Psalm 149, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ONE STEP AT A TIME - July 13, 2023

Arthur Hays Sulzberger was the publisher of The New York Times during the Second World War. Because of the world conflict, he found it almost impossible to sleep. He was never able to banish worries from his mind until he adopted as his motto these five words—“One step enough for me”—taken from the hymn “Lead Kindly Light.”

God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene either. He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know he leads us and “we will find grace to help us when we need it” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT). God is leading you. Leave tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow.

Calm Moments for Anxious Days

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Psalm 149

Hallelujah!

Sing to God a brand-new song,

    praise him in the company of all who love him.

Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,

    Zion’s children exult in their King.

Let them praise his name in dance;

    strike up the band and make great music!

And why? Because God delights in his people,

    adorns plain folk with salvation garlands!

5-9 Let true lovers break out in praise,

    sing out from wherever they’re sitting,

Shout the high praises of God,

    brandish their swords in the wild sword-dance—

A portent of vengeance on the God-defying nations,

    a signal that punishment’s coming,

Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,

    their leaders behind bars for good,

The judgment on them carried out to the letter

    —and all who love God in the seat of honor!

Hallelujah!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Today's Scripture

Zephaniah 3:1-8

Sewer City

Doom to the rebellious city,

    the home of oppressors—Sewer City!

The city that wouldn’t take advice,

    wouldn’t accept correction,

Wouldn’t trust God,

    wouldn’t even get close to her own god!

Her very own leaders

    are rapacious lions,

Her judges are rapacious timber wolves

    out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.

Her prophets are out for what they can get.

    They’re opportunists—you can’t trust them.

Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.

    They use God’s law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.

Yet God remains righteous in her midst,

    untouched by the evil.

He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.

    At evening he’s still at it, strong as ever.

But evil men and women, without conscience

    and without shame, persist in evil.

* * *

6 “So I cut off the godless nations.

    I knocked down their defense posts,

Filled her roads with rubble

    so no one could get through.

Her cities were bombed-out ruins,

    unlivable and unlived in.

7 “I thought, ‘Surely she’ll honor me now,

    accept my discipline and correction,

Find a way of escape from the trouble she’s in,

    find relief from the punishment I’m bringing.’

But it didn’t faze her. Bright and early

    she was up at it again, doing the same old things.

8 “Well, if that’s what you want, stick around.”

    God’s Decree.

“Your day in court is coming,

    but remember I’ll be there to bring evidence.

I’ll bring all the nations to the courtroom,

    round up all the kingdoms,

And let them feel the brunt of my anger,

    my raging wrath.

My zeal is a fire

    that will purge and purify the earth.

Insight

Though the prophet Zephaniah (1:1) is rather obscure, there’s no mystery about the message he was commissioned to deliver—it was one of judgment for God’s people (1:4–2:3; 3:1–7) and the surrounding nations (2:4–15). The phrase the day of the Lord is found here more than in any other book in the Old Testament. The term refers to ongoing periodic judgments when God called peoples and nations to account for their attitudes and actions which opposed His, as well as the time of future judgment when Christ returns. Zephaniah 1:15–16 summarizes this time of reckoning with these words: wrath, distress, anguish, trouble, ruin, darkness, gloom, clouds, blackness, a day of trumpet, and battle cry. By: Arthur Jackson

Personal Responsibility

They were still eager to act corruptly in all they did. Zephaniah 3:7

My friend’s eyes revealed what I was feeling—fear! We two teens had behaved poorly and were now cowering before the camp director. The man, who knew our dads well, shared lovingly but pointedly that our fathers would be greatly disappointed. We wanted to crawl under the table—feeling the weight of personal responsibility for our offense.

God gave Zephaniah a message for the people of Judah that contained potent words about personal responsibility for sin (Zephaniah 1:1, 6–7). After describing the judgments He would bring against Judah’s foes (ch. 2), He turned His eyes on His guilty, squirming people (ch. 3). “What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem,” God proclaimed (3:1 nlt). “They [are] still eager to act corruptly” (v. 7).

He'd seen the cold hearts of His people—their spiritual apathy, social injustice, and ugly greed—and He was bringing loving discipline. And it didn’t matter if the individuals were “leaders,” “judges,” “prophets”(vv. 3–4 nlt)—everyone was guilty before Him.

The apostle Paul wrote the following to believers in Jesus who persisted in sin, “You are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. . . . [God] will judge everyone according to what they have done” (Romans 2:5–6 nlt). So, in Jesus’ power, let’s live in a way that honors our holy, loving Father and leads to no remorse. By:  Tom Felten

Reflect & Pray

Why should you take personal responsibility for your sin? How do your wrong choices bring shame to God?

Heavenly Father, please help me pursue good choices for You.

For further study, read Feeling the Weight of Sin.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, July 13, 2023

The Price of the Vision

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1

Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?

My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.

Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”

Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything.  Shade of His Hand, 1200 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 7-9; Acts 18

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, July 13, 2023

God's Two Lists - #9524

So, as you get close to the time of the wedding, you know, you've got to make the list of who you're going to invite and who you're not going to invite. So, almost every bride and groom with a lot of counsel from the parents, end up with two lists. Here's the people that make the cut and they're going to get invited, and these people...what they don't know won't hurt them probably. Then, oh, there of course were my friends at school. We had a missionary aviation course. It was very challenging. And for two years, the guys had to take all the base curriculum not knowing if they would make the cut to be able to go into the airport and then begin to really get the flight training. And many of my friends were standing there on the day they posted the list. Boy, I'll tell you what, that was a big day to find out which list you were on. I had a lot of friends that were crushed, and a lot of friends who were celebrating the rest of the day. It's amazing how many times life comes down to which list you're on.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Two Lists."

For some reason, the examples I just mentioned, take me back to a real disaster that riveted the world over a century ago. An unspeakable tragedy, out of the blue. It was a ship that disappeared. Yeah, you know. It was the Titanic with 2,200 people aboard. The scope of the loss defied anything anyone could conceive.

And there, in Liverpool, families were waiting to learn the fate of someone they loved. As news filtered back from the disaster, White Star Lines notified the next of kin by posting the name of each identified passenger on a board outside their office with two lists: "Those known to be saved" and "Those known to be lost." Two groups. Only two. When they had set sail, they were first class, second class, third class and crew. Now they were saved or lost.

