1 Chronicles 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD - August 29, 2023

I’ve never been one to travel light. I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried. I’m prepared – prepared for a baby dedication or a costume party. Prepared to parachute behind enemy lines. And, if perchance, the Dalai Lama might be on my flight and invite me to dine in Tibet, I carry snowshoes. I need to learn to travel light!

Haven’t you been known to pick up a few bags? The suitcase of guilt. A sack of discontent. An overnight bag of loneliness and a trunk of fear. A hanging bag of grief. No wonder you’re so tired at the end of the day. Lugging luggage is exhausting.

God’s saying to you, “Set that stuff down. You’re carrying burdens you don’t need to bear.” “Come to me,” he invites, “all of you who’re weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). If we let him, God will lighten our loads!

1 Chronicles 21

David, Satan, and Araunah

1–2  21 Now Satan entered the scene and seduced David into taking a census of Israel. David gave orders to Joab and the army officers under him, “Canvass all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and get a count of the population. I want to know the number.”

3  Joab resisted: “May God multiply his people by hundreds! Don’t they all belong to my master the king? But why on earth would you do a thing like this—why risk getting Israel into trouble with God?”

4–7  But David wouldn’t take no for an answer, so Joab went off and did it—canvassed the country and then came back to Jerusalem and reported the results of the census: There were 1,100,000 fighting men; of that total, Judah accounted for 470,000. Joab, disgusted by the command—it, in fact, turned his stomach!—protested by leaving Levi and Ben-jamin out of the census-taking. And God, offended by the whole thing, punished Israel.

8  Then David prayed, “I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin—I’ve been really stupid.”

9–10  God answered by speaking to Gad, David’s pastor: “Go and give David this message: ‘God’s word: You have your choice of three punishments; choose one and I’ll do the rest.’ ”

11–12  Gad delivered the message to David: “Do you want three years of famine, three months of running from your enemies while they chase you down, or three days of the sword of God—an epidemic unleashed on the country by an angel of God? Think it over and make up your mind. What shall I tell the One who sent me?”

13  David told Gad, “They’re all terrible! But I’d rather be punished by God whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands.”

14–15  So God unleashed an epidemic in Israel—seventy thousand Israelites died. God then sent the angel to Jerusalem but when he saw the destruction about to begin, he compassionately changed his mind and ordered the death angel, “Enough’s enough! Pull back!”

15–16  The angel of God had just reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel hovering between earth and sky, sword drawn and about to strike Jerusalem. David and the elders bowed in prayer and covered themselves with rough burlap.

17  David prayed, “Please! I’m the one who sinned; I’m the one at fault. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me, not them, me and my family; don’t take it out on them.”

18–19  The angel of God ordered Gad to tell David to go and build an altar to God on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David did what Gad told him in obedience to God’s command.

20–21  Meanwhile Araunah had quit threshing the wheat and was watching the angel; his four sons took cover and hid. David came up to Araunah. When Araunah saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed deeply before David, honoring the king.

22  David said to Araunah, “Give me the site of the threshing floor so I can build an altar to God. Charge me the market price; we’re going to put an end to this disaster.”

23  “O Master, my king,” said Araunah, “just take it; do whatever you want with it! Look, here’s an ox for the burnt offering and threshing paddles for the fuel and wheat for the meal offering—it’s all yours!”

24–27  David replied to Araunah, “No. I’m buying it from you, and at the full market price. I’m not going to offer God sacrifices that are no sacrifice.” So David bought the place from Araunah for six hundred shekels of gold. He built an altar to God there and sacrificed Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings. He called out to God and God answered by striking the altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering with lightning. Then God told the angel to put his sword back into its scabbard.

28  And that’s the story of what happened when David saw that God answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite at the time he offered the sacrifice.

29–1  At this time the Tabernacle that Moses had constructed in the desert, and with it the Altar of Burnt Offering, were set up at the worship center at Gibeon. But David, terrified by the angel’s sword, wouldn’t go there to pray to God anymore.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Today's Scripture

Matthew 11:25–30

Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”

27  Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

28–30  “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Insight

This is another passage where Jesus makes an exclusive claim about Himself: He, the Son, is the only way to God the Father. He said, “No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). Jesus’ words come after He’s been rejected in the towns of Galilee. The people had witnessed His miracles and heard His authoritative teaching, yet they refused to believe He was the Messiah. Despite this rejection, Christ extends an invitation to everyone: “Come to me, all you who are weary . . . . Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (vv. 28–29). Jesus’ audience understood the farming imagery of a yoke. But what does the yoke represent? Bible scholar John D. Barry identifies it as Jesus’ teaching. Sin enslaves us, but obedience to Christ and His words brings freedom and peace. By: Tim Gustafson

When You’re Weary

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

I sat in the stillness of a workday’s end, my laptop in front of me. I should’ve been exhilarated about the work I’d finished that day, but I wasn’t. I was tired. My shoulders ached with the load of anxiety over a problem at work, and my mind was spent from thinking about a troubled relationship. I wanted to escape from it all—my thoughts wandered to watching TV that night.

But I closed my eyes. “Lord,” I whispered. I was too tired to say more. All my weariness went into that one word. And somehow, I immediately knew that was where it should go.

“Come to me,” Jesus tells us who are weary and burdened, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Not the rest from a good night’s sleep. Not the break from reality that television offers. Not even the relief when a problem has been solved. Although these may be good sources of rest, the respite they offer is short-lived and dependent on our circumstances.

In contrast, the rest Jesus gives is lasting and guaranteed by His unchanging character. He’s always good. He gives us true rest for our souls even amid trouble because we know that everything is in His control. We can trust and submit to Him, endure and even thrive in difficult situations because of the strength and restoration only He can give.  

“Come to me,” Jesus tells us. “Come to me.”  By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

When your spirit is weary, where do you go for rest? How will you respond to Jesus, when He invites you to go to Him?

Heavenly Father, remind me that true rest is found only in You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" —John 11:40

Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, “It’s all a lie”? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, “I believe ‘God shall supply all [my] need,’ ” the testing of my faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?

Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” Matthew 11:6). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. “We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” (Hebrews 3:14). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 126-128; 1 Corinthians 10:19-33

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

The Brink of "I Think I Can't" - #9557

I'll bet you remember these familiar words, "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." Sure you do. Well, I hope you do, or else you had a deprived childhood. Because most of us grew up on those words. It's that little book, The Little Engine That Could. I think Fred Flintstone must have read it to his kids. I mean it's that old. Remember, the little engine tries to make it up to the top of the mountain, with this train load of toys. It's a mountain no other train was able to navigate. And as he gets near the top, he says, "I think I can. I think I can (puff, puff, chug, chug)." Oh, I've read it so many times to my kids and my grandkids. Well, as you remember, of course, he makes it to the top of the mountain. It's a great book. It's got a great philosophy of life. It's a great confidence builder. But maybe right now you've hit a mountain that you really can't climb. Maybe you need to read that book again - or I've got an idea. How about a much better book.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Brink of 'I Think I Can't.'"

Now, about that mountain that you're having a hard time getting to the top of. And I'll tell you, I know what it is to chug up mine and not be making it. Maybe you're there. There's just too much right now. Maybe it's one of those Morton salt times - they're the ones who have the commercial "when it rains it pours." It's gotten worse before it got better. It could be you're just too tired, you're too depleted. Maybe you have in front of you a responsibility or even a ministry that looks... well, just too big for you. And you are living on the brink of "I think I can't."

Well, if it's any comfort to you, someone as strong as the great Apostle Paul was there. He recorded it in 2 Corinthians 1:8. He talks about pressure in his life. He says, "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life." Paul literally, he's on the brink of "I think I can't." He talks about the responsibilities of his ministry. In chapter 2, verse 16, he says, "Who is equal to such a task?" He's just barely hanging on... maybe just like you.

And then all of a sudden in chapter 3, verse 4, he talks about "such confidence is ours through Christ before God." Wait a minute! Where did this confidence come from? I thought you couldn't make it up the mountain, Paul.

Well, our secret is our word for today from the Word of God from 2 Corinthians 3:5. He says this, "Our competence comes from God. Not that we are confident in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, He has made us competent." Now, there's a re-appearing Greek word here that means "adequate," "qualified for," "worthy," "large enough." It's the word that John the Baptist used when he said, "I'm not worthy... " I don't deserve to untie Jesus' sandals. Paul said, "I don't deserve to be an apostle," but now he's confident.

Well, if you feel you're not adequate, you're right. If you feel like you don't deserve the position you have, right again. If you feel like you can't handle what you've got, you're right. God lets us get to those overload points so He can show us what we can't do and what He can do. The simple fact is whatever the gap between your strength and your challenge, God makes up the difference. He has made us competent.

So, my friend, draw deeply on His strength. Be honest about how desperate you are. And then proceed as if God will get you to the top of the mountain. Because He will, if you are at the brink of "I think I can't." Because then, you're at the brink of God's miraculous enabling.

1 Chronicles 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: REAL WORLD GOD - August 28, 2023

God calls us in a real world. He doesn’t communicate by performing tricks. He’s not a genie, a magician, or a good luck charm or the man upstairs. He is the Creator of the universe who is right here in the thick of our day-to-day world. And God speaks in our world. We just have to learn to hear him. Listen for him amidst the ordinary.

Need affirmation of his care? Let the daily sunrise proclaim his loyalty. Could you use an example of his power? Spend an evening reading how your body works. Wondering if his Word is reliable? Make a list of the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible and promises in your life.

Don’t they say only two things in life are certain: death and taxes? Knowing God, he may speak through something as common as the second to give you the answer for the first.

1 Chronicles 20

That spring, the time when kings usually go off to war, Joab led the army out and ravaged the Ammonites. He then set siege to Rabbah. David meanwhile was back in Jerusalem. Joab hit Rabbah hard and left it in ruins. David took the crown off the head of their king. Its weight was found to be a talent of gold and set with a precious stone. It was placed on David’s head. He hauled great quantities of loot from the city and put the people to hard labor with saws and picks and axes. This is what he did to all the Ammonites. Then David and his army returned to Jerusalem.

4–8  Later war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. That was the time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai of the clan of giants. The Philistines had to eat crow. In another war with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite whose spear was like a ship’s boom. And then there was the war at Gath that featured a hulking giant who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and foot—yet another from the clan of giants. When he mocked Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. These came from the clan of giants and were killed by David and his men.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, August 28, 2023

Today's Scripture

Job 1:13–22

Sometime later, while Job’s children were having one of their parties at the home of the oldest son, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing in the field next to us when Sabeans attacked. They stole the animals and killed the field hands. I’m the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened.”

16  While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, “Bolts of lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and fried them—burned them to a crisp. I’m the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened.”

17  While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, “Chaldeans coming from three directions raided the camels and massacred the camel drivers. I’m the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened.”

18–19  While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, “Your children were having a party at the home of the oldest brother when a tornado swept in off the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young people and they died. I’m the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened.”

20  Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:

21  Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

naked I’ll return to the womb of the earth.

God gives, God takes.

God’s name be ever blessed.

22  Not once through all this did Job sin; not once did he blame God.

Insight

Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible. The mention of the nomadic Chaldeans (1:17) and that Job lived 140 years after his testing (42:16) suggest he lived in a patriarchal era like Abraham’s (around 2000 bc). In this setting, wealth was measured in terms of livestock and slaves instead of gold and silver (see Genesis 12:16; Job 1:3; 42:12).

The apostle James singled Job out as an example of persevering faith (James 5:11). Job’s challenges encourage us to have an authentic faith in God even in the face of pain, suffering, and death (Job 1:20–22; 2:10). By: K. T. Sim

Losing Everything

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. Job 1:21

The timing couldn’t have been worse. After making a small fortune engineering bridges, monuments, and large buildings, Cesar had aspirations of starting a new endeavor. So he sold his first business and banked the money, planning to reinvest it soon. During that brief window, his government seized all assets held in private bank accounts. In an instant, Cesar’s lifesavings evaporated.

Choosing not to view the injustice as a cause to complain, Cesar asked God to show him the way forward. And then—he simply started over.

In one awful moment, Job lost far more than merely his possessions. He lost most of his servants and all his children (Job 1:13–22). Then he lost his health (2:7–8). Job’s response remains a timeless example for us. He prayed, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21). The chapter concludes, “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (v. 22).

