2 Chronicles 35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: RELINQUISH CONTROL - March 14, 2024

The formula is simple: perceived control creates calm; lack of control gives birth to fear. So what do we do? Control everything? If only we could.

Yet, certainty is a cruel impostor. A person can accumulate millions of dollars and still lose it in a recession. A health fanatic can eat only nuts and veggies and still battle cancer. The only certainty is the lack thereof. That’s why the most stressed-out people are control freaks. We can’t take control because control is not ours to take.

The Bible has a better idea. Rather than seeking total control, relinquish it. You cannot run the world, but you can entrust it to God.

2 Chronicles 35

Josiah celebrated the Passover to God in Jerusalem. They killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. He gave the priests detailed instructions and encouraged them in the work of leading worship in The Temple of God. He also told the Levites who were in charge of teaching and guiding Israel in all matters of worship (they were especially consecrated for this), “Place the sacred Chest in The Temple that Solomon son of David, the king of Israel, built. You don’t have to carry it around on your shoulders any longer! Serve God and God’s people Israel. Organize yourselves by families for your respective responsibilities, following the instructions left by David king of Israel and Solomon his son.

5–6  “Take your place in the sanctuary—a team of Levites for every grouping of your fellow citizens, the laity. Your job is to kill the Passover lambs, then consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs so that everyone will be able to keep the Passover exactly as God commanded through Moses.”

7–9  Josiah personally donated thirty thousand sheep, lambs, and goats and three thousand bulls—everything needed for the Passover celebration was there. His officials also pitched in on behalf of the people, including the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in The Temple of God, gave twenty-six hundred lambs and three hundred bulls to the priests for the Passover offerings. Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with the Levitical chiefs Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, donated five thousand lambs and five hundred bulls to the Levites for the Passover offerings.

10–13  Preparations were complete for the service of worship; the priests took up their positions and the Levites were at their posts as instructed by the king. They killed the Passover lambs, and while the priests sprinkled the blood from the lambs, the Levites skinned them out. Then they set aside the Whole-Burnt-Offering for presentation to the family groupings of the people so that each group could offer it to God following the instructions in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. They roasted the Passover lamb according to the instructions and boiled the consecrated offerings in pots and kettles and pans and promptly served the people.

14  After the people had eaten the holy meal, the Levites served themselves and the Aaronite priests—the priests were busy late into the night making the offerings at the Altar.

15  The Asaph singers were all in their places following the instructions of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The security guards were on duty at each gate—the Levites also served them because they couldn’t leave their posts.

16–19  Everything went without a hitch in the worship of God that day as they celebrated the Passover and the offering of the Whole-Burnt-Offering on the Altar of God. It went just as Josiah had ordered. The Israelites celebrated the Passover, also known as the Feast of Unraised Bread, for seven days. The Passover hadn’t been celebrated like this since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings had done it. But Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were there that week, plus the citizens of Jerusalem—they did it. In the eighteenth year of the rule of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated.

20  Some time later, after Josiah’s reformation of The Temple, Neco king of Egypt marched out toward Carchemish on the Euphrates River on his way to war. Josiah went out to fight him.

21  Neco sent messengers to Josiah saying, “What do we have against each other, O King of Judah? I haven’t come to fight against you but against the country with whom I’m at war. God commanded me to hurry, so don’t get in my way; you’ll only interfere with God, who is on my side in this, and he’ll destroy you.”

22–23  But Josiah was spoiling for a fight and wouldn’t listen to a thing Neco said (in actuality it was God who said it). Though King Josiah disguised himself when they met on the plain of Megiddo, archers shot him anyway.

The king said to his servants, “Get me out of here—I’m badly wounded.”

24–25  So his servants took him out of his chariot and laid him down in an ambulance chariot and drove him back to Jerusalem. He died there and was buried in the family cemetery. Everybody in Judah and Jerusalem attended the funeral. Jeremiah composed an anthem of lament for Josiah. The anthem is still sung by the choirs of Israel to this day. The anthem is written in the Laments.

26–1  The rest of the history of Josiah, his exemplary and devout life, conformed to The Revelation of God. The whole story, from start to finish, is written in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Today's Scripture

Genesis 25:29–34

One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!” That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red).

31  Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.”

32  Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?”

33–34  Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn.

Insight

In the biblical world, the birthright of the firstborn son involved both special material benefits and spiritual privileges. The firstborn was entitled to a double portion of the paternal inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17). More important, the firstborn was the head and spiritual leader of the family. The family line was maintained through the firstborn, even if other sons were named (see 1 Chronicles 7:1-4). In the case of Jacob and Esau, the birthright determined who would inherit the blessings of God’s covenant with Abraham—the inheritance of a land, a nation, and the line that would produce the Messiah. Although Jacob valued the birthright, he deceitfully took it from his brother (Genesis 27:35-36). But Esau’s willingness to abandon his spiritual birthright for immediate physical gratification showed that he “despised” spiritual things (25:34), thus disqualifying him as unfit to be the lineage from which the Messiah would come. He was considered “godless” (Hebrews 12:16). By: K. T. Sim

God Alone Can Satisfy

When Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in [and] said to Jacob, . . . “I’m famished!” Genesis 25:29–30

A thousand dollars of food—jumbo shrimp, shawarma, salads, and more—was delivered to a homeowner. But the man wasn’t having a party. In fact, he didn’t order the smorgasbord; his six-year-old son did. How did this happen? The father let his son play with his phone before bedtime, and the boy used it to purchase the expensive bounty from several restaurants. “Why did you do this?” the father asked his son, who was hiding under his comforter. The six-year-old replied, “I was hungry.” The boy’s appetite and immaturity led to a costly outcome. 

Esau’s appetite cost him a lot more than a thousand dollars. The story in Genesis 25 finds him exhausted and desperate for food. He said to his brother, “Let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (v. 30). Jacob responded by asking for Esau’s birthright (v. 31). The birthright included Esau’s special place as the firstborn son, the blessing of God’s promises, a double portion of the inheritance, and the privilege of being the spiritual leader of the family. Giving in to his appetite, Esau “ate and drank” and “despised his birthright” (v. 34).

When we’re tempted and desire something, instead of letting our appetites lead us to costly mistakes and sin, let’s reach out to our heavenly Father—the One who alone satisfies the hungry soul “with good things” (Psalm 107:9). By:  Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

When have you allowed temptation to cost you a great deal? Why can only God satisfy your deepest longings?

Dear God, please help me to remember my spiritual birthright when I’m tempted to sin.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Yielding

…you are that one’s slaves whom you obey… —Romans 6:16

The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.

If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielded, you become enslaved to that thing. (Remember what lust is— “I must have it now,” whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escape from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. “…He has anointed Me…to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1).

When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, “He will break every fetter,” while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23-25; Mark 14:1-26

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Death's Big Question - #9699

It was heart-wrenching. The whole world seemed to be talking about Brittany Maynard's medical death sentence. It happened some years ago, she was a young wife, in love with her husband, and looking forward to having children. And then she was told that her incurable cancer would, after a painful decline, take her young life.

It was controversial. Her decision to take the pill that would end her life on the day - and in the way - of her choosing. Her state's "assisted suicide" law afforded her that choice.