As I've been exposed to God's heart as expressed in the Bible, I've realized that's how He views all of us. Whatever group we're in - ethnically, politically, religiously, socially - He sees each of us being in one of two groups: saved or lost.

Here's how the Bible says it. It's in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 John 5:11-12. "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." Now, it's not in Christianity. It's not in any religion. It's in His Son, Jesus. It goes on to say, "And he who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

That's because His Son did what had to be done for a sinner like me to ever go to God's heaven. God's really clear about the penalty for my cosmic defiance of my Creator's rule of my life. It says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That's not your heart stopping. No, that's eternal separation from the source of all life, all love, and everything good in the universe - eternal separation from God - lost forever.

Except for the hope in that statement, "God has given us eternal life." And that's in the person of His Son, Jesus, who, again according to God's Book, "carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). So what was happening on that cross was the payment for your sin and mine - the only One God could ever accept. Why did He do that? Because it says, "He came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15) like me. Like you.

I was once "known to be lost." But the greatest miracle of my life is that I'm now "known to be saved" because God sent a Rescuer, and I grabbed His outstretched hand. Which may be reaching out to where you are right now. Grab His hand and say, "Jesus, you're my only hope. I'm yours."

If you want to know how to do that and make sure you belong to Him? Would you go to our website? That is what it's there for. It's ANewStory.com. Check it out. This could be your day to be rescued by the Savior who gave His life to save you so you would be known to be saved.

1 Corinthians 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE PRAYERS HE ANSWERS - July 12, 2023

Jesus said, “If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer” (Mark 11:24). Don’t reduce this grand statement to the category of new cars and paychecks. The fruit God assures is far greater than earthly wealth. God wants you to fly free of yesterday’s guilt, free of today’s fears, free of tomorrow’s grave. Sin, fear, and death. These are the mountains he has moved. These are the prayers he will answer. That is the fruit he will grant. This is what he longs to do.

Let’s not limit our prayers to the things of this world. Let’s reach out with open hearts and open hands to ask for true treasures: a freedom from worry and fear, a greater trust in him, and a peace that far exceeds our understanding. Let’s dare to ask and to believe he will answer.

Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Read more Calm Moments for Anxious Days

1 Corinthians 4

Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s divine secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment.

5 So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God.

6 All I’m doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to Apollos and me so that you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without knowing all the facts. It’s important to look at things from God’s point of view. I would rather not see you inflating or deflating reputations based on mere hearsay.

7-8 For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!

9-13 It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, the leftovers that nobody wants. And it’s not getting any better.

14-16 I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold to shame you. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself.

17 This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ.

18-20 I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don’t think I’ll ever show up in person. But I’ll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we’ll see if they’re full of anything but hot air. God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.

21 So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you walk the line? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 51:1-7

 Generous in love—God, give grace!

    Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt,

    soak out my sins in your laundry.

I know how bad I’ve been;

    my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen

    it all, seen the full extent of my evil.

You have all the facts before you;

    whatever you decide about me is fair.

I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,

    in the wrong since before I was born.

What you’re after is truth from the inside out.

    Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,

    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.

Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

    set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don’t look too close for blemishes,

    give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don’t throw me out with the trash,

    or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

    put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a job teaching rebels your ways

    so the lost can find their way home.

Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,

    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

Unbutton my lips, dear God;

    I’ll let loose with your praise.

Insight

Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of confession for his sins. Regarding his sin with Bathsheba, there’s important cultural background that Westerners may miss. First, as king, David had absolute authority and could do whatever he wanted with impunity (except for the ever-watching God). So, Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, would have had no voice or rights in this matter. Second, the primary theme of the event is a shame-honor contest between David and Uriah. Shame-honor contests always took place publicly, hence Uriah’s public refusal to go home and give apparent legitimacy to his wife’s pregnancy. Third, after Bathsheba is introduced (2 Samuel 11:3), she’s no longer named until the conception of Solomon (12:24). In between, she’s always referred to as “the wife of Uriah”—no doubt underlining the author’s intent of exposing the heinous nature of David’s actions both with her and with Uriah. By: Bill Crowder

Wash Me!

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

“Wash me!” Though those words weren’t written on my vehicle, they could have been. So, off to the car wash I went, and so did other drivers who wanted relief from the grimy leftovers from salted roads following a recent snowfall. The lines were long, and the service was slow. But it was worth the wait. I left with a clean vehicle and, for compensation for service delay, the car wash was free of charge!

Getting cleaned at someone else’s expense—that’s the gospel of Jesus Christ. God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, has provided forgiveness for our sins. Who among us hasn’t felt the need “to bathe” when the “dirt and grime” of life have clung to us? When we’re stained by selfish thoughts or actions that harm ourselves or others and rob us of peace with God? Psalm 51 is the cry of David when temptation had triumphed in his life. When confronted by a spiritual mentor about his sin (see 2 Samuel 12), he prayed a “Wash me!” prayer: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (v. 7). Feeling dirty and guilty? Make your way to Jesus and remember these words: ”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean for you to cry out to God, “Wash me”? What’s keeping you from asking for His free forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus now?

God of heaven, You see every stain in my life that needs to be dealt with. Wash me, forgive me, and help me to honor You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church

…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… —Ephesians 4:13

Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.

Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “…that I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.

My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,

Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.

Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray. So Send I You, 1325 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 4-6; Acts 17:16-34

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Staying Close To the Cross - #9523

It was a spiritual, well, "golden moment." The closing night of our Warrior Leadership Summit. And it was our privilege, as it is every summer, to bring together Native American young people, representing scores of Indian nations across North America. I mean, we realize that only an estimated 4% of Native people know Christ after some 400 years of mission work, this conference is almost historic. The mission each year is to help Native young people choose Christ, follow Christ and be a warrior for Christ in some very difficult places. That moment, that golden moment, came when 20 young people, representing some 20 Indian nations, each stood to declare their commitment to go back to reach their people for Christ. Then they bowed at the foot of the old rugged cross at the front of the auditorium.

Then, as hundreds of Native young people began to sing "Our God Is an Awesome God," those 20 young warriors lifted the cross above their heads. They reverently carried it through the audience and out the door to a world whose only hope is that cross. It was a powerful moment. A few minutes after the meeting ended, a leader came to me and said, "Ron, there's something beautiful going on out in front of the auditorium. Those young warriors? They don't want to leave the cross."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Staying Close To the Cross."

