Jeremiah 51, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: COMING CLEAN WITH GOD - May 7, 2024

Confession is not complaining. If I merely recite my problems, I’m not confessing. Confession is not blaming. Pointing fingers at others without pointing any at myself does nothing to remove the conflict within me. Confession is coming clean with God.

King David did. As if the affair with Bathsheba wasn’t enough. As if the murder of her husband wasn’t enough. Somehow David denied his wrongdoing for at least nine months until the child was born. It took a prophet to bring the truth to the surface, but when he did, David did not like what he saw. And he waved the white flag. David said, “I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:5 NLT).

Jeremiah 51

Hurricane Persia

1–5  51 There’s more. God says more:

“Watch this:

I’m whipping up

A death-dealing hurricane against Babylon—‘Hurricane Persia’—

against all who live in that perverse land.

I’m sending a cleanup crew into Babylon.

They’ll clean the place out from top to bottom.

When they get through there’ll be nothing left of her

worth taking or talking about.

They won’t miss a thing.

A total and final Doomsday!

Fighters will fight with everything they’ve got.

It’s no-holds-barred.

They will spare nothing and no one.

It’s final and wholesale destruction—the end!

Babylon littered with the wounded,

streets piled with corpses.

It turns out that Israel and Judah

are not widowed after all.

As their God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, I am still alive and well,

committed to them even though

They filled their land with sin

against Israel’s most Holy God.

6–8  “Get out of Babylon as fast as you can.

Run for your lives! Save your necks!

Don’t linger and lose your lives to my vengeance on her

as I pay her back for her sins.

Babylon was a fancy gold chalice

held in my hand,

Filled with the wine of my anger

to make the whole world drunk.

The nations drank the wine

and they’ve all gone crazy.

Babylon herself will stagger and crash,

senseless in a drunken stupor—tragic!

Get anointing balm for her wound.

Maybe she can be cured.”

9  “We did our best, but she can’t be helped.

Babylon is past fixing.

Give her up to her fate.

Go home.

The judgment on her will be vast,

a skyscraper-memorial of vengeance.

Your Lifeline Is Cut

10  “God has set everything right for us.

Come! Let’s tell the good news

Back home in Zion.

Let’s tell what our God did to set things right.

11–13  “Sharpen the arrows!

Fill the quivers!

God has stirred up the kings of the Medes,

infecting them with war fever: ‘Destroy Babylon!’

God’s on the warpath.

He’s out to avenge his Temple.

Give the signal to attack Babylon’s walls.

Station guards around the clock.

Bring in reinforcements.

Set men in ambush.

God will do what he planned,

what he said he’d do to the people of Babylon.

You have more water than you need,

you have more money than you need—

But your life is over,

your lifeline cut.”

14  God-of-the-Angel-Armies has solemnly sworn:

“I’ll fill this place with soldiers.

They’ll swarm through here like locusts

chanting victory songs over you.”

15–19  By his power he made earth.

His wisdom gave shape to the world.

He crafted the cosmos.

He thunders and rain pours down.

He sends the clouds soaring.

He embellishes the storm with lightnings,

launches the wind from his warehouse.

Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish!

god-makers embarrassed by their hand-made gods!

Their gods are frauds, dead sticks—

deadwood gods, tasteless jokes.

They’re nothing but stale smoke.

When the smoke clears, they’re gone.

But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing;

he put the whole universe together,

With special attention to Israel.

His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

They’ll Sleep and Never Wake Up

20–23  God says, “You, Babylon, are my hammer,

my weapon of war.

I’ll use you to smash godless nations,

use you to knock kingdoms to bits.

I’ll use you to smash horse and rider,

use you to smash chariot and driver.

I’ll use you to smash man and woman,

use you to smash the old man and the boy.

I’ll use you to smash the young man and young woman,

use you to smash shepherd and sheep.

I’ll use you to smash farmer and yoked oxen,

use you to smash governors and senators.

24  “Judeans, you’ll see it with your own eyes. I’ll pay Babylon and all the Chaldeans back for all the evil they did in Zion.” God’s Decree.

25–26  “I’m your enemy, Babylon, Mount Destroyer,

you ravager of the whole earth.

I’ll reach out, I’ll take you in my hand,

and I’ll crush you till there’s no mountain left.

I’ll turn you into a gravel pit—

no more cornerstones cut from you,

No more foundation stones quarried from you!

Nothing left of you but gravel.” God’s Decree.

27–28  “Raise the signal in the land,

blow the shofar-trumpet for the nations.

Consecrate the nations for holy work against her.

Call kingdoms into service against her.

Enlist Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.

Appoint a field marshal against her,

and round up horses, locust hordes of horses!

Consecrate the nations for holy work against her—

the king of the Medes, his leaders and people.

29–33  “The very land trembles in terror, writhes in pain,

terrorized by my plans against Babylon,

Plans to turn the country of Babylon

into a lifeless moonscape—a wasteland.

Babylon’s soldiers have quit fighting.

They hide out in ruins and caves—

Cowards who’ve given up without a fight,

exposed as cowering milksops.

Babylon’s houses are going up in flames,

the city gates torn off their hinges.

