Amos 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Choice is Yours

It would've been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal.  I'll take good health and a high IQ. I'll pass on the music skills, but give me a fast metabolism!  It would've been nice-but it didn't happen. When it came to your life on earth, you weren't given a voice or a vote.

But when it comes to life after death, you were. In my book that seems like a good deal.  Wouldn't you agree? Have we been given any greater privilege than that of choice? You've made some bad choices in life, haven't you? You've chosen the wrong friends, maybe the wrong career; even the wrong spouse.

You look back and say, "If only…if only I could make up for those bad choices. You can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth. The choice is yours.

From He Chose the Nails

Amos 6 

Those Who Live Only for Today

 Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion,

    who think Mount Samaria is the good life.

You assume you’re at the top of the heap,

    voted the number-one best place to live.

Well, wake up and look around. Get off your pedestal.

    Take a look at Calneh.

Go and visit Great Hamath.

    Look in on Gath of the Philistines.

Doesn’t that take you off your high horse?

    Compared to them, you’re not much, are you?

3-6 Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster!

    Catastrophe is just around the corner!

Woe to those who live in luxury

    and expect everyone else to serve them!

Woe to those who live only for today,

    indifferent to the fate of others!

Woe to the playboys, the playgirls,

    who think life is a party held just for them!

Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain!

    those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles!

They could not care less

    about their country going to ruin.

7 But here’s what’s really coming:

    a forced march into exile.

They’ll leave the country whining,

    a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.

You’ve Made a Shambles of Justice

8 God, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word.

    The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks:

“I hate the arrogance of Jacob.

    I have nothing but contempt for his forts.

I’m about to hand over the city

    and everyone in it.”

9-10 Ten men are in a house, all dead. A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, “Are there any more?” The answer: “Not a soul. But hush! God must not be mentioned in this desecrated place.”

11 Note well: God issues the orders.

    He’ll knock large houses to smithereens.

    He’ll smash little houses to bits.

12-13 Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks?

    Do you plow the sea with oxen?

You’d cripple the horses

    and drown the oxen.

And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice,

    a bloated corpse of righteousness,

Bragging of your trivial pursuits,

    beating up on the weak and crowing, “Look what I’ve done!”

14 “Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites.

    I’ve got a pagan army on the move against you”

    —this is your God speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies—

“And they’ll make hash of you,

    from one end of the country to the other.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, April 09, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 53:4–6

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,

    a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

    nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

    that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

    Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.

    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,

    on him, on him.

Insight

Isaiah 52:13–53:12 is called the “Suffering Servant” passage and is one of Isaiah’s best-known texts. In fact, The Bible Knowledge Commentary points out that this passage is repeatedly quoted in the New Testament, including Isaiah 52:15 in Romans 15:21; Isaiah 53:1 in John 12:38 and Romans 10:16; Isaiah 53:4 in Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:7–8 in Acts 8:32–33; Isaiah 53:9 in 1 Peter 2:22; and Isaiah 53:12 in Luke 22:37. The many citations from this text make sense when the “Suffering Servant” is seen as Jesus—whose great suffering would produce great glory. Others see the suffering servant as Isaiah himself, or perhaps Jeremiah. Jewish scholars often see the suffering servant as a picture of Israel. When matching up the descriptions of the sufferer in Isaiah’s text with the Gospels, it’s easy to see why so many believers in Jesus view this as a messianic prophecy. By: Bill Crowder

Deeper Healing

By his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

On Easter Sunday 2020, the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was illuminated in a way that appeared to clothe Jesus in the attire of a physician. The poignant portrayal of Christ as a doctor was in tribute to the many frontline health-care workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. The imagery brings to life the common description of Jesus as our Great Physician (Mark 2:17).

Jesus healed many people of their physical afflictions during His earthly ministry: blind Bartimaeus (10:46–52), a leper (Luke 5:12–16), and a paralytic (Matthew 9:1–8), to name a few. His care for the health of those following Him was also demonstrated in providing for their hunger by multiplying a simple meal to feed the masses (John 6:1–13). Each of these miracles reveal both Jesus’ mighty power and His genuine love for people.

His greatest act of healing, however, came through His death and resurrection, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah. It is “by [Jesus’] wounds we are healed” of our worst affliction: our separation from God as a result of our sins (Isaiah 53:5). Though Jesus doesn’t heal all our health challenges, we can trust the cure for our deepest need: the healing He brings to our relationship with God. By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

How have you experienced the miraculous spiritual healing of God? How does your healed relationship through Jesus’ sacrifice help you bear up under your physical ailments?

Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice that brings healing to my spiritual sickness. Help me to trust You in my physical challenges.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, April 09, 2023

Have You Seen Jesus?

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them… —Mark 16:12

Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God’s grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.

You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure “as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, “Now I see Him!” (see John 9:25).

Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. “And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either” (Mark 16:13). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe.

O could I tell, you surely would believe it!

O could I only say what I have seen!

How should I tell or how can you receive it,

How, till He bringeth you where I have been?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of nothing else.  The Shadow of an Agony, 1163 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 13-14; Luke 10:1-24

Amos 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Nail of God

God has penned a list of our faults. The list God has made, however, cannot be read. The words can't be deciphered. The mistakes are covered. The sins are hidden. Those at the top are hidden by His hand; those down the list are covered by His blood. Your sins are blotted out by Jesus. The Bible says that He has forgiven you all your sins. He has utterly wiped out the written evidence of broken commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it to the cross.

He knew the source of those sins was you, and since He couldn't bear the thought of eternity without you, Jesus Himself chose the nails. The hand is the hand of God. The nail is the nail of God. And as the hands of Jesus opened for the nail, the doors of heaven opened for you!

From He Chose the Nails

Amos 5

All Show, No Substance

Listen to this, family of Israel,

    this Message I’m sending in bold print, this tragic warning:

2 “Virgin Israel has fallen flat on her face.

    She’ll never stand up again.

She’s been left where she’s fallen.

    No one offers to help her up.”

3 This is the Message, God’s Word:

“The city that marches out with a thousand

    will end up with a hundred.