I haven't been able to get those words out of my mind, "They don't want to leave the cross." What a powerful way to prioritize your life - staying close to the cross where Jesus gave His life to save yours. That cross should be the centerpiece of what matters to me, what I love, what I hate, what I spend on, what I do with my life. It's the centerpiece of the plan of God for this whole planet and for your life.

The sacrifice of countless lambs to atone for the sins of God's people pointed to the one ultimate sin sacrifice - God's Lamb, on the cross. Jesus continually called His death on that cross "the hour for which I have come." And the constant song of heaven for all eternity is, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." They're always celebrating the cross. Shouldn't we be doing the same thing on this side of heaven? Without that cross, we have no life; we have no hope.

A few years ago, I was stunned when my name was announced at a conference as the winner of an alumni award. When they asked me to say something, and you're going to find this hard to believe, I was speechless. All I could finally say was a Bible verse, and it's our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 6:14. In the New Living Translation it says, "May I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in the world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died."

Let the price that Jesus paid for you define your priorities. Live for the One who loves you the most, who gave His life for you. Let the cross inspire your humility, no matter how smart you are, how applauded and how appreciated you may be. Don't ever forget you're nothing except for that cross. Let the cross help you say no to sin. Jesus died for that sin! And let the cross be your message. Don't just talk generally about God or "your faith." Talk about that cross.

Charles Spurgeon said that whenever he preached he made "a straight pathway to the cross." He called the cross "God's magnificent magnet." Whenever you have an opportunity to say something about your Lord, don't be ashamed of the cross. Show them how much Jesus loves them.

The old hymn says it pretty well: "Jesus, keep me near the cross." Carry His cross to a world around you whose only hope is what Jesus did there. Begin your days remembering that cross. May it be said of you, "He/she doesn't want to leave that cross."

Psalm 148, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HE’S WRITING YOUR STORY - July 11, 2023

You look at tomorrow’s demands, next week’s bills, next month’s silent calendar. Your future looks as barren as the Sinai Desert.“How can I face my future?” Well God knows what you need and where you’ll be – trust him. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:34 MSG).

You know, worry cleaves the mind, splitting thoughts between today and tomorrow. Today stands no chance against it. Fretting over tomorrow’s problems today siphons the strength you need for now, leaving you anemic and weak. God made you for more than a life of breath-stealing angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life, and he is ready to write it.

Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Read more Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Psalm 148

 Hallelujah!

Praise God from heaven,

    praise him from the mountaintops;

Praise him, all you his angels,

    praise him, all you his warriors,

Praise him, sun and moon,

    praise him, you morning stars;

Praise him, high heaven,

    praise him, heavenly rain clouds;

Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—

    he spoke the word, and there they were!

6 He set them in place

    from all time to eternity;

He gave his orders,

    and that’s it!

7-12 Praise God from earth,

    you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps;

Fire and hail, snow and ice,

    hurricanes obeying his orders;

Mountains and all hills,

    apple orchards and cedar forests;

Wild beasts and herds of cattle,

    snakes, and birds in flight;

Earth’s kings and all races,

    leaders and important people,

Robust men and women in their prime,

    and yes, graybeards and little children.

13-14 Let them praise the name of God—

    it’s the only Name worth praising.

His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;

    he’s built a monument—his very own people!

Praise from all who love God!

    Israel’s children, intimate friends of God.

Hallelujah!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Today's Scripture

Hebrews 3:1-6

The Centerpiece of All We Believe

So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.

6-11 Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house! That’s why the Holy Spirit says,

Today, please listen;

    don’t turn a deaf ear as in “the bitter uprising,”

    that time of wilderness testing!

Even though they watched me at work for forty years,

    your ancestors refused to let me do it my way;

    over and over they tried my patience.

And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!

    I said, “They’ll never keep their minds on God;

    they refuse to walk down my road.”

Exasperated, I vowed,

    “They’ll never get where they’re going,

    never be able to sit down and rest.”

Insight

The reminder in Hebrews 3:4 that “God is the builder of everything” is reinforced in principle elsewhere in Scripture. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain,” we read in Psalm 127:1. Before their building initiative was abruptly terminated, the boast of the vain builders in Babel was, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4). Before his humiliation, King Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). But afterwards, he “praised the Most High” and “honored and glorified him who lives forever” (v. 34). By: Arthur Jackson

Who Deserves the Praise?

Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Hebrews 3:4

From the spiral staircase to the expansive bedroom, from the hardwood floors to the plush carpeting, from the huge laundry room to the well-organized office, the realtor showed a potential home to the young couple. At every corner they turned, they raved about its beauty: “You’ve picked the best place for us. This house is amazing!” Then the realtor responded with something they thought a bit unusual yet true: “I’ll pass along your compliment to the builder. The one who built the house deserves the praise; not the house itself or the one who shows it off.”

The realtor’s words echo the writer of Hebrews: “The builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself” (3:3). The writer was comparing the faithfulness of Jesus, the Son of God, with the prophet Moses (vv. 1–6). Though Moses was privileged to speak to God face-to-face and to see His form (Numbers 12:8), he was still only “a servant” in the house of God (Hebrews 3:5). Christ as the Creator (1:2, 10) deserves honor as the divine “builder of everything” and as the Son “over God’s house” (3:4, 6). God’s house is His people.

When we serve God faithfully, it’s Jesus the divine builder who deserves the honor. Any praise we, God’s house, receive ultimately belongs to Him. By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

What has God built into you? What are unique ways you can give honor to Jesus if you’re complimented?

Jesus, You deserve all my praise. May my life and words give You that praise on this day.

For further study, read Going the Distance: Practices to Strengthen Your Faith.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

The Spiritually Vigorous Saint

…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10

A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).

The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances.  Not Knowing Whither, 900 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 1-3; Acts 17:1-15

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

The Choice and the Child in You - #9522

It's a pretty good guess that a woman wrote this famous line "The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys." Actually, I think there is a little boy that does live inside of most men. By the way, I think there's a little girl who lives inside of most women.