Runner after runner comes racing in,

each on the heels of the last,

Bringing reports to the king of Babylon

that his city is a lost cause.

The fords of the rivers are all taken.

Wildfire rages through the swamp grass.

Soldiers desert left and right.

I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, said it would happen:

‘Daughter Babylon is a threshing floor

at threshing time.

Soon, oh very soon, her harvest will come

and then the chaff will fly!’

34–37  “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

chewed up my people and spit out the bones.

He wiped his dish clean, pushed back his chair,

and belched—a huge gluttonous belch.

Lady Zion says,

‘The brutality done to me be done to Babylon!’

And Jerusalem says,

‘The blood spilled from me be charged to the Chaldeans!’

Then I, God, step in and say,

‘I’m on your side, taking up your cause.

I’m your Avenger. You’ll get your revenge.

I’ll dry up her rivers, plug up her springs.

Babylon will be a pile of rubble,

scavenged by stray dogs and cats,

A dumping ground for garbage,

a godforsaken ghost town.’

38–40  “The Babylonians will be like lions and their cubs,

ravenous, roaring for food.

I’ll fix them a meal, all right—a banquet, in fact.

They’ll drink themselves falling-down drunk.

Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep, and sleep …

and they’ll never wake up.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll haul these ‘lions’ off to the slaughterhouse

like the lambs, rams, and goats,

never to be heard of again.

41–48  “Babylon is finished—

the pride of the whole earth is flat on her face.

What a comedown for Babylon,

to end up inglorious in the sewer!

Babylon drowned in chaos,

battered by waves of enemy soldiers.

Her towns stink with decay and rot,

the land empty and bare and sterile.

No one lives in these towns anymore.

Travelers give them a wide berth.

I’ll bring doom on the glutton god-Bel in Babylon.

I’ll make him vomit up all he gulped down.

No more visitors stream into this place,

admiring and gawking at the wonders of Babylon.

The wonders of Babylon are no more.

Run for your lives, my dear people!

Run, and don’t look back!

Get out of this place while you can,

this place torched by God’s raging anger.

Don’t lose hope. Don’t ever give up

when the rumors pour in hot and heavy.

One year it’s this, the next year it’s that—

rumors of violence, rumors of war.

Trust me, the time is coming

when I’ll put the no-gods of Babylon in their place.

I’ll show up the whole country as a sickening fraud,

with dead bodies strewn all over the place.

Heaven and earth, angels and people,

will throw a victory party over Babylon

When the avenging armies from the north

descend on her.” God’s Decree!

Remember God in Your Long and Distant Exile

49–50  “Babylon must fall—

compensation for the war dead in Israel.

Babylonians will be killed

because of all that Babylonian killing.

But you exiles who have escaped a Babylonian death,

get out! And fast!

Remember God in your long and distant exile.

Keep Jerusalem alive in your memory.”

51  How we’ve been humiliated, taunted and abused,

kicked around for so long that we hardly know who we are!

And we hardly know what to think—

our old Sanctuary, God’s house, desecrated by strangers.

52–53  “I know, but trust me: The time is coming”

—God’s Decree—

“When I will bring doom on her no-god idols,

and all over this land her wounded will groan.

Even if Babylon climbed a ladder to the moon

and pulled up the ladder so that no one could get to her,

That wouldn’t stop me.

I’d make sure my avengers would reach her.”

God’s Decree.

54–56  “But now listen! Do you hear it? A cry out of Babylon!

An unearthly wail out of Chaldea!

God is taking his wrecking bar to Babylon.

We’ll be hearing the last of her noise—

Death throes like the crashing of waves,

death rattles like the roar of cataracts.

The avenging destroyer is about to enter Babylon:

Her soldiers are taken, her weapons are trashed.

Indeed, God is a God who evens things out.

All end up with their just deserts.

57  “I’ll get them drunk, the whole lot of them—

princes, sages, governors, soldiers.

Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep and sleep …

and never wake up.” The King’s Decree.

His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

58  God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks:

“The city walls of Babylon—those massive walls!—

will be flattened.

And those city gates—huge gates!—

will be set on fire.

The harder you work at this empty life,

the less you are.

Nothing comes of ambition like this

but ashes.”

59  Jeremiah the prophet gave a job to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon. It was in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Seraiah was in charge of travel arrangements.

60–62  Jeremiah had written down in a little booklet all the bad things that would come down on Babylon. He told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read this out in public. Read, ‘You, O God, said that you would destroy this place so that nothing could live here, neither human nor animal—a wasteland to top all wastelands, an eternal nothing.’

63–64  “When you’ve finished reading the page, tie a stone to it, throw it into the River Euphrates, and watch it sink. Then say, ‘That’s how Babylon will sink to the bottom and stay there after the disaster I’m going to bring upon her.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, May 07, 2024

Today's Scripture

Romans 12:4-8

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

6–8  If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Insight

Romans 12 marks a turning point in Paul’s letter. Previously, the apostle had been explaining the work of God in salvation, describing Jesus as the second Adam who came to redeem what had been lost through our first parents’ disobedience in Eden (5:12-20). Now he turns his attention to the way this salvation is to be lived out by those bought by Christ’s sacrifice. It starts with the redeemed becoming a “living sacrifice” (12:1), whose focus is on being useful to God in the lives of others. This is followed by a list of spiritual gifts to equip God’s children in service to others (vv. 3-8). Another list of spiritual gifts appears in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, and a list of leadership roles (gifts to the church) is found in Ephesians 4:11. Through these provisions, the Spirit enables us to fulfill our function in our spiritual service. By: Bill Crowder

God-Given Gifts

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6

Decades ago, I went to a college retreat where everyone was talking about a personality test. “I’m an ISTJ!” one said. “I’m an ENFP,” another chirped. I was mystified. “I’m an ABCXYZ,” I joked.  