The city that marches out with a hundred

    will end up with ten. Oh, family of Israel!”

4-5 God’s Message to the family of Israel:

“Seek me and live.

    Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,

Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,

    and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.

Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow

    and Bethel is all show, no substance.”

6 So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up

    with nothing to show for your life

But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground.

    For God will send just such a fire,

    and the firefighters will show up too late.

Raw Truth Is Never Popular

7-9 Woe to you who turn justice to vinegar

    and stomp righteousness into the mud.

Do you realize where you are? You’re in a cosmos

    star-flung with constellations by God,

A world God wakes up each morning

    and puts to bed each night.

God dips water from the ocean

    and gives the land a drink.

    God, God-revealed, does all this.

And he can destroy it as easily as make it.

    He can turn this vast wonder into total waste.

10-12 People hate this kind of talk.

    Raw truth is never popular.

But here it is, bluntly spoken:

    Because you run roughshod over the poor

    and take the bread right out of their mouths,

You’re never going to move into

    the luxury homes you have built.

You’re never going to drink wine

    from the expensive vineyards you’ve planted.

I know precisely the extent of your violations,

    the enormity of your sins. Appalling!

You bully right-living people,

    taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down.

13 Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic.

    Decent people throw up their hands.

Protest and rebuke are useless,

    a waste of breath.

14 Seek good and not evil—

    and live!

You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

    being your best friend.

Well, live like it,

    and maybe it will happen.

15 Hate evil and love good,

    then work it out in the public square.

Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

    will notice your remnant and be gracious.

16-17 Now again, my Master’s Message, God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Go out into the streets and lament loudly!

    Fill the malls and shops with cries of doom!

Weep loudly, ‘Not me! Not us, Not now!’

    Empty offices, stores, factories, workplaces.

Enlist everyone in the general lament.

    I want to hear it loud and clear when I make my visit.”

        God’s Decree.

Time to Face Hard Reality, Not Fantasy

18-20 Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day!

    Why would you want to see God, want him to come?

When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news,

    the worst of times, not the best of times.

Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion

    right into the jaws of a bear.

A woman goes home after a hard day’s work

    and is raped by a neighbor.

At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—

    a black cloud with no silver lining.

21-24 “I can’t stand your religious meetings.

    I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.

I want nothing to do with your religion projects,

    your pretentious slogans and goals.

I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,

    your public relations and image making.

I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.

    When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want?

    I want justice—oceans of it.

I want fairness—rivers of it.

    That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

25-27 “Didn’t you, dear family of Israel, worship me faithfully for forty years in the wilderness, bringing the sacrifices and offerings I commanded? How is it you’ve stooped to dragging gimcrack statues of your so-called rulers around, hauling the cheap images of all your star-gods here and there? Since you like them so much, you can take them with you when I drive you into exile beyond Damascus.” God’s Message, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, April 08, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 20:1–10

Resurrection!

 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, gasping for breath. “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”

3-10 Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.

Insight

When John wrote that the disciples “still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9), what Scripture was he referring to? Similarly, Luke says, “ ‘Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (24:26–27). What passages did Jesus expound here? The answer to these questions is found in the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts. Indeed, they’d experienced the resurrected Christ personally, but they also had Scripture to defend this crucial doctrine. The apostolic preaching of Peter in Acts 2 includes references to Psalm 16:8–11 (Acts 2:25–28) and Psalm 110:1 (Acts 2:34–35). Paul’s preaching in Acts 13 references Psalm 2:7 (Acts 13:33), Isaiah 55:3 (Acts 13:34), and Psalm 16:10 (Acts 13:35). By: Arthur Jackson

Running to Jesus

Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. John 20:4

On a trip to Paris, Ben and his friends found themselves at one of the renowned museums in the city. Though Ben wasn’t a student of art, he was in awe as he looked upon the painting titled The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection by Eugène Burnand. Without words, the looks on the faces of Peter and John and the position of their hands speak volumes, inviting onlookers to step into their shoes and share their adrenaline-charged emotions.

Based on John 20:1–10, the painting portrays the two running in the direction of the empty tomb of Jesus (v. 4). The masterpiece captures the intensity of the two emotionally conflicted disciples. Though at that juncture theirs wasn’t a fully formed faith, they were running in the right direction, and eventually the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to them (vv. 19–29). Their search was not unlike that of Jesus seekers through the centuries. Although we may be removed from the experiences of an empty tomb or a brilliant piece of art, we can clearly see the good news. Scripture compels us to hope and seek and run in the direction of Jesus and His love—even with doubts, questions, and uncertainties. Tomorrow, as we celebrate Easter, may we remember Jesus’ words: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

If you don’t know Jesus, what will you do to begin running toward Him and His love? If you’re a believer, how will you share His love with others?

Dear Jesus, lead me into Your loving arms today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, April 08, 2023

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? —Luke 24:26

Our Lord’s Cross is the gateway into His life. His resurrection means that He has the power to convey His life to me. When I was born again, I received the very life of the risen Lord from Jesus Himself.

Christ’s resurrection destiny— His foreordained purpose— was to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). The fulfilling of His destiny gives Him the right to make us sons and daughters of God. We never have exactly the same relationship to God that the Son of God has, but we are brought by the Son into the relation of sonship. When our Lord rose from the dead, He rose to an absolutely new life— a life He had never lived before He was God Incarnate. He rose to a life that had never been before. And what His resurrection means for us is that we are raised to His risen life, not to our old life. One day we will have a body like His glorious body, but we can know here and now the power and effectiveness of His resurrection and can “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Paul’s determined purpose was to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

Jesus prayed, “…as You have given Him authority over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him” (John 17:2). The term Holy Spirit is actually another name for the experience of eternal life working in human beings here and now. The Holy Spirit is the deity of God who continues to apply the power of the atonement by the Cross of Christ to our lives. Thank God for the glorious and majestic truth that His Spirit can work the very nature of Jesus into us, if we will only obey Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Biblical Psychology

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 9:37-62

Amos 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: He Canceled the Record

How would you feel if a list of your weaknesses were posted so that everyone, including Christ Himself, could see?  Yes, Christ has chronicled your shortcomings. And, yes, that list has been made public. But you've never seen it. Neither have I.