Like Job, Cesar chose to trust God. In just a few years he had built a new business more successful than the first. His story resembles the conclusion of Job’s (see Job 42). But even if Cesar had never recovered economically, he knew his real treasure wasn’t on this earth anyway (Matthew 6:19–20). He would still be trusting God. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How did you feel when you experienced your greatest loss? What is the Holy Spirit showing you about your losses?

Dear God, please teach me something about Your love today. There’s so much I don’t understand.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, August 28, 2023

The Purpose of Prayer

…one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray…" —Luke 11:1

Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

“Ask, and you will receive…” (John 16:24). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to Him, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, “…unless you…become as little children…” (Matthew 18:3). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.

To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion.  The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 123-125; 1 Corinthians 10:1-18

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, August 28, 2023

The Most Expensive Choice - #9556

Raising children! You know, it's not easy to know what's best for those little lives that God entrusts to us is it? A lot of times we don't know until years later if we did too much or not enough, or just the right amount. We have choices to make about discipline, medical treatment, and education. We've got to decide where the boundaries are going to be; what happens if they go out-of-bounds. Some choices actually make the difference between life and death.

It was exactly that for a couple who had Siamese twins. The girls were joined at the chest. They shared a common heart. The doctor said there was no way they both could live, but if they were separated, one would certainly die, but the other one had a chance of living. Those parents were faced with a choice for which there was no textbook. They had to decide whether they would let one die so the other child could live.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Expensive Choice."

Our word for today from the Word of God - Romans 8:32. Here's what it says: "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all - how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" This is the most expensive choice God the Father ever had to make. The most expensive choice ever made in the history of this planet. Someone had to die for your sins and for mine or we would.

According to Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." There is a death penalty for our sin, and it can only be paid one way; somebody's got to die. God loved us so much He sent His one and only Son to be your substitute and mine. But then came that heart-wrenching moment for a Father; that moment when the Son of God is on the cross. He actually carried all the guilt and all the hell of all my sin and your sin. If I were God, I think my fist would have come crashing down on that hill and said, "You can't do this to my Son!"

There God is faced with that awful choice, "Who would die for your sins?" Look, I deserve to; you deserve to. Only one could live, and He chose you. That's why Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" God looked at His Son carrying all of my sins, all of your sins, and He turned His back on His Son so He would never have to turn His back on you. And that is what makes it so tragic and so unforgivable when you ignore that love. We try to make it to God with our pitiful good works; our religion. If that could do it, He never would have sacrificed His Son for our sins.

So today, you and I stand confronted with this question, "What will you do with Jesus?" God's most expensive choice was to turn His back on His Son. Your most expensive choice will be if you turn your back on His Son. Because there goes forgiveness, there goes a relationship with God, there goes eternal life, there goes heaven.

So, what will you do right now? Isn't it time you say to this God who paid this price, "Oh, God, thank You. I am so grateful You chose to have Your Son die so I can live. I am Yours." This is the price God paid so you could have a relationship with Him. Don't wait another day. Don't risk missing this relationship with God. It's time to open your heart to Him. Nobody loves you more.

Are you ready to make that choice? You ready to open your heart to Jesus? I'd love to help you get this settled today, now. That's what our website's all about. Just go there - ANewStory.com. Please go there today.

God made His most expensive choice at the cross when His Son died for you. You are now making your most important choice to give yourself to Him and to live.

1 Corinthians 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Love Covers a Multitude of Sins

If people love you at 6:00 a.m. one thing is sure. They love you! No makeup. No power tie. No status jewelry. No layers of images. Just unkempt honesty. Just you. "Love," wrote one forgiven soul, "covers over a multitude of sins."

Sounds like God's love. Hebrews 10:14 says, "He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Note that the word is not improving. God doesn't improve; he perfects. He doesn't enhance; he completes. When it comes to our position before God, we are perfect. When he sees each of us, he sees one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfect-Jesus Christ. He sees perfection. Not perfection earned by us, mind you, but perfection paid by him.

Scripture says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21 NCV).

From In the Eye of the Storm

1 Corinthians 13

The Way of Love

1  13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2  If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3–7  If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

8–10  Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11  When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12  We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13  But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Today's Scripture

1 Chronicles 28:2–3, 6–12

King David stood tall and spoke: “Listen to me, my people: I fully intended to build a permanent structure for the Chest of the Covenant of God, God’s footstool. But when I got ready to build it, God said to me, ‘You may not build a house to honor me—you’ve done too much fighting—killed too many people.’

He went on to say, ‘Your son Solomon will build my house and my courts: I have chosen him to be my royal adopted son; and I will be to him a father. I will guarantee that his kingdom will last if he continues to be as strong-minded in doing what I command and carrying out my decisions as he is doing now.’

8  “And now, in this public place, all Israel looking on and God listening in, as God’s people, obey and study every last one of the commandments of your God so that you can make the most of living in this good land and pass it on intact to your children, insuring a good future.

9–10  “And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father’s God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he’ll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he’ll leave you for good. Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!”

11–19  Then David presented his son Solomon with the plans for The Temple complex: porch, storerooms, meeting rooms, and the place for atoning sacrifice. He turned over the plans for everything that God’s Spirit had brought to his mind: the design of the courtyards, the arrangements of rooms, and the closets for storing all the holy things.

Insight

In 1–2 Chronicles and 1–2 Kings, we encounter accounts of Israel’s history that share many similarities. The two have distinctive theological emphases, however. The books of 1–2 Kings were written while the Jewish people were experiencing exile, and a primary purpose of these books is to explain why the exile happened—because of the nation’s sins. For this reason, 1–2 Kings strongly emphasize the negative aspects of the nation’s history. In contrast, 1–2 Chronicles, written after the exile was over, focus on more encouraging aspects of the nation’s history to give the Israelites renewed hope to serve God. By: Monica La Rose

Dealing with Disappointment

I had it in my heart to build a house . . . for the ark of the covenant. 1 Chronicles 28:2

After raising money all year for a “trip of a lifetime,” seniors from an Oklahoma high school arrived at the airport to learn that many of them had purchased tickets from a bogus company posing as an airline. “It’s heartbreaking,” one school administrator said. Yet, even though they had to change their plans, the students decided to “make the most of it.” They enjoyed two days at nearby attractions, which donated the tickets.

