Proverbs 31 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A New Definition

With God-all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26).

Consider Abram. Pushing a century of years, his wife, Sarai, ninety. The wallpaper in the nursery faded, baby furniture out of date.  The topic of a promised child brings sighs and tears. . . and God tells them they'd better select a name for their new son. They laugh! Partly because it's too good to happen and partly because it might.  They've given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it's real. They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God-for God is laughing too.

With the smile still on His face, He gets busy doing what He does the best-the unbelievable. Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a promised multitude. Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother.

Their names aren't the only thing God changes. He changes the way they define the word impossible!

From The Applause of Heaven

Proverbs 31

Speak Out for Justice

The words of King Lemuel,

    the strong advice his mother gave him:

2-3 “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!

    Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!

Don’t dilute your strength on fortune-hunting women,

    promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.

4-7 “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,

    gulping wine and swilling beer,

Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,

    and the people who depend on them are hurt.

Use wine and beer only as sedatives,

    to kill the pain and dull the ache

Of the terminally ill,

    for whom life is a living death.

8-9 “Speak up for the people who have no voice,

    for the rights of all the misfits.

Speak out for justice!

    Stand up for the poor and destitute!”

Hymn to a Good Wife

10-31 A good woman is hard to find,

    and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,

    and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously

    all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,

    and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places

    and brings back exotic surprises.

She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast

    for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it,

    then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,

    rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work,

    is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,

    diligent in homemaking.

She’s quick to assist anyone in need,

    reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;

    their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing,

    and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected

    when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them,

    brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant,

    and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,

    and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,

    and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her;

    her husband joins in with words of praise:

“Many women have done wonderful things,

    but you’ve outclassed them all!”

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.

    The woman to be admired and praised

    is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Give her everything she deserves!

    Adorn her life with praises!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 120:1–121:2

I’m in trouble. I cry to God,

    desperate for an answer:

“Deliver me from the liars, God!

    They smile so sweetly but lie through their teeth.”

3-4 Do you know what’s next, can you see what’s coming,

    all you bold-faced liars?

Pointed arrows and burning coals

    will be your reward.

5-7 I’m doomed to live in Meshech,

    cursed with a home in Kedar,

My whole life lived camping

    among quarreling neighbors.

I’m all for peace, but the minute

    I tell them so, they go to war!

121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;

    does my strength come from mountains?

No, my strength comes from God,

    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

Insight

Psalms 120 and 121 are among the Psalms or Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), which were most likely memorized and sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover (Unleavened Bread), Weeks, and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16). Some of these ascent psalms are assigned to David (Psalms 122, 124, 131, 133) and one is attributed to Solomon (Psalm 127), but most have no listed author. This diverse group of psalms includes lament psalms, thanksgiving psalms, a royal psalm, wisdom psalms, and more. Yet although they may not have been written to be used as ascent psalms, they were later used for that purpose. Psalm 120 is an individual psalm written by someone far from home longing for the peace of Jerusalem (vv. 5–7), while the reassuring words of Psalm 121 instill confidence in pilgrims making the journey to Jerusalem. Today, the Psalms of Ascent continue to be significant in worship for both Jews and believers in Jesus. By: Alyson Kieda

A New Beginning

Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. Psalm 120:2

“Christian consciousness begins in the painful realization that what we had assumed was the truth is in fact a lie,” Eugene Peterson wrote in his powerful reflections on Psalm 120. Psalm 120 is the first of the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134) sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. And as Peterson explored this in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, these psalms also offer us a picture of the spiritual journey toward God.

That journey can only begin with profound awareness of our need for something different. As Peterson puts it, “A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. . . . [One] has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace.”

It’s easy to become discouraged by the brokenness and despair we see in the world around us—the pervasive ways our culture often shows callous disregard for the harm being done to others. Psalm 120 laments this honestly: “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (v. 7).

But there’s healing and freedom in realizing that our pain can also awaken us to a new beginning through our only help, the Savior who can guide us from destructive lies into paths of peace and wholeness (121:2). As we enter this new year, may we seek Him and His ways. By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How have you become accustomed to destructive ways? How does the gospel invite you into ways of peace? 

Loving God, help me yearn for and work for Your ways of peace through the power of Your Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Called By God

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20

Proverbs 30 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: OUR PROBLEMS MATTER TO HEAVEN - January 13, 2023

Jesus was at a wedding when Mary, his mother, came to him with a problem. “They have no more wine” (John 2:3). Weddings lasted as long as seven days in first-century Palestine. Food and wine were expected to last just as long. So Mary was concerned when she saw the servants scraping the bottom of the wine barrel.

We’re not told the reason for the shortage, but we are told how it was replenished. Mary presented the problem. Christ was reluctant. Mary deferred. Jesus reconsidered. He commanded. The servants obeyed. The sommelier sipped and said something about their squirreling away the best wine for the farewell toasts. Mary smiled at her son, Jesus raised a glass to his mother, and we are left with this message: our diminishing supplies, no matter how insignificant, matter to heaven.

Proverbs 30

The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh

God? Who Needs Him?

The skeptic swore, “There is no God!

    No God!—I can do anything I want!

I’m more animal than human;

    so-called human intelligence escapes me.

3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’

    I see no evidence of a holy God.

Has anyone ever seen Anyone

    climb into Heaven and take charge?

    grab the winds and control them?

    gather the rains in his bucket?

    stake out the ends of the earth?

Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.

    Come on now—tell me!”

5-6 The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;

    he protects everyone who runs to him for help.

So don’t second-guess him;

    he might take you to task and show up your lies.”

7-9 And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things

    before I die; don’t refuse me—

Banish lies from my lips

    and liars from my presence.

Give me enough food to live on,

    neither too much nor too little.

If I’m too full, I might get independent,

    saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’

If I’m poor, I might steal

    and dishonor the name of my God.”

* * *

10 Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers

    behind their backs;

They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,

    and then you’ll be the guilty one!

11 Don’t curse your father

    or fail to bless your mother.

12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable

    when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.

13 Don’t be stuck-up

    and think you’re better than everyone else.

14 Don’t be greedy,

    merciless and cruel as wolves,

Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,

    shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.

15-16 A freeloader has twin daughters

    named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”

Four Insatiables

Three things are never satisfied,

    no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—

        hell,

        a barren womb,

        a parched land,

        a forest fire.