Come with me to the hill of Calvary.  Watch as the soldiers shove the Carpenter to the ground and stretch His arms against the beams. One presses a knee against a forearm and a spike against a hand.  Jesus turns His face toward the nail just as the soldier lifts the hammer to strike it. Couldn't Jesus have stopped Him?

Through the eyes of Scripture we see what others missed but what Jesus saw.  Colossians 2:14 says, "He canceled the record that contained the charges against us.  He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross!"

From He Chose the Nails

Amos 4

You Never Got Hungry for God

“Listen to this, you cows of Bashan

    grazing on the slopes of Samaria.

You women! Mean to the poor,

    cruel to the down-and-out!

Indolent and pampered, you demand of your husbands,

    ‘Bring us a tall, cool drink!’

2-3 “This is serious—I, God, have sworn by my holiness!

    Be well warned: Judgment Day is coming!

They’re going to rope you up and haul you off,

    keep the stragglers in line with cattle prods.

They’ll drag you through the ruined city walls,

    forcing you out single file,

And kick you to kingdom come.”

    God’s Decree.

4-5 “Come along to Bethel and sin!

    And then to Gilgal and sin some more!

Bring your sacrifices for morning worship.

    Every third day bring your tithe.

Burn pure sacrifices—thank offerings.

    Speak up—announce freewill offerings!

That’s the sort of religious show

    you Israelites just love.”

        God’s Decree.

6 “You know, don’t you, that I’m the One

    who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards,

Who left you hungry and standing in bread lines?

    But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.”

        God’s Decree.

7-8 “Yes, and I’m the One who stopped the rains

    three months short of harvest.

I’d make it rain on one village

    but not on another.

I’d make it rain on one field

    but not on another—and that one would dry up.

People would stagger from village to village

    crazed for water and never quenching their thirst.

But you never got thirsty for me.

    You ignored me.”

        God’s Decree.

9 “I hit your crops with disease

    and withered your orchards and gardens.

Locusts devoured your olive and fig trees,

    but you continued to ignore me.”

        God’s Decree.

10 “I revisited you with the old Egyptian plagues,

    killed your choice young men and prize horses.

The stink of rot in your camps was so strong

    that you held your noses—

But you didn’t notice me.

    You continued to ignore me.”

        God’s Decree.

11 “I hit you with earthquake and fire,

    left you devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah.

You were like a burning stick

    snatched from the flames.

But you never looked my way.

    You continued to ignore me.”

        God’s Decree.

12 “All this I have done to you, Israel,

    and this is why I have done it.

Time’s up, O Israel!

    Prepare to meet your God!”

13 Look who’s here: Mountain-Shaper! Wind-Maker!

    He laid out the whole plot before Adam.

He brings everything out of nothing,

    like dawn out of darkness.

He strides across the alpine ridges.

    His name is God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, April 07, 2023

Today's Scripture

Luke 22:39–44

A Dark Night

39-40 Leaving there, he went, as he so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. When they arrived at the place, he said, “Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.”

41-44 He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.

Insight

After sharing Passover (the Last Supper) with His disciples (Matthew 26:17–30), Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray knowing He’d suffer and die a horrific death. Those closest to Him would desert Him, and Peter would deny Him three times (Luke 22:34, 54–62). Yet Jesus also knew that after three days He would rise again (Matthew 12:40; Mark 8:31).

The Mount of Olives, a ridge in the Judean mountains lying east of Jerusalem and the Kidron Valley, is first mentioned in the Old Testament when King David fled from his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:30). Solomon later chose this mountain to build “a high place” for the “detestable” foreign gods of the Ammonites and Moabites (1 Kings 11:7). Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9–12) and will return to the same place, fulfilling the vision of the prophet that the mount “will be split in two from east to west” (Zechariah 14:4). By: Alyson Kieda

Drops of Red

His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:44

Walking through the Scottish National Gallery, I was drawn to the strong brushwork and vibrant colors of one of many Olive Trees paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Many historians believe the work was inspired by Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. What especially caught my eye on the canvas of the painting were the small red splotches of paint among the ancient trees.

Known as the Mount of Olives because of all the olive trees located on the mountainside, Jesus went there to pray on the night that He predicted His disciple Judas would betray Him. Jesus was overwhelmed with anguish knowing the betrayal would result in His crucifixion. As He prayed, “his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus’ agony was evident in the garden as He prepared for the pain and humiliation of a public execution that would result in the physical shedding of His blood on that Good Friday long ago.

The red paint on Van Gogh’s painting reminds us that Jesus had to “suffer many things and be rejected” (Mark 8:31). While suffering is part of His story, however, it no longer dominates the picture. Jesus’ victory over death transforms even our suffering, allowing it to become only a part of the beautiful landscape of our lives He’s creating.

By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

Why is it important for you to remember Jesus’ suffering? How does His example help you when you suffer?

Jesus, thank You for being willing to suffer, even to death, so that I might receive eternal life.

Learn more about Jesus' example for us.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, April 07, 2023

Why We Lack Understanding

He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. —Mark 9:9

As the disciples were commanded, you should also say nothing until the Son of Man has risen in you— until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you truly understand what He taught while here on earth. When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before. In fact, you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to deal with them.

Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life. Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). We must have a oneness with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him. Do we really know anything about the indwelling of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His Word is becoming understandable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we don’t have His Spirit. And our own unyielding and headstrong opinions will effectively prevent God from revealing anything to us. But our insensible thinking will end immediately once His resurrection life has its way with us.