Her decision added a face and more fuel to what is one of the deeply emotional debates of our time. Should a person have the right to legally abbreviate their suffering and hasten their death?

Now, some were very quick to pass judgment on a woman who was gone and being grieved. Some were quick to canonize her as the symbol of a crusade to legalize a decision like hers.

But I was processing this kind of thing on a personal level. I couldn't help thinking about the young people we've loved who've chosen to die because of the pain of a break-up or a tragedy in their family. I've been at their agonizing funerals. I've held the shattered loved ones, I've seen the ones devastated for life by their loved one's choice.

And then, I remember the people who've deeply touched my life - and many others - with this supernatural hope they radiated from their deathbed suffering.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Death's Big Question."

For me, I cling to the Bible's assertion that "all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." And, as Job said, that "man's days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months..." (Job 14:5). In other words God has given me my life.

But for all the questions this tragic situation has raised, they leave unaddressed the most important question death raises.

Not about what leads up to it. But what happens after it.

Again, I'm driven to the only One I believe can be trusted as the authority on that question. The One who gave me my life. In the world's best-selling book, the Bible, it says, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Well to say the least, that's disturbing. But it's vital to know.

I actually think many of us have a sense of that buried somewhere in our soul. That we'll meet God on the other side of our last heartbeat. And we will face our defiance of the One who made us. By pushing Him to the edge of the life He gave us. And hijacking the running of our lives from our Creator.

Our worst nightmare is being unprepared for my appointment with God. That's why in our word for today from the Word of God in Amos 4:12, the Jewish prophet Amos said, "Prepare to meet your God."

Well I know only one way to be ready to meet a sinless God. My only hope is to have every sin of my life - of which there are many - somehow erased.

Then I hear across the centuries the words of Jesus as He was dying on the cross. "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34). The Bible actually says that Jesus "carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).

I decided to take Jesus at His word. "Whoever believes in the Son [That's Jesus, the Son of God] has eternal life" (John 3:36). See, that's the word that Jesus added to "life." "Eternal."

I believe Him because He didn't just talk about eternal life. He proved He's got it to give. By walking out of His grave three days after He died. He's the only one who ever has. And this very day He stands ready to walk into your life. And not only forgive your sin, but to secure for you, once and for all, a place in Heaven. He already paid for it when He died on the cross for you. And you can know from this day forward, you are ready to live, you are ready to die, and you are Heaven bound. Do you want that? Would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours" today? Go to our website and you'll find there the very information from God's Word that will lead you right into a relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com.

Because Jesus has answered forever death's most important question - "Are you ready to meet the God who's on the other side?"

Acts 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: KNOW GOD’S VOICE - March 13, 2024

We waste so much nervous energy trying to make decisions. We can stress less when we remember three things: Gather the facts. What are the odds that the thing you are worrying about will ever occur? Control what you can control. Weather? You can’t control it, but you can watch the forecast. Don’t second-guess yourself. Make the best decision you can with the facts at hand. Pray, and take the next step.

When you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep – read Scripture. Distinguish between God’s voice and the voice of fear. Worry takes a look at catastrophes and groans, “It’s all coming unraveled.” God says, “every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good” (Romans 8:28 MSG). Worry never sleeps, but God’s children do.

Acts 24

Paul States His Defense

1–4  24 Within five days, the Chief Priest Ananias arrived with a contingent of leaders, along with Tertullus, a trial lawyer. They presented the governor with their case against Paul. When Paul was called before the court, Tertullus spoke for the prosecution: “Most Honorable Felix, we are most grateful in all times and places for your wise and gentle rule. We are much aware that it is because of you and you alone that we enjoy all this peace and gain daily profit from your reforms. I’m not going to tire you out with a long speech. I beg your kind indulgence in listening to me. I’ll be quite brief.

5–8  “We’ve found this man time and again disturbing the peace, stirring up riots against Jews all over the world, the ringleader of a seditious sect called Nazarenes. He’s a real bad apple, I must say. We caught him trying to defile our holy Temple and arrested him. You’ll be able to verify all these accusations when you examine him yourself.”

9  The Jews joined in: “Hear, hear! That’s right!”

10–13  The governor motioned to Paul that it was now his turn. Paul said, “I count myself fortunate to be defending myself before you, Governor, knowing how fair-minded you’ve been in judging us all these years. I’ve been back in the country only twelve days—you can check out these dates easily enough. I came with the express purpose of worshiping in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and I’ve been minding my own business the whole time. Nobody can say they saw me arguing in the Temple or working up a crowd in the streets. Not one of their charges can be backed up with evidence or witnesses.

14–15  “But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way, which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshiped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures. And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that’s my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am.

16–19  “Believe me, I do my level best to keep a clear conscience before God and my neighbors in everything I do. I’ve been out of the country for a number of years and now I’m back. While I was away, I took up a collection for the poor and brought that with me, along with offerings for the Temple. It was while making those offerings that they found me quietly at my prayers in the Temple. There was no crowd, there was no disturbance. It was some Jews from around Ephesus who started all this trouble. And you’ll notice they’re not here today. They’re cowards, too cowardly to accuse me in front of you.

20–21  “So ask these others what crime they’ve caught me in. Don’t let them hide behind this smooth-talking Tertullus. The only thing they have on me is that one sentence I shouted out in the council: ‘It’s because I believe in the resurrection that I’ve been hauled into this court!’ Does that sound to you like grounds for a criminal case?”

22–23  Felix shilly-shallied. He knew far more about the Way than he let on, and could have settled the case then and there. But uncertain of his best move politically, he played for time. “When Captain Lysias comes down, I’ll decide your case.” He gave orders to the centurion to keep Paul in custody, but to more or less give him the run of the place and not prevent his friends from helping him.

24–26  A few days later Felix and his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, sent for Paul and listened to him talk about a life of believing in Jesus Christ. As Paul continued to insist on right relations with God and his people, about a life of moral discipline and the coming Judgment, Felix felt things getting a little too close for comfort and dismissed him. “That’s enough for today. I’ll call you back when it’s convenient.” At the same time he was secretly hoping that Paul would offer him a substantial bribe. These conversations were repeated frequently.

27  After two years of this, Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus. Still playing up to the Jews and ignoring justice, Felix left Paul in prison.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 118:1–9

Thank God because he’s good,

because his love never quits.

Tell the world, Israel,

“His love never quits.”

And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world,

“His love never quits.”

And you who fear God, join in,

“His love never quits.”

5–16  Pushed to the wall, I called to God;

from the wide open spaces, he answered.

God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid;

who would dare lay a hand on me?

God’s my strong champion;

I flick off my enemies like flies.

Far better to take refuge in God

than trust in people;

Far better to take refuge in God

than trust in celebrities.

Insight

Psalm 118 is one of six psalms (Psalms 113-118) called the “Egyptian Hallel.” These were used when observing Passover, the time when Jewish people remember God delivering them from slavery in Egypt. Psalm 118, the final psalm in this grouping, was used to conclude the Passover meal.

A thanksgiving psalm, it celebrates God’s hesed—a significant Hebrew word meaning “loyal, faithful, or steadfast love” (translated “love” in the niv). The psalm begins and ends with an invitation to praise God because “his love endures forever” (vv. 1, 29).