Dealing with failed or changed plans can be disappointing or even heartbreaking. Especially when we’ve invested time, money, or emotion into the planning. King David “had it in [his] heart to build” a temple for God (1 Chronicles 28:2), but God told him: “You are not to build a house for my Name . . . . Solomon your son is the one who will build my house” (vv. 3, 6). David didn’t despair. He praised God for choosing him to be king over Israel, and he gave the plans for the temple to Solomon to complete (vv. 11–13). As he did, he encouraged him: “Be strong and courageous, and do the work . . . for the Lord God . . . is with you” (v. 20).

When our plans fall through, no matter the reason, we can bring our disappointment to God who “cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:7). He will help us handle our disappointment with grace. By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When have you put a lot into plans that then fell through? What helped you to deal with your disappointment?

Dear God, thank You that Your promises and plans never fail. Please help me when mine do.

For further study, read When Disappointment Deceives.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Living Your Theology

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you… —John 12:35

Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.

The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.

Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, “…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”

The Shadow of an Agony

Bible in a Year: Psalms 120-122; 1 Corinthians 9

1 Chronicles 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Guard Your Attitude

It's easy to forget who is the servant and who is to be served. The tool of distortion is one of Satan's slyest.  When the focus is on yourself, you worry that your co-workers won't appreciate you or your leaders will overwork you.  With time, your agenda becomes more important than God's. You're more concerned with presenting self than pleasing Him.  You may even find yourself doubting God's judgment.

Remember Martha criticizing her sister Mary, "Lord don't you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work?  Tell her to help me" (Luke 10:40). What had Mary chosen?  She'd chosen to sit at the feet of Christ. God is more pleased with the quiet attention of a sincere servant than the noisy service of a sour one!

Guard your attitude. If you concern yourself with your neighbor's talents, you'll neglect your own. But if you concern yourself with yours, you could inspire both!

from He Still Moves Stones

1 Chronicles 19

 19 Some time after this Nahash king of the Ammonites died and his son succeeded him as king. David said, “I’d like to show some kindness to Hanun son of Nahash—treat him as well and as kindly as his father treated me.” So David sent condolences about his father’s death.

2–3  But when David’s servants arrived in Ammonite country and came to Hanun to bring condolences, the Ammonite leaders warned Hanun, “Do you for a minute suppose that David is honoring your father by sending you comforters? Don’t you know that he’s sent these men to snoop around the city and size it up so that he can capture it?”

4  So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved them clean, cut off their robes half way up their buttocks, and sent them packing.

5  When this was all reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, for they were seriously humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow out; only then come back.”

6–7  When it dawned on the Ammonites that as far as David was concerned, they stank to high heaven, they hired, at a cost of a thousand talents of silver (thirty-seven and a half tons!), chariots and horsemen from the Arameans of Naharaim, Maacah, and Zobah—thirty-two thousand chariots and drivers; plus the king of Maacah with his troops who came and set up camp at Medeba; the Ammonites, too, were mobilized from their cities and got ready for battle.

8  When David heard this, he dispatched Joab with his strongest fighters in full force.

9–13  The Ammonites marched out and spread out in battle formation at the city gate; the kings who had come as allies took up a position in the open fields. When Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his pick of the best of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans. The rest of the army he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, and deployed them to deal with the Ammonites. Then he said, “If the Arameans are too much for me, you help me; and if the Ammonites prove too much for you, I’ll come and help you. Courage! We’ll fight might and main for our people and for the cities of our God. And God will do whatever he sees needs doing!”

14–15  But when Joab and his soldiers moved in to fight the Arameans, they ran off in full retreat. Then the Ammonites, seeing the Arameans run for dear life, took to their heels and ran from Abishai into the city.

So Joab withdrew from the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.

16  When the Arameans saw how badly they’d been beaten by Israel, they picked up the pieces and regrouped; they sent for the Arameans who were across the river; Shophach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, led them.

17–19  When all this was reported to David, he mustered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, advanced, and prepared to fight. The Arameans went into battle formation, ready for David, and the fight was on. But the Arameans again scattered before Israel. David killed seven thousand chariot drivers and forty thousand infantry. He also killed Shophach, the army commander. When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites ever again.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 22:14–24

  I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled,

every joint in my body has been pulled apart.

My heart is a blob

of melted wax in my gut.

I’m dry as a bone,

my tongue black and swollen.

They have laid me out for burial

in the dirt.

16–18  Now packs of wild dogs come at me;

thugs gang up on me.

They pin me down hand and foot,

and lock me in a cage—a bag

Of bones in a cage, stared at

by every passerby.

They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,

and then throw dice for my clothes.

19–21  You, God—don’t put off my rescue!

Hurry and help me!

Don’t let them cut my throat;

don’t let those mongrels devour me.

If you don’t show up soon,

I’m done for—gored by the bulls,

meat for the lions.

22–24  Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,

and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:

Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;

give glory, you sons of Jacob;

adore him, you daughters of Israel.

He has never let you down,

never looked the other way

when you were being kicked around.

He has never wandered off to do his own thing;

he has been right there, listening.

Insight

In this psalm of lament by David (Psalm 22), we find the words Jesus spoke on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v. 1; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Some have believed this psalm serves mainly to predict the suffering of Christ. Others believe it’s David’s experiences in his Old Testament context, but with a fuller meaning because of Jesus’ use of it. According to the ESV Study Bible, it’s good to see the psalm “as providing a lament for the innocent sufferer, and then to see how . . . the Gospels use this to portray Jesus as the innocent sufferer par excellence.” In Matthew 27, we see several parallels to Psalm 22. Matthew 27:35 says that after crucifying Christ, “they divided up his clothes by casting lots” (see Psalm 22:18). Matthew 27:39 and Psalm 22:7 both mention the mocking of passersby who were “shaking their heads.” By: Alyson Kieda

Humbled but Hopeful

In the assembly I will praise you. Psalm 22:22

At the pastor’s invitation at the end of the church service, Latriece made her way to the front. When she was invited to greet the congregation, no one was prepared for the weighty and wonderful words she spoke. She had relocated from Kentucky where in December 2021 devastating tornadoes had taken the lives of seven of her family members. “I can still smile because God’s with me,” she said. Though bruised by trial, her testimony was a powerful encouragement for those facing challenges of their own.

