak.

Sometimes we can be tongue-tied in prayer, not knowing what to say. Our tongues tie up in spiritual clichés and repetitive phrases. We arrow our emotions heavenward, wondering if they will reach God’s ears. Our thoughts zigzag along an unfocused path.

Writing to first-century Roman believers in Christ, the apostle Paul addressed what to do when we struggle to know how to pray, inviting us to find help from the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). The concept of “help” here is to carry a heavy load. And “wordless groans” indicates an interceding presence as the Spirit carries our needs to God.

When we’re tongue-tied in prayer, God’s Spirit helps shape our confusion, pain, and distraction into the perfect prayer that moves from our hearts to God’s ears. He listens and answers, bringing the exact kind of comfort we may not have known we needed until we asked Him to pray for us. By:  Elisa Morgan

Reflect & Pray

When have you not known what or how to pray? How did God help you through that situation?

Dear God, thank You for Your Spirit’s help when I don’t know how to pray.

Learn more about prayer.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 06, 2022

Taking the Next Step
…in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. —2 Corinthians 6:4

When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.

Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ inJohn 13:1-17.

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: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 10:1-31

Deuteronomy 16 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Jesus' Seamless Perfection

Scripture often describes our behavior as the clothes we wear. In 1 Peter 5:5, Peter urges us to be "clothed with humility." David speaks of evil people who clothe themselves "with cursing." Garments can symbolize character, and like His garment, Jesus' character was seamless. The character of Jesus was a seamless fabric woven from heaven to earth-from God's thoughts to Jesus' actions. From God's tears to Jesus' compassion. From God's word to Jesus' response. All one piece. A picture of the character of Jesus.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, He took off His robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe. He wore our sin so we could wear His righteousness.
From He Chose the Nails

Deuteronomy 16

Observe the month of Abib by celebrating the Passover to God, your God. It was in the month of Abib that God, your God, delivered you by night from Egypt. Offer the Passover-Sacrifice to God, your God, at the place God chooses to be worshiped by establishing his name there. Don’t eat yeast bread with it; for seven days eat it with unraised bread, hard-times bread, because you left Egypt in a hurry—that bread will keep the memory fresh of how you left Egypt for as long as you live. There is to be no sign of yeast anywhere for seven days. And don’t let any of the meat that you sacrifice in the evening be left over until morning.

5-7 Don’t sacrifice the Passover in any of the towns that God, your God, gives you other than the one God, your God, designates for worship; there and there only you will offer the Passover-Sacrifice at evening as the sun goes down, marking the time that you left Egypt. Boil and eat it at the place designated by God, your God. Then, at daybreak, turn around and go home.

8 Eat unraised bread for six days. Set aside the seventh day as a holiday; don’t do any work.

9-11 Starting from the day you put the sickle to the ripe grain, count out seven weeks. Celebrate the Feast-of-Weeks to God, your God, by bringing your Freewill-Offering—give as generously as God, your God, has blessed you. Rejoice in the Presence of God, your God: you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, the Levite who lives in your neighborhood, the foreigner, the orphan and widow among you; rejoice at the place God, your God, will set aside to be worshiped.

12 Don’t forget that you were once a slave in Egypt. So be diligent in observing these regulations.

13-15 Observe the Feast-of-Booths for seven days when you gather the harvest from your threshing-floor and your wine-vat. Rejoice at your festival: you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, the Levite, the foreigner, and the orphans and widows who live in your neighborhood. Celebrate the Feast to God, your God, for seven days at the place God designates. God, your God, has been blessing you in your harvest and in all your work, so make a day of it—really celebrate!

16-17 All your men must appear before God, your God, three times each year at the place he designates: at the Feast-of-Unraised-Bread (Passover), at the Feast-of-Weeks, and at the Feast-of-Booths. No one is to show up in the Presence of God empty-handed; each man must bring as much as he can manage, giving generously in response to the blessings of God, your God.

* * *

18-19 Appoint judges and officers, organized by tribes, in all the towns that God, your God, is giving you. They are to judge the people fairly and honestly. Don’t twist the law. Don’t play favorites. Don’t take a bribe—a bribe blinds even a wise person; it undermines the intentions of the best of people.

20 The right! The right! Pursue only what’s right! It’s the only way you can really live and possess the land that God, your God, is giving you.

* * *

21-22 Don’t plant fertility Asherah trees alongside the Altar of God, your God, that you build. Don’t set up phallic sex pillars—God, your God, hates them.

Today's Scripture
Psalm 32
(NIV)

Of David. A maskil.a

1 Blessed is the one

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.a

2 Blessed is the one

whose sin the Lord does not count against themb

and in whose spirit is no deceit.c

3 When I kept silent,d

my bones wasted awaye

through my groaningf all day long.

4 For day and night

your hand was heavyg on me;

my strength was sappedh

as in the heat of summer.b

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.i

I said, “I will confessj

my transgressionsk to the Lord.”

And you forgave

the guilt of my sin.l

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you

while you may be found;m

surely the risingn of the mighty waterso

will not reach them.p

7 You are my hiding place;q

you will protect me from troubler

and surround me with songs of deliverance.s

8 I will instructt you and teach youu in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my loving eye onv you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,

which have no understanding

but must be controlled by bit and bridlew

or they will not come to you.