It doesn't come out too often, but it comes out at certain times like when it snows. There's just this urge to throw a snowball. Right? Or when you go to an amusement park with your kids. And Christmas. Oh Christmas! That brings out the child inside. I think that the more adult responsibilities we get, the more sophisticated we become, the harder it is for that little boy or that little girl to get out. But you need that kid!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Choice and the Child in You."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 18, beginning at verse 2. Jesus was conducting a very memorable object lesson, and it says this: "He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: (Now, He's talking to all these sophisticated adults.) 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Well look, obviously Jesus is saying here, "You've got to become childlike." Not childish. But you've got to become childlike again if you're going to get eternal life. Wow!

What's He saying here? That you've got to be like a little child to get to heaven? Well, the Bible says "Without faith it is impossible to please God." And in John 1:12, the Bible says, "To all those who received Him, to as many as believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God." In other words, if you put all your trust in Jesus, you get into God's family. It's not religion, it's not giving, and it's not correct doctrine. You trust Jesus and what He did when He died for you.

See, the older we get the harder that is. But how about with a child? Well, a child gets hurt, runs to the parent and trusts the parent's treatment. A little child has a question, they ask Mommy or Daddy. A little child is scared? Look to Mom and Dad. The older we get, the more we do for ourselves and the less we put our hope in our parents.

That's okay in our families here on earth. But let's talk about God's family, because that's a sure way to miss God. Maybe you've gotten pretty far on your own and you pride yourself. You're self-reliant. You say, "Hey, I can handle it." Well, you can't handle the gap between you and God. Every culture in the world knows there's something between us and our Creator. And I believe your own heart tells you that.

The Bible confirms that in Isaiah 59:2, "Your sin has separated you from your God." The Bible says in Romans 3:10, "There's no one righteous, no not one." Not compared to a perfect God. But Romans 5:6 says, "When we were totally powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Now, maybe you're a believer and you've even told that to others. But you could have missed the one thing that will give you that relationship with God. You've never really surrendered yourself to Him and fallen on your knees at the cross where Jesus died for you and said, "Lord, I'm powerless." And like a little child, putting all their trust in the parent who can do it for them, what they can never do for themselves, you say, "I give myself to You. I put my total trust in You, Jesus, what You died to give me. You're all I've got. You're my only hope."

Have you ever done that? Well, this might be the time. This could change everything: your life and your eternity. You say, "Ron, I don't know how to do that." Well, let me encourage you to go to our website as soon as you can today. We'll walk you through it. Go to ANewStory.com.

Maybe you've tried to know God with a smart, sophisticated, self-trusting, adult reasoning. You can't get to heaven that way my friend. The kids sing it "Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so." It's time to say, "I'm not going to be able to walk to heaven on my own, Lord. Please carry me, Jesus."

Psalm 147, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FILL YOUR DAY WITH G-O-D - July 10, 2023

My friend and I went on an extended Hill Country bike trek. After forty-five minutes I had to dismount and catch my breath. That’s when my partner spotted the problem: both rear brakes were rubbing my back tire.

Don’t we do the same? Guilt presses on one side. Dread drags the other. We sabotage our day, wiring it for disasters, lugging along yesterday’s troubles, downloading tomorrow’s struggles. We aren’t giving the day a chance. What can we do? Here’s my proposal: consult Jesus. Saturate your day in his grace. Entrust your day to his oversight. Apply his direction. Grace. Oversight. Direction. G-O-D. Fill your day with God, and give the day a chance.

Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Read more Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Psalm 147

Hallelujah!

It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;

    praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.

2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,

    who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.

He heals the heartbroken

    and bandages their wounds.

He counts the stars

    and assigns each a name.

Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;

    we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.

God puts the fallen on their feet again

    and pushes the wicked into the ditch.

7-11 Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,

    play music on your instruments to God,

Who fills the sky with clouds,

    preparing rain for the earth,

Then turning the mountains green with grass,

    feeding both cattle and crows.

He’s not impressed with horsepower;

    the size of our muscles means little to him.

Those who fear God get God’s attention;

    they can depend on his strength.

12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!

    Zion, praise your God!

He made your city secure,

    he blessed your children among you.

He keeps the peace at your borders,

    he puts the best bread on your tables.

He launches his promises earthward—

    how swift and sure they come!

He spreads snow like a white fleece,

    he scatters frost like ashes,

He broadcasts hail like birdseed—

    who can survive his winter?

Then he gives the command and it all melts;

    he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!

19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,

    speaks words that work to Israel.

He never did this to the other nations;

    they never heard such commands.

Hallelujah!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, July 10, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 3:13-21

 “No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

Insight

John 3:16, a well-known verse, is a small part of a big conversation. A Pharisee named Nicodemus sought out Jesus under the cover of night with some questions. When Jesus quickly turned the conversation to the kingdom of God (v. 3), Nicodemus struggled to keep up.

Jesus told the Pharisee that only believing in Him—the Son of God—would provide admittance into the coming kingdom. And that belief would remake all those who believed (v. 5; see Genesis 1:1–3). But then Christ subtly chided Nicodemus. He pointed out that those who truly wish to do what’s right will do it in the light of day—not the cover of night. If Nicodemus (or anyone) wants to truly believe in Jesus, it requires obedience in the full light of day (John 3:19–21). By: Jed Ostoich

From Darkness to Light

Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light. John 3:21

Nothing could pull Aakash out of his dark depression. Severely injured in a truck accident, he was taken to a missionary hospital in Southwest Asia. Eight operations repaired his broken bones, but he couldn’t eat. Depression set in. His family depended on him to provide, which he couldn't do, so his world grew darker.

One day a visitor read to Aakash from the gospel of John in his language and prayed for him. Touched by the hope of God’s free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus, he placed his faith in Him. His depression soon left. When he returned home, he was afraid at first to mention his newfound faith. Finally, though, he told his family about Jesus—and six of them trusted Him as well!

John’s gospel is a beacon of light in a world of darkness. In it we read that “whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). We discover that “whoever hears [Jesus’] word and believes [God] has eternal life” (5:24). And we hear Jesus say, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry” (6:35). Indeed, “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (3:21).

The troubles we face may be great, but Jesus is greater. He came to give us “life . . . to the full” (10:10). Like Aakash, may you place your faith in Jesus—the hope of the world and the light for all humanity. By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

How do the world’s problems threaten to overwhelm you? How does the message and presence of Jesus encourage you?