David’s words in Psalm 22 (which point to the sufferings of Jesus) are those of a battered man who felt forsaken by God (v. 1), despised and mocked by others (vv. 6–8), and surrounded by predators (vv. 12–13). He felt weak and drained (vv. 14–18)—but he wasn’t hopeless. “But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me” (v. 19). Your present challenge—though likely not of the same variety as David’s or Latriece’s—is just as real. And the words of verse 24 are just as meaningful: “He has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; . . . but has listened to his cry for help.” And when we experience God’s help, let’s declare His goodness so others can hear of it (v. 22). By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

What are the benefits of sharing stories of God’s kindness with others? Why is it vital to fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ?

Heavenly Father, I bring my feelings of helplessness to You. Breathe fresh hope into my heart and help me praise Your name.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Are You Ever Troubled?

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… —John 14:27

There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “…My peace I give to you…”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.

Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.

With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ.  Biblical Ethics, 111 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 119:89-176; 1 Corinthians 8

1 Chronicles 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THINK OF HOME - August 25, 2023

May I gently but firmly remind you of something you know but may have forgotten? Life is not fair. That’s not pessimism, it’s a fact. That’s not a complaint, it’s just the way things are. I don’t like it. Neither do you. But ever since the kid down the block got a bike and we didn’t, we’ve been saying the same thing: “That’s not fair.” At some point someone needs to say to us, “Who ever told you life was going to be fair?”

God didn’t. In James 1:2 he didn’t say, “If you have many kinds of troubles.” He said, “When you have many kinds of troubles.” Troubles are part of the package. Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. My kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). When all of earth turns against you all of heaven turns toward you. To keep your balance in this crooked world, think of home!

1 Chronicles 18

David Fights

1  18 In the days that followed, David struck hard at the Philistines, bringing them to their knees, captured Gath, and took control of the surrounding countryside.

2  He also fought and defeated Moab. The Moabites came under David’s rule and paid regular tribute.

3–4  On his way to restore his sovereignty at the Euphrates River, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah (over toward Hamath). David captured a thousand chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand infantry from him. He hamstrung all the chariot horses, but saved back a hundred.

5–6  When the Arameans from Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. David set up a puppet government in Aram-Damascus. The Arameans became subjects of David and were forced to bring tribute. God gave victory to David wherever he marched.

7–8  David plundered the gold shields that belonged to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. He also looted Tebah and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, of a huge quantity of bronze that Solomon later used to make the Great Bronze Sea, the Pillars, and bronze equipment in The Temple.

9–11  Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck down the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah. He sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. Tou and Hadadezer were old enemies. Hadoram brought David various things made of silver, gold, and bronze. King David consecrated these things along with the silver and gold that he had plundered from other nations: Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12–13  Abishai son of Zeruiah fought and defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt—eighteen thousand of them. He set up a puppet government in Edom and the Edomites became subjects under David.

God gave David victory wherever he marched.

14–17  Thus David ruled over all of Israel. He ruled well, fair and even-handed in all his duties and relationships. Joab son of Zeruiah was head of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of public records; Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was secretary; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the special forces, the Kerethites and Pelethites; And David’s sons held high positions, close to the king.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, August 25, 2023

Today's Scripture

John 11:25–36

 “You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”

27  “Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world.”

28  After saying this, she went to her sister Mary and whispered in her ear, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”

29–32  The moment she heard that, she jumped up and ran out to him. Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, “Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33–34  When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. He said, “Where did you put him?”

34–35  “Master, come and see,” they said. Now Jesus wept.

36  The Jews said, “Look how deeply he loved him.”

Insight

The resurrection is an ancient Jewish belief. Job said, “After my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!” (Job 19:26 nlt). Jesus spoke of a coming day “when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again” (John 5:28–29 nlt). Martha affirmed this Jewish hope that Lazarus would “rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (11:24). But when Jesus said that Lazarus would “rise again” (v. 23), He wasn’t merely referring to the future. He was also promising an immediate resurrection (vv. 43–44). By: K. T. Sim

What a Friend

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” John 11:36

It had been a few years since my longtime friend and I had seen one another. During that time, he’d received a cancer diagnosis and started treatments. An unexpected trip to his state afforded me the chance to see him again. I walked into the restaurant, and tears filled both of our eyes. It’d been too long since we’d been in the same room, and now death crouched in the corner reminding us of the brevity of life. The tears in our eyes sprang from a long friendship filled with adventures and antics and laughter and loss—and love. So much love that it spilled out from the corners of our eyes at the sight of one another.   

Jesus wept too. John’s gospel records that moment, after the Jews said, “Come and see, Lord” (11:34), and Jesus stood before the tomb of His good friend Lazarus. Then we read those two words that reveal to us the depths to which Christ shares our humanity: “Jesus wept” (v. 35). Was there much going on in that moment, things that John did and didn’t record? Yes. Yet I also believe the reaction of the Jews to Jesus is telling: “See how he loved him!” (v. 36). That line is more than sufficient grounds for us to stop and worship the Friend who knows our every weakness. Jesus was flesh and blood and tears. Jesus is the Savior who loves and understands. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

When did you last consider the humanity of Jesus? How does knowing that Jesus understands and shares your tears encourage you today?

Dear Jesus, thank You for being the One who saves and for also being the One who shares my tears.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, August 25, 2023

Sacrifice and Friendship

I have called you friends… —John 15:15

We will never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we surrender in every detail of our lives. Yet self-surrender is the most difficult thing for us to do. We make it conditional by saying, “I’ll surrender if…!” Or we approach it by saying, “I suppose I have to devote my life to God.” We will never find the joy of self-sacrifice in either of these ways.

But as soon as we do totally surrender, abandoning ourselves to Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives us a taste of His joy. The ultimate goal of self-sacrifice is to lay down our lives for our Friend (see John 15:13-14). When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, our greatest desire is to lay down our lives for Jesus. Yet the thought of self-sacrifice never even crosses our minds, because sacrifice is the Holy Spirit’s ultimate expression of love.

Our Lord is our example of a life of self-sacrifice, and He perfectly exemplified Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do Your will, O my God….” He endured tremendous personal sacrifice, yet with overflowing joy. Have I ever yielded myself in absolute submission to Jesus Christ? If He is not the One to whom I am looking for direction and guidance, then there is no benefit in my sacrifice. But when my sacrifice is made with my eyes focused on Him, slowly but surely His molding influence becomes evident in my life (see Hebrews 12:1-2).