In the New Testament, nearing the hours before His suffering and death, Jesus would refer to Himself as the fulfillment of Psalm 118:22—“the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (see Matthew 21:42). His sacrifice would be the greatest demonstration of God’s faithful love. By: Monica La Rose

Cries of Distress

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. Psalm 118:5

Trapped under two floors of collapsed rubble caused by an earthquake, five-year-old Jinan, a Syrian girl, called out to rescuers as she shielded her little brother from the debris surrounding them. “Get me out of here; I’ll do anything for you,” she called heartbreakingly. “I’ll be your servant.”

Cries of distress are found throughout the Psalms: “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord” (118:5). While we may never experience the crushing weight of earthquake-collapsed buildings, we all recognize the suffocating fears from a challenging medical diagnosis, economic hardship, uncertainty about the future, or relational loss.

In those moments we may offer bargains to God for deliverance. But God doesn’t need to be persuaded to help. He promises to answer, and while it may not be relief from our situation, He’ll be with us and on our side. Nor do we need to fear any other peril—including death. We can say with the psalmist, “The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies” (v. 7).

We’re not promised as dramatic a rescue as Jinan and her brother experienced, but we can trust our faithful God, who brought the psalmist “into a spacious place” (v. 5). He knows our situation and He’ll never abandon us, even in death. By:  Matt Lucas

Reflect & Pray

How has God shown Himself faithful when you’re in distress? How have you recognized His presence during difficult times?

Heavenly Father, I call to You knowing that You hear me. Thank You for being faithful and loving.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

God’s Total Surrender to Us

For God so loved the world that He gave… —John 3:16

Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.

To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.

If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.

The Place of Help

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 20-22; Mark 13:21-37

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Weapon of Mass Destruction - in Your Mouth - #9698

My three kids once gave me the most unique gift. It was called The Terminator. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was this little black, plastic control device. It looked sort of like uh... that remote control switch for a television, and it had three buttons on it. One said Missile Launcher, and when you press that button, it was supposed to make the appropriate sound of a missile being fired and exploding. Then you had a button for Machine Gun. And that had the appropriate rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun. And if all else failed, you had the Death Ray. That was the other button, and it made sort of a surreal type of sound that lets you know that you've got the ultimate weapon in your hand.

Now, The Terminator was very helpful when you're behind slow traffic for example. Now, you wonder what the use is? Well, if the drivers in front of you were really making you impatient, you just launched a missile, or let go with your machine gun, or you hit them with a death ray. I'm not really encouraging this, I'm telling you about what they gave me. Now, it really didn't do anything, it was just some sort of emotional release. Praying would be better probably. Or maybe someone was coming into your office or your house that you didn't want to see. All you need to do: hit that machine gun; get the message right away to them. I know, it's crazy. Somebody was making big money providing us with this harmless weapon for letting out our frustrations. I actually have had a Terminator long before they gave me that gift. Actually, we all have a terminator, and it really terminates.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Weapon of Mass Destruction - in Your Mouth."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 12:18. It says this: "Reckless words pierce like a sword." It talks about the ability of our tongue and our words to cut very deeply. Now, the "cutter" seldom knows how deeply the "cut-ee" has been wounded or for how long that wound may last. We can all remember the names we've been called, we remember criticism that has been leveled against us, put-downs that were aimed in our direction. You know what? I'll bet you the person who said them has long forgotten them, but they're still a part of our personality. Reckless words pierce like a sword; they go deep. In fact, so deep that Proverbs 18:21 goes on to say, "The tongue has the power of life and death."

All day long you and I are giving out life sentences and death sentences; sentences that either make people feel more alive or feel like they're dying inside. There are some life sentences like, "Man, you look great today!" Or, "Thanks for what you've been doing." Or, "You know, what you're doing is really important. How can I help you?"

But it's the death sentences I'm concerned about; the ones that make people feel like they're dying inside when we say them. We terminate people inwardly without even realizing it. In fact, research shows that it takes seven positives to bring a person back to zero from one negative they've had in their life.

I wonder if that's the ratio at your house. Do you have seven praises for every one negative? How about the rest of your relationships? We're piercing people deeply with the names we call them, the accusations against them, the put-downs, the sarcasm, the criticisms, even well intended criticisms. It's no wonder that David said to the Lord, "Put a watch in front of my mouth." We should too.

Oh, I could push buttons on my plastic terminator, and I could make some noises that did no real damage. But you and I have a real terminator. This tongue we've got is daily either making people feel more alive or more destroyed inside.

So, hold the put-downs, swallow the sarcasm, and cushion the criticism. Remember, your tongue can be The Terminator.

Zephaniah 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FUEL YOUR FAITH - March 12, 2024

Trying to control all the details of your world is exhausting. Only God has the power to see and know everything, but we forget.  And before long, we’re back at it—running too fast, working too many hours, and trying to control everyone and everything around us. What do you do when you run out of gas?

To avoid suffering from a fuel-less faith, you need to fill yourself with some high-test fuel. Try some Philippians. Like chapter 1 in verse 6: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And then chapter 4 in verse 13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Fill your tank with verses like these, and remember: God is able to do what you can’t.

Zephaniah 3

Sewer City

1–5  3 Doom to the rebellious city,

the home of oppressors—Sewer City!

The city that wouldn’t take advice,

wouldn’t accept correction,

Wouldn’t trust God,

wouldn’t even get close to her own god!

Her very own leaders

are rapacious lions,

Her judges are rapacious timber wolves

out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.

Her prophets are out for what they can get.

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

Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.

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

Yet God remains righteous in her midst,

untouched by the evil.

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

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

But evil men and women, without conscience

and without shame, persist in evil.

6  “So I cut off the godless nations.

I knocked down their defense posts,

Filled her roads with rubble

so no one could get through.

Her cities were bombed-out ruins,

unlivable and unlived in.

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

accept my discipline and correction,

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

find relief from the punishment I’m bringing.’

But it didn’t faze her. Bright and early

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

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

God’s Decree.

“Your day in court is coming,

but remember I’ll be there to bring evidence.

I’ll bring all the nations to the courtroom,

round up all the kingdoms,

And let them feel the brunt of my anger,

my raging wrath.

My zeal is a fire

that will purge and purify the earth.

God Is in Charge at the Center

9–13  “In the end I will turn things around for the people.

I’ll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted,

Words to address God in worship

and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel.

They’ll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers,

they’ll come praying—

All my scattered, exiled people

will come home with offerings for worship.

You’ll no longer have to be ashamed

of all those acts of rebellion.

I’ll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.

No more pious strutting on my holy hill!

I’ll leave a core of people among you

who are poor in spirit—

What’s left of Israel that’s really Israel.

They’ll make their home in God.

This core holy people

will not do wrong.

They won’t lie,

won’t use words to flatter or seduce.

Content with who they are and where they are,

unanxious, they’ll live at peace.”

14–15  So sing, Daughter Zion!

Raise the rafters, Israel!

Daughter Jerusalem,

be happy! celebrate!

God has reversed his judgments against you

and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.

