2 Corinthians 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE - September 18, 2023

“Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (or God’s House)” (Genesis 28:18-19 MSG). Jacob turned his pillow into a pillar and renamed the place of his pain.

What is your version of a stone pillow? What reminds you of mistakes you’ve made or things you’ve lost? A divorce decree, a headstone? What is your version of a desert? An empty house, a hospital room, a desktop of unpaid bills?

The promise of Jacob and Bethel is this: the Lord is in the wilderness, in the despair, in the misery, mess, and mayhem, and broken hearts. God will meet you. God will speak, angels will come. And you will soon declare, “The Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

2 Corinthians 1

I, Paul, have been sent on a special mission by the Messiah, Jesus, planned by God himself. I write this to God’s congregation in Corinth, and to believers all over Achaia province. May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours! Timothy, someone you know and trust, joins me in this greeting.

The Rescue

3–5  All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

6–7  When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.

8–11  We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.

12–14  Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised. Don’t try to read between the lines or look for hidden meanings in this letter. We’re writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that you’ll now see the whole picture as well as you’ve seen some of the details. We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together before our Master Jesus.

15–16  Confident of your welcome, I had originally planned two great visits with you—coming by on my way to Macedonia province, and then again on my return trip. Then we could have had a bon-voyage party as you sent me off to Judea. That was the plan.

17–19  Are you now going to accuse me of being flip with my promises because it didn’t work out? Do you think I talk out of both sides of my mouth—a glib yes one moment, a glib no the next? Well, you’re wrong. I try to be as true to my word as God is to his. Our word to you wasn’t a careless yes canceled by an indifferent no. How could it be? When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed the Son of God among you, did you pick up on any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? Wasn’t it a clean, strong Yes?

20–22  Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.

23  Now, are you ready for the real reason I didn’t visit you in Corinth? As God is my witness, the only reason I didn’t come was to spare you pain. I was being considerate of you, not indifferent, not manipulative.

24  We’re not in charge of how you live out the faith, looking over your shoulders, suspiciously critical. We’re partners, working alongside you, joyfully expectant. I know that you stand by your own faith, not by ours.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, September 18, 2023

The Vestments

1–5  28 “Get your brother Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites to serve me as priests: Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamar. Make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron to symbolize glory and beauty. Consult with the skilled craftsmen, those whom I have gifted in this work, and arrange for them to make Aaron’s vestments, to set him apart as holy, to act as priest for me. These are the articles of clothing they are to make: Breastpiece, Ephod, robe, woven tunic, turban, sash. They are making holy vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons as they work as priests for me. They will need gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine linen.

The Ephod

6–14  “Have the Ephod made from gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine twisted linen by a skilled craftsman. Give it two shoulder pieces at two of the corners so it can be fastened. The decorated band on it is to be just like it and of one piece with it: made of gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and of fine twisted linen.

Make tunics, sashes, and hats for Aaron’s sons to express glory and beauty. Dress your brother Aaron and his sons in them. Anoint, ordain, and consecrate them to serve me as priests.

Insight

Exodus 19:3–Numbers 10:10 contains the account of the covenant (treaty) between God and Israel given on Mount Sinai. Exodus 28 provides detailed directions for the priests’ garments. The priests were the people’s representatives before God and were to be holy men worthy of the office. They performed the daily sacrifices, maintained the tabernacle, and demonstrated how to follow God. The high priest, Aaron, oversaw the other priests and Levites. His garments would “distinguish him as a priest set apart for [God’s] service” (v. 3 nlt). By: Alyson Kieda

The Red Dress Project

Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.

Exodus 28:2

The Red Dress project was conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod and has become an exhibit in museums and galleries around the world. For thirteen years, eighty-four pieces of burgundy silk traveled across the globe to be embroidered upon by more than three hundred women (and a handful of men). The pieces were then constructed into a gown, telling the stories of each contributing artist—many of whom are marginalized and impoverished.

Like the Red Dress, the garments worn by Aaron and his descendants were made by many “skilled workers” (Exodus 28:3). God’s instructions for the priestly attire included details that told the collective story of Israel, including engraving the names of the tribes on onyx stones that would sit on the priests’ shoulders “as a memorial before the Lord” (v. 12). The tunics, embroidered sashes, and caps gave the priests “dignity and honor” as they served God and led the people in worship (v. 40).

As new covenant believers in Jesus, we—together—are a priesthood of believers, serving God and leading one another in worship (1 Peter 2:4–5, 9); Jesus is our high priest (Hebrews 4:14). Though we don’t wear any particular clothing to identify ourselves as priests, with His help, we “clothe [ourselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

Which of the attributes from Colossians do you most need to put on today? How else has God “outfitted” you for service to Him?

Please clothe me, Jesus, in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, September 18, 2023

His Temptation and Ours

We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. —Hebrews 4:15

Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.

Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) He “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matthew 4:1) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation “without sin,” and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 30-31; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, September 18, 2023

Grumblers Anonymous - #9571

In many years of youth ministry I have learned that teenagers love to get mail, and if they get mail, whatever form it's in, they probably look at it. They don't actually get all that much sometimes. And then, oh yeah, well, we used to send out promotional pieces when, you know, there was snail mail. And there had to be a good attention-getter on it.

One of my favorites that we used to send out, it took up most of the page, and it said this: If you have any complaints about our group, please explain them fully in the box provided below. The box was about the size of a dime. Yeah, we really want the complaints. Obviously, the complaint box isn't big enough. For most of us, when it comes to gripes, I'm not sure we could make a big enough box to put it in.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grumblers Anonymous."

Our word for today from the Word of God is from Exodus 15, 16 and 17. You'll be glad to know we won't be reading all of that, but you'll see a repeating pattern here. And it shows the major occupation of God's people in the wilderness and sometimes God's people today.

They've not had water for a couple of days, and so it says in Exodus 15:25, "And the people grumbled against Moses." Now, they go a little further and they're a little hungry. And so it says in chapter 16, verses 2-3, "In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted. But you've brought us out into this desert to starve us to death.'" And then in chapter 17, verse 3, "But the people were thirsty for water there and they (want to guess?) grumbled against Moses."

They're like actors on cue. OK, we go through something we don't like, cue the grumbling. We always seem to have to talk about what isn't rather than what is. What we don't have rather than what we do have. About what's wrong rather than what's right. It seems as if we're never content just like those ancient children of Israel.

You know, there are four mistakes grumblers make. Yeah. One, they blame men for what God is doing. Did you notice they blamed Moses and Aaron? We personalize it; we break down the relationship with those people and with God. We don't find any meaning in the situation until we go to God. Like Moses did, it says "He cried out to the Lord." You can either crab to other people, or you can cry to the Lord about it.