* * *

17 An eye that disdains a father

    and despises a mother—

that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures

    and consumed by young eagles.

Four Mysteries

18-19 Three things amaze me,

    no, four things I’ll never understand—

        how an eagle flies so high in the sky,

        how a snake glides over a rock,

        how a ship navigates the ocean,

        why adolescents act the way they do.

* * *

20 Here’s how a prostitute operates:

    she has sex with her client,

Takes a bath,

    then asks, “Who’s next?”

Four Intolerables

21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,

    yes, four things shake its foundations—

        when the janitor becomes the boss,

        when a fool gets rich,

        when a prostitute is voted “woman of the year,”

        when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.

Four Small Wonders

24-28 There are four small creatures,

    wisest of the wise they are—

        ants—frail as they are,

            get plenty of food in for the winter;

        marmots—vulnerable as they are,

            manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;

        locusts—leaderless insects,

            yet they strip the field like an army regiment;

        lizards—easy enough to catch,

            but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.

Four Dignitaries

29-31 There are three solemn dignitaries,

    four that are impressive in their bearing—

        a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;

        a rooster, proud and strutting;

        a billy goat;

        a head of state in stately procession.

* * *

32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself

    by offending people and making rude gestures,

Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.

    Churned milk turns into butter;

    riled emotions turn into fist fights.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, January 13, 2023

Today's Scripture

Romans 9:1–5

God Is Calling His People

At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites .?.?. If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!

Insight

The opening verses of Romans 9 remind us that Paul wasn’t setting out to write a theological treatise (although Romans is widely considered his greatest work theologically). But it’s difficult to miss his passion concerning his fellow Jews and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. So deep was his distress (“great sorrow and unceasing anguish,” v. 2) that he declared himself willing to be “cursed and cut off from Christ” (v. 3). The Greek word anathema, translated “cursed” or more literally “accursed” (nkjv), refers to something that’s laid up or dedicated as an offering, a sacrifice. Being “cursed” would mean being cut off and separated from Jesus. Paul’s deep desire for his countrymen to share in the salvation brought through Christ led him to wish that he, like Jesus, could be made an offering for the sake of his people. By: J.R. Hudberg

The Crowd

I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for [my people’s] sake. Romans 9:3

“Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them,” observed philosopher and author Hannah Arendt (1906–75). She added, “[B]ut few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons.” As a Jew, Arendt witnessed this firsthand in her native Germany. There’s something terrifying about being rejected by the group.

The apostle Paul experienced such rejection. Trained as a Pharisee and rabbi, his life was turned upside down when he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Paul had been traveling to Damascus to persecute those who believed in Christ (Acts 9). After his conversion, the apostle found himself rejected by his own people. In his letter we know as 2 Corinthians, Paul reviewed some of the troubles he faced at their hands, among them “beatings” and “imprisonments” (6:5).   

Rather than responding to such rejection with anger or bitterness, Paul longed for them to come to know Jesus too. He wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people” (Romans 9:2–3).

As God has welcomed us into His family, may He also enable us to invite even our adversaries into relationship with Him. By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

How have you responded when you experienced exclusion? What makes rejection so hard?

Loving God, help me to point others to You and a place in Your kingdom despite personal hurt or disappointment.

Learn more about the life and ministry of Paul.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, January 13, 2023

Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)

When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10

His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).

As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.

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: Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, January 13, 2023

TOO MUCH TO CARRY - #9395

I think it had something to do with moving a piano. I've been part of moving one of those monsters, and I know what a bear it is to do. Fortunately, we had plenty of guys to share the load. I guess my Dad didn't. Ultimately, he said moving a piano was a major reason he had to have one of those difficult surgeries - actually to repair a hernia. I'd never even heard the word before until my Dad helped move a piano. There weren't enough men to bear the load of that piano that they moved at church. Well, for at least one man - my Dad - the load was too much to bear without major damage.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Much to Carry."

If you're carrying a heavy load right now, God's wanting to give you a little relief. It was never His intention that your load be so great that you end up injured by it. His plan for lightening the load may be similar to what He did for one of His overloaded servants years ago. The prescription for relief is found in Numbers 11, beginning with verse 13. It happens to be our word for today from the Word of God.

Maybe you'll be able to identify with this heart cry from Moses to his Lord: "I cannot carry all these people by myself" - are you there? - "the burden is too heavy for me." I tell you, I've felt that way, and maybe you have, too. Here's God's answer. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Bring me seventy of Israel's leaders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you...I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.'" And, sure enough, "The Lord came down in the cloud...and He took the Spirit that was on him (Moses) and put the Spirit on the seventy elders."

To put it plainly, this could be called "how to avoid a leadership hernia." Which is often caused by the same thing that injures someone carrying a heavy load physically - there aren't enough people sharing the load. If you're on overload, you may want to claim Numbers 11:17 as a promise from your Lord who said, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29). Here's this promise: "I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone."

What can you do to help that happen? First, you have to be sincerely willing to let go of some of the load. Maybe others haven't stepped up because you insist on hanging on to control everything. And you're dying beneath the weight of it all. Secondly, you need to take time to actively nurture others to take some of the load. You need to tell them you want to trust them with more. Share your wisdom, your experience, your walk with God. And then show them how to do some of what you've been doing, and then release them to do it. Remember, there was a time when you were the one waiting to be trusted with more - and someone did.

Another step to this multiplied empowerment is to cry out to God like Moses did, admitting that the burden is too heavy and asking Him to do what only He can do - find and empower men and women who will faithfully carry some of your load. As Jesus said, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field" (Matthew 9:38). By the way, you may be one of those workers that some overloaded servant of God is praying for. And your Lord is summoning you to get out of the stands and get in the game - to join Him in the work He's doing. You've been a fan long enough. He's asking you to come alongside one of His servants for whom you will be one glorious answer to prayer.

God stands ready to take the same kind of Holy Spirit empowerment that He's given you and plant that anointing in the lives of others. But you have to be willing to let go, and they have to be willing to step up. And the work of God will take off where you are as never before, without anyone being crushed by the load.

Acts 5:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: AT YOUR BEST - January 12, 2023

The road on which Denalyn and I take our walks is marked by a small country graveyard. No dirt has been turned for a century. Yet John 5:28-29 says, “A time is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. Then they will come out of their graves.”