From now on, God is Israel’s king,

in charge at the center.

There’s nothing to fear from evil

ever again!

God Is Present Among You

16–17  Jerusalem will be told:

“Don’t be afraid.

Dear Zion,

don’t despair.

Your God is present among you,

a strong Warrior there to save you.

Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love

and delight you with his songs.

18–20  “The accumulated sorrows of your exile

will dissipate.

I, your God, will get rid of them for you.

You’ve carried those burdens long enough.

At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those

who’ve made your life miserable.

I’ll heal the maimed;

I’ll bring home the homeless.

In the very countries where they were hated

they will be venerated.

On Judgment Day

I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering!

You’ll be famous and honored

all over the world.

You’ll see it with your own eyes—

all those painful partings turned into reunions!”

God’s Promise.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Today's Scripture

Esther 4:10–17

Esther talked it over with Hathach and then sent him back to Mordecai with this message: “Everyone who works for the king here, and even the people out in the provinces, knows that there is a single fate for every man or woman who approaches the king without being invited: death. The one exception is if the king extends his gold scepter; then he or she may live. And it’s been thirty days now since I’ve been invited to come to the king.”

12–14  When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”

15–16  Esther sent back her answer to Mordecai: “Go and get all the Jews living in Susa together. Fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, either day or night. I and my maids will fast with you. If you will do this, I’ll go to the king, even though it’s forbidden. If I die, I die.”

17  Mordecai left and carried out Esther’s instructions.

Insight

Ezra and Nehemiah give the account of the small remnant of the Jews who returned to Judea after the Babylonian exile. Esther records the events of the Jews who chose to remain in Babylon. This story took place in Susa (modern Iran) during the reign of Persian King Xerxes (Esther 1:1-2, 486–465 bc). Interestingly, Esther is the only book in the Bible where God isn’t mentioned. Yet, it speaks volumes of God’s providential care and protection when He used a young Jewish woman to save her people from legally mandated genocide. This story explains the origin of the festival of Purim, where Jews commemorate being saved from extermination. Haman had cast a lot (pur) to determine on which day to destroy the Jews (9:24); the festival is a reminder that God is the one in control (vv. 20-32). 

Examine how God used women in the Bible.  By: K. T. Sim

Courage in Christ

I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. Esther 4:16

Near the dawn of the twentieth century, Mary McDowell lived worlds apart from the brutal stockyards of Chicago. Although her home was just twenty miles away, she knew little about the horrific labor conditions that prompted workers in the stockyards to strike. Once she learned of the difficulties faced by them and their families, McDowell moved in and lived among them—advocating for better conditions. She ministered to their needs, including teaching children at a school in the back of a small shop.

Standing up for better conditions for others—even when not directly impacted—is something Esther did as well. She was the queen of Persia (Esther 2:17) and had a different set of privileges than her Israelite people who’d been dispersed throughout Persia as exiles. Yet Esther took up the cause of the Israelites in Persia and risked her life for them, saying, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (4:16). She could have remained silent, for her husband, the king, didn’t know she was Jewish (2:10). But, choosing not to ignore her relatives’ pleas for help, she worked courageously to reveal an evil plot to destroy the Jews.

We may not be able to take on massive causes like Mary McDowell or Queen Esther, but may we choose to see the needs of others and use what God has provided to help them. By:  Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

How are you using what you possess to help others? What role can you play in providing for those who may not live near you?

Dear God, please give me the wisdom and courage to serve those in need.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Total Surrender

Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." —Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (Mark 10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’ ” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.

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: Deuteronomy 17-19; Mark 13:1-20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Living Like Royalty - #9697

Our daughter has been a married woman for a while. But there's one thing about our conversations that hasn't changed from when she was a very little girl. One of us will call the other one, and I might be real busy, but I'll just dive right into the conversation. At which point my daughter might say, "Wait, Dad. You didn't say it." I know what she means - "Hi, Princess." See that started when she was a little baby in my arms. I will almost always say to her, as I did when she was a little baby, "I love you, Princess." To this day she wants to hear that name.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Like Royalty."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 6. I'm going to begin reading in the middle of verse 16 where it says, "We are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them. And I will be their God and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters' says the Lord Almighty."

I remember when I was a kid, speakers would come in and they would talk about this. "Come out from among them and be separate." And they were telling us not to be worldly and to avoid certain worldly amusements, which was probably a good idea. It was usually accompanied by a list of don'ts.

Now, God calls for us to be separate from the unclean things in the world. But notice the invitation comes with a crown. Look at the context. He basically says, "Do you know who you are? You're my people. I walk among you. I'm a Father to you. You are the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." I think that means you are royalty, right? If He's the King, what does that make you? You're His son or daughter.

You might as well put Prince in front of your name, or Princess. See, that's how God feels about you. That's who He thinks you are. And because you're royalty, that's the reason you say, "Wait! I am a prince in God's family. I am a princess in God's family. I can't touch that. I can't watch that. I shouldn't go there. I can't listen to that." It's not a matter of legalism. It's a matter of who you are, it's a matter of identity, it's a matter of being His royal child.

Now, how come you may not feel like royalty right now? Maybe you've been hurt, rejected or abused. You've been sinned against or you've sinned. If you take your worth from earth, you'll probably think you're a loser and you'll keep making loser choices. But if you take your worth from your Father, the King, you will know you're royalty and you will make royal choices. Isn't it about time you started making royal choices?

Sometimes you just want to grab a child or young person who doesn't realize who they are and say, "You're better than this, man! Do you know who you are?" That's what God is doing with you. It affects how you treat your mate, because now you see them as a prince or a princess; your kids, the people in your church, your coworkers, your friends. Don't cheapen yourself or do something that could embarrass the name of the King whose child you are.

Maybe you've been away from Him. You've been doing un-royal things in your life. This is your day to come home. Quit believing the lie - the lie-dentities. Return to your Father, the King.

Maybe you've never experienced this incredible sense of being loved by God, knowing you are loved by God, knowing you are valued by Him like this because you've never begun a love relationship with Him. That love relationship begins at the cross of Jesus, where the Son of God thought you were so valuable He gave His life and shed His blood for you. And then walked out of His grave under His own power to walk into your life someday.

You want to experience that love for yourself and experience how special you are? Well, then today would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." I want to help you begin that relationship, and know that you have. Go to our website, would you please? It's ANewStory.com.

Listen to your Father as He calls you "Prince" or "Princess." He says, "I love you, my Prince. I love you my Princess. Now live like who you are."

Zephaniah 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: WIN THE WAR ON WORRY - March 11, 2024

ant to win the war on worry? Rejoice in the Lord’s strength, faithfulness, and accomplishments. Rejoice in his creation, his incarnation, and his act of redemption. Anxiety decreases as our understanding of the Lord increases.

Want to see if your heart is weighed down with worry? Look for these clues:

Are you laughing less than you once did?

Do you see problems in every promise?

Would those who know you best describe you as increasingly negative and critical?

Do you assume something bad is going to happen?

How many days would you rather stay in bed than get up?

If given the chance, would you avoid any interaction with humanity for the rest of your life?

If you answered yes to more than a few of these questions, the Prince of Peace stands ready to help trade your cares for calm.