Second mistake grumblers make is they deny the goodness of God. What you're really saying is, "God, you don't take very good care of us." Or maybe you're blaming it on some human situation, but you're really saying, "God, you haven't done a very good job." And it causes us to focus on the situation instead of on the Savior.

The third mistake grumblers make is that they poison other people - people who have never even thought about the problem. We're really positive until somebody starts grumbling. The poison spreads and finally, they forget the big picture. These people had no gratitude for the waters that had been parted or the relief they found in the desert earlier. See, when you look at the big picture, it leads to gratitude. You see the whole thing God is doing.

When you look at a close up of this hard moment, it leads to grumbling. Why don't you turn your grumbling to gratitude? There will always be full membership in Grumblers Anonymous. No more members needed there.

So why don't you resign and join a better organization - The Builder Uppers.

2 Chronicles 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: The Achievement of God

How can God punish the sin and love the sinner? Ponder the achievement of God. He doesn't condone our sin, nor does he compromise his standard. He doesn't ignore our rebellion, nor does he relax his demands. Rather than dismiss our sin, he assumes our sin and, incredibly, sentences himself. God's holiness is honored. Our sin is punished. And we are redeemed.

Hebrews 10:14 explains, "With one sacrifice he made perfect forever those who are being made holy." God does what we cannot do, so we can be what we dare not dream…perfect before him. He canceled our debt. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. It was and is an unspeakable gift of grace!

From In the Grip of Grace

2 Chronicles 6

Then Solomon said,

God said he would dwell in a cloud,

But I’ve built a temple most splendid,

A place for you to live in forever.

3  The king then turned to face the congregation that had come together and blessed them:

4–6  “Blessed be God, the God of Israel, who spoke personally to my father David. Now he has done what he promised when he said, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel up from Egypt, I haven’t set apart one city among the tribes of Israel in which to build a temple to honor my Name, or chosen one person to be the leader. But now I have chosen both a city and a person: Jerusalem for honoring my Name and David to lead my people Israel.’

7–9  “My father David very much wanted to build a temple honoring the Name of God, the God of Israel, but God told him, ‘It was good that you wanted to build a temple in my honor—most commendable! But you are not the one to do it. Your son, who will carry on your dynasty, will build it for my Name.’

10–11  “And now you see the promise completed. God has done what he said he would do; I have succeeded David my father and now rule Israel; and I have built a temple to honor God, the God of Israel, and have secured a place for the Chest that holds the Covenant of God, the covenant he made with the people of Israel.”

12–16  Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took his position at the Altar of God and stretched out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze dais seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high and placed it inside the court; that’s where he now stood. Then he knelt in full view of the whole congregation, stretched his hands to heaven, and prayed:

God, O God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below, who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and unfailingly loves them while they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your promise. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today!

Keep it up, God, O God of Israel! Continue to keep the promises you made to David my father when you said, “You’ll always have a descendant to represent my rule on Israel’s throne, on the one condition that your sons are as careful to live obediently in my presence as you have.”

17  O God, God of Israel, let this all happen—

confirm and establish it!

18–21  Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn’t large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I’ve built. Even so, I’m bold to ask: Pay attention to these my prayers, both intercessory and personal, O God, my God. Listen to my prayers, energetic and devout, that I’m setting before you right now. Keep your eyes open to this Temple day and night, this place you promised to dignify with your Name. And listen to the prayers that I pray in this place. And listen to your people Israel when they pray at this place.

Listen from your home in heaven

and when you hear, forgive.

22  When someone hurts a neighbor and promises to make things right, and then comes and repeats the promise before your Altar in this Temple,

23  Listen from heaven and act;

judge your servants, making the offender pay for the offense

And set the offended free,

dismissing all charges.

24–25  When your people Israel are beaten by an enemy because they’ve sinned against you, but then turn to you and acknowledge your rule in prayers desperate and devout in this Temple,

Listen from your home in heaven;

forgive the sin of your people Israel,

return them to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

26–27  When the skies shrivel up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, but then they pray at this place, acknowledging your rule and quit their sins because you have scourged them,

Listen from your home in heaven,

forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel.

Then start over with them;

train them to live right and well;

Send rain on the land

you gave as inheritance to your people.

28–31  When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or disease, locust or beetle, or when an enemy attacks their defenses—calamity of any sort—any prayer that’s prayed from anyone at all among your people Israel, their hearts penetrated by disaster, hands and arms thrown out for help to this Temple,

Listen from your home in heaven, forgive and reward us:

reward each life and circumstance,

For you know each life from the inside,

(you’re the only one with such inside knowledge!),

So they’ll live before you in lifelong reverence and believing

obedience on this land you gave our ancestors.

32  And don’t forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people Israel but has come from a far country because of your reputation—people are going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonder-working power—and who come to pray to this Temple.

33  Listen from your home in heaven

and honor the prayers of the foreigner,

So that people all over the world

will know who you are and what you’re like,

And live in reverent obedience before you,

just as your own people Israel do,

So they’ll know that you personally

make this Temple that I’ve built what it is.

34–35  When your people go to war against their enemies at the time and place you send them and they pray to God toward the city you chose and The Temple I’ve built to honor your Name,

Listen from heaven to what they pray and ask for

and do what is right for them.

36–39  When they sin against you—and they certainly will; there’s no one without sin!—and in anger you turn them over to the enemy and they are taken captive to the enemy’s land, whether far or near, but repent in the country of their captivity and pray with changed hearts in their exile, “We’ve sinned; we’ve done wrong; we’ve been most wicked,” and turn back to you heart and soul in the land of the enemy who conquered them, and pray to you toward their homeland, the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you chose, and this Temple I have built to the honor of your Name,

Listen from your home in heaven

to their prayers desperate and devout;

Do what is best for them.

Forgive your people who have sinned against you.

40  And now, dear God, be alert and attentive to prayer, all prayer, offered in this place.

41–42  Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,

you and your mighty covenant Chest;

Dress your priests up in salvation clothes,

let your holy people celebrate goodness.

And don’t, God, back out on your anointed ones,

keep in mind the love promised to David your servant.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Today's Scripture

Luke 18:35–43

He came to the outskirts of Jericho. A blind man was sitting beside the road asking for handouts. When he heard the rustle of the crowd, he asked what was going on. They told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is going by.”

38  He yelled, “Jesus! Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”

39  Those ahead of Jesus told the man to shut up, but he only yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”

40  Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought over. When he had come near, Jesus asked, “What do you want from me?”