Since then, I’ve learned a lot about that test (the Myers-Briggs) and others such as the DiSC assessment. I find them fascinating because they can help us understand ourselves and others in helpful, revealing ways—shedding light on our preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. Provided we don’t overuse them, they can be a useful tool God uses to help us grow.

Scripture doesn’t offer us personality tests. But it does affirm each person’s uniqueness in God’s eyes (see Psalm 139:14-16; Jeremiah 1:5), and it shows us how God equips all of us with a unique personality and unique gifts to serve others in His kingdom. In Romans 12:6, Paul begins to unpack this idea, when he says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”

Those gifts, Paul explains, are not for us alone but for the purpose of serving God’s people, Christ’s body (v. 5). They’re an expression of His grace and goodness, working in and through all of us. They invite each of us to be a unique vessel in God’s service.

By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

What gifts has God given you to serve others? If you’re not sure what your gifts are, who might help you get a better sense of those God-given gifts?

Father, thank You for the gifts You’ve given me. Please help me to embrace the ways You’ve equipped me to love and serve others in Your kingdom.

Find out how you can understand yourself and others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 07, 2024

Building for Eternity

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? — Luke 14:28

In Luke 14:26–33, our Lord isn’t referring to a cost we need to plan for; he’s referring to a cost he planned for, for our sake. What did it cost Jesus to redeem the world? Thirty years in Nazareth; three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred; the deep, unfathomable agony in Gethsemane; and, finally, the onslaught at Calvary—the pivot upon which the whole of time and eternity turns. Jesus Christ planned for this cost, so that in the final reckoning no one could say of him, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish” (v. 30).

Have you anticipated the cost of discipleship? Jesus states the cost clearly: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother … such a person cannot be my disciple” (v. 26). The only people the Lord will use in his mighty building projects are those who have been entirely remade by him: men and women who love him personally, passionately, and devotedly, above any of their closest family or friends on earth. His conditions are stern, but they are glorious.

Everything we build will be inspected by God. Will he find that we have built something of our own on the foundation of Jesus, something for our selfish gain? These are days of tremendous enterprises, days when many people are striving mightily to work for God—and therein lies the trap. We can never work for God. We can only give ourselves to Jesus and let him take us over for his work. We have no right to dictate to our Lord where we will be placed or what we will do.

2 Kings 1-3; Luke 24:1-35

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. 

The Highest Good, 548 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, May 07, 2024

My Child, My Mirror - When a Parent Looks Up - #9737

One of the more lovable guys on TV, I think, is the weatherman named Al Roker. He's even got a book about his battle with losing weight.

At one point Al was quoted as saying that he weighed in at 340 pounds at 5'8". Notice I said weighed in. That was past tense. After carrying around all those pounds for a while, one day he suddenly goes out to a gym and asked them to put him on a diet and an exercise program that will radically reduce his size. He lost 140 pounds.

And what was it that suddenly got him wanting to do something about weight that he'd carried around for a long time? His young daughter came up to him one day when he had his shirt off and she made the kind of blunt, off-the-cuff observation about how he looked that only a child can make in all innocence and get away with it. Well that was it! Hello gymnasium! Goodbye fat.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "My Child, My Mirror - When a Parent Looks Up."

Our word for today from the Word of God takes us way back to nearly the beginning of the human race to a man named Enoch. Now, God has some especially complimentary things to say about Enoch. In Genesis 5:21-24, he reveals a change that took place in this man's life that could change the course of your life too.

The Bible says, "When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah." Then it says, "After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God." Now, did you notice the math here? Not just the longer life they enjoyed back then. Enoch lived the first 65 years of his life with no mention of a relationship with God.

Then suddenly he starts walking with God, and continues to have this intimate relationship with his Creator through the rest of his life. What was the catalyst that changed Enoch? The same thing that changed an overweight TV personality - his child. After he became a father, it says, is when Enoch walked with God.

There's something about having a child that makes you start thinking about yourself in ways you've never thought of yourself before. They're mirrors to us. As a dad or a mom, trying to shape this life that we've been entrusted with, we begin to see things we may have never seen fully before. Like our own incompleteness, our inadequacies, our weaknesses that can now do serious damage to this vulnerable life in our hands.

Suddenly we consider looking up as we maybe have never have done before and saying, "Help!" Well, the good news is that God stands ready to answer our cry for help big time. In fact, He may have been waiting a long time for you to finally recognize that you are incomplete. You are inadequate and you've always been in need of what only He can do for you - a Savior.