If these words are true, someday God will shake the soil of this simple cemetery. The caskets will open, and the bodies of these forgotten farmers will be called into the sky. But in what form? These bodies were wracked by disease and deformity. How will these bodies be worthy of heaven?

Here is Paul’s answer: “The body…is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42, 44). Spirits will be reunited with bodies, resulting in a spiritual body. You are going to love yours.

Acts 5:1-21

Ananias and Sapphira

But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.

3-4 Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”

5-6 Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

7-8 Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”

“Yes,” she said, “that price.”

9-10 Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11 By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.

They All Met Regularly

12-16 Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter’s shadow when he walked by. They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.

To Obey God Rather than Men

17-20 Provoked mightily by all this, the Chief Priest and those on his side, mainly the sect of Sadducees, went into action, arrested the apostles and put them in the town jail. But during the night an angel of God opened the jailhouse door and led them out. He said, “Go to the Temple and take your stand. Tell the people everything there is to say about this Life.”

Promptly obedient, they entered the Temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.

21-23 Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Today's Scripture

Revelation 5:1–10

The Lion Is a Lamb

 I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One Seated on the Throne. It was written on both sides, fastened with seven seals. I also saw a powerful Angel, calling out in a voice like thunder, “Is there anyone who can open the scroll, who can break its seals?”

3 There was no one—no one in Heaven, no one on earth, no one from the underworld—able to break open the scroll and read it.

4-5 I wept and wept and wept that no one was found able to open the scroll, able to read it. One of the Elders said, “Don’t weep. Look—the Lion from Tribe Judah, the Root of David’s Tree, has conquered. He can open the scroll, can rip through the seven seals.”

6-10 So I looked, and there, surrounded by Throne, Animals, and Elders, was a Lamb, slaughtered but standing tall. Seven horns he had, and seven eyes, the Seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth. He came to the One Seated on the Throne and took the scroll from his right hand. The moment he took the scroll, the Four Animals and Twenty-four Elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. Each had a harp and each had a bowl, a gold bowl filled with incense, the prayers of God’s holy people. And they sang a new song:

Worthy! Take the scroll, open its seals.

Slain! Paying in blood, you bought men and women,

Bought them back from all over the earth,

Bought them back for God.

Then you made them a Kingdom, Priests for our God,

Priest-kings to rule over the earth.

Insight

In today’s passage from John’s vision recorded in Revelation (5:1–10), we’re given a picture of the unexpected ways of God. Jesus is first described as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5), but when John looks up, he sees not the regal figure of a lion but a mortally wounded lamb (v. 6). God’s victory was won not by the mighty lion but by the humble lamb who appeared defeated.

Both images, the lion and the lamb, are used elsewhere in Scripture to speak of God’s Messiah and the work He would do. On his deathbed, as Jacob pronounced a blessing on each of his children, he proclaimed to his son Judah that he was “a lion’s cub” from whom a ruler would come (Genesis 49:9). And John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). By: J.R. Hudberg

The Rest of Our Story

Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, . . . has triumphed. Revelation 5:5

For more than six decades, news journalist Paul Harvey was a familiar voice on American radio. He would say with a colorful flair, “You know what the news is, in a minute you’re going to hear the rest of the story.” After a brief advertisement, he would tell a little-known story of a well-known person. But by withholding until the end either the person’s name or some other key element, he delighted listeners with his dramatic pause and tagline: “And now you know . . . the rest of the story.”

The apostle John’s vision of things past and future unfolds with a similar promise. However, his story begins on a sad note. He couldn’t stop crying when he saw that no created being in heaven or on earth could explain where history is going (Revelation 4:1; 5:1–4). Then he heard a voice offering hope in the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5). But when John looked, instead of seeing a conquering lion, he saw a lamb looking like it had been slaughtered (vv. 5–6). The unlikely sight erupted in waves of celebration around the throne of God. In three expanding choruses, twenty-four elders were joined by countless angels and then by all of heaven and earth (vv. 8–14).

Who could have imagined that a crucified Savior would be the hope of all creation, the glory of our God, and the rest of our story.

By:  Mart DeHaan

Reflect & Pray

What fears and sorrows do you have that need the hope found in Jesus? How does thinking of Him as both the conquering Lion and the sacrificial Lamb help you worship Him?

Almighty God, You deserve all power, praise, and love.

Learn more about how to read the book of Revelation.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, January 12, 2023

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34

Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?

We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, January 12, 2023

THE WALL THAT KEEPS US FROM GOD - #9394

It may have been the happiest traffic jam in history. The scene: the Brandenburg Gate between East and West Berlin on an incredible November weekend years ago. Suddenly, after rapid revolutionary changes in the policies of East Germany's communist government, people could go through the wall that for 28 years had divided that city between free and communist. The cars were lined up for miles to cross that barrier that had been closed for so long. Some people drove through the wall, some people walked through the gate, some scaled fences to get there more quickly, and the news reported that tens of thousands of people began to break into a delirious chant that the whole world could hear, "The wall is gone! The wall is gone!" Well, so is yours.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wall That Keeps Us From God."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Isaiah 59:2 - "But your iniquities" - that's your sin; your wrong doings - "have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear." Now, when the Bible talks about iniquities here, or sin, we have to realize we're living in a world that doesn't even know what sin is or why sin is so devastating. See, sin is really a lifestyle that says, "My way, God, not yours. God, I believe in you, I go to your meetings, I give you money. But I'm going to basically run my own life. You run the universe; I'll give you a tip every once in a while, I'll do some things that I think You want me to do, but You run the universe. I'll run my life." In essence, "I'm god for me."

Sin is a lifestyle that pushes God to the edges instead of having Him at the center of everything where He belongs. And that decision results in thousands of little daily choices that go against the way God meant for us to live. We all have a sin problem, and here's what the Bible says the result is - separation. "Your iniquities have separated you from your God." The result? It's a wall far more imposing than the Berlin wall ever was and with far more eternal consequences. And it may be you're experiencing that separation from God right now. You can feel it, even though you're a religious person.

Right now God has the love that you've spent a lifetime looking for, but you can't get at it. It's on the other side of that wall. He's got the strength you've needed, but He's on the other side of the wall. He's got the meaning, He's got the reason you were put here, but He's on the other side of the wall. And if you die with that wall there, it's there forever.