41  He said, “Master, I want to see again.”

42–43  Jesus said, “Go ahead—see again! Your faith has saved and healed you!” The healing was instant: He looked up, seeing—and then followed Jesus, glorifying God. Everyone in the street joined in, shouting praise to God.

Insight

Jesus’ healing of the blind beggar (Luke 18:35–43) is a concrete fulfillment of His self-described purpose “to proclaim good news to the poor . . . and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (4:18–19; see also Isaiah 58:6; 61:1–3). This account of healing is placed immediately after an account of the disciples’ failure to understand Jesus’ clear description of His coming suffering and death (Luke 18:31–34). These two accounts are likely connected by the theme of Christ’s suffering and humility (v. 14). The disciples as well as the crowds couldn’t comprehend a Savior willing to suffer for the lowliest and most disregarded members of society, such as someone blind (v. 35). But while they remained spiritually blind to Jesus’ heart and purpose, the blind man was willing to trust Him and joyfully received his sight (v. 43). By: Monica La Rose

Any Questions?

What do you want me to do for you? Luke 18:41

Ann was meeting with her oral surgeon for a preliminary exam—a physician she’d known for many years. He asked her, “Do you have any questions?” She said, “Yes. Did you go to church last Sunday?” Her question wasn’t intended to be judgmental, but simply to initiate a conversation about faith.

The surgeon had a less-than-positive church experience growing up, and he hadn’t gone back. Because of Ann’s question and their conversation, he reconsidered the role of Jesus and church in his life. When Ann later gave him a Bible with his name imprinted on it, he received it with tears.

Sometimes we fear confrontation or don’t want to seem too aggressive in sharing our faith. But there can be a winsome way to witness about Jesus—ask questions.

For a man who was God and knew everything, Jesus sure asked a lot of questions. While we don’t know His purposes, it’s clear His questions prompted others to respond. He asked his disciple Andrew, “What do you want?” (John 1:38). He asked blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51; Luke 18:41). He asked the paralyzed man, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). Transformation happened for each of these individuals after Jesus’ initial question.

Is there someone you want to approach about matters of faith? Ask God to give you the right questions to ask. By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

Why can questions be better conversation starters than direct statements? What questions can you ask those who need spiritual help?

Dear Jesus, please help me to reach out to others in a way that can lead to transformation.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Is There Good in Temptation?

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man… —1 Corinthians 10:13

The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.

A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.

Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else— what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations— He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 27-29; 2 Corinthians 10

2 Chronicles 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A New Plan

As children, the minute we got home from school we would hit the pavement. The kid across the street had a dad with a great arm and a strong addiction to football. He couldn't resist when we would yell for him to play ball. He'd always ask, "Which team is losing?" Then he'd join that team, which often seemed to be mine. His appearance changed the whole ball game. He was confident, strong, and most of all, had a plan. "Okay boys, here's what we are going to do." You see, we not only had a new plan, we had a new leader. He brought new life to our team.

God does precisely the same. We didn't need a new play; we needed a new plan. We needed a new player, Jesus Christ, God's firstborn Son. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."

From In the Grip of Grace

2 Chronicles 5

That completed the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God. He then brought in the holy offerings of his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God’s Temple.

Installing the Chest

2–3  Bringing all this to a climax, Solomon got all the leaders together in Jerusalem—all the chiefs of tribes and the family patriarchs—to move the Chest of the Covenant of God from Zion and install it in The Temple. All the men of Israel assembled before the king on the feast day of the seventh month, the Feast of Booths.

4–6  When all the leaders of Israel were ready, the Levites took up the Chest. They carried the Chest, the Tent of Meeting, and all the sacred things in the Tent used in worship. The priests, all Levites, carried them. King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel were there before the Chest, worshiping and sacrificing huge numbers of sheep and cattle—so many that no one could keep track.

7–10  The priests brought the Chest of the Covenant of God to its place in the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. The outspread wings of the cherubim formed a canopy over the Chest and its poles. The ends of the poles were so long that they stuck out from the entrance of the Inner Sanctuary, but were not noticeable further out—they’re still there today. There was nothing in the Chest itself but the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb where God made a covenant with Israel after bringing them up from Egypt.

11–13  The priests then left the Holy Place. All the priests there were consecrated, regardless of rank or assignment; and all the Levites who were musicians were there—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their families, dressed in their worship robes; the choir and orchestra assembled on the east side of the Altar and were joined by 120 priests blowing trumpets. The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God—orchestra and choir in perfect harmony singing and playing praise to God:

Yes! God is good!

His loyal love goes on forever!

13–14  Then a billowing cloud filled The Temple of God. The priests couldn’t even carry out their duties because of the cloud—the glory of God!—that filled The Temple of God.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Today's Scripture

Romans 12:1–2

Place Your Life Before God

1–2  12 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Insight

Paul wrote the book of Romans to believers in Jesus at Rome (Romans 1:7) to show that all human beings are sinners in need of salvation (chs. 1–3), what God did to save us, and how we can have a right relationship with Him (chs. 4–11). After explaining the theological foundations of the gospel (chs. 1–11), the apostle instructed believers in Christ how to live in a right relationship with God (chs. 12–16). The last four chapters provide a pattern of discipleship, teaching believers how to respond to God’s mercy and grace (12:1–2), how to use spiritual gifts (vv. 3–8), and how to relate to different people in the church and society (12:9–16:27). Though Jesus died to save us, God doesn’t demand that we die for Him. Rather, we’re to live for Him in His perfect will (12:1–2), in humility (v. 3), and in unity (vv. 4–8). By: K. T. Sim

Just Like Jesus

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

In 2014, biologists captured a pair of orange pygmy seahorses in the Philippines. They took the marine creatures, along with a section of the orange coral sea fan they called home, to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Scientists wanted to know if the pygmy seahorses were born to match the color of their parents or their environment. When the pygmy seahorses gave birth to dull brown babies, scientists placed a purple coral sea fan into the tank. The babies, whose parents were orange, changed their color to match the purple sea fan. Due to their fragility by nature, their survival depends on their God-given ability to blend into their environment.

Blending-in is a useful defense mechanism in nature. However, God invites all people to receive salvation and stand out in the world by how we live. The apostle Paul urges believers in Jesus to honor God in every aspect of our lives, to worship Him by offering our bodies as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). Due to our fragility as human beings affected by sin, our spiritual health as believers depends on the Holy Spirit “renewing” our minds and empowering us to avoid conforming to “the pattern of this world” that rejects God and glorifies sin (v. 2).