“…tell no one….” But so many people do tell what they saw on the Mount of Transfiguration— their mountaintop experience. They have seen a vision and they testify to it, but there is no connection between what they say and how they live. Their lives don’t add up because the Son of Man has not yet risen in them. How long will it be before His resurrection life is formed and evident in you and in me?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 7-9; Luke 9:18-36

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, April 07, 2023

LINCOLN'S GOOD FRIDAY WISH - #9455

Abraham Lincoln was kind of a hero of my boyhood. No, not because I knew him personally, not because I was alive when he was alive. But I'll tell you what, I did study a lot about him. He died on Good Friday. Yeah, he did. And until recently, I didn't know his final wish. He actually whispered it to his wife just before the fatal shot at Ford's Theatre, and it's pretty moving.

Abe Lincoln grew up with a God-loving mother and a religious father. But he was demanding and his dad was distant. Abe's mom died when he was a boy. And as Lincoln grew, he went from a spiritual skeptic to actually a Bible-bashing unbeliever. But somewhere along the way, he began to realize his deep need for God. I guess losing a son and carrying the weight of a bleeding nation can do that for a man.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Lincoln's Good Friday Wish."

The Civil War ended five days before that fateful Good Friday. On what would be the Great Emancipator's last day on earth, he and his wife went for a carriage ride. And, with the war over, they kind of dreamed together about the months and the years ahead.

Then at the theater that night - literally as the assassin crept into the President's box - Abraham Lincoln uttered his final wish to his wife, Mary. "We will visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footsteps of the Savior. There is no place I so much desire to see as Jerusalem." And then he was gone. In his last moments, he was thinking about Jesus. "The Savior," he called Him.

The journey Abe Lincoln wished for is actually a journey I have made, because ultimately it's a journey of the heart: Walking with Jesus, through the cheering multitudes of that Palm Sunday, through the jeering crowd of Good Friday, and then following the trail of blood to that place of death called Skull Hill.

The crown made of thorns jammed into the forehead of the King of Kings. The merciless mockers, blaspheming the One that angels worship. The spikes pounded into the hands that shaped the universe. The "God, why have You forsaken Me?" cry of God's one and only Son. My heart's screaming, "Why?"

The Bible answers in our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 2:20. "The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me." Did you get that? For me - that's what levels me. Jesus chose to go through that hell for me. And hell it was, because the Bible says, "He personally carried our sins in His own body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24) - the pain, the guilt, the eternal separation from God for all the sinning of my life. Jesus took my hell so I could go to His heaven.

Yes, my heart has been to His cross. I went there with my sin and I left forgiven. I went there dirty and I came away clean. I went there without Him in my life and I left there with the promise I'll never be without Him again. Because I got what He died for when those two words captured my heart. "For me." He did this for me.

I embraced Him as the Savior for me, for my sin. And I flung open the door of my heart to this One who has loved me like no other. He said, "If you open the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). He kept His promise. He's done that for everyone who's ever opened that door, and He will for you if you'll make your way to that cross in your heart and tell Him, "For me, Jesus. For me."

If you've never told the man who died for you that you're pinning all your hopes on Him, would you do that today on this Good Friday? Go to our website. It's ANewStory.com, because I've laid out there for you how you can be sure you belong to Him, making this your personal "Jesus day." So He walked out of His grave that Easter morning so He could walk into your life today.

Acts 15:22-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: KEEP ROWING - April 6, 2023

Consider these phrases from Mathew’s gospel: Jesus made his disciples get into the boat, he went to pray, and the boat was buffeted by the winds.

Jesus wasn’t in the boat with his disciples because he had gone to the hills to pray. Jesus prayed – that’s remarkable. It’s even more remarkable that Jesus did not stop praying when his disciples were struggling. Why? Well two possible answers. Either he didn’t care, or he believed in prayer. I think you know the correct choice.

So while Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We just do what the disciples did. We row. Much of life is spent rowing. Getting out of bed. Turning in assignments. Changing diapers. Paying bills. But don’t lay down the oars! He is too wise to forget you, too loving to hurt you. And when you can’t see him, trust him. He is praying a prayer that he himself will answer.

Acts 15:22-41

 Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with this letter:

From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Hello!

24-27 We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn’t send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they’ve looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We’ve sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we’ve written.

28-29 It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage.

These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!

Barnabas and Paul Go Their Separate Ways

30-33 And so off they went to Antioch. On arrival, they gathered the church and read the letter. The people were greatly relieved and pleased. Judas and Silas, good preachers both of them, strengthened their new friends with many words of courage and hope. Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them.

35 Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren’t alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.

36 After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let’s see how they’re doing.”

37-41 Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn’t have him; he wasn’t about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to put grit in those congregations.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, April 06, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 13:3–15

Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”

8 Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”

Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”

9 “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

10-12 Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

12-17 Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

Insight

In biblical times, foot-washing was a task reserved for the most menial servant. For a superior to wash the feet of an inferior was virtually unheard of (John 13:6–8, 13–16).

But John begins his thirteenth chapter by saying Jesus loved His own—even to the end. Christ adopted the role of the servant to wash the very feet that would abandon Him just a few hours later (Mark 14:50). To love like Jesus means humbly serving even those who fail us. It is, after all, how He loves us. By: Jed Ostoich

The Challenge to Serve

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. Matthew 20:28

Although just thirteen years old, DeAvion took up a challenge to serve others. He and his mom had heard a story about a man who called on kids to mow fifty lawns for free during their summer break. Their focus was to assist veterans, single moms, people with disabilities—or anyone who just needed help. The founder (who had mowed fifty lawns in fifty states) created the challenge to teach the importance of work ethic and giving back to the community. Despite the heat and the availability of other activities a teenager could pursue in the summer, DeAvion chose to serve others and completed the challenge.

The challenge to serve comes to believers in Jesus as well. The evening before He would die for all people, Jesus ate dinner with His friends (John 13:1–2). He was well aware of the suffering and death He would soon encounter, yet He got up from the meal, wrapped a towel around Himself, and began to wash His disciples’ feet (vv. 3–5). “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet,” He said (v. 14).

Jesus, the humble Servant and our example, cared for people: He healed the blind and sick, taught the good news of His kingdom, and gave His life for His friends. Because Christ loves you, ask Him who He wants you to serve this week. By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

What about God’s love and compassion means the most to you? How can you use your gifts and talents to serve others?