Ultimately, our children show us the real weight we've been carrying all these years. They help us see the weight of our own self-centeredness, our unresolved issues, our dark side, our sin. We can never walk with a perfect God as long as we're carrying all this. And being a mom or dad shows us like nothing else how deep our need is for this personal relationship we were made for and how much we need a rescue.

In spite of our sin, God loves us and He wants to walk with you for the rest of your life. But that walk can only begin one place - at the cross where God's one and only Son died to pay the death penalty for what you and I deserve. We did the sinning, but Jesus did the dying. The Bible says, "You who were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

Your walk with God begins when you say, "Jesus, I'm putting all my trust in You to be my Savior from my sin." If you've never done that, let this be the day you say, "Jesus, I'm yours." I'd love to help you begin that relationship and that's why our website is there. It's ANewStory.com.

If you're a mom or dad, there are feet now following you wherever you walk. For their sake and for yours, be sure you're walking with God.

Hebrews 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE MASTER BUILDER - May 6, 2024

When Joseph faced his brothers twenty years after they had betrayed him, he made an incredible proclamation. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result” (Genesis 50:20 NASB). The Hebrew word translated here as bring about is a construction term. God is the Master Builder. He redeemed the story of Joseph. But we wonder if he will redeem our story as well?

Yes! Deliverance won’t be painless. It may not be quick. But God will use your mess for good. You are a version of Joseph in your generation. You carry something of God within you, something noble, something holy, something the world needs. That is what God is building in you. But it will take time. That’s just how these construction projects develop.

Hebrews 6

 So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!

4–8  Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they’ve personally experienced the sheer goodness of God’s Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can’t start over as if nothing happened. That’s impossible. Why, they’ve re-crucified Jesus! They’ve repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!” But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.

9–12  I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.

God Gave His Word

13–18  When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

18–20  We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, May 06, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 14:15-21

The Spirit of Truth

15–17  “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18–20  “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

21  “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

Insight

John 13-17, known as the Upper Room Discourse, is theologically rich, contributing to our understanding of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. An example of this is seen in John 14:16-17 where Jesus, the Son, says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” Of note in this discourse is the teaching about the Holy Spirit (pneumatology). In verse 16, He’s referred to as “another advocate” (parakletos). Other versions translate this word as “comforter.” What’s in view is someone who’s called to aid, assist, or help another. During Christ’s ministry on earth, He was the helper from heaven. In His absence, one just like Him, the Spirit, would function in that capacity. Because of this, Jesus could tell His followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (vv. 1, 27). By: Arthur Jackson

Loving Obedience

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. John 14:21 nlt

During our wedding ceremony, our minister said to me, “Do you promise to love, honor, and obey your husband, until death do you part?” Glancing at my fiancé, I whispered, “Obey?” We’d built our relationship on love and respect—not blind obedience, as the vows seemed to suggest. My husband’s father captured on film that wide-eyed moment when I processed the word obey and said, “I do.”

Over the years, God has shown me that my resistance to the word obey had nothing to do with the incredibly complex relationship between a husband and wife. I’d understood obey to mean “subjugated” or “forced submission,” which Scripture doesn’t support. Rather, the word obey in the Bible expresses the many ways we can love God. As my husband and I celebrate thirty years of marriage, through the power of the Holy Spirit we’re still learning to love Jesus and each other.

When Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 nlt), He showed us that obedience to the Scriptures would be the result of an ongoing loving and intimate relationship with Him (vv. 16-21).

Jesus’ love is selfless, unconditional, and never forceful or abusive. As we follow and honor Him in all our relationships, the Holy Spirit can help us see obedience to Him as a wise and loving act of trust and worship. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How does seeing obedience to God as an act of love and trust change your view of His desire for obedience? How has God proven that you can trust Him?

Dear Jesus, please help me love You and others through obedience to the Scriptures.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, May 06, 2024

Freedom through Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. — Galatians 5:1

Spiritually-minded people will never demand that you believe a certain thing or hold a certain opinion; they’ll demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We aren’t asked to believe the Bible; we are asked to believe the One the Bible reveals. In John 5, Jesus highlights the difference: “You study the Scriptures diligently … yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (vv. 39–40). Jesus is calling us to liberty of conscience, not liberty of opinion. If we are free with the freedom of Christ, others will be brought into this same freedom: the freedom of realizing the dominance of Jesus Christ.

Always measure your life by the standards of Jesus. Bow to his yoke and to no other, and be careful that you never fasten a yoke on someone else that isn’t placed there by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to cure us of the idea that if people don’t see things the way we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one freedom: the freedom of Jesus at work in our conscience, enabling us to do what is right.

Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God has dealt with you, with patience and gentleness. This doesn’t mean you should water down God’s truth. Let his truth have its way, and never apologize for it. Simply recall what Jesus said: “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). He never said, “Make converts to your opinions.”

1 Kings 21-22; Luke 23:26-56

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ. 

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, May 06, 2024

Deadly Dark Spots in Your Soul - #9736

My wife and I had a very long honeymoon; I mean for lots of years. Our honeymoon was in its early years when we got some very scary news. The doctor said that my wife might have a very serious disease. She had a routine physical for her job, and the chest x-rays revealed some suspicious dark spots on her lung. We got that report on a Friday, and we had to wait until Monday to get the final results. It might have been one of the longest weekends of our lives!