Blending into this world means living in opposition to the Scriptures. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can look and love just like Jesus! By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How have you been blending into the world? How has God changed you?

Dear God, please make me more like Jesus each day.

Learn how to develop a biblical worldview.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Praying to God in Secret

When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place… —Matthew 6:6

The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.

“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions…” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.

“Everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “…you will ask what you desire…” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 25-26; 2 Corinthians 9

2 Chronicles 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: YOUR LADDER INTO HEAVEN - September 15, 2023

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51 ESV).

Your ladder into heaven is not a vision; yours is a person. Jesus is our stairway. He calls himself the “Son of Man,” a title that refers to his preexistence. Jesus is announcing, “I am the one upon whom the angels ascend and descend. I am the vehicle of blessing to the world.”

Christ, our go-between, is everywhere at all times, equally present with the Father to hear our prayers as he is with the Spirit to answer them. He is at both ends of the ladder: Jehovah at the top, Jehovah at the bottom. He is the intermediary between you and God. The question is not, Is God active? The question is, Are we watching? God never gives up on you.

2 Chronicles 4

Temple Furnishings

1  4 He made the Bronze Altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and ten feet high.

2–5  He made a Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim, there were two parallel bands of something like bulls, ten to each foot and a half. The figures were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. All the bulls faced outward and supported the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or a lily. It held about 18,000 gallons.

6  He made ten Washbasins, five set on the right and five on the left, for rinsing the things used for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The priests washed themselves in the Sea.

7  He made ten gold Lampstands, following the specified pattern, and placed five on the right and five on the left.

8  He made ten tables and set five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred gold bowls.

9  He built a Courtyard especially for the priests and then the great court and doors for the court. The doors were covered with bronze.

10  He placed the Sea on the right side of The Temple at the southeast corner.

11–16  He also made ash buckets, shovels, and bowls.

And that about wrapped it up: Huram completed the work he had contracted to do for King Solomon:

two pillars;

two bowl-shaped capitals for the tops of the pillars;

two decorative filigrees for the capitals;

four hundred pomegranates for the filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree);

ten washstands with their basins;

one Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

miscellaneous buckets, forks, shovels, and bowls.

16–18  All these artifacts that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were made of burnished bronze. The king had them cast in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used.

19–22  Solomon was also responsible for the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God:

the gold Altar;

the tables that held the Bread of the Presence;

the Lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to be lighted before the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies;

the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs (all solid gold);

the gold wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers;

the gold doors of The Temple, doors to the Holy of Holies, and the doors to the main sanctuary.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, September 15, 2023

Today's Scripture

Jeremiah 28:2–4,10–16

Hananiah said:

2–4  “This Message is straight from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘I will most certainly break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Before two years are out I’ll have all the furnishings of God’s Temple back here, all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon plundered and hauled off to Babylon. I’ll also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the exiles who were taken off to Babylon.’ God’s Decree. ‘Yes, I will break the king of Babylon’s yoke. You’ll no longer be in harness to him.’ ”

At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah’s shoulders and smashed it. And then he addressed the people: “This is God’s Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations—and within two years.”

Jeremiah walked out.

12–14  Later, sometime after Hananiah had smashed the yoke from off his shoulders, Jeremiah received this Message from God: “Go back to Hananiah and tell him, ‘This is God’s Message: You smashed the wooden yoke-bars; now you’ve got iron yoke-bars. This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s own God: I’ve put an iron yoke on all these nations. They’re harnessed to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They’ll do just what he tells them. Why, I’m even putting him in charge of the wild animals.’ ”

15–16  So prophet Jeremiah told prophet Hananiah, “Hold it, Hananiah! God never sent you. You’ve talked the whole country into believing a pack of lies! And so God says, ‘You claim to be sent? I’ll send you all right—right off the face of the earth! Before the year is out, you’ll be dead because you fomented sedition against God.’ ”

Insight

The focus of Jeremiah 28 is the prophet’s dealings with a false prophet named Hananiah. God had instructed Jeremiah to “make a yoke out of straps and crossbars” and put it on his neck (27:2) to symbolize God’s discipline upon the nation—undoubtedly an unwelcome message. But Hananiah presented a contradictory message to the people saying that God had broken that yoke and promised the exiles a swift return to their homeland (28:1–4). Hananiah then broke Jeremiah’s yoke (v. 10) to visualize the promise he claimed was from God. Jeremiah confronted Hananiah with a very different message—God would bring judgment on Hananiah the false prophet (vv. 15–17). By: Bill Crowder

The Message of the Prophets

In the past God spoke . . . through the prophets . . . , but in these last days . . . by his Son. Hebrews 1:1–2

Before baseball’s 1906 World Series, sportswriter Hugh Fullerton made an astute prediction. He said the Chicago Cubs, who were expected to win, would lose the first and third games and win the second. Oh, and it would rain on the fourth. He was right on each point. Then, in 1919, his analytical skills told him certain players were losing World Series games intentionally. Fullerton suspected they’d been bribed by gamblers. Popular opinion ridiculed him. Again, he was right.

Fullerton was no prophet—just a wise man who studied the evidence. Jeremiah was a real prophet whose prophecies always came true. Wearing an ox yoke, Jeremiah told Judah to surrender to the Babylonians and live (Jeremiah 27:2, 12). The false prophet Hananiah contradicted him and broke the yoke (28:2–4, 10). Jeremiah told him, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you,” and added, “This very year you are going to die” (vv. 15–16). Two months later, Hananiah was dead (v. 17).

The New Testament tells us, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets . . . , but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and through the Scriptures and guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s truth still instructs us today. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

What big questions trouble you? What might you learn about them by learning more about what Jesus taught?

Father, I have big questions today, and I need Your Spirit to guide me into Your truth. Help me to trust You in the things I can’t see.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, September 15, 2023

What To Renounce

We have renounced the hidden things of shame…  —2 Corinthians 4:2

Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life— the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind— renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.

“…not walking in craftiness…” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way— the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way— the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others— God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest— your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man.  Disciples Indeed, 388 L

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 22-24; 2 Corinthians 8

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, September 15, 2023

Where's God in the Tornadoes? - #9570

Well, Spring is tornado time, and there were some Mississippi folks at the conference we were at getting some pretty scary reports from back home. There were friends in a ministry organization we know of who were deeply wounded by the death of a coworker and daughters in Arkansas.

One of the daughters who survived that twister quoted the Book of Job, the biblical man who lost everything. Here's what she wrote: "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Somehow, that girl's faith was sustaining her amid a horrific loss.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where's God in the Tornadoes?"