Dear God, show me how to love others with the same love You have for me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, April 06, 2023

The Collision of God and Sin

…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree… —1 Peter 2:24

The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross— He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.

The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus— He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning without the Cross. Beware of separating “God was manifested in the flesh…” from “…He made Him…to be sin for us…” (1 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.

The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….”  So Send I You, 1325 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 4-6; Luke 9:1-17

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, April 06, 2023

SO RICH, SO NEEDY - #9454

A close friend of ours was in China on family business. In the process, he had a wonderful opportunity to worship with some Chinese believers in a Sunday church service. It was a not-to-be-forgotten experience. They pointed him to something he didn't know existed in China - a Christian bookstore. It was the only one in this large city, and it's hard to find. It's stuffed into this very small space on the fourth floor of a nondescript building - but it's a Christian bookstore in China. Our friend commented in an email about the small number of Christian books that were available there in Chinese. In addition to books, they also had a small selection of Christian bookmarks and refrigerator magnets with verses or inspirational thoughts on them. And there was one fridge magnet that our friend absolutely could not, and cannot, get out of his mind. Here in the midst of this great city in this great land where Christians have paid such a price to follow Jesus was a magnet that simply said, "Pray for America." The only comment our friend had was this: "How humbling." I guess.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "So Rich, So Needy."

If you're an American Christian, you probably think of China as a place we need to pray for - and it is. But in China, apparently they think they need to pray for us, and indeed they do. Their faith is passionate there; ours is often so casual, so powerless. What for Chinese believers is a passion is for too many of us a profession, a bunch of religious activities or a religious business. We have so much, and yet in terms of spiritual power and passion, some think we seem to have so little. They have so little and yet, in many ways, they have so much. I'm glad and I'm humbled that they're praying for us.

If you're an American Christian, I hope you're praying for us, too. It's hard to read the description of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3 and not see us American believers in these words: "You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm...I am about to spit you out of My mouth," Jesus said. "You say, 'I am rich'...but you do not realize you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

See, we live amid the greatest spiritual wealth in the history of the Christian church. We've got Christian everything. We've got Christian books, videos, conferences, websites, seminars, celebrities, and buildings. And yet with the largest Christian subculture in the history of the Church, we have lost our culture for Christ. And we are the "12:48 People" who live under the judgment of our Master's words in Luke 12:48, "To whom much is given, much is required."

So, the call of 2 Chronicles 7:14, our word for today from the Word of God, must be a call to you and me. "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." The destiny of a nation depends on what God's people do. Not the politicians, not the secular humanists or the abortionists.

As we go, so goes our nation. And we need to be going to our knees for ourselves, repenting of our proud self-reliance, of our apathy; abandoning the faith we have in programs and depending on prayer instead; seeking to know God - to touch His face - not just to know more about God; and to admit our compromises and our sin and abandon it.

From there, we have to realize the responsibility we each have as a Christian from the strongest, richest, most resourced Church in our world. For God has always judged the true righteousness of His people by their love and commitment to three groups of people: the poor, the victims, and the lost. Is that what we're about? Is that what you're about?

Somewhere in China today, they're praying for us. Let's be part of the answer to their prayers!

Amos 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD WILL DO WHAT IS BEST - April 5, 2023

 “…Jesus’ followers went down to Lake Galilee. It was dark now, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” (John 6:16-17 NCV).

The disciples had done exactly what Jesus said, and look what it got them—a night on a storm-tossed sea with their Master somewhere on the shore. They had been on the sea for about nine hours before Jesus came to them. That’s a long night. Why did Jesus take so long?

Or, why does he take so long? Why does God wait until the money is gone? Why does he choose to wait until the other side of the grave to answer the prayers for healing? I don’t know. I can only say he will do what is best. “God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.” That’s a promise of Scripture (Luke 18:7 NCV) and what a promise to cherish. 

Amos 3

The Lion Has Roared

 Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account—and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!

2 “Out of all the families on earth,

    I picked you.

Therefore, because of your special calling,

    I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

3-7 Do two people walk hand in hand

    if they aren’t going to the same place?

Does a lion roar in the forest

    if there’s no carcass to devour?

Does a young lion growl with pleasure

    if he hasn’t caught his supper?

Does a bird fall to the ground

    if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?

Does a trap spring shut

    if nothing trips it?

When the alarm goes off in the city,

    aren’t people alarmed?

And when disaster strikes the city,

    doesn’t God stand behind it?

The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing

    without first telling his prophets the whole story.

8 The lion has roared—

    who isn’t frightened?

God has spoken—

    what prophet can keep quiet?

* * *

9-11 Announce to the forts of Assyria,

    announce to the forts of Egypt—

Tell them, “Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look:

    what a snake pit of brutality and terror!

They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” God said so.

    “They stockpile violence and blight.

Therefore”—this is God’s Word—“an enemy will surround the country.

    He’ll strip you of your power and plunder your forts.”

12 God’s Message:

“In the same way that a shepherd

    trying to save a lamb from a lion

Manages to recover

    just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear,

So will little be saved of the Israelites

    who live in Samaria—

A couple of old chairs at most,

    the broken leg of a table.

13-15 “Listen and bring witness against Jacob’s family”—

    this is God’s Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

“Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins,

    pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel,

The horned altars will all be dehorned

    and scattered around.

I’ll tear down the winter palace,

    smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings.

The luxury homes will be demolished,

    all those pretentious houses.”

        God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

Today's Scripture

Matthew 16:21–28

You’re Not in the Driver’s Seat

21-22 Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!”

23 But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”

24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

27-28 “Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.”

Insight

Matthew 16:21–28 records the first of three times Jesus predicted His coming suffering. The timing of this revelation is significant because it follows Peter’s great confession of Christ’s identity at Caesarea Philippi, which seems to have occurred about midway through His public ministry. As such, it seems that the first half of Jesus’ ministry was to reveal to His followers who He was (and is), and the second half of His ministry was to reveal why He came—to suffer, die, and rise again. The second prediction is found in Matthew 17:22–23. The third is found in Matthew 20:17–19 and is the only one to specifically mention crucifixion. All three, however, state that Jesus would be raised on the third day. By: Bill Crowder

More Than a Little Piece

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24

We all leave a bit of ourselves behind when we move to a new place. But to become a long-term resident of Villas Las Estrellas, Antarctica, a cold and desolate place, leaving a piece of yourself behind is a literal thing. With the nearest hospital 625 miles away, a person will be in serious trouble if their appendix bursts. So every citizen must first undergo an appendectomy before moving there.