Zephaniah 2

Seek God

1–2  2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!

You’re a nation without a clue about what it wants.

Do it before you’re blown away

like leaves in a windstorm,

Before God’s Judgment-anger

sweeps down on you,

Before God’s Judgment Day wrath

descends with full force.

3  Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people

who live by God’s justice.

Seek God’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.

Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of God’s anger.

All Earth-Made Gods Will Blow Away

4–5  Gaza is scheduled for demolition,

Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon,

Ekron pulled out by the roots.

Doom to the seaside people,

the seafaring people from Crete!

The Word of God is bad news for you

who settled Canaan, the Philistine country:

“You’re slated for destruction—

no survivors!”

6–7  The lands of the seafarers

will become pastureland,

A country for shepherds and sheep.

What’s left of the family of Judah will get it.

Day after day they’ll pasture by the sea,

and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep.

Their very own God will look out for them.

He’ll make things as good as before.

8–12  “I’ve heard the crude taunts of Moab,

the mockeries flung by Ammon,

The cruel talk they’ve used to put down my people,

their self-important strutting along Israel’s borders.

Therefore, as sure as I am the living God,” says

God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

Israel’s personal God,

“Moab will become a ruin like Sodom,

Ammon a ghost town like Gomorrah,

One a field of rocks, the other a sterile salt flat,

a moonscape forever.

What’s left of my people will finish them off,

will pick them clean and take over.

This is what they get for their bloated pride,

their taunts and mockeries of the people

of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.

All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;

And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,

will fall to the ground and worship him.

Also you Ethiopians,

you, too, will die—I’ll see to it.”

13–15  Then God will reach into the north

and destroy Assyria.

He will waste Nineveh,

leave her dry and treeless as a desert.

The ghost town of a city,

the haunt of wild animals,

Nineveh will be home to raccoons and coyotes—

they’ll bed down in its ruins.

Owls will hoot in the windows, ravens will croak in the doorways—

all that fancy woodwork now a perch for birds.

Can this be the famous Fun City

that had it made,

That boasted, “I’m the Number-One City!

I’m King of the Mountain!”

So why is the place deserted,

a lair for wild animals?

Passersby hardly give it a look;

they dismiss it with a gesture.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, March 11, 2024

Today's Scripture

Ecclesiastes 9:7–10

Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,

Drink wine with a robust heart.

Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!

Dress festively every morning.

Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.

Relish life with the spouse you love

Each and every day of your precarious life.

Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange

For the hard work of staying alive.

Make the most of each one!

Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!

This is your last and only chance at it,

For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think

In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.

Insight

The book of Ecclesiastes includes many sayings that compel readers to affirm that life “under the sun” is complex and “utterly meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). The writer reminds us that life on earth includes times of head-scratching, groaning, and pain. His realism is quite sobering, even jarring. Yet, his observations and life assessments also include heartwarming truth like what’s expressed in Ecclesiastes 9:7-10. In his book Something New Under the Sun, Ray Pritchard uses the chapter title “Have a Blast While You Last” for these verses. Indeed, life is to be embraced, treasured, and celebrated as a precious gift from an awesome Creator. The apostle Paul reminds us that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17). We must never forget that—along with our rich spiritual heritage in Jesus—our provisions from a good God include food and drink (Ecclesiastes 9:7), loving companionship (v. 9), and worthwhile labors (vv. 9-10). By: Arthur Jackson

Remember the Creator

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.  Ecclesiastes 9:7

I recently read a novel about a woman who refuses to acknowledge she has terminal cancer. When Nicola’s exasperated friends force her to face the truth, the reason for her avoidance emerges. “I’ve wasted my life,” she tells them. Though born with talents and wealth, “I made nothing of my life. I was sloppy. I never stuck at anything.” The prospect of leaving the world now, feeling she’d achieved little, was too painful for Nicola to contemplate.

I was reading Ecclesiastes around the same time and found the contrast stark. Its Teacher won’t let us avoid the reality of the grave, “the realm of the dead, where you are going” (9:10). And while this is hard to face (v. 2), it can lead us to value every moment we have now (v. 4), intentionally enjoying our food and families (vv. 7–9), working purposefully (v. 10), taking adventures and risks (11:1, 6), and doing it all before the God we’ll one day answer to (v. 9; 12:13–14).

Nicola’s friends point out that her faithfulness and generosity to them proves her life hasn’t been a waste. But maybe the Teacher’s advice can save us all from such a crisis at the end of our lives: remember our Creator (12:1), follow His ways, and embrace every opportunity to live and love that today He provides.

By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

How will you take delight in today’s simple, God-honoring joys? What one good thing have you yet to do or attempt?

Loving God, thank You for today and the gifts it holds. I’ll enjoy its simple joys and embrace its opportunities as an act of worship to You.

Learn more about the book of Ecclesiastes.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, March 11, 2024

Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”

I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19

If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).

It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus.  Facing Reality, 34 R

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, March 11, 2024

The Voice You Can Trust - #9696

I must have like one of those voices. I never get to tell people who it is when I call them on the phone. I say, "Hi, this is..." And they'll say, "Hi, Ron." Now, most people do have to announce who it is, at least the first few times they call. Think about someone who you call for the first time and you have to give them your full name. So I might say, "Hello, this is Ron Hutchcraft." Then after a couple of times talking with them you just give your first name, "Hi, this is Ron." Then there's the teenage version - no greeting, no hello. They just jump right into the latest gossip. You don't even have to identify who it is; they talk so often...usually several times a day. Or texting back and forth, messaging. I guess we all have voices that ultimately need no identification. After all, it's the voices we've heard so much.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Voice You Can Trust."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 10. I'm reading verse 3. "The watchman opens the gate for the Shepherd and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and He leads them out. And when He's brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them. And His sheep follow Him because they know His voice."

Now, dropping down to verse 27: "My sheep," Jesus said, "listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me." Now, here's this great picture: me sheep, Him shepherd. That's really what the Christian life boils down to, and the sheep are doing the only thing that they ought to do if they want to have everything that they need. They follow the Shepherd. And three times in these three verses Jesus talks about how they listen to His voice and they know His voice. Why? Well, for the same reason that a frequent caller doesn't need to identify himself when he calls. You've heard that voice so many times you know what He sounds like.

Would you put yourself in this category: a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you one of those? Well, you can't be a follower according to what Jesus is saying here unless you're a listener first. Following Christ is not some passive or official status you have because you made a commitment one time. A follower of Christ follows because he listens first. "Those who hear My voice."

Now, each day the Lord is trying to speak to you about choices to make, people to talk to, ideas He wants to plant in your head. And there are lots of other voices. How do you know which voices, which tugs are from Him? Well, you have to be used to listening to Jesus. How do you do that? Well, you've got to meet Him daily. In the morning before you start the day, you ask Him to use His Word, the Bible, and apply it to your life - to that day. Then, that day, having heard His voice, before you've heard any other voice, you consciously obey Him in that area that He talked to you about. And you listen during the day for His inner direction. He'll direct you into the middle of a lot of God sightings.