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the hope found in Your Son.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, July 10, 2023

The Spiritually Lazy Saint

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25

We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.

The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.

“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Job 41-42; Acts 16:22-40

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, July 10, 2023

Days Full of God-Sightings - #9521

When we moved to New York City many years ago, one of the first landmarks I wanted to see was the Statue of Liberty. And when we went out there on our first weekend, the guide told us an amazing fact I never realized. He said, "From the day in the late 1800's when her light was first lit up right here on that island, to the moment we are looking at right now, the lamp of Liberty has never gone out." Wow!

Now, everybody else's lights in New York go off and on, especially in the daytime. You turn them off, right? "Lady Liberty's," he said, "was always on." During World War II when they blacked out New York City because of the threat of bombings, they put a little 60-watt light bulb in her so she could continue to have the lamp of Liberty lit.

And then during the great northeast blackout some years ago when everybody else's power was out, her light continued to shine because she was connected to electricity on the New Jersey shore. So, as wave after wave of our forefathers sailed into New York harbor as immigrants, they would strain for a first look at that statue, the symbol of the freedom they had risked everything to find. And whenever they arrived, they saw the Light of Liberty. It was always on, and by the way, you should be too.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Days Full of God-Sightings."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 4. It's an account that includes those fascinating little details that reveal so much. I'll begin in verse 4: "Now Jesus had to go through Samaria. In Samaria he came to a town called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son, Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'"

Okay, now if you're familiar with this story, it starts a chain reaction that actually ends up in a revival in this whole Samaritan community. It happens as this woman, known for her immoral lifestyle, is changed by the Messiah at the well. Now, notice here Jesus was tired, He's resting, He's thirsty. Wouldn't you say He could be off duty for at least a little while? He's really fatigued, sort of like one of those buses with an Out of Service sign on it, "I'm not working right now."

But then along comes a woman who needs Him, and He opens up her life to His claims. See, Jesus was "on" at a well, thirsty, tired, worn out, just as much as He was with a crowd on a sunny hillside. In fact, it is Jesus' fatigue that puts Him at the right place at the right time. See, God wants to use the everyday events of your life to position you to affect someone else, if you're willing to be stuck in the "on" position and never go off duty spiritually. Maybe tired, thirsty, hungry, not feeling good...still on duty.

You never know how God will get you to be at the right place for someone who needs you. You need to be "on" for Him with your radar on when you go to lunch, when you go to Wal-Mart, when you go to the water fountain, when you're in a cab, when you're waiting in line. Don't put your service for Him into some little compartment: Okay, now I work for Him, now it's time for me, now it's time for ministry. Wait a minute! When isn't it time for ministry?

Life really becomes an adventure when you open up your day to God's sovereign matching of you with people. You pray, "Lord, use my everyday activities to put me in the path of someone who needs me and who needs You.

Just like that Lady in New York Harbor, you never know when you will hold the light that someone's looking for. Just be sure that your light's always "on."

1 Corinthians 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Definition of Greed

Jesus had a definition for greed. He called it the practice of measuring life by possessions! Greed equates a person's worth with a person's purse. You got a lot equals you are a lot. You got a little equals you are little. The consequence of such a philosophy is predictable. If you are the sum of what you own, then by all means own it all. No price is too high. No payment is too much. But God's foremost rule of finance is that we own nothing. We are managers, not owners. Stewards, not landlords. Maintenance people, not proprietors.

Our money is not ours, it is His. It's not as if God kept the future a secret. One glance at a cemetery should remind us that everyone dies. The Bible says, "The Lord owns the world and everything in it-the heavens, even the highest heavens, are his!" (Psalm 24:1). This includes our money.

From When God Whispers Your Name

1 Corinthians 3

 But for right now, friends, I’m completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You’re acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I’ll nurse you since you don’t seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way? When one of you says, “I’m on Paul’s side,” and another says, “I’m for Apollos,” aren’t you being totally childish?

5-9 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.

9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.

16-17 You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

18-20 Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being relevant. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture,

He exposes the hype of the hipsters.

The Master sees through the smoke screens

    of the know-it-alls.

21-23 I don’t want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, July 09, 2023

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 58:1-9

Your Prayers Won’t Get Off the Ground

 “Shout! A full-throated shout!

    Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!

Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives,

    face my family Jacob with their sins!

They’re busy, busy, busy at worship,

    and love studying all about me.

To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people—

    law-abiding, God-honoring.

They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’

    and love having me on their side.

But they also complain,

    ‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?

    Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’

3-5     “Well, here’s why:

“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.

    You drive your employees much too hard.

You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.

    You fast, but you swing a mean fist.

The kind of fasting you do

    won’t get your prayers off the ground.

Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:

    a day to show off humility?

To put on a pious long face

    and parade around solemnly in black?

Do you call that fasting,

    a fast day that I, God, would like?

6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:

    to break the chains of injustice,

    get rid of exploitation in the workplace,

    free the oppressed,

    cancel debts.

What I’m interested in seeing you do is:

    sharing your food with the hungry,

    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

    putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

    being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on,

    and your lives will turn around at once.

Your righteousness will pave your way.

    The God of glory will secure your passage.

Then when you pray, God will answer.

    You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,

    quit blaming victims,

    quit gossiping about other people’s sins,

If you are generous with the hungry

    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,

    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

I will always show you where to go.

    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—

    firm muscles, strong bones.

You’ll be like a well-watered garden,

    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,

    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,

    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,

    make the community livable again.

Insight

The prophet Isaiah (which means “God is salvation”) wrote the longest prophetic book, which contains sixty-six chapters. Isaiah 1:1 provides some helpful information about Isaiah: “The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” These kings place Isaiah in the eighth century bc and have caused some scholars to speculate that Isaiah’s prophetic ministry may have lasted for some sixty-four years. Apparently, Isaiah had two sons and was married to a prophetess (7:3; 8:3). By: Bill Crowder

A Cry for Help

Loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke . . . set the oppressed free. Isaiah 58:6

David Willis had been upstairs in Waterstones Bookshop when he came downstairs and found the lights were turned off and the doors locked. He was trapped inside the store! Not knowing what else to do, he turned to Twitter and tweeted: “Hi @Waterstones. I’ve been locked inside of your Trafalgar Square bookstore for 2 hours now. Please let me out.” Not too long after his tweet, he was rescued.