Beware of letting your natural desires hinder your walk in love before God. One of the cruelest ways to kill natural love is through the rejection that results from having built the love on natural desires. But the one true desire of a saint is the Lord Jesus. Love for God is not something sentimental or emotional— for a saint to love as God loves is the most practical thing imaginable.

“I have called you friends….” Our friendship with Jesus is based on the new life He created in us, which has no resemblance or attraction to our old life but only to the life of God. It is a life that is completely humble, pure, and devoted to God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ.  My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 119:1-88; 1 Corinthians 7:20-40

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, August 25, 2023

How to Act When Your Seasons Change - #9555

Hey, I really like Florida. It's a great place, but I'll probably never live there. I enjoy going there, but my problem is I'm a four-seasons freak. I grew up with the four seasons. I enjoy the changes of season. I think I would miss that a lot. Of course, I grew up in the north and I probably got used to it.

But, you know, it's kind of neat when the fall colors come in, and then a hundred bags of leaves that we used to take out of our yard every fall. And then when the fall changes to winter, and there's a whole new set of sports and activities and fun, and festivities. It goes a little long in some places; I could stand to cut a month or two off of that one.

And then, all of a sudden you're driving along one day and you'll see this burst of yellow. When we lived in New Jersey it was the forsythia. Where we live now, you see the daffodils coming out... these beautiful flowers are exploding in color! It's spring; it feels so good to be warm again. And then you head into all the fun of summer and the relaxation and the things you can only do there. And, you know, you don't have to wear all those coats. Each season has its unique lifestyle, wardrobe, and equipment.

There's sort of a cycle of putting away your boots, your coats, and your skis. And then you get out your shorts, and your lawn chairs, and your beach umbrella. Then you put them away and you get out your boots, your coats... Well, you know how all that goes.

Well, God seems to be into seasons too. After all, He thought them up. Actually, it doesn't matter if you live at the North Pole or the Equator; you live in God's changing seasons, and your life? It's probably in one right now.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You about "How to Act When Your Seasons Change."

God's people seem to live in three seasons. The reason I can tell that is I've been studying them in the book of Exodus, and that's where we're going to find our word for today from the Word of God. Now, as the children of Israel left Egypt and came to the Red Sea, and then after the Red Sea parted, and they went on through toward the Promised Land, it's evident in three kinds of water they found, that they lived in three seasons.

And their seasons are the same as yours or mine. In fact, at any given point in your life, it's very possible you're in one of these three. That means right now you are. And each one, just like the meteorological seasons, has an appropriate way for you to live. Three waters that God's people encountered and they still do, and they represent a season and a way to live.

In Exodus 14, for example, here's the first kind of water. They are up to the Red Sea. "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them." It says, "Moses answered the people 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians (and I love this) you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.'"

The first season is the season of barrier waters. Have you ever been there? There's the Red Sea ahead of you. There's nowhere to go. The chariots are coming at you; there's no exit. It's impossible. Well God's instructions during that period of time - that season - are to stay where you are and pray. God parts the waters. That's His job. You know what you do? You leave it to Him. You wait for Him to act.

Then they went on. In Exodus 15 it says, "They came to Marah where they could not drink the water because it was bitter, until Moses cried to the Lord and the Lord showed him a piece of wood which he threw in the water and the water became sweet." OK, now there are the bitter waters. You've got the barrier waters, and God parts those; you leave that to Him. And then when you hit bitter waters, God sweetens the bitter water seasons in your life. Your job is to look for the sweetener. What can you throw into that situation that would sweeten it?

And then finally it says, "They came to Elim and there were 12 springs and 79 palm trees." That's the bubbling waters. Maybe you're in that season now. God surprises us with bubbling waters. And you know what your job is? You soak it up; you store it up. You won't stay in any one season though. God will keep changing them. In a barrier time, you wait for Him to act supernaturally. In a bitter time, you seek the sweetener. In a bubbling time, you enjoy it.

They're all designed to teach us to depend on Him. And you can be sure the seasons will change, but your Savior will not.

1 Chronicles 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A HOLY INVITATION - August 24, 2023

For some, the service of communion is a sleepy hour in which wafers are eaten, juice is taken, and the soul never stirs. It wasn’t intended to be as such.

In Matthew’s account of the Last Supper one incredible truth surfaces: Jesus is the person behind it all. He selected the place, designated the time, and set the meal in order. And at the Supper Jesus is not the served, but the servant. It is Jesus who put on the garb of a servant and washed the disciples’ feet. Jesus is not portrayed as one who reclines and receives, but as the one who stands and gives.

He still does. The Lord’s Supper is a gift to you. The Lord’s Supper is a holy invitation. A sacred sacrament bidding you to leave the chores of life and enter his splendor. He meets you at the table.

1 Chronicles 17

David Submits and Prays

1  17 After the king had made himself at home, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look at this: Here I am comfortable in a luxurious palace of cedar and the Chest of the Covenant of God sits under a tent.”

2  Nathan told David, “Whatever is on your heart, go and do it; God is with you.”

3–6  But that night, the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell my servant David, This is God’s word on the matter: You will not build me a ‘house’ to live in. Why, I haven’t lived in a ‘house’ from the time I brought up the children of Israel from Egypt till now; I’ve gone from one tent and makeshift shelter to another. In all my travels with all Israel, did I ever say to any of the leaders I commanded to shepherd Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’

7–10  “So here is what you are to tell my servant David: The God-of-the-Angel-Armies has this word for you: I took you from the pasture, tagging after sheep, and made you prince over my people Israel. I was with you everywhere you went and mowed your enemies down before you; and now I’m about to make you famous, ranked with the great names on earth. I’m going to set aside a place for my people Israel and plant them there so they’ll have their own home and not be knocked around anymore; nor will evil nations afflict them as they always have, even during the days I set judges over my people Israel. And finally, I’m going to conquer all your enemies.

10–14  “And now I’m telling you this: God himself will build you a house! When your life is complete and you’re buried with your ancestors, then I’ll raise up your child to succeed you, a child from your own body, and I’ll firmly establish his rule. He will build a house to honor me, and I will guarantee his kingdom’s rule forever. I’ll be a father to him, and he’ll be a son to me. I will never remove my gracious love from him as I did from the one who preceded you. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will always be there, rock solid.”