You know what area of life you've trusted Him with because you've responded to His voice through His Word. So, you're daily listening, daily responding. You do that day after day, and an exciting thing will happen. You'll begin to say at certain moments, "Now, that doesn't sound like what Jesus sounds like." "Now, that does sound like Him. I've been listening, and that's how His voice sounds...how He speaks." Now, you're a follower of Christ.

So, you begin your day by getting used to His voice before you hear any others. Then, when you're getting six voices at once, you'll know your Shepherd's direction from all the rest. You'll sense the call - the tug of Jesus that you heard just this morning, and that you've heard so often. And you'll say, "I know that voice."

Zephaniah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Christ in You

When grace happens, Christ enters.  Christ in you, the hope of glory!  For many years, I missed this truth.  I believed all the other prepositions: Christ for me, with me, ahead of me.  But I never imagined that Christ was in me.

I can't blame my deficiency on Scripture. Paul refers to the indwelling Christ 216 times.  John mentions his presence 26 times.  No other religion or philosophy makes such a claim.  No other movement implies the living presence of its founder in his followers.

Muhammad does not indwell Muslims.  Buddha does not inhabit Buddhists. Influence?  Instruct?  Yes.  But occupy?  No!

The mystery of Christianity is summarized in Colossians 1:27, "Christ is in you!"  The Christian is a person in whom Christ is happening!  Little by little a new image emerges!  All because of God's Grace!

From GRACE

Zephaniah 1

No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer

1  1 God’s Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:

2  “I’m going to make a clean sweep of the earth,

a thorough housecleaning.” God’s Decree.

3  “Men and women and animals,

including birds and fish—

Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,

but especially people.

4–6  “I’ll start with Judah

and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.

I’ll sweep the place clean of every trace

of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.

I’ll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night

to worship the star gods and goddesses;

Also those who continue to worship God

but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;

Not to mention those who’ve dumped God altogether,

no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.

7–13  “Quiet now!

Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!

Time’s up. My Judgment Day is near:

The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.

On the Holy Day, God’s Judgment Day,

I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;

I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,

Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;

And I’ll punish all who import pagan superstitions

that turn holy places into hellholes.

Judgment Day!” God’s Decree!

“Cries of panic from the city’s Fish Gate,

Cries of terror from the city’s Second Quarter,

sounds of great crashing from the hills!

Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!

Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.

On Judgment Day,

I’ll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.

I’ll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,

amusing themselves and taking it easy,

Who think, ‘God doesn’t do anything, good or bad.

He isn’t involved, so neither are we.’

But just wait. They’ll lose everything they have,

money and house and land.

They’ll build a house and never move in.

They’ll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.

A Day of Darkness at Noon

14–18  “The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.

It’s countdown time: … seven, six, five, four …

Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,

even strong men screaming for help.

Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of catastrophic doom,

a day of darkness at noon,

a day of black storm clouds,

a day of bloodcurdling war cries,

as forts are assaulted,

as defenses are smashed.

I’ll make things so bad they won’t know what hit them.

They’ll walk around groping like the blind.

They’ve sinned against God!

Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,

their guts shoveled into slop buckets.

Don’t plan on buying your way out.

Your money is worthless for this.

This is the Day of God’s Judgment—my wrath!

I care about sin with fiery passion—

A fire to burn up the corrupted world,

a wildfire finish to the corrupting people.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 104:24–35

What a wildly wonderful world, God!

You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,

made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,

brimming with fish past counting,

sardines and sharks and salmon.

Ships plow those waters,

and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.

All the creatures look expectantly to you

to give them their meals on time.

You come, and they gather around;

you open your hand and they eat from it.

If you turned your back,

they’d die in a minute—

Take back your Spirit and they die,

revert to original mud;

Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—

the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.

31–32  The glory of God—let it last forever!

Let God enjoy his creation!

He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,

points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.

33–35  Oh, let me sing to God all my life long,

sing hymns to my God as long as I live!

Oh, let my song please him;

I’m so pleased to be singing to God.

But clear the ground of sinners—

no more godless men and women!

O my soul, bless God!

Insight

Psalm 104:3-30 parallels the creation account in Genesis; for instance, verses 25-26 mirror Genesis 1:20-28 and verses 27-30 pair with Genesis 1:29-31. Psalm 104:32, however, evokes the scene not at creation but when Israel gathered as “the Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20). Having recounted God’s works of creation, the psalmist praises His awesome power: “He who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke” (Psalm 104:32). This matches Exodus 19:18: “The smoke billowed up from [Sinai] like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.” By: Tim Gustafson

God Made Them All

How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all. Psalm 104:24

My three-year old son, Xavier, squeezed my hand as we entered the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. Pointing to a life-size sculpture of a humpback whale suspended from the ceiling, he said, “Enormous!” His wide-eyed joy continued as we explored each exhibit. We laughed as the otters splish-splashed during feeding time. We stood in silence in front of a large glass aquarium window, mesmerized by the golden-brown jellyfish dancing in the electric blue water. “God made every creature in the ocean,” I said, “just like He made you and me.” Xavier whispered, “Wow.”

In Psalm 104, the psalmist acknowledged God’s abounding creation and sang, “In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (v. 24). He declared, “There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small” (v. 25). He proclaimed God’s generous and satisfying provision for all He created (vv. 27–28). He also affirmed that God has determined the days of each one’s existence (vv. 29–30).

We can join the psalmist in singing this declaration of devotion: “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (v. 33). Every creature that exists, from the big to the small, can lead us to praise because God made them all. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

When has exploring the wonderful world God made led you to praise Him? How has He used His creation to deepen your faith in His power and provision?

All-powerful Creator and Sustainer of all, You’re so worthy of all my praise!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Being an Example of His Message

Preach the word! —2 Timothy 4:2

We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message— “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.

There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God’s truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. “…you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8).

Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory.

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: Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 12:1-27

Acts 23:16-35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Do Something

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6”

Healing begins when you do something. God’s help is near and always available, but it’s given to those who seek it. Healing starts when you take a step. God honors radical, risk-taking faith.

When arks are built, lives are saved. When soldiers march, Jerichos tumble.

When staffs are raised, seas still open. When a lunch is shared, thousands are fed.

And when a garment is touched by the hand of an anemic woman in Galilee—Jesus stops!

He stops and responds.

Compared to God’s part, our part is minuscule—but necessary. We don’t have to do much, but we do have to do something! Faith with no effort is not faith at all!

Write a letter. Ask forgiveness.

Call a counselor. Call a mom!

Visit a doctor. Be baptized.

Feed a hungry person.

Pray. Teach. Go.

God honors radical, risk-taking faith. And He will respond.

Acts 23:16-35

Paul’s nephew, his sister’s son, overheard them plotting the ambush. He went immediately to the barracks and told Paul. Paul called over one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the captain. He has something important to tell him.”

18  The centurion brought him to the captain and said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He said he has something urgent to tell you.”

19  The captain took him by the arm and led him aside privately. “What is it? What do you have to tell me?”

20–21  Paul’s nephew said, “The Jews have worked up a plot against Paul. They’re going to ask you to bring Paul to the council first thing in the morning on the pretext that they want to investigate the charges against him in more detail. But it’s a trick to get him out of your safekeeping so they can murder him. Right now there are more than forty men lying in ambush for him. They’ve all taken a vow to neither eat nor drink until they’ve killed him. The ambush is set—all they’re waiting for is for you to send him over.”