Drastic, right? But it’s not as drastic as becoming a resident of the kingdom of God. Because people want to follow Jesus on their own terms and not His (Matthew 16:25–27), He redefines what it means to be a disciple. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (v. 24). This includes being prepared to let go of anything that competes with Him and His kingdom. And as we take up our cross, we declare a willingness to undergo social and political oppression and even death for the sake of devotion to Christ. Along with letting go and taking up, we’re also to take on a willingness to truly follow Him. This is a moment-by-moment posture of following His lead as He guides us into service and sacrifice.

Following Jesus means so much more than leaving a little piece of our lives behind. As He helps us, it’s about submitting and surrendering our whole lives—including our bodies—to Him alone. By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? How is He asking you to sacrifice your life for Him?

Dear Jesus, help me give up anything that competes with You and Your kingdom.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

His Agony and Our Access

Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38

We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.

It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.

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: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

HOPE FOR THE PRODIGAL - #9453

It's the mission with the famous birds. During our ministry trip to California, I had a chance to visit one of the most charming of the old Spanish missions, San Juan Capistrano. If you've heard of it, it's because of the birds - the swallows. The swallows like to hang out at that mission until about October 23rd every year. And then like a lot of northerners they fly south for the winter. Oh, but they will return. In fact, lots of local folk and tourists will be at the mission on the day the birds are expected to return. The time might vary a little, but one thing you could be sure of when you see them leave, they'll be back.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope for the Prodigal."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 7 right out of the life of Jesus. Verse 12: "As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and He said, 'Don't cry.' Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."

Here's a mother who was sure her son was gone until Jesus intervened. Then you have these tender words (I just love this!), "Jesus gave him back to his mother." He's still doing that with sons and daughters who look as if they're spiritually gone. Wandering from the Savior you love, the Savior you so want your child to love.

Maybe you're listening right now with a heart that is literally aching for a son or daughter who is spiritually away. Their spiritual leaving has begun a season of winter in your heart, much like the winter that follows the departure of those San Juan Capistrano swallows. But don't give up on the spring of their return. Maybe it seems hopeless right now, but don't underestimate the power of your Savior to bring stray children home. Believe Jesus for the day when He will in a sense give you back the child you have prayed for so long.

In the meantime, let the father and the prodigal son be your example. You know he didn't chase after that boy nagging him about why he shouldn't go. So many of us as parents make the mistake of expressing our deep concern by nagging and pushing our kids to be right with God, to stop making those unrighteous choices. But when you push on someone, don't they end up farther away from you? They need space to have the dignity to let this be a personal choice not a surrender to your viewpoint. And like the father of the prodigal, always let your son or daughter know you love them unconditionally. And when sin lets them down, and it will, they will return to the place where they know they have been loved through it all.

We accomplish more by talking to God about our kids than talking to our kids about God. Don't give up. Please don't give up. Claim the promise of Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Your prayers focus all the power of Almighty God on that son or that daughter wherever they are no matter how far they are.

And remember, Jesus is a shepherd; he persistently and skillfully goes after lost sheep, including that one you love and who He loves even more. In fact, at this very moment I believe the Good Shepherd is pursuing your wandering loved one. You may not know the way to soften their heart, but Jesus does.

Trust that same God who brings those swallows back faithfully every year to one day bring back the one you love; to bring him or her back to Him, to you. And you know what? It will be spring again.

Amos 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE PROMISE REMAINS - April 4, 2023

I’ve often thought it strange that Matthew would begin his book with a genealogy. Certainly not good journalism. A list of who sired whom? Wouldn’t get past most editors. But then again, Matthew was not a journalist, and the Holy Spirit was making a point. God had promised he would give a Messiah through the bloodline of Abraham, and he did. Matthew 1:16 (NCV) says, “Joseph was the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is called the Christ.” Period. No more names are listed. No more are needed.

The promise of the Messiah threads its way through forty-two generations of rough-cut stones, forming a necklace fit for the King who came. Just as promised. And the promise remains. “Those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13 NCV). God always keeps his promises.

Amos 2 

 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Moab

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She violated the corpse of Edom’s king,

    burning it to cinders.

For that, I’m burning down Moab,

    burning down the forts of Kerioth.

Moab will die in the shouting,

    go out in the blare of war trumpets.

I’ll remove the king from the center

    and kill all his princes with him.”

        God’s Decree.

4-5 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Judah

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.

They rejected God’s revelation,

    refused to keep my commands.

But they swallowed the same old lies

    that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads.

For that, I’m burning down Judah,

    burning down all the forts of Jerusalem.”

Destroyed from the Roots Up

6-8 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Israel

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.

They buy and sell upstanding people.

    People for them are only things—ways of making money.

They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.

    They’d sell their own grandmother!

They grind the penniless into the dirt,

    shove the luckless into the ditch.

Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—

    a sacrilege against my Holy Name.

Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor

    is piled up at the shrine of their god,

While they sit around drinking wine

    they’ve conned from their victims.

9-11 “In contrast, I was always on your side.

    I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,

Amorites with the stature of great cedars,

    tough as thick oaks.

I destroyed them from the top branches down.

    I destroyed them from the roots up.

And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,

    led you safely through the wilderness for forty years

And then handed you the country of the Amorites

    like a piece of cake on a platter.

I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,

    set aside your best youth for training in holiness.

Isn’t this so, Israel?”

    God’s Decree.

12-13 “But you made the youth-in-training break training,

    and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’

You’re too much for me.

    I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point.

I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded,

    creaking and groaning.

14-16 “When I go into action, what will you do?

    There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run.

The strength of the strong won’t count.