You say, "Well, Ron, I knew there was something between me and God. I've known that without hearing you tell me that." Well, the great news is earlier in this same book of the Bible. Isaiah 53:6 says this, "God has laid on Him (speaking of Christ) the iniquity of us all." All of my sin was put on Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. He was separated from God the Father so I don't ever have to be, so you don't ever have to be if we'll just pin all our hopes on Jesus. Not on a religion about Him, not on our own goodness, but on Jesus alone.

You tired of a wall between you and God? You tired of being away from the God that you were made by and made for? Maybe you've tried all kinds of ways, maybe religious ways to get through that wall. But the wall is still there. Only Jesus, the Savior who died for the sins that make up the wall, can take it down.

Today, right now, you could talk to Him even as we conclude and say, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You to be forgiven, to go to heaven and to have a relationship with God."

I want to invite you, if that's where you are in your heart, go to our website, will you? I've laid out there as simply as I can a very clear way to know for sure that you belong to Christ, and to know that you're going to heaven when you die. Here's that website. It's ANewStory.com.

As soon as you open up to Jesus Christ, you can know the incomparable joy of a person who can finally say, "The wall is gone! The wall is gone!"

Proverbs 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CAST YOUR CARES - January 11, 2023

“Cast your cares upon the Lord and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). Casting is an intentional act to relocate an object. Let this “throwing” be your first response to bad news. Cast your anxiety in the direction of Christ. Do so specifically and immediately.

I did a good job of casting my problems in a high school algebra class. Fortunately my wonderful, patient teacher issued this invitation: “If you cannot solve a problem, come to me and I will help you.” I wore a trail between his desk and mine. I still had the problem, but I had entrusted it to one who knew how to solve it.

Do the same. Take your problem to Christ and tell him, “You said you would help me. Would you?”

Proverbs 29

If People Can’t See What God Is Doing

For people who hate discipline

    and only get more stubborn,

There’ll come a day when life tumbles in and they break,

    but by then it’ll be too late to help them.

2 When good people run things, everyone is glad,

    but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.

3 If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents,

    but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with prostitutes.

4 A leader of good judgment gives stability;

    an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.

5 A flattering neighbor is up to no good;

    he’s probably planning to take advantage of you.

6 Evil people fall into their own traps;

    good people run the other way, glad to escape.

7 The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor;

    the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea.

8 A gang of cynics can upset a whole city;

    a group of sages can calm everyone down.

9 A sage trying to work things out with a fool

    gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.

10 Murderers hate honest people;

    moral folks encourage them.

11 A fool lets it all hang out;

    a sage quietly mulls it over.

12 When a leader listens to malicious gossip,

    all the workers get infected with evil.

13 The poor and their abusers have at least something in common:

    they can both see—their sight, God’s gift!

14 Leadership gains authority and respect

    when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.

15 Wise discipline imparts wisdom;

    spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents.

16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,

    but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.

17 Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—

    they’ll turn out delightful to live with.

18 If people can’t see what God is doing,

    they stumble all over themselves;

But when they attend to what he reveals,

    they are most blessed.

19 It takes more than talk to keep workers in line;

    mere words go in one ear and out the other.

20 Observe the people who always talk before they think—

    even simpletons are better off than they are.

21 If you let people treat you like a doormat,

    you’ll be quite forgotten in the end.

22 Angry people stir up a lot of discord;

    the intemperate stir up trouble.

23 Pride lands you flat on your face;

    humility prepares you for honors.

24 Befriend an outlaw

    and become an enemy to yourself.

When the victims cry out,

    you’ll be included in their curses

    if you’re a coward to their cause in court.

25 The fear of human opinion disables;

    trusting in God protects you from that.

26 Everyone tries to get help from the leader,

    but only God will give us justice.

27 Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil;

    the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Today's Scripture

Daniel 6:10–23

When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God.

11-12 The conspirators came and found him praying, asking God for help. They went straight to the king and reminded him of the royal decree that he had signed. “Did you not,” they said, “sign a decree forbidding anyone to pray to any god or man except you for the next thirty days? And anyone caught doing it would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

“Absolutely,” said the king. “Written in stone, like all the laws of the Medes and Persians.”

13 Then they said, “Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles, ignores you, O king, and defies your decree. Three times a day he prays.”

14 At this, the king was very upset and tried his best to get Daniel out of the fix he’d put him in. He worked at it the whole day long.

15 But then the conspirators were back: “Remember, O king, it’s the law of the Medes and Persians that the king’s decree can never be changed.”

16 The king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions’ den. But he said to Daniel, “Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you out of this.”

17 A stone slab was placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed the cover with his signet ring and the signet rings of all his nobles, fixing Daniel’s fate.

18 The king then went back to his palace. He refused supper. He couldn’t sleep. He spent the night fasting.

19-20 At daybreak the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. As he approached the den, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?”

21-22 “O king, live forever!” said Daniel. “My God sent his angel, who closed the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. I’ve been found innocent before God and also before you, O king. I’ve done nothing to harm you.”

23 When the king heard these words, he was happy. He ordered Daniel taken up out of the den. When he was hauled up, there wasn’t a scratch on him. He had trusted his God.

Insight

Daniel 6 indicates it was unlawful for a Persian king to take back an official decree (vv. 8, 12, 15). So, despite regretting his edict (vv. 14, 18), King Darius allowed Daniel to receive the decreed sentence.

Being thrown into the lions’ den was a kind of sentence sometimes called “innocence by ordeal,” where someone accused is put in a situation that should result in death (such as death by lions, fire, or poison). If, by divine intervention, the person is miraculously saved from what should’ve been certain death, it was considered proven that they were innocent of wrongdoing. By: Monica La Rose

Out of the Lions’ Den

My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. Daniel 6:22

When Taher and his wife, Donya, became believers in Jesus, they knew they risked persecution in their home country. Indeed, one day Taher was blindfolded, handcuffed, imprisoned, and charged with apostasy. Before he appeared at trial, he and Donya agreed that they wouldn’t betray Jesus.

What happened at the sentencing amazed him. The judge said, “I don’t know why, but I want to take you out of the whale’s and lion’s mouths.” Then Taher “knew that God was acting”; he couldn’t otherwise explain the judge referencing two passages in the Bible (see Jonah 2; Daniel 6). Taher was released from prison and the family later found exile elsewhere.