22  The captain dismissed the nephew with a warning: “Don’t breathe a word of this to a soul.”

23–24  The captain called up two centurions. “Get two hundred soldiers ready to go immediately to Caesarea. Also seventy cavalry and two hundred light infantry. I want them ready to march by nine o’clock tonight. And you’ll need a couple of mules for Paul and his gear. We’re going to present this man safe and sound to Governor Felix.”

25–30  Then he wrote this letter:

From Claudius Lysias, to the Most Honorable Governor Felix:

Greetings!

I rescued this man from a Jewish mob. They had seized him and were about to kill him when I learned that he was a Roman citizen. So I sent in my soldiers. Wanting to know what he had done wrong, I had him brought before their council. It turned out to be a squabble turned vicious over some of their religious differences, but nothing remotely criminal.

The next thing I knew, they had cooked up a plot to murder him. I decided that for his own safety I’d better get him out of here in a hurry. So I’m sending him to you. I’m informing his accusers that he’s now under your jurisdiction.

31–33  The soldiers, following orders, took Paul that same night to safety in Antipatris. In the morning the soldiers returned to their barracks in Jerusalem, sending Paul on to Caesarea under guard of the cavalry. The cavalry entered Caesarea and handed Paul and the letter over to the governor.

34–35  After reading the letter, the governor asked Paul what province he came from and was told “Cilicia.” Then he said, “I’ll take up your case when your accusers show up.” He ordered him locked up for the meantime in King Herod’s official quarters.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, March 09, 2024

Today's Scripture

Romans 12:9–16

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11–13  Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14–16  Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

Insight

Paul’s letter to the Roman churches can be divided into two parts—doctrine (chs. 1–11) and duty (chs. 12–16). The apostle instructs believers in Jesus not to conform to the pattern of this world but to live a transformed life that honors Christ (12:1-2). Romans 12:9-21 reads like the snippets of isolated sayings that we find in the book of Proverbs. But Paul is still talking about a renewed mind and a transformed life. The clearest demonstration of this is Christlike love (vv. 9-10), zealous service (vv. 11-12), and generous giving (v. 13). He tells us how we’re to relate to both believers and nonbelievers in a world of hate and revenge. Loving others—particularly enemies—is a key test of the reality of a renewed mind and a transformed life (v. 21). By: K. T. Sim

Sharing Excitement for Christ

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

The first time we met our neighbor Henry, he pulled a well-worn Bible out of a bag he’d been carrying. Eyes sparkling, he asked if we’d like to discuss Scripture. We nodded, and he flipped to some highlighted passages. He showed us a notebook full of his observations and said he’d also created a computer presentation full of other related information.

Henry went on to tell us how he’d come from a difficult family situation and then, alone and at his worst, he accepted Jesus’ death and resurrection as the foundation of his faith (Acts 4:12). His life had changed as the Spirit helped him follow the Bible’s principles. Although Henry had committed his life to God years ago, his enthusiasm was fresh and powerful.

Henry’s zeal inspired me—someone who’d walked with Jesus many years—to consider my spiritual passion. The apostle Paul wrote: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). That seems like a tall order, unless I’m allowing Scripture to nurture the kind of attitudes that reflect an ongoing thankfulness for all that Jesus has done for me.

Unlike the emotional highs and lows we experience in life, zeal for Christ comes from an ever-expanding relationship with Him. The more we learn about Him, the more precious He becomes and the more His goodness floods our souls and spills out into the world. By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

How do you think Jesus feels when He sees that you’re excited about Him? What’s the relationship between thankfulness and zeal?

Dear Jesus, please revive my excitement over knowing You!

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, March 09, 2024

Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?

Do you also want to go away? —John 6:67

What a penetrating question! Our Lord’s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, “Do you also want to go away?” We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.

In John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: “Do you also want to go away?”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 8-10; Mark 11:19-33

2 Chronicles 34, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHAT KIND OF MAN - March 8, 2024

When I was six years old, my dad let me stay up with the rest of the family and watch the movie The Wolf Man. Boy, did he regret that decision! I was convinced that the Wolf Man spent each night prowling our den. More than once I retreated to my father’s bedroom and awoke him. He would then climb out of bed, arm himself with super-human courage, and escort me through the valley of the shadow of death, and pour me a glass of milk.

Might it be that God views our storms the way my father viewed my Wolf Man angst? He handles the great quaking with great calm, and the disciples are left wondering, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27 NCV). What kind of man indeed.

2 Chronicles 34

King Josiah

1–2  34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. He behaved well before God. He kept straight on the path blazed by his ancestor David, not one step to the left or right.

3–7  When he had been king for eight years—he was still only a teenager—he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. Four years later, the twelfth year of his reign, he set out to cleanse the neighborhood of sex-and-religion shrines, and get rid of the sacred Asherah groves and the god and goddess figurines, whether carved or cast, from Judah. He wrecked the Baal shrines, tore down the altars connected with them, and scattered the debris and ashes over the graves of those who had worshiped at them. He burned the bones of the priests on the same altars they had used when alive. He scrubbed the place clean, Judah and Jerusalem, clean inside and out. The cleanup campaign ranged outward to the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and the surrounding neighborhoods—as far north as Naphtali. Throughout Israel he demolished the altars and Asherah groves, pulverized the god and goddess figures, chopped up the neighborhood shrines into firewood. With Israel once more intact, he returned to Jerusalem.

8–13  One day in the eighteenth year of his kingship, with the cleanup of country and Temple complete, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the mayor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the historian to renovate The Temple of God. First they turned over to Hilkiah the high priest all the money collected by the Levitical security guards from Manasseh and Ephraim and the rest of Israel, and from Judah and Ben-jamin and the citizens of Jerusalem. It was then put into the hands of the foremen managing the work on The Temple of God who then passed it on to the workers repairing God’s Temple—the carpenters, construction workers, and masons—so they could buy the lumber and dressed stone for rebuilding the foundations the kings of Judah had allowed to fall to pieces. The workmen were honest and diligent. Their foremen were Jahath and Obadiah, the Merarite Levites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites—these managed the project. The Levites—they were all skilled musicians—were in charge of the common laborers and supervised the workers as they went from job to job. The Levites also served as accountants, managers, and security guards.

14–17  While the money that had been given for The Temple of God was being received and dispersed, Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of The Revelation of Moses. He reported to Shaphan the royal secretary, “I’ve just found the Book of God’s Revelation, instructing us in God’s way—found it in The Temple!” He gave it to Shaphan, who then gave it to the king. And along with the book, he gave this report: “The job is complete—everything you ordered done is done. They took all the money that was collected in The Temple of God and handed it over to the managers and workers.”

18  And then Shaphan told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” Shaphan proceeded to read it out to the king.

19–21  When the king heard what was written in the book, God’s Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay. And then he called for Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the royal secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal aide. He ordered them all: “Go and pray to God for me and what’s left of Israel and Judah. Find out what we must do in response to what is written in this book that has just been found! God’s anger must be burning furiously against us—our ancestors haven’t obeyed a thing written in this book of God, followed none of the instructions directed to us.”