    Fighters won’t make it.

Skilled archers won’t make it.

    Fast runners won’t make it.

Chariot drivers won’t make it.

    Even the bravest of all your warriors

Won’t make it.

    He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.”

        God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 15:1–11

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

Insight

One of the central emphases of the gospel of John is on the incarnation—God becoming human to be with us (John 1:14)—as a gift of God’s love (3:16–17).  

While church tradition and other evidence suggests John the disciple was likely the author of this gospel, the author is intentional about being identified only as someone “whom Jesus loved” (21:20), whose testimony is trustworthy (v. 24). What’s most important is that the gospel points us to Jesus as the One through whom we can rest in God’s love (15:9). By: Monica La Rose

At Home in Jesus

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. John 15:4

Several years ago, we brought home an adult black cat named Juno from the local animal shelter. Truthfully, I only wanted help thinning our mice population, but the rest of the family wanted a pet. The shelter gave us rigorous instructions on how to establish a feeding routine that first week so Juno would learn our house was his home, the place he belonged and where he’d always have food and safety. This way, even if Juno might roam, he would always eventually come home.

If we don’t know our true home, we’re forever tempted to roam in vain search for goodness, love, and meaning. If we want to find our true life, however, Jesus said, “Abide in me” (John 15:4 esv). Biblical scholar Frederick Dale Bruner highlights how abide (like a similar word abode) evokes a sense of family and home. So Bruner translates Jesus’ words this way: “Stay at home in me.”

To drive this idea home, Jesus used the illustration of branches attached to a vine. Branches, if they want to live, must always stay at home, tenaciously fixed (abiding) where they belong.

There are many voices beckoning us with hollow promises to fix our problems or provide us some new “wisdom” or exhilarating future. But if we’re to truly live, we must remain in Jesus. We must stay at home. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What pulls you away from your home in Jesus? How has Jesus shown Himself to be your true source of life?

Jesus, I like to roam. I’m pulled in all kinds of directions. But I want to stay at home with You. You’re my life. Help me to abide in You.

Learn more about abiding in Christ.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

The Way to Permanent Faith

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

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

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

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

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.  The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

WHAT YOU GAIN FROM YOUR LOSS - #9452

Beep ball. Yep, I'd never heard of it until I received an email from a listener who told me she's blind. Beep ball sounds like fun, unless you're sighted like I am. Apparently, beep ball is a lot like softball except the bases beep. That helps the player know where the bases are or where the ball is coming from, if you have good ears; which, of course, blind people develop. The sighted people have to play blindfolded, and they just can't process the beeps like the blind players can. They're used to hearing more than a sound. They hear the direction of the sound. So the sighted people don't stand a chance playing beep ball!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What You Gain From Your Loss."

No one would question, obviously, that you miss an awful lot if you can't see. But you also gain some things that other people don't have—like an amazing sense of hearing and the sharpening of your other senses. Just ask those sighted people who keep losing to blind people in beep ball!

See, God has a wonderful way of adding or deepening some precious qualities through our times of loss and limitation and pain. Some of the most unforgettable people I've ever met have been people who've suffered much more than I have, and they will tell you it was their struggle that made them strong. You may not like the process; probably don't. But you'll like the beautiful results that can come from the process, if you choose to let it make you better instead of making you bitter.

There's a wonderful statement of how we gain from what we lose in our word for today from the Word of God. It sheds light on those suffering times when we're asking that perplexing question, "Why?" 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tell us this: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

If you never go through a hurting time, you'll never experience that special compassion and comfort of Almighty God. If you've never experienced that compassion and comfort, you don't have much to give to hurting people around you. If you'll seek God in your suffering, He'll pour those caring qualities into you when you're feeling crushed, overwhelmed, agonizing. But they're not just to get you through. No, He fills you up with resources you never had before, resources to make you a well of compassion and comfort for a world of broken people, people in pain; resources that can only be developed through hard times...through hurting times.

What senses does God want to deepen through your pain? Incredible qualities like radar for the deep needs behind people's deeds. A sense of compassion, which literally means the ability to "feel with" someone. God can use your pain to cultivate a wonderful tenderness in your heart and in your responses. People who have been through the valley with Jesus emerge with this amazing ability to care, to wait, and to trust God. And there's this sense of quiet confidence and deep peace in someone who has been kept afloat by the total sufficiency of Christ when there was nothing else to hang onto. They have this "nothing can sink me" poise of a person who's found out when Jesus was all they had that Jesus is all you need.

Honestly, having those kind of hardship-sharpened senses gives you an edge in the game of life. God wants you to use what you're going through to give you the emotional equipment to make you a powerful "make a difference" person; one of God's wounded healers. This painful process that you're going through? It can give you a powerful tool kit from which to be one of God's wounded healers in a hurting world.

Amos 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: CHOOSE TO OBEY - April 3, 2023

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22 NKJV).

We’re only as strong as our obedience. Remember who you are: you are God’s child. You’ve been bought by the most precious commodity in the history of the universe, the blood of Christ. You are indwelled by the Spirit of the living God, and you are being equipped for an eternal assignment that will empower you to live in the very presence of God. You have been set apart for a holy calling; you are his.

And remember where you are: this is Canaan. This is the promised land, not geographically but spiritually. This is the land of grace and hope and freedom and truth and love and life. The devil has no jurisdiction over you. So decide right now what you will say when temptation presents itself. In advance, choose obedience.

Amos 1

The Message of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, that he received on behalf of Israel. It came to him in visions during the time that Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II son of Joash was king of Israel, two years before the big earthquake.

Swallowing the Same Old Lies

2 The Message:

God roars from Zion,

    shouts from Jerusalem!

The thunderclap voice withers the pastures tended by shepherds,

    shrivels Mount Carmel’s proud peak.

3-5 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Damascus

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She pounded Gilead to a pulp, pounded her senseless

    with iron hammers and mauls.

For that, I’m setting the palace of Hazael on fire.

    I’m torching Ben-hadad’s forts.

I’m going to smash the Damascus gates

    and banish the crime king who lives in Sin Valley,

    the vice boss who gives orders from Paradise Palace.