There were some others during that outbreak who responded with tragedy's frequent heart cry. "Why, God?" We try to make sense of the shattered pieces of our life. We can't. We want answers from God. Sometimes "Why, God?" is a cry for help. But "Why, God?" might be the wrong question.

I think most of the "why's" are hard to see in the middle of the pain. We're looking at the dark thread that we're living right now. Meanwhile God's working on this much larger tapestry that my thread is a part of. And the thread often cannot make sense without the big tapestry, which we won't see for a while. Maybe not until God shows it to us Himself some day.

But there is a question I've resorted to in the dark valleys. A question that may have some answers - sooner rather than later. Here's the question: "How can God use this?" See, turning from God in our devastation erases any hope of the suffering having any meaning. That road takes us to dark places of bitterness and despair. Turning to God is the only road to hope when we have no answers.

I saw my parents heartbroken when my baby brother died. But I saw their lives totally transformed when their grief actually drove them to the God who had been a stranger to my parents before. It was a tragedy that seemed initially to have no "why." But it was a tragedy that God used to give me a new mom and dad.

See, I saw from a very early age, there was purpose in the pain. I know it's been grief and pain that have taught this spoiled only child right here the meaning of compassion. As it says in 2 Corinthians 1:4, "We comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." People who know what it is to be broken have the credentials to be healers in a hurting world. And, like my parents, our darkest hour may be when we find the Light as never before in the God who came from a perfect heaven to be broken by the people He had made. I can tell you this, He was and has been my anchor since the day my wife, the love of my life since I was nineteen, was suddenly gone. And I said later, "I will not waste this grief." And God has been the anchor through it all.

In our word for today from the Word of God, in God's own words in Isaiah 53:3-5, speaking of Jesus, it says, "He was crushed...He was pierced...a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering." Paying my bill with God. That's what Jesus was doing so I wouldn't have to pay it forever; choosing to die so I could live.

This is a God who's lived our grief, who carries us when we can't take another step. Who went through all of the pain, all of the hell that I deserve. All the payment of my sin, all of the guilt and shame for one simple purpose: so that I could be with Him forever and have the wall between me and God removed.

Could it be the storm you're in right now has been to bring you to the place where you would grab the long-extended hand of Jesus, who's offered it for so many years? And now you grab Him and make Him your Savior from your sin and you will never face a storm alone again.

If you want to get that done, would you go to our website? I think we could help you. It's ANewStory.com.

When our shattered soul reaches in desperation for this God who hung on a cross for us, we find what that old song describes - grace... amazing grace.

1 Corinthians 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GRACE ON THE MOVE - September 14, 2023

Grace is God on the move saying, “I’m with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.” Jacob certainly felt it was. After God appeared to him, Jacob said, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.”

How many people can say the same? They are unacquainted with the God who meets us. They believe in a God who created the world but not a God who’s involved in the world. A God who made the universe but not a God who makes a difference in the day-to-day. Christian atheists they are.

God was—and is—speaking to you. That is him, standing at the top of the ladder. Sending angels to help you. Receiving the angels who deliver your prayers.

God never gives up on you.

1 Corinthians 16

Coming to See You

1–4  16 Regarding the relief offering for poor Christians that is being collected, you get the same instructions I gave the churches in Galatia. Every Sunday each of you make an offering and put it in safekeeping. Be as generous as you can. When I get there you’ll have it ready, and I won’t have to make a special appeal. Then after I arrive, I’ll write letters authorizing whomever you delegate, and send them off to Jerusalem to deliver your gift. If you think it best that I go along, I’ll be glad to travel with them.

5–9  I plan to visit you after passing through northern Greece. I won’t be staying long there, but maybe I can stay awhile with you—maybe even spend the winter? Then you could give me a good send-off, wherever I may be headed next. I don’t want to just drop by in between other “primary” destinations. I want a good, long, leisurely visit. If the Master agrees, we’ll have it! For the present, I’m staying right here in Ephesus. A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here. (There is also mushrooming opposition.)

10–11  If Timothy shows up, take good care of him. Make him feel completely at home among you. He works so hard for the Master, just as I do. Don’t let anyone disparage him. After a while, send him on to me with your blessing. Tell him I’m expecting him, and any friends he has with him.

12  About our friend Apollos, I’ve done my best to get him to pay you a visit, but haven’t talked him into it yet. He doesn’t think this is the right time. But there will be a “right time.”

13–14  Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping.

15–16  Would you do me a favor, friends, and give special recognition to the family of Stephanas? You know, they were among the first converts in Greece, and they’ve put themselves out, serving Christians ever since then. I want you to honor and look up to people like that: companions and workers who show us how to do it, giving us something to aspire to.

17–18  I want you to know how delighted I am to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus here with me. They partially make up for your absence! They’ve refreshed me by keeping me in touch with you. Be proud that you have people like this among you.

19  The churches here in western Asia send greetings.

Aquila, Priscilla, and the church that meets in their house say hello.

20  All the friends here say hello.

Pass the greetings around with holy embraces!

21  And I, Paul—in my own handwriting!—send you my regards.

22  If anyone won’t love the Master, throw him out. Make room for the Master!

23  Our Master Jesus has his arms wide open for you.

24  And I love all of you in the Messiah, in Jesus.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 46

A Song of the Sons of Korah

1–3  46 God is a safe place to hide,

ready to help when we need him.

We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,

courageous in sea-storm and earthquake,

Before the rush and roar of oceans,

the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

4–6  River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city,

this sacred haunt of the Most High.

God lives here, the streets are safe,

God at your service from crack of dawn.

Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,

but Earth does anything he says.

7  Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

8–10  Attention, all! See the marvels of God!

He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,

Bans war from pole to pole,

breaks all the weapons across his knee.

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,

loving look at me, your High God,

above politics, above everything.”

11  Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

Insight

Jesus told His disciples that all Scripture anticipated His coming and specifically mentioned the book of Psalms (Luke 24:25–27, 44–47). Christ’s words remind us that when we read the Psalms, we should reflect on how they might point to Him. After all, He’s the Good Shepherd (John 10:11; Psalm 23) and our divine warrior who defeats the spiritual powers by His death and resurrection (Ephesians 4:8; see Psalm 68:18). There are many ways in which the Psalms anticipate Jesus. In fact, Psalms is one of the most cited books in the New Testament.

For further study, read Understanding the Bible: The Poetic Books.

Let Go

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

The owner of the bookstore where Keith worked had been away on vacation for only two days, but Keith, his assistant, was already panicking. Operations were smooth, but he was anxious that he wouldn’t do a good job overseeing the store. Frenetically, he micromanaged all he could.