It’s good to have a way to get help when we’re in trouble. Isaiah said there’s Someone who will answer our cries when we’re trapped in a problem of our own making. The prophet wrote that God had charged His people with practicing their religious devotion irresponsibly. They were going through the motions of religion but masking their oppression of the poor with empty and self-serving rituals (Isaiah 58:1–7). This didn’t win divine favor. God hid His eyes from them and didn’t answer their prayers (1:15). He told them to repent and display outward acts of caring for others (58:6–7). If they did that, He told them, “You will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk” (v. 9).  

Let’s get close to the poor, saying to them: “I am here.” For God hears our cries for help and says to us, “I am here.” By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What behavior or attitude could prevent you from experiencing answered prayer? Of what do you need to repent?

Dear God, thank You for hearing my prayers. Please help me to be there for others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, July 09, 2023

Will You Examine Yourself?

Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord…" —Joshua 24:19

Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord…”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?

“The people said to Joshua, ‘No, but we will serve the Lord!’ ” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”

We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?

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

Bible in a Year: Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21

Psalm 146, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God's Grace

I've never been surprised by God's judgment, but I'm still stunned by His grace! God's judgment has never been a problem for me. Lightning bolts on Sodom…fire on Gomorrah… good job, God! Discipline is easy for me to swallow; it's logical to assimilate.

But God's grace?  Anything but. Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. The thief on the cross was hell-bent and hung out to die one minute, then heaven-bound and smiling the next. I challenge you to find one story in the Bible of a person who came to God seeking grace and did not find it. I dare you. God gives a lot more grace than we would ever imagine.

We could do the same. I'm not for watering down the truth or compromising the Gospel. One thing is for sure. When we get to heaven, we'll be surprised at some of the folks we see.  And some of them will be surprised when they see us.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Psalm 146

 Hallelujah!

    O my soul, praise God!

All my life long I’ll praise God,

    singing songs to my God as long as I live.

3-9 Don’t put your life in the hands of experts

    who know nothing of life, of salvation life.

Mere humans don’t have what it takes;

    when they die, their projects die with them.

Instead, get help from the God of Jacob,

    put your hope in God and know real blessing!

God made sky and soil,

    sea and all the fish in it.

He always does what he says—

    he defends the wronged,

    he feeds the hungry.

God frees prisoners—

    he gives sight to the blind,

    he lifts up the fallen.

God loves good people, protects strangers,

    takes the side of orphans and widows,

    but makes short work of the wicked.

10 God’s in charge—always.

    Zion’s God is God for good!

    Hallelujah!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, July 08, 2023

Today's Scripture

Acts 4:12-22

 With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: “Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is ‘the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’ Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.”

13-14 They couldn’t take their eyes off them—Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright—so healed!—what could they say against that?

15-17 They sent them out of the room so they could work out a plan. They talked it over: “What can we do with these men? By now it’s known all over town that a miracle has occurred, and that they are behind it. There is no way we can refute that. But so that it doesn’t go any further, let’s silence them with threats so they won’t dare to use Jesus’ name ever again with anyone.”

18-20 They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John spoke right back, “Whether it’s right in God’s eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there’s no question—we can’t keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.”

21-22 The religious leaders renewed their threats, but then released them. They couldn’t come up with a charge that would stick, that would keep them in jail. The people wouldn’t have stood for it—they were all praising God over what had happened. The man who had been miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Insight

Boldness or courage (two translations of the same Greek word) is portrayed in Acts as a quality of Spirit-filled believers in Jesus. In chapter 4, Peter is described as “filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 8) and the religious leaders were astonished with Peter and John’s “courage” (v. 13). In response to the leaders’ threats (vv. 21, 23), the apostles met with believers and prayed for God to “enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness” (v. 29). In answer, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (v. 31). By: Monica La Rose

Free in the Spirit

They were unschooled, ordinary men, . . . and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Neither Orville nor Wilbur Wright had a pilot’s license. Neither had gone to college. They were bicycle mechanics with a dream and the courage to try to fly. On December 17, 1903, they took turns piloting their Wright Flyer on four separate flights. The longest lasted only a minute, but it changed our world forever.

Neither Peter nor John had a preaching license. Neither had gone to seminary. They were fishermen who, filled with the Spirit of Jesus, courageously proclaimed the good news: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The Wright brothers’ neighbors didn’t immediately appreciate their accomplishment. Their hometown newspaper didn’t believe their story, and said that even if true, the flights were too brief to be significant. It took several more years of flying and refining their planes before the public recognized what they had truly done.

The religious leaders didn’t like Peter and John, and they ordered them to stop telling others about Jesus. Peter said, No way. “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (v. 20).

You may not be on the approved list. Perhaps you’re scorned by those who are. No matter. If you have the Spirit of Jesus, you’re free to live boldly for Him! By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What task or person causes you to feel inadequate? How might you rely on the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to step into that challenge today?

Jesus, I’m Yours. Use me in whatever way You want.

For further study, read Guided by the Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, July 08, 2023

Will To Be Faithful

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… —Joshua 24:15

A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.

“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.

Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves…” (Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child.  Not Knowing Whither, 882 L

Bible in a Year: Job 36-37; Acts 15:22-41

Psalm 136, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PRAY WITHOUT CEASING - July 7, 2023

Sound burdensome? Are you wondering, My business needs attention, my children need dinner, my bills need paying. How can I stay in a place of prayer? Well do this: change your definition of prayer. Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness.

Acknowledge his presence everywhere you go. In the grocery as you shop. Your presence, my King, I welcome. As you wash the dishes, worship your Maker. God loves the sound of your voice. Always. He doesn’t hide when you call. He hears your prayers.

For that reason, “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).

Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Read more Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Psalm 136

Thank God! He deserves your thanks.

    His love never quits.

Thank the God of all gods,

    His love never quits.

Thank the Lord of all lords.

    His love never quits.

4-22 Thank the miracle-working God,

    His love never quits.

The God whose skill formed the cosmos,

    His love never quits.

The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,

    His love never quits.

The God who filled the skies with light,

    His love never quits.

The sun to watch over the day,

    His love never quits.

Moon and stars as guardians of the night,

    His love never quits.