The people of the land will be sent back

    to where they came from—to Kir.”

        God’s Decree.

6-8 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Gaza

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She deported whole towns

    and then sold the people to Edom.

For that, I’m burning down the walls of Gaza,

    burning up all her forts.

I’ll banish the crime king from Ashdod,

    the vice boss from Ashkelon.

I’ll raise my fist against Ekron,

    and what’s left of the Philistines will die.”

        God’s Decree.

9-10 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Tyre

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She deported whole towns to Edom,

    breaking the treaty she had with her kin.

For that, I’m burning down the walls of Tyre,

    burning up all her forts.”

11-12 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Edom

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She hunts down her brother to murder him.

    She has no pity, she has no heart.

Her anger rampages day and night.

    Her meanness never takes a timeout.

For that, I’m burning down her capital, Teman,

    burning up the forts of Bozrah.”

13-15 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Ammon

    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.

She ripped open pregnant women in Gilead

    to get more land for herself.

For that, I’m burning down the walls of her capital, Rabbah,

    burning up her forts.

Battle shouts! War whoops!

    with a tornado to finish things off!

The king has been carted off to exile,

    the king and his princes with him.”

        God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, April 03, 2023

Today's Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9–10

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.

My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

* * *

Insight

God’s promise to Paul that “my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9) shouldn’t be surprising. Power in places least expected has been God’s way of doing things since Adam and Eve’s sin brought both judgment on all creation and the promise of redemption.

Jesus is the epitome of the unexpected. Not only did the Messiah come as a baby from Bethlehem (both of which were not unexpected), but the way He secured our salvation through His death and resurrection was completely unexpected. This picture finds its most dramatic expression in the book of Revelation. When John is told to turn and look at the victorious “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5), he sees not just a lamb but one that’s been sacrificed (see v. 6). Strength in the unexpected places is how God works. By: J.R. Hudberg

Finding Strength in God

I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Soccer player Christian Pulisic faced several injuries that influenced his career. After learning he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup of the Champions League semifinals game, he was disappointed, but he described how God had revealed Himself to him. “As always, I reach out to God, and He gives me strength,” he said. “I feel like I always have Someone who’s with me. I don’t know how I would do any of this without that feeling.” Pulisic ultimately made a momentous impact when he was substituted later in the game. He initiated a clever play that led to the game-winning shot and secured their spot in the championship. These experiences taught him a valuable lesson: we can always view our weaknesses as opportunities for God to reveal His immeasurable power.

The world teaches us to rely on our own strength when encountering problems. However, biblical wisdom teaches us that God’s grace and power give us strength in the most trying circumstances (2 Corinthians 12:9). Therefore, we can move in confidence, recognizing that we never face trials alone. Our “weaknesses” become opportunities for God to reveal His power, strengthening and supporting us (vv. 9–10). We can then use our struggles to offer praise to God, giving thanks for His goodness and sharing these encounters with others so that they can come to experience His love.

By:  Kimya Loder

When have you tried to overcome a struggle on your own? How can you look to God for strength?

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being the source of my strength and guiding me each day.

For further reading, check out this article: Christian Pulisic reaches out to God for strength with Chelsea in FA Cup, Champions League finals.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, April 03, 2023

“If You Had Known!”

If you had known…in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. —Luke 19:42

Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there– the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

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

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

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R

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

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, April 03, 2023

EASTER AND THE DUMBEST ORDER IN HISTORY - #9451

I've got to confess; sometimes the Bible actually makes me laugh out loud. I mean, I was reading the Easter Story, and it happened again. They're about to bury Jesus in a borrowed tomb. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, issues this command to his soldiers: "Make it as secure as you know how" (Matthew 27:65).

This has to be - at least in retrospect - maybe the dumbest order in history. "Use a really big rock, guys. Put on a really strong seal, and post some really intimidating guards." Sure, Pilate was probably concerned about, you know, keeping thieves out and that kind of thing. Well, Governor, that's not your problem. Your problem is keeping Jesus in! That's Mission Impossible!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Easter and the Dumbest Order In History."

No man, no plan, no empire can stand in the way of Jesus. The stone? Rolled away. The seal? Easily broken. The soldiers? Here's what the Bible says: "So afraid...that they shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4).

And Jesus? Well, our word for today from the Word of God is Luke 24:5. Here's what it says, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" (Luke 24:5). Our precious granddaughter said it this way as she was waking up, "It's Easter morning. And Jesus is alive again!"

He's not "entombed" in some dusty old history book or in some religious institution or religious observance. No! He's the all-powerful, death-reversing, game-changing Savior who's proven there's nothing He can't beat. Unleashed that Easter morning, Jesus is this very day, healing families that nothing else can heal. He's crushing Satan. He's lifting up the oppressed. He's protecting the vulnerable. He's reshaping nations, steering history. This living Christ is shattering addictions, He's defying disease. He's making sinners like me into living proof that He's alive.

And He's fighting for you if you belong to Him. Maybe you're not sure you do. Well, this living Savior is knocking on the door of your heart this very season. He's seeking to do for you what He has done for millions of people who've let Him in. He walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life. He died on a cross so you could be forgiven of the sin that will forever keep you out of heaven and condemn you to an unthinkable eternity. But he already died that death penalty. He died to pay for it. He's offering - yes, this season - to forgive every sin of your life, because He died for every sin of your life. He's standing ready to unleash that resurrection power on the things you can't fix, and the things you can't change, the things you can't control.

You see, they found out two thousand years ago what we've been finding out ever since that. Nothing... nothing can stop this Jesus. And today He stands at the door of your life. He's ready to come in. He's ready to bring all that love and all that power into your life. If you have never begun a personal relationship with this living Savior named Jesus, couldn't be a better time of year than this to let Him come into the life that He paid for on that cross.

You say, "Ron, how do I do that?" Listen, tell Him, "Jesus I'm yours." And let me invite you to join me at our website. It's ANewStory.com. And let me explain to you there how to be sure you belong to Him. And then for you this will be the Easter like no other.