When the doctor met with my wife on Monday, he wanted to talk about chickens and farms and growing up in the Midwest. He asked her if any of these things had been a part of her childhood. Well, actually they had, and that explained the spots; a childhood disease they call histoplasmosis. It tends to occur in kids who grow up on Midwestern farms where they breathe the bacteria left by chickens. And what they were looking at on her lungs was the scars left over from that illness.

I knew how serious those dark spots could be. When my father was a young man, he had similar x-rays and they revealed what really was tuberculosis. And from my Dad, that meant two long years in a hospital to save his life and beat that disease. An x-ray can reveal some very bad news, but facing those dark spots can start the healing and it could even save your life.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Deadly Dark Spots in Your Soul."

God does x-rays. Actually, heart x-rays; pictures of what's going on inside the deepest parts of you. One of those x-rays is in our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Mark 7:20. He says, "What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. So from within, out of men's hearts, come (now there's a list here, and we're all in here somewhere) evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly."

Those are dark spots in the human heart where none of our family or friends or coworkers can see, but God sees. If God illuminated your x-ray or mine to show us what He's found, we might very well see some dark spots on our souls. Of course, the darkness inside doesn't stay inside. It keeps spilling out on the people we love doesn't it? And according to the Bible, those dark spots inside us are the symptoms of a disease that will ultimately kill us. It's called sin; spiritual cancer. That's ignoring God. It's you running your life instead of God running your life. It's hijacking your life from your Creator.

The Bible says, "Sin, when it is finished gives birth to death." It's the death of an eternal separation from our God. The x-rays from God would say "hopeless" except for one incredible hope-giving word - Savior. There's only one name that goes with that title - Jesus.

Here's the amazing cure for our deadly eternal soul disease. It's in 1 John 1:7 of the Bible, "The blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us from all sin." That's the possibility of having those dark spots on your soul removed, of having your sin washed away. It's all wrapped up in Jesus shedding His blood on the cross to remove this awful curse. The cure is expensive. Not for you, but for Jesus. It cost Him everything and that cure becomes yours the moment you put all your trust in Jesus to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin.

You tired of the dark spots and what they're doing to you and doing to others? If you believe your Creator's diagnosis and if you want to escape the death penalty for that diagnosis, then it's time to open your heart to Jesus to become not just the Savior of the world, but the Savior of you.

There's wonderful information I'd love to give you at our website so you can be sure you have begun your relationship with the only One who can save you from your sin. That website is ANewStory.com.

There's no reason to carry the death sentence of that disease of sin one more day, because Jesus is waiting right now to trade that for eternal life.

Jeremiah 50, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God—Our Shepherd

God, our Shepherd, doesn’t check the weather—He makes it! He doesn’t defy gravity—He created it. Jesus said, “God is Spirit.”  He has no limitations. Unchanging. Uncaused. Ungoverned. Don’t we need this kind of shepherd?

You don’t need to carry the burden of a lesser god. A god on a shelf, a god in a box, or a god in a bottle. No, you need a God who can place 100-billion stars in our galaxy, and 100-billion galaxies in the universe. A God who can shape two fists of flesh into 75 to 100 billion nerve cells, each with as many as 10,000 connections to other nerve cells, place it in a skull, and call it a brain. And you have one.  He is your shepherd!

From Traveling Light

Jeremiah 50

Get Out of Babylon as Fast as You Can

1–3  50 The Message of God through the prophet Jeremiah on Babylon, land of the Chaldeans:

“Get the word out to the nations! Preach it!

Go public with this, broadcast it far and wide:

Babylon taken, god-Bel hanging his head in shame,

god-Marduk exposed as a fraud.

All her god-idols shuffling in shame,

all her play-gods exposed as cheap frauds.

For a nation will come out of the north to attack her,

reduce her cities to rubble.

Empty of life—no animals, no people—

not a sound, not a movement, not a breath.

4–5  “In those days, at that time”—God’s Decree—

“the people of Israel will come,

And the people of Judah with them.

Walking and weeping, they’ll seek me, their God.

They’ll ask directions to Zion

and set their faces toward Zion.

They’ll come and hold tight to God,

bound in a covenant eternal they’ll never forget.

6–7  “My people were lost sheep.

Their shepherds led them astray.

They abandoned them in the mountains

where they wandered aimless through the hills.

They lost track of home,

couldn’t remember where they came from.

Everyone who met them took advantage of them.

Their enemies had no qualms:

‘Fair game,’ they said. ‘They walked out on God.

They abandoned the True Pasture, the hope of their parents.’

8–10  “But now, get out of Babylon as fast as you can.

Be rid of that Babylonian country.

On your way. Good sheepdogs lead, but don’t you be led.

Lead the way home!

Do you see what I’m doing?

I’m rallying a host of nations against Babylon.

They’ll come out of the north,

attack and take her.

Oh, they know how to fight, these armies.

They never come home empty-handed.

Babylon is ripe for picking!

All her plunderers will fill their bellies!” God’s Decree.

11–16  “You Babylonians had a good time while it lasted, didn’t you?

You lived it up, exploiting and using my people,

Frisky calves romping in lush pastures,

wild stallions out having a good time!