The God who struck down the Egyptian firstborn,

    His love never quits.

And rescued Israel from Egypt’s oppression,

    His love never quits.

Took Israel in hand with his powerful hand,

    His love never quits.

Split the Red Sea right in half,

    His love never quits.

Led Israel right through the middle,

    His love never quits.

Dumped Pharaoh and his army in the sea,

    His love never quits.

The God who marched his people through the desert,

    His love never quits.

Smashed huge kingdoms right and left,

    His love never quits.

Struck down the famous kings,

    His love never quits.

Struck Sihon the Amorite king,

    His love never quits.

Struck Og the Bashanite king,

    His love never quits.

Then distributed their land as booty,

    His love never quits.

Handed the land over to Israel.

    His love never quits.

23-26 God remembered us when we were down,

    His love never quits.

Rescued us from the trampling boot,

    His love never quits.

Takes care of everyone in time of need.

    His love never quits.

Thank God, who did it all!

    His love never quits!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, July 07, 2023

Today's Scripture

Exodus 16:4-7, 13–17

4-5 God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration. I’m going to test them to see if they’ll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration.”

6-7 Moses and Aaron told the People of Israel, “This evening you will know that it is God who brought you out of Egypt; and in the morning you will see the Glory of God. Yes, he’s listened to your complaints against him. You haven’t been complaining against us, you know, but against God.”

13-15 That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was.

15-16 So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’”

17-18 The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.

Insight

Having crossed the Red Sea, which was the final act of their liberation from Egypt, the Israelites transitioned on to Sinai. The elements of the transition include a season of worship at the Red Sea (15:1–21), cleansing the bitter waters at Marah (vv. 22–27), God’s provision of manna and quail (ch. 16) and water from the rock (17:1–7), a battle against the Amalekites (vv. 8–16), a leadership summit with Jethro (ch. 18), and their arrival at Sinai (ch. 19). At Sinai, God reintroduced Himself to His chosen people, and Israel further transitioned from being a massive extended family to becoming a nation with laws. By: Bill Crowder

Chocolate Snowflakes

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” Exodus 16:15

Residents of Olten, Switzerland, were surprised by a shower of chocolate shavings covering the entire town. The ventilation system at a nearby chocolate factory had malfunctioned, sending cocoa into the air and dusting the area with confectionary goodness. The chocolate coating sounds like a dream come true for chocoholics!

While chocolate doesn’t adequately provide for one’s nutritional needs, God supplied the Israelites with heavenly showers that did. As they traveled through the desert, they began to grumble about the variety of food they’d left behind in Egypt. In response, God said He would “rain down bread from heaven” to sustain them (Exodus 16:4). When the morning dew dried up each day, a thin flake of food remained. Approximately two million Israelites were instructed to gather as much as they needed that day. For forty years of their desert wanderings, they were nourished by God’s supernatural provision in manna.

We know little about manna except that it was “white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (v. 31). Though manna may not sound as appealing as a steady diet of chocolate, the sweetness of God’s provision for His people is clear. Manna points us to Jesus who described Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:48) that sustains us daily and assures us of life eternal (v. 51). By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

How has God provided for you? How does Jesus being the “bread of life” encourage you to trust Him?

Father God, thank You for providing for my deepest need in Jesus and sustaining me every day.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, July 07, 2023

All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult

Enter by the narrow gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…. —Matthew 7:13-14

If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult.  The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in— it stirs us up to overcome.  Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory?

God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.

Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, July 07, 2023

How to Get God's Best - #9520

Okay, babies don't always know what's good for them. That may be why some prehistoric parents invented the airplane idea. A baby should eat the food that he has in his bowl, but he doesn't want to. So, you put the food on the spoon, and you make like an airplane. "See the airplane (airplane sound)! Now your mouth is the hangar! Open the hangar so the airplane can go in!" I always hated it when the mouth opened, the plane approached, and suddenly the hangar door closed, leaving the airplane's cargo all over the baby's face. "Hey baby! I have what you need. But you won't open your mouth."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Get God's Best."

Our word for today from the Word of God. We're in Psalm 81:10. Here's what God says: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

God seems to be saying here to His people in olden times in the Old Testament, and to us today, "You are under-living. There's so much more I want to give you. There's much more I want to do for you." I think there's a voice inside a lot of us that might be saying, "There's got to be something more in this relationship with Christ, in this Christianity stuff." Well, this isn't necessarily to make you materially prosperous, but He does have a lot more power, a lot more peace, a lot more love to put into your life, a lot more significance to open up your life to really making a difference. The problem is you can't get your mouth open.

Made me think about a baby being fed. God wants you to have His best for your life. That's opening your mouth. He wants you to expect the supernatural, to act as if the supernatural is coming. See, you've got this awesomely big God! Remember it says in the Bible, "In His own hometown, Nazareth, Jesus could do no mighty work because of their unbelief." He did miracles everywhere but there, and the people who knew the most about Jesus saw the least supernatural because they weren't expecting anything. They didn't open their mouths.

Faith is acting as if God will keep His promise, as if He will do something God-sized. God says here, "I tried to and they wouldn't listen. They wouldn't follow my ways." Is there a part of your life where you've been doing your own thing and going your own way? Maybe it's at home, at work, at church. How about your finances, your relationships? You're missing God's best because you're going your own way.

He says, "I've let them follow their own devices." Well, you're on your own in that part of your life. You're settling for crumbs when He wants to serve you a banquet. In fact Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). There's so much Jesus wants to do for you.

But maybe you have never opened up your life to this Savior, the One who gave His life on a cross for you. And everything He wants to bring into your life includes the love you were made for. He wants to bring eternal life that only He can bring, because only He conquered death.

And above all, He wants to erase every sin of your life from God's book. And the only reason you will miss Him in all of this is because you didn't open up to Him. He says, "If you will open the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). I hope you will say to Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." I think we can help you know you belong to Him for sure. Would you go to our website? It's what it's there for. It's ANewStory.com.

He's holding out His hand with the supernatural stuff that you need right now. Like He said, "Open your mouth" and let Him fill it.

1 Corinthians 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOU CAN TRUST GOD - July 6, 2023

God has never rendered a wrong decision, experienced the wrong attitude, taken the wrong path, said the wrong thing, or acted the wrong way. He has always been and always will be right. He is righteous. And he has complete sovereignty over his creation. Sovereignty is how the Bible describes God’s perfect control and management of the universe. He is continually involved with all created things, especially the lives of his beloved children.