Taher’s surprising release echoes the story of Daniel. A skilled administrator, he was going to be promoted, which made his colleagues jealous (Daniel 6:3–5). Plotting his downfall, they convinced King Darius to pass a law against praying to anyone other than the king—which Daniel ignored. King Darius had no choice but to throw him to the lions (v. 16). But God “rescued Daniel” and saved him from death (v. 27), even as He saved Taher through the judge’s surprising release.

Many believers today suffer for following Jesus, and sometimes they even are killed. When we face persecution, we can deepen our faith when we understand that God has ways we can’t even imagine. Know that He’s with you in whatever battles you face. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How do you respond to the story of Taher and Donya’s commitment to Christ? How can you trust in the unlimited power of God?

Saving God, help me to trust in You when the obstacles feel insurmountable.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon…, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. —Luke 23:26

If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, “You call this Christianity?” We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.

When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, “I will never accept anything from anyone.” But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).

A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, “I will not cause other people to suffer”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.

Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment.

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption

Bible in a Year: Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

BEING LIGHT WHEREVER - #9393

So, how much would you pay for a piece of cardboard; like $100, $500, $2,000? Actually, people do it all the time, if that cardboard is a valuable baseball card. My sons, over the years, well they profited from collecting that cardboard strategically. They tried to anticipate rookies who would be stars and they bought those cards before there was much demand. Later, when lots of people wanted those cards and there weren't many to be found, our guys cleaned up. Now, they didn't have any of those cards that sold for thousands, because they're most valuable for one reason. There just aren't many of them. You have something like that.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Being Light Wherever."

There's an asset that is increasingly rare in our world today, and if you have it, it will make you really valuable wherever you are. Apparently, the Old Testament leader, Nehemiah, was known for this asset. So much so that his boss noticed the rare occasion when he didn't have it.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Nehemiah 2:1-2. Nehemiah worked for the king (he's the king's cup bearer), but he's pretty down because of news he's gotten about the conditions back home. The Bible says, "I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. So the king asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.'"

Nehemiah wasn't smiling - and apparently, that was an event. Remember, this is the man who said in Nehemiah 8:10, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." From the king's reaction, it appears that Nehemiah stood out at work for at least one big reason - his consistent smile.

You know, a smile is a powerful, attention-getting witness for Jesus Christ. Remember, baseball cards are valuable when they're rare. Smiles are increasingly rare today. Just look around. I remember our daughter's first day at high school. She came home and she said, "No one smiles there!" So, we challenged her to try to change that, and she made it a personal mission to have her smile be her trademark. Years after she graduated, teachers would still tell us how they remembered her smile. And partly as a result of the joy on her face, she saw ten of her high school friends come to Christ.

Don's a businessman I know, and he was asked, "How can you be so positive all the time?" And his smile opened the door for him to say, "Wouldn't you be happy if you'd just spent 30 minutes with the Creator of the universe?" People like this get to experience the life-giving scenario described in 1 Peter 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." Now, that's what's going to make people curious. It's going to be your hope, your positiveness - your smile.

And this kind of joy begins in Jesus' presence every morning, where you see your Lord being so much bigger than your circumstances. So, He determines your attitude for the day. And if you're the joyful one in your situation, I think you're going to have a chance to explain the relationship that brightens your life.

I think about what the king said about Nehemiah, "he had never been sad in his presence before." Would your boss say that about you? Would your neighbors say that about you? See, if the joy of the Lord is there, it is not dependent on your circumstances. It doesn't come from around you. No, it's anchored in your relationship with Christ. It comes from in you.

If you've ever wondered, "How can I get people interested in Jesus?" have you considered the power of a positive spirit where you work, at home, at school? Believe me, you'll stand out in a world where smiles are getting more rare, more valuable all the time. Each day, ask the Lord to help you be known for your joy, that you will have His joy radiating on your face.

When it comes to attracting people to Christ, your best weapon might be your teeth!

Proverbs 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SOVEREIGN OVER STORMS - January 10, 2023

Let’s climb into the boat with the disciples on the storm-tossed sea. Look at their rain-splattered faces. What do you see? Fear, for sure. Doubt? Absolutely. You may even hear a question shouted over the wind. “Anyone know where Jesus is?” The answer is clear and surprising: praying. Jesus became the answer to his own prayer.

The followers panicked. Peter’s faith became fear, but Jesus still walked on water. The winds howled, but Jesus was not distracted from his mission. He stayed on course until his point was made: he is sovereign over all storms. The disciples, for the first time in Scripture, worshipped him. “Truly you are the Son of God,” they said (Matthew 14:33). With a stilled boat as their altar and beating hearts as their liturgy, they worshipped Jesus. May you and I do the same.

Proverbs 28

If You Desert God’s Law

The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off

    even when no one’s after them;

Honest people are relaxed and confident,

    bold as lions.

2 When the country is in chaos,

    everybody has a plan to fix it—

But it takes a leader of real understanding

    to straighten things out.

3 The wicked who oppress the poor

    are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.

4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;

    if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.

5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;

    those who seek God know it inside and out.

6 It’s better to be poor and direct

    than rich and crooked.

7 Practice God’s law—get a reputation for wisdom;

    hang out with a loose crowd—embarrass your family.

8 Get as rich as you want

    through cheating and extortion,

But eventually some friend of the poor

    is going to give it all back to them.

9 God has no use for the prayers

    of the people who won’t listen to him.

10 Lead good people down a wrong path

    and you’ll come to a bad end;

    do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.

11 The rich think they know it all,

    but the poor can see right through them.

12 When good people are promoted, everything is great,

    but when the bad are in charge, watch out!

13 You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;

    you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;

    a hardhearted person lives a hard life.

15 Lions roar and bears charge—

    and the wicked lord it over the poor.

16 Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,

    but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.

17 A murderer haunted by guilt

    is doomed—there’s no helping him.

18 Walk straight—live well and be saved;

    a devious life is a doomed life.

Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways

19 Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;

    play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.

20 Committed and persistent work pays off;

    get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.

21 Playing favorites is always a bad thing;

    you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.

22 A miser in a hurry to get rich

    doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.

23 In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated

    far more than bootlicking flattery.

24 Anyone who robs father and mother

    and says, “So, what’s wrong with that?”

    is worse than a pirate.

25 A grasping person stirs up trouble,

    but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.

26 If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;

    real survivors learn wisdom from others.