10 Many are the woes of the wicked,x

but the Lord’s unfailing love

surrounds the one who trustsy in him.

11 Rejoice in the Lordz and be glad, you righteous;

sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Insight

Psalm 32 is one of the great penitential psalms in which the writer confesses his sin to God. It’s intriguing that David makes mention of his bones in verse 3. “Bones” as understood here is representative of his physical health. David uses the same terminology in Psalm 6:2, where he says, “Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony,” and the term appears frequently throughout the Psalms and Proverbs. It’s dangerous to assume that physical affliction is a sign of God’s judgment (see the book of Job), but the biblical poets knew well that sin wears us out emotionally and physically. A failure to repent will have an adverse effect on our spiritual and physical health. Confession is good for the soul and for our entire being. By: Tim Gustafson

Safe Hands

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble.
Psalm 32:7

Like the unraveling of a rope, the threads of Doug Merkey’s life were breaking one by one. “My mother had lost her prolonged battle with cancer; a long-term romantic relationship was failing; my finances were depleted; my vocation was foggy. . . . The emotional and spiritual darkness around me and within me was deep and debilitating and seemingly impenetrable,” the pastor and sculptor wrote. These collective events, combined with living in a cramped attic, became the setting from which his sculpture The Hiding Place emerged. It depicts Christ’s strong, nailed-scarred hands openly cupped together as a place of safety.

Doug explained the design of his artwork this way: The “sculpture is Christ’s invitation to hide in Him.” In Psalm 32, David wrote as one who had found the ultimate safe place—God Himself. He offers us forgiveness from our sin (vv. 1–5) and encourages us to offer prayer in the midst of tumult (v. 6). In verse 7, the psalmist declares his trust in God: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

When trouble shows up, where do you turn? How good it is to know that when the fragile cords of our earthly existence begin to unravel, we can run to the God who has provided eternal safety through the forgiving work of Jesus. By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

What has it meant or what will it mean for you to find shelter, safety, and forgiveness in Jesus? How does He provide what you need for your cares, fears, and burdens?

Father, You know the times I’ve sought to piece my life together without You. Help me to forsake my misguided plans for safety and to run swiftly to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 05, 2022 
Is He Really My Lord?

…so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus… —Acts 20:24

Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

“Do you love Me?” Then, “Feed My sheep” (John 21:17). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

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

Bible in a Year: Numbers 34-36; Mark 9:30-50

Deuteronomy 15 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Because God So Loved the World - March 4, 2022

Life, at times, appears to fall to pieces. It seems irreparable. But it’s going to be okay. How can you know? Because, as John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world.”

Those are God’s arms you feel. Trust him. Believe him. Allow the only decision maker in the universe to comfort you. Since he has no needs, you cannot tire him. Since he is without age, you cannot lose him. Since he has no sin, you cannot corrupt him.

Paul said in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us.” If God can make a billion galaxies, can’t he make good out of our bad and sense out of our faltering lives? Of course he can! He is not just alive, but he is life himself. John 5:26 confirms for us: “The Father has life in himself.” He is God! And God loves you.

Deuteronomy 15

At the end of every seventh year, cancel all debts. This is the procedure: Everyone who has lent money to a neighbor writes it off. You must not press your neighbor or his brother for payment: All-Debts-Are-Canceled—God says so. You may collect payment from foreigners, but whatever you have lent to your fellow Israelite you must write off.

4-6 There must be no poor people among you because God is going to bless you lavishly in this land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, your very own land. But only if you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, diligently observing every commandment that I command you today. Oh yes—God, your God, will bless you just as he promised. You will lend to many nations but won’t borrow from any; you’ll rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

7-9 When you happen on someone who’s in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don’t look the other way pretending you don’t see him. Don’t keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don’t count the cost. Don’t listen to that selfish voice saying, “It’s almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Canceled,” and turn aside and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch, refusing to help him. He’ll call God’s attention to you and your blatant sin.

10-11 Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

12-15 If a Hebrew man or Hebrew woman was sold to you and has served you for six years, in the seventh year you must set him or her free, released into a free life. And when you set them free don’t send them off empty-handed. Provide them with some animals, plenty of bread and wine and oil. Load them with provisions from all the blessings with which God, your God, has blessed you. Don’t for a minute forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, redeemed you from that slave world.

For that reason, this day I command you to do this.

16-17 But if your slave, because he loves you and your family and has a good life with you, says, “I don’t want to leave you,” then take an awl and pierce through his earlobe into the doorpost, marking him as your slave forever. Do the same with your women slaves who want to stay with you.

18 Don’t consider this an unreasonable hardship, this setting your slave free. After all, he’s worked six years for you at half the cost of a hired hand.

Believe me, God, your God, will bless you in everything you do.