Well, your mother would hardly be proud of you.

The woman who bore you wouldn’t be pleased.

Look at what’s come of you! A nothing nation!

Rubble and garbage and weeds!

Emptied of life by my holy anger,

a desert of death and emptiness.

Travelers who pass by Babylon will gasp, appalled,

shaking their heads at such a comedown.

Gang up on Babylon! Pin her down!

Throw everything you have against her.

Hold nothing back. Knock her flat.

She’s sinned—oh, how she’s sinned, against me!

Shout battle cries from every direction.

All the fight has gone out of her.

Her defenses have been flattened,

her walls smashed.

‘Operation God’s Vengeance.’

Pile on the vengeance!

Do to her as she has done.

Give her a good dose of her own medicine!

Destroy her farms and farmers,

ravage her fields, empty her barns.

And you captives, while the destruction rages,

get out while the getting’s good,

get out fast and run for home.

17  “Israel is a scattered flock,

hunted down by lions.

The king of Assyria started the carnage.

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,

Has completed the job,

gnawing the bones clean.”

18–20  And now this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

the God of Israel, has to say:

“Just watch! I’m bringing doom on the king of Babylon and his land,

the same doom I brought on the king of Assyria.

But Israel I’ll bring home to good pastures.

He’ll graze on the hills of Carmel and Bashan,

On the slopes of Ephraim and Gilead.

He will eat to his heart’s content.

In those days and at that time”—God’s Decree—

“they’ll look high and low for a sign of Israel’s guilt—nothing;

Search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah’s sin—nothing.

These people that I’ve saved will start out with a clean slate.

21  “Attack Merathaim, land of rebels!

Go after Pekod, country of doom!

Hunt them down. Make a clean sweep.” God’s Decree.

“These are my orders. Do what I tell you.

22–24  “The thunderclap of battle

shakes the foundations!

The Hammer has been hammered,

smashed and splintered,

Babylon pummeled

beyond recognition.

I set out a trap and you were caught in it.

O Babylon, you never knew what hit you,

Caught and held in the steel grip of that trap!

That’s what you get for taking on God.

25–28  “I, God, opened my arsenal.

I brought out my weapons of wrath.

The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

has a job to do in Babylon.

Come at her from all sides!

Break into her granaries!

Shovel her into piles and burn her up.

Leave nothing! Leave no one!

Kill all her young turks.

Send them to their doom!

Doom to them! Yes, Doomsday!

The clock has finally run out on them.

And here’s a surprise:

Runaways and escapees from Babylon

Show up in Zion reporting the news of God’s vengeance,

taking vengeance for my own Temple.

29–30  “Call in the troops against Babylon,

anyone who can shoot straight!

Tighten the noose!

Leave no loopholes!

Give her back as good as she gave,

a dose of her own medicine!

Her brazen insolence is an outrage

against God, The Holy of Israel.

And now she pays: her young strewn dead in the streets,

her soldiers dead, silent forever.” God’s Decree.

31–32  “Do you get it, Mister Pride? I’m your enemy!”

Decree of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

“Time’s run out on you:

That’s right: It’s Doomsday.

Mister Pride will fall flat on his face.

No one will offer him a hand.

I’ll set his towns on fire.

The fire will spread wild through the country.”

33–34  And here’s more from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“The people of Israel are beaten down,

the people of Judah along with them.

Their oppressors have them in a grip of steel.

They won’t let go.

But the Rescuer is strong:

God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Yes, I will take their side,

I’ll come to their rescue.

I’ll soothe their land,

but rough up the people of Babylon.

35–40  “It’s all-out war in Babylon”—God’s Decree—

“total war against people, leaders, and the wise!

War to the death on her boasting pretenders, fools one and all!

War to the death on her soldiers, cowards to a man!

War to the death on her hired killers, gutless wonders!

War to the death on her banks—looted!

War to the death on her water supply—drained dry!

A land of make-believe gods gone crazy—hobgoblins!

The place will be haunted with jackals and scorpions,

night-owls and vampire bats.

No one will ever live there again.

The land will reek with the stench of death.

It will join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,

the cities I did away with.” God’s Decree.

“No one will live there again.

No one will again draw breath in that land, ever.

41–43  “And now, watch this! People pouring

out of the north, hordes of people,

A mob of kings stirred up

from far-off places.

Flourishing deadly weapons,

barbarians they are, cruel and pitiless.

Roaring and relentless, like ocean breakers,

they come riding fierce stallions,

In battle formation, ready to fight

you, Daughter Babylon!

Babylon’s king hears them coming.

He goes white as a ghost, limp as a dishrag.

Terror-stricken, he doubles up in pain, helpless to fight,

like a woman giving birth to a baby.

44  “And now watch this: Like a lion coming up

from the thick jungle of the Jordan,

Looking for prey in the mountain pastures,

I’ll take over and pounce.

I’ll take my pick of the flock—and who’s to stop me?

All the so-called shepherds are helpless before me.”

45–46  So, listen to this plan that God has worked out against Babylon, the blueprint of what he’s prepared for dealing with Chaldea:

Believe it or not, the young,

the vulnerable—mere lambs and kids—will be dragged off.

Believe it or not, the flock

in shock, helpless to help, watches it happen.