27 Be generous to the poor—you’ll never go hungry;

    shut your eyes to their needs, and run a gauntlet of curses.

28 When corruption takes over, good people go underground,

    but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 43:1–7

When You’re Between a Rock and a Hard Place

But now, God’s Message,

    the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,

    the One who got you started, Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.

    I’ve called your name. You’re mine.

When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.

    When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.

When you’re between a rock and a hard place,

    it won’t be a dead end—

Because I am God, your personal God,

    The Holy of Israel, your Savior.

I paid a huge price for you:

    all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

That’s how much you mean to me!

    That’s how much I love you!

I’d sell off the whole world to get you back,

    trade the creation just for you.

5-7 “So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.

    I’ll round up all your scattered children,

    pull them in from east and west.

I’ll send orders north and south:

    ‘Send them back.

Return my sons from distant lands,

    my daughters from faraway places.

I want them back, every last one who bears my name,

    every man, woman, and child

Whom I created for my glory,

    yes, personally formed and made each one.’”

Insight

Isaiah 43 is a great promise of God’s rescue and redemption of Israel, but it must be seen in the context of what precedes it. Notice Isaiah 42:25: “So [God] poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.” Though God had disciplined His people for their spiritual waywardness, His promised rescue is a reminder of His surpassing love for them—even though they’d turned from Him. Like Hosea with Gomer (Hosea 3:1) or the father with the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), our heavenly Father longs for us to return to Him and be restored to right standing with Him. By: Bill Crowder

The God Who Redeems

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 43:1

As part of a sermon illustration, I walked toward the beautiful painting an artist had been creating on the platform and made a dark streak across the middle of it. The congregation gasped in horror. The artist simply stood by and watched as I defaced what she’d created. Then, selecting a new brush, she lovingly transformed the ruined painting into an exquisite work of art.

Her restorative work reminds me of the work God can perform in our lives when we’ve made a mess of them. The prophet Isaiah rebuked the people of Israel for their spiritual blindness and deafness (Isaiah 42:18–19), but then he proclaimed the hope of God’s deliverance and redemption: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you” (43:1). He can do the same for us. Even after we’ve sinned, if we confess our sins and turn to God, He forgives and restores us (vv. 5–7; see 1 John 1:9). We can’t bring beauty out of the mess, but Jesus can. The good news of the gospel is that He has redeemed us by His blood. The book of Revelation assures us that in the end, Christ will dry our tears, redeem our past, and make all things new (Revelation 21:4–5).

We have a limited vision of our story. But God who knows us “by name” (Isaiah 43:1) will make our lives more beautiful than we could ever imagine. If you’ve been redeemed by faith in Jesus, your story, like the painting, has a glorious ending. By:  Glenn Packiam

Reflect & Pray

How have you messed up? What has God provided for your restoration and redemption?

Dear Jesus, thank You for never giving up on me. I surrender to You and ask that You please redeem what I’ve ruined.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

The Opened Sight

I now send you, to open their eyes…that they may receive forgiveness of sins… —Acts 26:17-18

This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.

God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “…that they may receive forgiveness of sins….” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion— only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.

This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “…an inheritance among those who are sanctified….” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 25-26; Matthew 8:1-17

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

THE ONE STEP WE MISS - #9392

It all started with an S.O.S. from a counselor at a conference where I was speaking. I'd just extended an invitation for young men and women who wanted to make a commitment to following Christ. There were many young people in the counseling room after that, and a counselor came back and said, "You've got to talk to Kelly. She's really hard."

Well, I went back and sat down with her, and she seemed to really shut down. After some small talk to try to break the ice, I said, "Kelly, why are you here in the counseling room?" She said, "I want to know Christ." I said, "Well, that's great. Why?" She said, "Because part of me is missing."

I showed her some Scripture that showed her that it was Christ who was missing from her life. And I said, "It sounds to me like you're ready to open your life to Jesus." And then her face turned very, very unexpressive and she said, "If you only knew how many times I've come and prayed and accepted Christ and nothing has ever happened." I was stuck for a moment. What do I do, just have her go through it again? It was like always meaningless and it didn't work. I said, "Lord, if there's something You know and I don't, would you tell me what it is?" And then He gave me one question for Kelly, and it made all the difference. It might change everything for you.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The One Step We Miss."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 7:10. It identifies for us the step we so often miss. "Godly sorrow," it says, "brings repentance that leads to salvation." Now, in that conversation with Kelly, the question I asked her that broke the log jam was this: I said, "Kelly, all those times you've made a commitment to follow Christ, did you ever tell the Lord you're really sorry for your sins, you're sad about your sins, and you're ready to change?" She said, "No." Oh, Kelly had said yes to Christ a number of times, but she missed the other step - saying "no" to sin.

I explained to her, "You can't hold Jesus in one hand and junk in the other - that junk is what He died for; that's the junk that killed Him." When you start to name the sins of your life and you start to confess them to the Lord, you finally realize what it is you need a Savior from. And then you go to that cross to be saved from that sin; from your sin. Repentance is so often the missing page in our Gospel. In God's Word it says you have to have Godly sorrow that leads to repentance that leads to salvation. There's no real conversion until you repent. Jesus told His disciples to "preach repentance and faith." There's no real power in your life if you keep sinning; until you let your heart be broken over your sin because of what it did to Jesus; what it took for Him to pay for it on the cross.

When I told her the step she'd missed, tears came to her eyes. She said, "I'm so sick of the junk! I want to get away from it." Then confession began, and saving faith reborn.

Could it be that the reality you've been looking for begins with you being sorry for the sins that have broken God's heart and drove His Son to the cross? Maybe this could be the day that it really comes together for you. If you say to Jesus, "You know, Lord, you were supposed to run my life. I hijacked it. I've been running it, and I know now I have broken your heart. It cost you your life to pay for that rebellion against you. And I turn from the running of my own life. And Jesus, I am now pinning all my hopes on what you did on the cross. When you died on that cross it was my sin you were dying for. Jesus, right here, right now, I'm Yours."

See. repentance isn't some good work you do to get Jesus. No, it's simply realizing that when you turn to Him, you're turning your back on the sin He died for.

You want to make sure you belong to Him? That's what our website is for. Please go there - ANewStory.com.

Repentance. Could that be one step you've missed?