* * *

19-23 Set apart to God, your God, all the firstborn males in your herds and flocks. Don’t use the firstborn from your herds as work animals; don’t shear the firstborn from your flocks. These are for you to eat every year, you and your family, in the Presence of God, your God, at the place that God designates for worship. If the animal is defective, lame, say, or blind—anything wrong with it—don’t slaughter it as a sacrifice to God, your God. Stay at home and eat it there. Both the ritually clean and unclean may eat it, the same as with a gazelle or a deer. Only you must not eat its blood. Pour the blood out on the ground like water.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, March 04, 2022

Today's Scripture
Matthew 6:19–24
(NIV)

A Life of God-Worship

19–21     “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

22–23     “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

24     “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.

Insight

In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus teaches His disciples by using comparison. By comparing earthly treasures with heavenly treasures, He shows that what we cherish exposes our hearts. “Treasures in heaven” (v. 20) most likely refers to spiritual wealth. Bible commentator Craig Blomberg suggests it’s “the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs.”

In comparing good and bad eyes (vv. 22–23), Jesus is telling His listeners that what they focus on will fill their hearts. These examples lead to the comparison of two masters—God and money (v. 24). The word serve is key to understanding this verse. Serve is related to the term doulos, which refers to a slave rather than an employee. Jesus is saying that a slave’s loyalty is undivided. That’s the kind of undivided devotion Jesus calls His followers to—a “hatred” of anything that distracts from devotion to Him (see Matthew 10:34–39; 12:30; Luke 14:26).

Unshakable Faith

Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.
Luke 12:15

Kevin walked into the nursing facility after his dad passed away to pick up his belongings. The staff handed him two small boxes. He said he realized that day that it really didn’t take an abundance of possessions to be happy.

His dad, Larry, had been carefree and always ready with a smile and an encouraging word for others. The reason for his happiness was another “possession” that didn’t fit into a box: an unshakable faith in his Redeemer, Jesus.

Jesus urges us to “store up . . . treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). He didn’t say we couldn’t own a home or buy a car or save for the future or have numerous possessions. But He urged us to examine the focus of our hearts. Where was Larry’s focus? His heart was set on loving God by loving others. He would wander up and down the halls where he lived, greeting and encouraging those he met. If someone was in tears, he was there with a comforting word or listening ear or heartfelt prayer. His mind was focused on living for God’s honor and the good of others.

We might want to ask ourselves if we could be happy with fewer things that clutter and distract us from the more important matters of loving God and others. “Where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also” (v. 21). What we value is reflected in how we live. By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

Are there ways in which your priorities are out of order? What changes do you think God might want you to make?

I love You, dear God, and want You as my greatest love. Show me how I can become more like You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 04, 2022
Is This True of Me?

None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself… —Acts 20:24

It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to work for Him on the basis of common sense.

What do I count in my life as “dear to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. This verse shows an almost noble annoyance by Paul at being asked to consider himself. He was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, “Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. The Place of Help, 1005 R

Bible in a Year: Numbers 31-33; Mark 9:1-29

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 04, 2022

The Maestro at His Best - #9170

When the famous violinist Paganini played a concert in one of the great halls of Europe, it was equivalent to the draw of like a modern rock concert. Well, the story is told of one such night in Paris. As Paganini appeared on the stage, there's this excited buzz in the audience, and there was expectant applause. But as the maestro began to play, a string broke on his exquisite violin. Well, any concern passed pretty quickly as he picked up the tune on his remaining three strings. Unbelievably, another string snapped, followed moments later by a third string. Now the buzz in the audience was more anxious, I mean, like disgruntled; it wasn't expectant anymore. But the old maestro just raised his hand - called for silence. And as the audience became quiet again, he made a simple announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen Paganini and one string." What followed was easily the most amazing musical performance the crowd had ever seen, or would ever see, as the maestro played a rich and flawless melody on one string.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Maestro at His Best."

When did the master most powerfully demonstrate his skill? When he had the least to work with - one string. When does the Lord Jesus, our Master, most powerfully demonstrate how much He can do? When He has the least to work with. When our strings are broken, we have almost nothing left, that's when He plays His masterpieces.

That's what the great Apostle Paul learned when virtually all the strings of his life had broken. His testimony is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. It's our word for today from the Word of. God. Paul had been given some spiritual revelations that no man had ever experienced before. He says, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh...Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'"

See, because Paul experiences God's power the most when he has nothing left, he says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me...For when I am weak, then I am strong." Why? Because the less there is of you, the more there is of God and the more of His power you experience. Which actually can make you, much like Paul, actually embrace your hard times, even your hurting times with a sense of expectancy instead of dread or discouragement. It's not that you like the pain, but you realize what pain can produce. And all through it, you have God's unbreakable promise, "My grace is sufficient for you."

Our weakness (oh how I've experienced it so many times) means an opportunity for a display of His strength and His glory: a chance to experience God's ability to heal, to intervene, to carry you. The famous British journalist, Malcolm Muggeridge, who gloriously came to Christ late in life, put it this way, "Everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction, not through happiness."

So maybe most of your strings have broken and you're down to one string. Well, that's the moment when the Maestro is at His very best. He lovingly holds you in His arms and He says, "Almighty God and one string." He's about to play something beautiful, something unforgettable, something amazing through your life.