22–25  Hilkiah and those picked by the king went straight to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, who was in charge of the palace wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter. The men consulted with her. In response to them she said, “God’s word, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you here, ‘God has spoken, I’m on my way to bring the doom of judgment on this place and this people. Every word written in the book read by the king of Judah will happen. And why? Because they’ve deserted me and taken up with other gods; they’ve made me thoroughly angry by setting up their god-making businesses. My anger is raging white-hot against this place and nobody is going to put it out.’

26–28  “And also tell the king of Judah, since he sent you to ask God for direction, God’s comment on what he read in the book: ‘Because you took seriously the doom of judgment I spoke against this place and people, and because you responded in humble repentance, tearing your robe in dismay and weeping before me, I’m taking you seriously. God’s word. I’ll take care of you; you’ll have a quiet death and be buried in peace. You won’t be around to see the doom that I’m going to bring upon this place and people.’ ”

The men took her message back to the king.

29–31  The king acted immediately, assembling all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, and then proceeding to The Temple of God bringing everyone in his train—priests and prophets and people ranging from the least to the greatest. Then he read out publicly everything written in the Book of the Covenant that was found in The Temple of God. The king stood by his pillar and before God solemnly committed himself to the covenant: to follow God believingly and obediently; to follow his instructions, heart and soul, on what to believe and do; to confirm with his life the entire covenant, all that was written in the book.

32  Then he made everyone in Jerusalem and Ben-jamin commit themselves. And they did it. They committed themselves to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

33  Josiah did a thorough job of cleaning up the pollution that had spread throughout Israelite territory and got everyone started fresh again, serving and worshiping their God. All through Josiah’s life the people kept to the straight and narrow, obediently following God, the God of their ancestors.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, March 08, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 4:1–5

 Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’ ”

2  So God said, “What’s that in your hand?”

“A staff.”

3  “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!

4–5  God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Insight

In Exodus 3–4, Moses’ humanity is on full display. This great prophet of God is also a human being we can relate to. In fear, he refuses to accept God’s commission to lead His people out of slavery. This occurs even as God performs miracles in Moses’ presence—the bush unconsumed by fire (3:1-3) and his staff turning into a snake (4:3). When Moses’ staff becomes a serpent, he reacts as most of us would: “he ran from it” (v. 3). He did, however, show courage and faith when he grabbed the snake by the tail (v. 4). The safest way to hold a venomous snake (don’t do it!) is behind the head, preventing it from striking. The power wasn’t in Moses’ staff, nor was it in himself. The power was in the God of Israel, who was infinitely greater than the gods of Egypt, including the snake. By: Tim Gustafson

Using What God Provides

Then the Lord said to [Moses], “What is that in your hand?” Exodus 4:2

The Brisbane City Hall in Australia was a dazzling 1920s project. White stairs boasted marble from the same quarry Michelangelo used for his David sculpture. The tower reflected Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica, and the copper dome was the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The builders intended for a massive Angel of Peace to adorn the pinnacle, but there was a problem: no money left. Plumber Fred Johnson came to the rescue. He used a toilet cistern, an old lamp post, and bits of scrap metal to craft the iconic orb that’s crowned the tower for nearly one hundred years.

Much like Fred Johnson and his use of what he had, we can join God’s work with whatever we have—large or small. When He asked Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, Moses balked: “What if they do not . . . listen to me?” (Exodus 4:1) God answered with a simple question: “What is that in your hand?” (v. 2). Moses held a staff, a simple stick. God told him to throw the staff on the ground, “and it became a snake” (v. 3). Then He instructed Moses to pick up the snake, and it turned back into a staff. All Moses needed to do, God explained, was carry the staff and trust Him to do the rest. Remarkably, He would use that stick in Moses’ hand to rescue Israel from the Egyptians (7:10–12; 17:5–7).

What we have might not seem like much to us, but with God, whatever we have will be enough. He takes our ordinary resources and uses them for His work. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What small thing can you use for God? Why is it vital that you trust Him with it?

Dear God, I surrender what I have to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, March 08, 2024

The Surrendered Life

I have been crucified with Christ… —Galatians 2:20

To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.

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

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 5-7; Mark 11:1-18

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, March 08, 2024

Cleverly-Disguised Poison - #9695

The movie opened in theaters on Valentine's Weekend. It was called Fifty Shades of Grey. A hundred million copies of the book had been sold. It was known for its portrayal of a young virgin seduction into sado-masochistic sex in a charming man's "room of pain." I know, gross. A friend told me that it was the talk of all the women in her office; 40- and 50-year-old women "giggling like schoolgirls." Dying to see it. To see a woman submitting to sexual violence in the name of "exploring her dark desires."

The top ten advance ticket sales were from Bible Belt states mostly. A lot of anecdotal evidence and Facebook postings suggested a great "buzz" about that movie from people with Christian backgrounds.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Cleverly-Disguised Poison."

Christian. That's the ones of whom the Bible says, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19). To whom God says in our word for today from the Word of God (Ephesians 5 beginning with verse 3), "Among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity...you are light in the Lord...have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness."

It's not that God is against sexual passion. Far from it. He invented it! To unite, to ignite the lifetime love of a husband and wife. "Rejoice in the wife of your youth," He says. "Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love" (Proverbs 5:18-19 NLT).

But sex the Inventor's way always means honoring a woman, respecting a woman, uplifting a woman; never hurting her, using her, violating her. Ephesians 5:28 (NLT) says, "Husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies." "The two will become one flesh," Jesus said. A holy, tender, loving merging of two lives, expressed with the passionate merging of their bodies together.

But "Christian" interest in a morally bankrupt, "must-see" movie exposes much larger issues; more troubling issues, like the compartmentalizing of our faith. "Hey, I believe in Jesus. But this is my business, this is my love life, and this is my entertainment."

Nope. "You must be holy in everything you do" (1 Peter 1:15 NLT). Everything. If I'm deciding where Jesus is in charge and where He isn't, then He's not Lord. I am. I have dethroned the Son of God and made me my de facto God.

Then there's our naiveté about entertainment. "It's only a movie. It's only a song. It's only a TV show. It's only a website" See, entertainment is our hellish enemy's "stealth bomber" that slips death into our soul under the radar.

James 1:15 - what a hammer this verse is! "Desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." We'd run from a frontal temptation to do this thing we think we'll never do. So the enemy of our soul just plants a thought, a desire, an indelible image. First, sin fascinates you. Then, it assassinates you.

The terrorist from hell says, "Watch this. It won't hurt." The Savior who loves you says, "Guard your heart...it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). A little poison in the reservoir becomes death in the water.

There are a thousand shades of dark, inviting us to what looks like a party but ends up in a prison; a prison that Jesus Christ, Prince of Heaven, came to save us from. To show us we are more than a body to be used. We are a soul to be cherished.

This very day, if you've never experienced this most genuine, lasting, satisfying love of all, for yourself - the love of Christ demonstrated on a cross, dying for your sin. Let your search for love end today by giving yourself to Him. You can find out how that relationship begins at our website ANewStory.com.

You're too precious to degrade, too precious to defile; you, Jesus thought, were worth dying for.