Anxiety is often the consequence of perceived chaos. But God’s righteousness, combined with his sovereignty, add up to this fact:  we can trust him, his decisions, and his ability to see us through our fears. Remember this: “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:10 NIV).

Calm Moments for Anxious Days

Read more Calm Moments for Anxious Days

1 Corinthians 2

 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s sheer genius, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

3-5 I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.

6-10 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,

Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—

What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

10-13 The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, July 06, 2023

Today's Scripture

Numbers 20:2-12

There was no water there for the community, so they ganged up on Moses and Aaron. They attacked Moses: “We wish we’d died when the rest of our brothers died before God. Why did you haul this congregation of God out here into this wilderness to die, people and cattle alike? And why did you take us out of Egypt in the first place, dragging us into this miserable country? No grain, no figs, no grapevines, no pomegranates—and now not even any water!”

6 Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God.

7-8 God spoke to Moses: “Take the staff. Assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to that rock that’s right in front of them and it will give water. You will bring water out of the rock for them; congregation and cattle will both drink.”

9-10 Moses took the staff away from God’s presence, as commanded. He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: “Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?”

11 With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock—once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank.

12 God said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t trust me, didn’t treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren’t going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them.”

Insight

Numbers 20 begins with the death of Moses’ sister Miriam (v. 1) and ends with the death of his brother Aaron (vv. 28–29). In the intervening verses, the people lament their lack of water—again. Forty years earlier, the people had been poised to enter the land God promised to them. Their refusal to trust God then caused Him to declare that every adult aged “twenty years old or more” (14:29), except for Caleb and Joshua (v. 30), would die in the wilderness. Moses and Aaron were prohibited from entering the land because of their sin at Kadesh-Meribah (20:12-13; Deuteronomy 34:1–4). By: Tim Gustafson

Hope Beyond Consequences

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Have you ever done something in anger you later regretted? When my son was wrestling with drug addiction, I said some harsh things in reaction to his choices. My anger only discouraged him more. But eventually he encountered believers who spoke life and hope to him, and in time he was set free.

Even someone as exemplary in faith as Moses did something he later regretted. When the people of Israel were in the desert and water was scarce, they complained bitterly. So God gave Moses and Aaron specific instructions: “Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water” (Numbers 20:8). But Moses reacted in anger, giving himself and Aaron credit for the miracle instead of God: “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” (v. 10). Then he disobeyed God directly and “raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff” (v. 11).

Even though water flowed, there were tragic consequences. Neither Moses nor Aaron was allowed to enter the land God promised His people. But He was still merciful, allowing Moses to see it from afar (27:12–13).

As with Moses, God still mercifully meets us in the desert of our disobedience to Him. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He kindly offers us forgiveness and hope. No matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done, if we turn to Him, He’ll lead us into life. By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

What undeserved kindnesses has God shown you? How can you share His kindness with someone today?

Thank You, loving Father, that despite difficult consequences, You give me eternal hope.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, July 06, 2023

Visions Becoming Reality

The parched ground shall become a pool… —Isaiah 35:7

We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.

Life is not as idle ore,

But iron dug from central gloom,

And battered by the shocks of doom

To shape and use.

God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.

The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us. Disciples Indeed, 388 R

Bible in a Year: Job 32-33; Acts 14

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, July 06, 2023

Why the Easy Road is So Hard - #9519

We know some folks who own one of those convenience stores. The ones you can go to any time of the night or day - the ones that are open on the days when you can't get into anybody else's store. We've all been there. Went and checked them out on those days. And there's a time you've needed them. Maybe time and again. And they work very long hours to make a living, but we do tease them. See, I know that will come as a surprise that I tease my friends. But yes, I have to confess, I occasionally do. I know it's hard to imagine, but we tease these guys about a lot of the prices in their store. Yeah, we kid them about this exorbitant half gallon of milk,or you know, the multi-dollar boxes of cookies, and the several dollar candy bars.

Of course it's not really that bad, but you do pay noticeably more at their store. Well, that's what the profit factor is all about. They're open at times and on the days when other stores are closed. Now our friends, the store owners, they're kind of quick to defend their prices. They give me a very simple fact of life. They just look me in the eye and they say, "Ron, convenience costs more." They're right! They're very right.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why the Easy Road is So Hard."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 7:13-14. This was before convenience stores, but I think it adds up the expense of convenience pretty well. Here we go, "Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it."

Now, that's a pretty simple equation isn't it? There's an easy road that leads to destruction. There's a narrow road - a little tougher - that leads to life. Translation: convenience costs more. If you make your choices based on what will be the most convenient, what will take the least time, what will be the easiest, oh, it will cost you more. That's a life principle. That's one of the laws of the universe - convenience costs more.

Now, if you goof off in school and say, "I'm not gonna do my homework." Fine! That will give you a good time today, but it's ultimately sure going to limit your future. And that's been true from school on. We want to do, no matter what age we are, whatever's easiest, and whatever's fastest.

Now, right now, my guess is that you're facing some choices...oh, I don't know, maybe about a relationship, or about your future, even your marriage, maybe about a financial situation. And you've got a choice that would be easy and a choice that could be tough and hard.

Maybe you're tempted to give up right now, because that would be the easy thing to do. Maybe there's a temptation in front of you - it's tugging and it would be real easy to go for it wouldn't it? Maybe you need money, and it would be easy to go for quick money or a dishonest means of getting it, or just sink into debt to get it. But convenience always costs. It's like a funnel. It's kind of easy up front at the wide end, but slowly it leads to this big, painful squeeze.

Now, you could choose the road that will take longer, that requires more discipline. more sacrifice, and maybe it would cost you something in the short run. But it will open up like that funnel on the other end into something broad and it will give you more choices and it will give you long-range happiness, and it will not lead to destruction. It's the no regrets choice.

The least-expensive choice is almost surely the one that will take longer, require more risks and more faith. Don't fall for the lure of what's easy right now. It's probably pulling real hard, but you can't afford the price tag. The narrow road leads to life. The destination is what counts.

Remember, in all the things that really matter in life. Yep, convenience costs more.