15  Nathan gave David a complete and accurate report of everything he heard and saw in the vision.

16–27  King David went in, took his place before God, and prayed:

Who am I, my Master God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this place in life? But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming, for you’ve also spoken of my family far into the future, given me a glimpse into tomorrow and looked on me, Master God, as a Somebody. What’s left for David to say to this—to your honoring your servant, even though you know me, just as I am? O God, out of the goodness of your heart, you’ve taken your servant to do this great thing and put your great work on display. There’s none like you, God, no God but you, nothing to compare with what we’ve heard with our own ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique on earth, whom God set out to redeem as his own people (and became most famous for it), performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt? You established for yourself a people—your very own Israel!—your people forever. And you, God, became their God.

So now, great God, this word that you have spoken to me and my family, guarantee it forever! Do exactly what you’ve promised! Then your reputation will be confirmed and flourish always as people exclaim, “The God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!” And the house of your servant David will remain rock solid under your watchful presence. You, my God, have told me plainly, “I will build you a house.” That’s how I was able to find the courage to pray this prayer to you. God, being the God you are, you have spoken all these wonderful words to me. As if that weren’t enough, you’ve blessed my family so that it will continue in your presence always. Because you have blessed it, God, it’s really blessed—blessed for good!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Today's Scripture

2 Timothy 1:6–14

And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

8–10  So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.

11–12  This is the Message I’ve been set apart to proclaim as preacher, emissary, and teacher. It’s also the cause of all this trouble I’m in. But I have no regrets. I couldn’t be more sure of my ground—the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what he’s trusted me to do right to the end.

13–14  So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.

Insight

Paul’s encouragement to live a Spirit-empowered life of “power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7) echoes words from his letter to the Romans. There, the apostle wrote that believers need not “live in fear” because they are “heirs of God” (Romans 8:15, 17). In Romans 1:16, Paul testified of not being “ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation.” In 2 Timothy, the apostle encouraged Timothy to “join with” him in not being “ashamed of the testimony about our Lord” (1:8). Instead, Timothy could live in God’s power (vv. 8–9)—the power that “destroyed death” (v. 10). By: Monica La Rose

Openhearted Generosity

The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

No one ever died saying, “I’m so glad for the self-centered, self-serving, and self-protective life I lived,” author Parker Palmer said in a commencement address, urging graduates to “offer [themselves] to the world . . . with openhearted generosity.”

But, Parker continued, living this way would also mean learning “how little you know and how easy it is to fail.” Offering themselves in service to the world would require cultivating a “beginner’s mind” to “walk straight into your not-knowing, and take the risk of failing and failing, again and again—then getting up to learn again and again.”

It’s only when our lives are built on a foundation of grace that we can find the courage to choose such a life of fearless “openhearted generosity.” As Paul explained to his protégé Timothy, we can confidently “fan into flame” (2 Timothy 1:6) and live out of God’s gifting when we remember that it’s God’s grace that saves and calls us to a life of purpose (v. 9). It’s His power that gives us the courage to resist the temptation to live timidly in exchange for the Spirit’s “power, love and self-discipline” (v. 7).  And it’s His grace that picks us up when we fall, so that we can continue a lifelong journey of grounding our lives in His love (vv. 13–14). By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How are you tempted to live timidly? How do God’s grace and power help you live more boldly for Him?

Dear God, thank You that I don’t have to live timidly, fearfully guarding myself from failure or hurt. Help me to lean into the courage You provide.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, August 24, 2023

The Spiritual Search

What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9

The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (see Matthew 5:45). Never say that it is not God’s will to give you what you ask. Don’t faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a “good child” in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, “I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings”? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a “good child.”

We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12).

I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 116-118; 1 Corinthians 7:1-19

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Ready or Not, Here He Comes - #9554

The real Noah stirred things up when he was here. Guess what? He did it again a few years ago. Yeah, on the big screen they did a Noah movie Noah and his ark. Yeah, the movie version; it had a big launch when it came out. And actually Captain Noah proved that he still has the ability to be controversial. Except this time, it was mostly among Bible people.

There were some people objecting to all that the movie adds and subtracts from the original account. And then others expressed hope that it would interest some un-Bible people in the real Story. And, in fact, that is what happened. There was a sudden spike in Bible reading and Bible websites. That's a good thing.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Ready or Not, Here He Comes."

What is interesting is that thousands of years later, Jesus was talking about Noah. And He actually was suggesting that when people are thinking about Noah, they should be looking for Jesus to come.

Here's what He said in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Luke 17:26-27. "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."

So what we've got here is Jesus establishing this linkage between Noah and the time Jesus is going to come back to earth. That's worth thinking about. Jesus used the story of Noah as a picture of what the world would look like on the eve of the climactic event of all human history - His return. When He said, "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). Bottom line? The world isn't done with Jesus Christ. Jesus is our future. Actually, Jesus is your future.

See, He will come to a world that, basically using the Noah example that He did, will be busy ignoring Him; too busy to have time for Him, living for their appetites, caught up in the gerbil wheel of their lives, spinning and spinning, doing whatever they feel like and oblivious to the flood of God's judgment that's coming.

But at the same time, there will be an ark where they can be rescued. His name is Jesus. But see, nobody took Noah seriously. Nobody took his message seriously, so none of them were in the ark. So Jesus is going to write the final chapter of human history. It won't be some president or prime minister or powerful nation. No, it will be Jesus.

By the way, Jesus will write the final chapter of your personal history. See, the Bible says, "How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" Salvation? That's a rescue word isn't it? Well, Jesus came here to pay the price for the sin that carries an awful death penalty. I was on death row spiritually, except for the fact that Jesus came and became my substitute for my penalty for my sin when He died on the cross. Then He walked out of His grave to prove that if I would let Him walk into my life He would give me the eternal life that only He has demonstrated He has on that first Easter morning.

He said one thing about His return. He said, "You must be ready" (Matthew 24:44). I wonder, are you? Are you ready to meet Him, either when He comes back or when your last breath is taken? Because the Bible says, "It is appointed to man to die once, and after this the judgment." But see, that's the judgment that Jesus took on the cross; the judgment that you can have canceled by your decision this day to pin all your hopes on Jesus. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

Have you ever done that? I'd love to help you do it. Our website is there for that express purpose. I invite you to go to ANewStory.com right away today. Let's get this settled. See, Jesus isn't just the future of this world. He's my future. He's your future. Be ready.