Proverbs 27, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS IN THIS MOMENT - January 9, 2023

It seems to me that the entire world is in a state of trauma. People do not know why they were born or where they are destined to go. The invisible enemies of sin and secularism have left us dazed and bewildered. The world is in desperate need of a people of God who will stay steady in the chaos.

Bombs are still dropped. Pandemics still rage. But in the midst of it all, the Lord still has his people. And when his people proclaim the truth of God in the middle of a crumbling world, you never know who might be changed. God is in the middle of this. This uphill struggle. You feel overwhelmed, but lift up your eyes. Your father is in this moment with you. Who knows but that you have been chosen for such a time as this?

Proverbs 27

You Don’t Know Tomorrow

Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;

    you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.

2 Don’t call attention to yourself;

    let others do that for you.

3 Carrying a log across your shoulders

    while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms

Is nothing compared to the burden

    of putting up with a fool.

4 We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,

    but who can survive jealousy?

5 A spoken reprimand is better

    than approval that’s never expressed.

6 The wounds from a lover are worth it;

    kisses from an enemy do you in.

7 When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;

    when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.

8 People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,

    are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.

9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,

    a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

10 Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends

    and run home to your family when things get rough;

Better a nearby friend

    than a distant family.

11 Become wise, dear child, and make me happy;

    then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.

12 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;

    a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.

13 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;

    be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.

14 If you wake your friend in the early morning

    by shouting “Rise and shine!”

It will sound to him

    more like a curse than a blessing.

15-16 A nagging spouse is like

    the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;

You can’t turn it off,

    and you can’t get away from it.

Your Face Mirrors Your Heart

17 You use steel to sharpen steel,

    and one friend sharpens another.

18 If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;

    if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.

19 Just as water mirrors your face,

    so your face mirrors your heart.

20 Hell has a voracious appetite,

    and lust just never quits.

21 The purity of silver and gold is tested

    by putting them in the fire;

The purity of human hearts is tested

    by giving them a little fame.

22 Pound on a fool all you like—

    you can’t pound out foolishness.

23-27 Know your sheep by name;

    carefully attend to your flocks;

(Don’t take them for granted;

    possessions don’t last forever, you know.)

And then, when the crops are in

    and the harvest is stored in the barns,

You can knit sweaters from lambs’ wool,

    and sell your goats for a profit;

There will be plenty of milk and meat

    to last your family through the winter.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, January 09, 2023

Today's Scripture

2 Corinthians 11:1–4,12–15

Pseudo-Servants of God

 Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I’m afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth tongue, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ.

4-6 It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot “apostles,” why can’t you put up with simple me? I’m as good as they are. It’s true that I don’t have their voice, haven’t mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I’m talking about. We haven’t kept anything back. We let you in on everything.

 I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God’s Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn’t be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it’s a point of honor with me, and I’m not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It’s not that I don’t love you; God knows I do. I’m just trying to keep things open and honest between us.

12-15 And I’m not changing my position on this. I’d die before taking your money. I’m giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing “preachers,” vaunting themselves as something special. They’re a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ’s agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn’t surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they’re not getting by with anything. They’ll pay for it in the end.

Insight

The apostle Paul was careful to protect those he’d been privileged to influence for Jesus, which explains the tone and language we find in 2 Corinthians 10–13. We see this same fierce posture of protection in Galatians 1:1–9 as well. Paul was “jealous” (2 Corinthians 11:2) for the believers’ stability and well-being in their faith in Jesus, and where their belief and conduct were jeopardized, he pulled no punches. The apostle countered the unhealthy persuasion of those he sarcastically referred to as “super-apostles” (v. 5; 12:11). His words are cautionary (11:5–11), a warning for those who are more impressed with style and method than substance. A key word in verses 13–15 (used three times) is metaschematizo, which is translated “masquerade/masquerading.” It’s a compound word meaning “to transfigure, to transform.” It describes people who are not who they appear to be. By: Arthur Jackson

The Right Jesus

If someone . . . preaches a [false] Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, . . . you [wrongly] put up with it. 2 Corinthians 11:4

The buzz in the room faded to a comfortable silence as the book club leader summarized the novel the group would discuss. My friend Joan listened closely but didn’t recognize the plot. Finally, she realized she had read a nonfiction book with a similar title to the work of fiction the others had read. Although she enjoyed reading the “wrong” book, she couldn’t join her friends as they discussed the “right” book.

The apostle Paul didn’t want the Corinthian believers in Jesus to believe in a “wrong” Jesus. He pointed out that false teachers had infiltrated the church and presented a different “Jesus” to them, and they had swallowed the lies (2 Corinthians 11:3–4). 

Paul denounced the heresy of these phony teachers. In his first letter to the church, however, he’d reviewed the truth about the Jesus of Scripture. This Jesus was the Messiah who “died for our sins . . . was raised on the third day . . . and then [appeared] to the Twelve,” and finally to Paul himself (1 Corinthians 15:3–8). This Jesus had come to earth through a virgin named Mary and was named Immanuel (God with us) to affirm His divine nature (Matthew 1:20–23).

Does this sound like the Jesus you know? Understanding and accepting the truth written in the Bible about Him assures us that we’re on the spiritual path that leads to heaven. By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

How do you know that you believe the truth about Jesus? What might you need to investigate to make sure you understand what the Bible says about Him?

Dear God, help me to walk in the light of Your truth.

For further study, read In Pursuit of Jesus: Who He Is and Why It Matters.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, January 09, 2023

Prayerful Inner-Searching

May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

“Your whole spirit….” The great, mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is in the deep recesses of our being which we cannot reach. Read Psalm 139. The psalmist implies— “O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God, search me.”

Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.

We should more frequently allow our minds to meditate on these great, massive truths of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.  Not Knowing Whither, 903 R

Bible in a Year: Genesis 23-24; Matthew 7

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, January 09, 2023

THE MIRRORS IN YOUR LIFE - #9391

I'll bet you looked in the mirror this morning. I'll bet everyone can tell if you didn't. I know it can be depressing. I mean, you look in the mirror and think to yourself, "How can six hours do that much damage?" But at least you know what you're about to subject others to. So you put a sign on the bathroom door, "Slow - Construction Zone." You wash something, you comb something, you cover something, you brush something, you mousse something, you remove something - I mean you do something to something! And the world gets a better you and you prevent a lot of embarrassment thanks to Mr. Mirror.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mirrors in Your Life."