“Stop it,” his boss finally told him over a video call. “All you have to do is follow the instructions I email you daily. Don’t worry, Keith. The burden isn’t on you; it’s on me.”

In a time of conflict with other nations, Israel received a similar word from God: “Be still” (Psalm 46:10). “Stop striving,” He said in essence, “just follow what I say. I will fight for you.” Israel was not being told to be passive or complacent but to be actively still—to obey God faithfully while yielding control of the situation and leaving the results of their efforts to Him.

We’re called to do the same. And we can do it because the God we trust is sovereign over the world. If “he lifts his voice [and] the earth melts,” and if He can make “wars cease to the ends of the earth” (vv. 6, 9), then surely, we can trust in the security of His refuge and strength (v. 1). The burden of control over our life isn’t on us—it’s on God.

By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

How can you let go of situations that are out of your control and surrender them to God? What aspects of His character help you to surrender all to Him?

Almighty God, You know what’s troubling me. I don’t know how to deal with it, but You do. Help me surrender to Your leading.

For further study, read God Is Love: Reflection on the Character of God.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Arguments or Obedience

…the simplicity that is in Christ.  —2 Corinthians 11:3

Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and…every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).

Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 19-21; 2 Corinthians 7

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, September 14, 2023

God of the Next Step - #9569

A number of years ago I was driving for a pretty extended trip with my son. And in that relaxed moment I said, "Hey, there's something we need to talk about." He rolled his eyes, "Dad, is this 'the talk'?" Well, he must have read me pretty well. He was right. It was time for "the talk."

Yeah, it was time to talk about sex. And so, feeling that he needed this information at this point in his life, I explained everything very clearly. I even used all the right words; we didn't talk about "oogie boogie wagga boogie" or something you know. We didn't use the crazy names that parents make up for body parts. No, we were very clear about everything. And he's usually pretty communicative, but he was strangely silent during this conversation.

Finally when it was all over, I said, "Hey, what do you think?" He gave me his three-word reaction. He said, "Dad, that's gross!" Well, apparently he changed his mind. He later learned that it was beautiful. One of the truths in parenting is recognizing how much and how soon to tell our children all kinds of important life information. It's knowing when they need to know. Did you know you're being raised that way?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God of the Next Step."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 119:105. And there we have a very revealing look at how God likes to lead us into His will. "Your word," it says, "is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

I got a new appreciation of that verse when I was camping with my kids. You know, you get all settled into the tent in the middle of the night, and then they say, "I got to go potty." And so you untie the tent, and you get out, you go out with your Coleman lantern and start down the dark path. Did you know you can't see the whole path? You can't see the bathroom. All you can see is the next step. But then, how many steps can you take at one time? One at a time, and that's enough. You don't have to see the destination; you just have to see the path ahead of you and know you're on the path.

That's how God leads us. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." That's one step at a time guidance. See, we want God to show us next month, the next year, the next five years. And He shows you all you can handle, because He's a good Father. He knows you only give what your son or daughter can handle at that time. And that is one step. On the day when the next step is a major decision, He'll tell you then. But He won't tell you early.

Now why does God give it to you in daily instructions? Why doesn't He give us the bigger picture? Well, if He told us early, we'd probably make one of two mistakes. We'd either run ahead of Him to get to it because it looks so exciting, and thereby ruin it because we're not ready for it yet, or we'd run away from it like my son saying, "Oh, that's gross, Dad!" Well, he wasn't ready for the information. We'll run away from it.

But you see, by God leading us a day at a time, when we get to it, it will seem like the most natural, exciting thing. But right now we're not ready for it. If you rush it, you'll ruin it. And if He told us early we would just take the plan, fold it up under our arms and walk away.

I like the old hymn that says, "We cannot see what lies before, and so we cling to Him the more." Maybe you're frustrated because you want to know the future now. But maybe you're not ready for all of that yet. Can you focus on today - God's leading for this 24 hours? His macro will for your life is made up of a thousand micro wills - a day at a time. So you stay on the path that leads to God's ultimate best, the day-at-a-time path.

Let God tell you His will in bite-sized chunks. Like any good Father, He won't dump the whole load on you before you're ready. He'll keep you on His need-to-know basis.

2 Chronicles 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S BLESSING FOR JACOB - September 13, 2023

Jacob lied to his father. He cheated his brother. He ran away from home. He ran away from God. Yet, despite Jacob’s deception and shortcuts, God told Jacob that he would make him and his descendants a great people who would cover the earth. God repeated to him the blessing he gave Abraham and Isaac: “I am with you and will watch over you where you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you” (Genesis 28:15 NIV). The fugitive had not been abandoned.

Had Jacob done anything to show he was worthy of the blessing? No – he leaked integrity. God did not turn away, however, from the one who had turned away from him. He was faithful, and he still is. God never gives up on you.

2 Chronicles 3

So Solomon broke ground, launched construction of the house of God in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, the place where God had appeared to his father David. The precise site, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, had been designated by David. He broke ground on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule. These are the dimensions that Solomon set for the construction of the house of God: ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. The porch in front stretched the width of the building, that is, thirty feet; and it was thirty feet high.

4–7  The interior was gold-plated. He paneled the main hall with cypress and veneered it with fine gold engraved with palm tree and chain designs. He decorated the building with precious stones and gold from Parvaim. Everything was coated with gold veneer: rafters, doorframes, walls, and doors. Cherubim were engraved on the walls.

8–9  He made the Holy of Holies a cube, thirty feet wide, long, and high. It was veneered with six hundred talents (something over twenty-two tons) of gold. The gold nails weighed fifty shekels (a little over a pound). The upper rooms were also veneered in gold.

10–13  He made two sculptures of cherubim, gigantic angel-like figures, for the Holy of Holies, both veneered with gold. The combined wingspread of the side-by-side cherubim (each wing measuring seven and a half feet) stretched from wall to wall, thirty feet. They stood erect facing the main hall.

14  He fashioned the curtain of violet, purple, and crimson fabric and worked a cherub design into it.

15–17  He made two huge free-standing pillars, each fifty-two feet tall, their capitals extending another seven and a half feet. The top of each pillar was set off with an elaborate filigree of chains, like necklaces, from which hung a hundred pomegranates. He placed the pillars in front of The Temple, one on the right, and the other on the left. The right pillar he named Jakin (Security) and the left pillar he named Boaz (Stability).

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Today's Scripture

Deuteronomy 10:17–20

God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.

19–21  You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—

remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.

Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,

back up your promises with the authority of his name.

Insight

Deuteronomy is the final book in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament known as the Torah. These books were written by Moses, except for the final section of Deuteronomy (34:5–11), which was written by an unnamed author. In Deuteronomy, Moses gives three speeches to the new generation of Israelites preparing to enter the promised land. They’re now in the plains of Moab (on the western boundary of Canaan) at the end of forty years in the wilderness. He reminds them of what God has done, reviewing the wonders He performed to liberate them from slavery and restating His laws and covenant given to them on Mount Sinai. The people are encouraged to rededicate their lives to Him. Today’s text comes from the second speech (4:44–11:32), which includes covenant requirements on the people’s part. Why should they obey? The mighty “God of gods and Lord of lords” loves them (10:17). 

By: Alyson Kieda

Welcoming the Foreigner

[God] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner. Deuteronomy 10:18

As thousands of Ukrainian women and children arrived at Berlin’s railway station fleeing war, they were met with a surprise—German families holding handmade signs offering refuge in their homes. “Can host two people!” one sign read. “Big room [available],” read another. Asked why she offered such hospitality to strangers, one woman said her mother had needed refuge while fleeing the Nazis, and she wanted to help others in such need.

In Deuteronomy, God calls the Israelites to care for those far from their homelands. Why? Because He’s the defender of the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner (10:18), and because the Israelites knew what such vulnerability felt like: “for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (v. 19). Empathy was to motivate their care.

But there’s a flip side to this too. When the widow at Zarephath welcomed the foreigner Elijah into her home, she was the one blessed (1 Kings 17:9–24), just as Abraham was blessed by his three foreign visitors (Genesis 18:1–15). God often uses hospitality to bless the host, not just the guest.

Welcoming strangers into your home is hard, but those German families may be the real beneficiaries. As we too respond to the vulnerable with God’s empathy, we may be surprised at the gifts He gives us through them. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

Why do you think God cares so much for widows, orphans, and refugees? How could you “welcome” a vulnerable foreigner this week?

Dear God, give me a heart as big as Yours for the widow, the fatherless, and the vulnerable.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

After Surrender— Then What?

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. “…another will gird you…” (John 21:18; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me.  The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 16-18; 2 Corinthians 6

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Right Answers Under Pressure - #9568

I've never really been addicted to TV game shows. But years ago, my son got me to kind of be interested in one. It's called Jeopardy. Three contestants, given several categories ranging from U.S. presidents to cat food, and the contestant picks a dollar value question. The host gives the answer to the question in that category. Then the three contestants vie to see who can get the right question, because the right answer is the question. Understand that. Some of them do very well and they win lots of money; others just kind of fold up. I said to my son, "Look at those people! They wind up in the hole with their money! How did they get on the show?" He reminded me, "Dad, it's hard to come up with right answers when you have all that pressure on you." (OK, I stand corrected.)

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Right Answers Under Pressure."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Nehemiah 2, beginning at verse 1. Now, we all know the feeling of those Jeopardy contestants. The pressure's on, the right answer is needed. Maybe you're in a conversation with your boss, or your parents, or you're dealing with one of your children on an important key issue, or you're trying to speak to a friend about the Lord.

Well, Nehemiah knew that feeling. He is the king's cup bearer as a Jewish exile in Persia. He'd heard of the shape that his city - God's city, Jerusalem - was in, and he had a burden from the Lord to go and rebuild the city of Jerusalem. He knew he would need the king's help to do that. He knew he would need time off from his royal job. And he didn't quite know how he was going to bring all this up with the most powerful man in the world who was his boss - the King of Persia.

He says, "I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This could be nothing but sadness of heart.' I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, 'May the king live forever!" Which is a good way to start with kings. "Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruin and its gates have been destroyed by fire?' The king said to me, 'What is it you want?'" Drum roll please! Man, everything hinges on this answer. Nehemiah: "Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king."

From this point on the king becomes his ally in this great, historic cause. Now, this is a conversation you might say that changed the course of history, as the walls and the gates of Jerusalem do end up getting rebuilt. Maybe your issue isn't quite that cosmic, but you do need God's help for some important conversation.

Here is how he displays his hand in important conversations. First, there's a divine nudge. See, Nehemiah had been praying about this situation for some time. So God said, "There's a need I want to address, and I want to address it through you, Nehemiah." See, God will put this burden on your heart; this divine nudge.

Secondly, there's a natural opportunity. You'll think, "How in the world am I going to get into this conversation? How am I going to bring this up? How am I going to get started?" Listen, ask God for a natural opportunity. Nehemiah actually was asked the magic question by the king, "What is it you want?" Could you serve it up any better than that? Just ask God for an open door like that and then look for the opening when it comes.

Thirdly, there is an inspired answer. Nehemiah gave a tremendous answer to the king's question, and it launched a whole change of events. The key is what Nehemiah did. "I prayed to the God of heaven and then I answered." Talk to the God of heaven before you talk to the person on earth, before you answer that call, before you answer that email, that text, before you respond, get all prayed up. And even if you're scared like Nehemiah was, go ahead to the opportunity when God opens the door.

We're all playing Jeopardy and we're coming up with right answers under pressure. But it's because we have a direct pipeline to the One who has all the right answers. Hey, let God come up with your answer.

2 Chronicles 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE THERMOSTATIC IMPACT OF PRAYER - September 12, 2023

Angels convey our prayers into God’s presence. In the apostle John’s vision, he saw an “Angel, carrying a gold censer, [who] came and stood at the Altar. He was given a great quantity of incense so that he could offer up the prayers of all the holy people of God on the Golden Altar before the Throne.” Revelation 8 tells us that as God hears our petitions, he responds with thunder. In other words, our prayers have a thermostatic impact upon the actions of heaven.

Mothers, when you pray for your child… Husbands, when you ask for healing in your marriage… Children, when you kneel at your bed before going to sleep… Citizens, when you pray for your country… Pastors, when you pray for the members of your church… Your prayers trigger the ascension of angels and the downpour of power!

God never gives up on you.

2 Chronicles 2

The Temple Construction Begins

1  2 Solomon gave orders to begin construction on the house of worship in honor of God and a palace for himself.

2  Solomon assigned seventy thousand common laborers, eighty thousand to work the quarries in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred foremen to manage the workforce.

3–4  Then Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs, the same kind you sent David my father for building his palace. I’m about to build a house of worship in honor of God, a holy place for burning perfumed incense, for setting out holy bread, for making Whole-Burnt-Offerings at morning and evening worship, and for Sabbath, New Moon, and Holy Day services of worship—the acts of worship required of Israel.