When the shout goes up, “Babylon’s down!”

the very earth will shudder at the sound.

The news will be heard all over the world.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, May 05, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jeremiah 31:3-9

met God out looking for them!”

God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.

Expect love, love, and more love!

And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again,

dear virgin Israel.

You’ll resume your singing,

grabbing tambourines and joining the dance.

You’ll go back to your old work of planting vineyards

on the Samaritan hillsides,

And sit back and enjoy the fruit—

oh, how you’ll enjoy those harvests!

The time’s coming when watchmen will call out

from the hilltops of Ephraim:

‘On your feet! Let’s go to Zion,

go to meet our God!’ ”

7  Oh yes, God says so:

“Shout for joy at the top of your lungs for Jacob!

Announce the good news to the number-one nation!

Raise cheers! Sing praises. Say,

‘God has saved his people,

saved the core of Israel.’

8  “Watch what comes next:

“I’ll bring my people back

from the north country

And gather them up from the ends of the earth,

gather those who’ve gone blind

And those who are lame and limping,

gather pregnant women,

Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started,

bring them all back, a huge crowd!

9  “Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joy

as I take their hands and lead them,

Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,

lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.

Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Father

and Ephraim’s my firstborn son!

Insight

Two themes dominate the Prophetic Books of the Bible—discipline and restoration. After the prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites of God’s judgment and discipline due to their wickedness and sin (Jeremiah 1–29), he assured them that later God would also restore them (chs. 30–33). He would be their God and they would be His chosen nation once again (31:1). He would also bring them back to the promised land after the Babylonian exile (30:1-3; 31:8-9). Israel would be restored to enjoy the privileges and blessings as God’s “firstborn son” (31:9). By: K. T. Sim

Tears of Joy

Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. Jeremiah 31:9 nlt

Leaving home one morning, Dean found some friends waiting with balloons. His friend Josh stepped forward. “We entered your poems in a competition,” he said, before handing Dean an envelope. Inside was a card that read “First Prize,” and soon everyone was crying tears of joy. Dean’s friends had done a beautiful thing, confirming his writing talent.

Weeping for joy is a paradoxical experience. Tears are normally a response to pain, not joy; and joy is normally expressed with laughter, not tears. Italian psychologists have noted that tears of joy come at times of deep personal meaning—like when we feel deeply loved or achieve a major goal. This led them to conclude that tears of joy are pointers to the meaning of our lives.

I imagine tears of joy erupting everywhere Jesus went. How could the parents of the man born blind not weep for joy when Jesus healed him (John 9:1-9), or Mary and Martha after He raised their brother from death (11:38-44)? When God’s people are brought into a restored world, “Tears of joy will stream down their faces,” God says, “and I will lead them home with great care” (Jeremiah 31:9 nlt).

If tears of joy show us the meaning of our lives, imagine that great day to come. As tears stream down our faces, we’ll know without doubt that the meaning of life has always been to live intimately with Him. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

When was the last time you wept for joy? What do you think the meaning of life is?

Father God, thank You for the joy ahead for those who love You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, May 05, 2024

Judgment through Love

For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household. — 1 Peter 4:17

The Christian disciple must never forget that salvation is God’s thought, not humanity’s; it is something we can never hope to fathom. Salvation is not an experience. Experience is merely the gateway by which we become conscious of our salvation. Never preach the experience; preach the great thought of God.

When we preach, we aren’t proclaiming how humanity can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God. Our role as preachers is to present his truth, not to give sympathy. We are never to sympathize with a soul who finds it difficult to get to God. God isn’t to blame, nor is it for us to find out the reason for the difficulty. We are simply to deliver his truth, so that his Spirit can show what’s wrong. The gold standard of preaching is that it brings all who hear to judgment in the Spirit. The Spirit reveals each soul to itself.

In the teachings of Jesus Christ, the element of judgment is always prevalent. God’s judgment is the sign of his love, an overflowing mercy that separates right from wrong. If the salvation of Jesus Christ is alive and active inside us, it always takes the form of a judgment, one that brings an understanding of God’s justice, even in his severest statements.

Do you find the requirements of Jesus severe? If our Lord ever gave a command he couldn’t enable us to fulfill, he would be a liar. When we make our inability a barrier to obedience, we are telling God there is something he hasn’t taken into account. We can do nothing through our own abilities; we must allow the power of God to slay every ounce of self-reliance. Complete weakness and dependence will allow the Spirit of God to manifest his power.

1 Kings 19-20; Luke 23:1-25

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Psychology

Hebrews 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Tell the Truth

Our dislike for the truth began at age three when mom walked in our rooms and asked, “Did you hit your little brother?” We knew then and there that honesty had its consequences.  “Did I hit baby brother?  Well, that all depends on how you interpret the word hit.”

We want our bosses to like us, so we flatter. God calls it a lie. We want people to admire us, so we exaggerate.  God calls it a lie.  We want people to respect us, so we live in houses we can’t afford and charge bills we can’t pay.  God calls it living a lie.

The cure for deceit is simply this: face the music. The ripple of today’s lie is tomorrow’s wave and next year’s flood.

Be just like Jesus.  Tell the truth!

from Just Like Jesus

Hebrews 5

Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’.