1 Corinthians 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SIMPLIFIED FAITH - August 23, 2023

How do you simplify your faith? How do you get rid of the clutter? How do you discover a joy worth waking up to? Simple: get rid of the middleman.

There are some who suggest the only way to God is through them. There’s the great teacher who has the final word on Bible teaching. There’s the father who must bless your acts. There’s the spiritual master who’ll tell you what God wants you to do. Jesus’ message for complicated religion is to remove these middlemen.

He’s not saying you don’t need teachers, elders, or counselors. He is saying, however, that we are all brothers and sisters with equal access to the Father. Seek God for yourself. No elaborate channels of command or levels of access. You have a Bible? You can study. You have a heart? You can pray. You have a mind? You can think.

1 Corinthians 12

Spiritual Gifts

1–3  12 What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.

4–11  God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel

clear understanding

simple trust

healing the sick

miraculous acts

proclamation

distinguishing between spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

12–13  You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

14–18  I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

19–24  But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

25–26  The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

27–31  You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:

apostles

prophets

teachers

miracle workers

healers

helpers

organizers

those who pray in tongues.

But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.

But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Today's Scripture

Genesis 4:2–11

Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.

3–5  Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

6–7  God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

8  Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

9  God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”

10–12  God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother.

Insight

Genesis, which means “beginning,” is a book of origins. Genesis 1 tells how God created the universe and the first man and woman. Genesis 2 gives us the first wedding. Genesis 3 tells how perfect humanity became the sinful human race. Genesis 4 tells of the first family—the first parents, Adam and Eve; and the first sons, Cain and Abel. Adam and Eve were created by God, but Cain was the first human being conceived and carried in the womb of a woman. We also see the children in worship. Cain and Abel didn’t come empty-handed but brought offerings to worship God, so they must have been taught about Him and how to worship Him (vv. 3–4). By: K. T. Sim

Witnesses

Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Genesis 4:10

In his poem “The Witnesses,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) described a sunken slave ship. As he wrote of “skeletons in chains,” Longfellow mourned slavery’s countless nameless victims. The concluding stanza reads, “These are the woes of Slaves, / They glare from the abyss; / They cry from unknown graves, / We are the Witnesses!”

But who do these witnesses speak to? Isn’t such silent testimony futile?

There is a Witness who sees it all. When Cain murdered Abel, he pretended nothing had happened. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he said dismissively to God. But God said, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand” (Genesis 4:9–11).

Cain’s name lives on as a warning. “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother,” John the disciple cautioned (1 John 3:12). Abel’s name lives on too, but in a dramatically different way. “By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did,” said the writer of Hebrews. “By faith Abel still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).

Abel still speaks! So do the bones of those long-forgotten slaves. We do well to remember all such victims, and to oppose oppression wherever we see it. God sees it all. His justice will triumph. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

What situations of injustice and oppression do you know about? What might God be calling you to do today?

Dear Father, You’re the God who sees. Help me to see oppression when it happens and show me what I can do to counter it.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Prayer—Battle in “The Secret Place”

When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. —Matthew 6:6

Jesus did not say, “Dream about your Father who is in the secret place,” but He said, “…pray to your Father who is in the secret place….” Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idle and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful, deliberate prayer.

We must have a specially selected place for prayer, but once we get there this plague of wandering thoughts begins, as we begin to think to ourselves, “This needs to be done, and I have to do that today.” Jesus says to “shut your door.” Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. God is in secret, and He sees us from “the secret place”— He does not see us as other people do, or as we see ourselves. When we truly live in “the secret place,” it becomes impossible for us to doubt God. We become more sure of Him than of anyone or anything else. Enter into “the secret place,” and you will find that God was right in the middle of your everyday circumstances all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and “pray to your Father who is in the secret place,” every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Psalms 113-115; 1 Corinthians 6

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

The Legacy of Your Life - #9553

The Kentucky Derby always has its share of drama. I remember the 2006 Kentucky Derby. That was a blowout! A horse named Barbaro took the lead in America's most famous race and left every other horse in the dust. Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby by an astounding 6 & 1/2 lengths! Many thought that horse could go on to be one of the few who has ever won the Triple Crown. Well, sadly, an injury ended that dream. But it didn't take away the glory of Barbaro's dramatic Kentucky Derby victory.

The horse was only part of the story that day. In some ways, the bigger story was about Barbaro's trainer, Michael Matz. Eighteen years earlier, Michael Matz had been a passenger on an airplane flight that crashed in an Iowa cornfield. During the flight, he had struck up conversations with three young children who were traveling that day without their parents. Then came the crash. Many died that day as the plane caught fire. Survivors were struggling to find a way out of that burning wreckage, but all Michael Matz could do was think about those three children. He risked his life to find all of them and bring them out alive. And on that day, when the horse Michael trained crossed the finish line, there was jubilant celebration in the box where he was watching. Michael Matz, his wife, and the three (now grownup) children whose lives he had saved eighteen years before. Wow!

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

In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul's thinking ahead to the day when his race will be over; when he'll be in heaven celebrating the lasting legacy of his life. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, speaking to people he had introduced to Jesus Christ, Paul says: "What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy."

So, crossing the finish line to heaven - celebrating being there. First with Jesus, whose death and resurrection got you there, and then, with all those who are there (at least in part) because you helped to rescue them. You did what your Bible said to do: "Snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 23). You weren't content to just get you out of that burning wreckage of sin. No, you had to help those around you make it, too. That's going to make heaven even sweeter. Or is it?

As you look at the legacy of your life so far, do you see many people you've pointed to Jesus? Can you see some folks who will be in heaven because you were part of helping them go there? How many people understand what Jesus did on the cross for them because you explained it to them? Have you been to some funerals, and looked into the casket and asked yourself, "Why didn't I tell them about Jesus while there was still time?"

You can't have any of those days back. But you do have whatever days God still has ahead for you. And you can decide what kind of difference you want to make with the rest of your life. I hope it's to help as many people be in heaven with you as possible; to give as many people a chance at being rescued by Jesus as you can. Much of what we do and accomplish here won't mean anything, even one moment after our last breath. But there's one thing you can do that will last forever, and that's to help someone else live forever by showing them Jesus.

The prophet Daniel described that day when "multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." Every person you know is headed for one of those two destinations.

Then he describes ultimate legacy: "Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:2-3). Why? Because they'll be celebrating forever with people whose lives they've rescued.