A house with no mirrors? Well, that would mean you'd never know what needs to be worked on. Most of us wouldn't want a house with no mirrors. But some of us are trying to live our life with no mirrors. Human mirrors, that is. People who, figuratively speaking, hold up a mirror and show us some things about ourselves that we may not want to hear but we really need to hear.

John 8:32 in the Bible, our word for today from the Word of God, is a blunt, to-the-point bottom line on why we need the truth. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Some of us live like the truth will scare us to death or hurt too much. But it can't hurt nearly as much as avoiding the truth about yourself - that truth that continues to poison your relationships, or limit your life, and bring you down. Someone listening today has been running from your mirrors, even trying to break your mirrors by shooting them down. But God put those people in your life because He loves you too much to let you keep running from the truth that is costing you so much.

The mirror in your life who loves you enough to tell you the truth about yourself might be your spouse, it might be a parent, even one of your children. Sometimes we hear the painful truth from a spiritual leader, or a boss, or a coworker, or a friend who is really a friend. The Bible says, "Iron sharpens iron; so a friend sharpens the countenance of his friend." It may be that someone you might consider an enemy has said some things no one else would say to you about you. And while they mean to hurt you, there may be at least some mirror truth in what they said.

How you handle the hard truth about yourself? Well, that tells a lot about your character. In Proverbs 9:8-9, God says, "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will add to his learning." So what happens when someone tries to show you something that's bringing you down, or costing you respect, hurting you, hurting the people you care about? Do you hate them for saying it? Do you continue to live in the land of lies that's called denial? Do you take off so you don't have to think about it? Or do you do what a wise man or woman does? You decide to face what they've helped you see and you deal with it so it won't pursue you any longer.

The truth you keep running from? It never really goes away. Everywhere you go, you take you with you. God loves you too much to let you keep running, denying, and living a lie. So He's put someone in your life to hold up a mirror. Don't reject what the mirror is trying to show you. And don't blame the mirror - it's the message the mirror is trying to give you, not the messenger that's the issue.

Thank God for the mirror He's given to you. You probably should be thanking them, too. Don't run from the hard truth any longer. It will chase you no matter where you go, no matter how hard you run. The truth may be hard to face. It may mean opening up to someone who can really help you with it. It might mean removing a mask you've been hiding behind for a long time, but it's worth all that and more. Because it's the truth, and only the truth, that will finally set you free.

Acts 4:23-37, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Command to Do Nothing

When I was ten, my mother enrolled me in piano lessons. Spending thirty minutes every afternoon tethered to a piano bench was a torture just one level away from swallowing broken glass.

I hammered the staccatos. I belabored the crescendos. But there was one instruction in the music I could never obey to my teacher's satisfaction.  The rest.  The zigzagged command to do nothing.  Nothing!  What sense does that make? "Because," my teacher patiently explained, "music is always sweeter after a rest."

"Be still," the scripture says, "and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).  Perhaps it is time for you to let the music slow to a stop…and be still and rest.

From The Applause of Heaven

Acts 4:23-37

One Heart, One Mind

23-26 As soon as Peter and John were let go, they went to their friends and told them what the high priests and religious leaders had said. Hearing the report, they lifted their voices in a wonderful harmony in prayer: “Strong God, you made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. By the Holy Spirit you spoke through the mouth of your servant and our father, David:

Why the big noise, nations?

Why the mean plots, peoples?

Earth’s leaders push for position,

Potentates meet for summit talks,

The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers!

27-28 “For in fact they did meet—Herod and Pontius Pilate with nations and peoples, even Israel itself!—met in this very city to plot against your holy Son Jesus, the One you made Messiah, to carry out the plans you long ago set in motion.

29-30 “And now they’re at it again! Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching your Message, as you stretch out your hand to us in healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence.

32-33 The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.

34-35 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.

36-37 Joseph, called by the apostles “Barnabas” (which means “Son of Comfort”), a Levite born in Cyprus, sold a field that he owned, brought the money, and made an offering of it to the apostles.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, January 08, 2023

Today's Scripture

Romans 8:31–39

 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.

We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Insight

Before His suffering and death, Jesus both warned and assured His followers, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Later, Paul and Barnabas encouraged believers “to remain true to the faith” in the hardships they’d face (Acts 14:22). And Paul sent Timothy to strengthen the Thessalonians so they wouldn’t be unsettled by the trials they were “destined for” (1 Thessalonians 3:2–3). Jesus clearly stated that as His followers we would—like Him—be persecuted (John 15:20). Commentator Walter Elwell states: “Affliction is characteristic of life in a spoiled creation, but it is a means of discipline that can lead to obedience to God. . . . The afflictions experienced by Christians ‘will result in God’s richest blessing . . . forever and ever’ (2 Corinthians 4:16–18 lb).” We’re “more than conquerors through [Christ]”! (Romans 8:37). By: Alyson Kieda

More than Conquerors

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

When my husband coached our son’s Little League baseball team, he rewarded the players with an end-of-year party and acknowledged their improvement over the season. One of our youngest players, Dustin, approached me during the event. “Didn’t we lose the game today?”

“Yes,” I said. “But we’re proud of you for doing your best.”

“I know,” he said. “But we lost. Right?”

I nodded.

“Then why do I feel like a winner?” Dustin asked.

Smiling, I said, “Because you are a winner.”

Dustin had thought that losing a game meant he was a failure even when he’d done his best. As believers in Jesus, our battle is not confined to a sports field. Still, it’s often tempting to view a tough season of life as a reflection of our worth.

The apostle Paul affirmed the connection between our present suffering and our future glory as God’s children. Having given Himself for us, Jesus continues to work on our behalf during our ongoing battle with sin and transforms us to His likeness (Romans 8:31–32). Though we’ll all experience hardship and persecution, God’s unwavering love helps us persevere (vv. 33–34).

As His children, we may be tempted to allow struggles to define our worth. However, our ultimate victory is guaranteed. We may stumble along the way, but we’ll always be “more than conquerors” (vv. 35–39). By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

When has your confidence in God’s love helped you press on? How has He affirmed your value as His beloved child even after a great loss?

Father, thank You for helping me rise up through trials in victorious praise.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, January 08, 2023

Is My Sacrifice Living?

Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9

This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”

We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.

It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L

Bible in a Year: Genesis 20-22; Matthew 6:19-34