5–10  “The house I am building has to be the best, for our God is the best, far better than competing gods. But who is capable of building such a structure? Why, the skies—the entire cosmos!—can’t begin to contain him. And me, who am I to think I can build a house adequate for God—burning incense to him is about all I’m good for! I need your help: Send me a master artisan in gold, silver, bronze, iron, textiles of purple, crimson, and violet, and who knows the craft of engraving; he will supervise the trained craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem that my father provided. Also send cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon; I know you have lumberjacks experienced in the Lebanon forests. I’ll send workers to join your crews to cut plenty of timber—I’m going to need a lot, for this house I’m building is going to be absolutely stunning—a showcase temple! I’ll provide all the food necessary for your crew of lumberjacks and loggers: 130,000 bushels of wheat, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”

11  Hiram king of Tyre wrote Solomon in reply: “It’s plain that God loves his people—he made you king over them!”

12–14  He wrote on, “Blessed be the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple for God and a palace for himself. I’ve sent you Huram-Abi—he’s already on his way—he knows the construction business inside and out. His mother is from Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and architects, and those of my master David, your father.

15–16  “Go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised for my work crews. We’ll log the trees you need from the Lebanon forests and raft them down to Joppa. You’ll have to get the timber up to Jerusalem yourself.”

17–18  Solomon then took a census of all the foreigners living in Israel, using the same census-taking method employed by his father. They numbered 153,600. He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the mountains, 

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Today's Scripture

Psalm 37:5–7

Open up before God, keep nothing back;

he’ll do whatever needs to be done:

He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day

and stamp you with approval at high noon.

7  Quiet down before God,

be prayerful before him.

Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,

who elbow their way to the top.

Insight

The concept of progressive revelation teaches that Scripture doesn’t move from error to truth but moves from incompleteness to completeness. So, people in the Old Testament didn’t understand many things because they didn’t have as much information as we do. One example is their limited understanding of life after death, which caused them to assume that all reward or judgment would ultimately take place in this life. This was referred to as the “law of retribution,” which stated that the righteous are blessed according to their righteousness and the wicked are punished according to their wickedness. Some scholars see Psalms 34, 37, and 73 as a trilogy dealing with that principle. Psalm 34 simply states the principle and Psalm 37 is counseling someone about the principle. Psalm 73 is the frustrated response of a righteous sufferer who believed the principle wasn’t working in their experience.

Learn more about the biblical revelation of God. By: Bill Crowder

Be Still

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7

After I’d gotten settled into the chamber, my body floating comfortably above the water, the room went dark and the gentle music that had been playing in the background went silent. I’d read that isolation tanks were therapeutic, offering relief for stress and anxiety. But this was like nothing I’d ever encountered. It felt like the chaos of the world had stopped, and I could clearly hear my innermost thoughts. I left the experience balanced and rejuvenated, reminded that there is power in stillness.

We can rest most comfortably in the stillness of the presence of God, who renews our strength and grants us the wisdom we need to tackle the challenges we face each day. When we’re still, silencing the noise and removing distractions in our lives, He strengthens us so we can hear His gentle voice more clearly (Psalm 37:7).

While sensory deprivation chambers are certainly one form of stillness, God offers us a simpler way to spend uninterrupted time with Him. He says, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6). God will guide our steps and allow His righteousness to shine brightly through us when we seek the answers to life’s challenges in the stillness of His magnificent presence (Psalm 37:5–6). By:  Kimya Loder

Reflect & Pray

What are some things that consume your time? How can you make more room for quiet time with God?

Dear Father, I know I get caught up in the fast pace of life. Help me to be still, making room for You in everything I do.

For further study, read In His Presence: Spending Time with God.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Going Through Spiritual Confusion

Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask." —Matthew 20:22

There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.

The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember— He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?

The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father— as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives…” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.

The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God.  Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 13-15; 2 Corinthians 5

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Saturated But Not Strong - #9567

You know, I've been told so many times in my life, "Go take a hike," so I finally did. Yeah, this particular summer I was at a lovely Christian conference center in California. One day when I wasn't speaking, they had a nature hike. They had a fellow called Father Nature who took us out (you didn't know there was a Father Nature I'll bet) and he showed us the four different kinds of nature zones they had on their property.

There was the river bed; the desert section, and so on. It's rather amazing from a scientific standpoint. And he showed us two kinds of trees: First, there were these beautiful White Alder trees. They grow lushly by the river and they wave their leaves. And he said they can evaporate up to 400 gallons of water a day!

Now, the roots of the White Alder are very shallow apparently. They get plenty of water and therefore they have shallow roots. But when the floods come, oh boy, we've got a problem. He showed us the desert zone trees, and the ones in the desert survive on 40 gallons of water a year sometimes. How come? They use everything they get, and their roots are deep. Guess which one is still standing after a violent storm? Yep, the one with the roots.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Saturated But Not Strong."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is about those roots. Not so much the roots of trees in the desert or trees by the river bed, but God's trees - that would be you and me. Colossians 2:6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Now, this describes the point of entry into a relationship with Christ. It says, "just as you received Christ."

Do you remember when you opened your life to Christ and how dependent you were on Him; how hungry you were to get into His Word; how boldly and frequently you prayed; how trusting you were? Well, you see, this verse is necessary to talk to us about our roots because we have a tendency to get lazy about those spiritual roots.

See, in many ways, we American Christians, are the White Alder tree that I described earlier - the one that has all that nourishment that evaporates up to 400 gallons of water a day, lives by the river bed, saturated but with weak roots. See, we're saturated, too: Christian resources. We've got Christian radio, websites, books, TV, Bible studies, seminars, conferences, and we're waving and we're celebrating. But could it be we're depending on meetings and events, and feelings, and miracles, and experiences? We've got weak roots and we are vulnerable to the storm.

Now, you talk to Christians in the desert places like China, and they know where their roots are: consistent, personal Bible study every day; fervent prayer; deep roots in the church; always learning... always growing. But we get lazy here in our spiritual rain forest. It takes a heavy hit to show us that what we have is broad but not very deep, and maybe then it is too late.

You know, maybe it's time now for us to see that our roots need to be growing, not just our leaves. Do you know some things about the Lord that you didn't know a month ago? Have you given Him some new ground that He didn't have a month ago? Are you praying in fresh, new ways? Are you going by the book and not by your feelings? Is your relationship with God mostly vertical... not horizontal, like just when you're with His people?

Well, you could be saturated but not strong. You've got to go to your roots. Then when the storm or the drought comes, you will stand tall through it all.