4–6  No one elects himself to this honored position. He’s called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.”

7–10  While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.

Re-Crucifying Jesus

11–14  I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, May 04, 2024

Today's Scripture

Psalm 56:1-4

Take my side, God—I’m getting kicked around,

stomped on every day.

Not a day goes by

but somebody beats me up;

They make it their duty

to beat me up.

When I get really afraid

I come to you in trust.

I’m proud to praise God;

fearless now, I trust in God.

What can mere mortals do?

Insight

The psalmist David’s name appears on 73 of the 150 psalms. And New Testament references indicate he also wrote Psalms 2 and 95 (see Acts 4:25; Hebrews 4:7). Most of his psalms lack background information, but 13, including Psalm 56, give details on their setting. The superscription ascribes Psalm 56 to David and states: “When the Philistines had seized [David] in Gath.” He so feared King Saul that he entered enemy territory. There the servants of Achish, the king of Gath, recognized him and informed the king. Terrified, David “pretended to be insane in their presence; and . . . acted like a madman” (1 Samuel 21:13). It worked. He was released (vv. 14-15) and escaped to the cave of Adullam (22:1). Though fearful, he put his trust in God (Psalm 56:3).  By: Alyson Kieda

The Triumph of Faith

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3

A routine wellness check for little four-year-old Calvin revealed a few unexpected spots on his body. During the visit, he was given some shots, and the injection site was covered with a bandage. At home, when the time came to remove the small adhesive covering, Calvin whimpered with fear. Seeking to console his son, his father said, “Calvin, you know I’d never do anything to hurt you.” His father wanted his son to trust him more than fearing the removal of the bandage.

Four-year-olds aren’t the only ones who grow faint in the face of discomfort. Surgeries, separation from loved ones, mental or psychological challenges—and more—prompt our fears, sighs, cries, and groans.

One of David’s fear-filled moments was when he found himself in Philistine territory while fleeing a jealous King Saul. When he was recognized, he was anxious about what might happen to him (see 1 Samuel 21:10-11): “David . . . was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath” (v. 12). Reflecting on this uncomfortable situation, David wrote, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. . . . In God I trust and am not afraid” (Psalm 56:3-4).

What shall we do when life’s discomforts stir up our fears? We can put our trust in our heavenly Father. By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

What situation is presently making you fearful? How can you rest in His care as you bring your fears before your loving heavenly Father in prayer?

Dear God, in my humanity and frailty, I’m fearful. Help me to see and experience Your love and care even in the midst of my trials and discomfort.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, May 04, 2024

Vicarious Intercession

Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, . . . let us draw near to God with a sincere heart. — Hebrews 10:19, 22

Our ability to approach God is entirely due to what our Lord did on the cross: he identified himself with sin, and then sacrificed himself to atone for that sin. Beware of the idea that interceding for others in prayer means bringing our personal sympathies into the presence of God and demanding he do what we ask. To draw near to God “with a sincere heart” is to approach God with all humility, remembering that it is only “by the blood of Jesus” that we can enter the holy of holies.

Spiritual stubbornness is the greatest barrier to interceding for others in the way we should. If we are spiritually stubborn, we sympathize with something in ourselves or in others which doesn’t need sympathy; rather, it needs to be atoned for by the blood of Christ. Generally, this is something that seems right and virtuous, something we can’t imagine needs to be handed over to God for atonement.

If we get stuck in this mindset, we no longer identify ourselves with God’s interest in others. We fall in love with our own ideas and constantly put them forward, becoming sullen and sulky if we don’t get our way. Soon, prayer for others has become nothing more than the glorification of our natural sympathies. We have to realize that Jesus’s identification with sin, and our identification with him, requires a radical alteration of all our sympathies. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute our natural sympathy with others for God’s interest in them.

1 Kings 16-18; Luke 22:47-71

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.

Disciples Indeed

Jeremiah 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE ANTIDOTE TO GUILT - May 3, 2024

That evening [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden” (Genesis 3:8 TLB). What had happened to the first family? The first couple said yes to the serpent’s temptation and no to God. And when they did, their world collapsed like an accordion.

The only antidote to guilt is the power of God’s grace. I could take you to the church where this grace found me. I was a twenty-year-old college sophomore. For four years I had lived with the concrete block of guilt, not just from the first night of drunkenness but also a hundred more like it. But mercy snapped the chains of guilt and set me free. I know this truth firsthand: guilt frenzies the soul; grace calms it.

Jeremiah 29

Plans to Give You the Future You Hope For

1–2  29 This is the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to what was left of the elders among the exiles, to the priests and prophets and all the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon from Jerusalem, including King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the government leaders, and all the skilled laborers and craftsmen.

3  The letter was carried by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah had sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter said:

 4  This is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God, to all the exiles I’ve taken from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5  “Build houses and make yourselves at home.

“Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country.

6  “Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children so that you’ll thrive in that country and not waste away.

7  “Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare.

“Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you.”

8–9  Yes. Believe it or not, this is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God: “Don’t let all those so-called preachers and know-it-alls who are all over the place there take you in with their lies. Don’t pay any attention to the fantasies they keep coming up with to please you. They’re a bunch of liars preaching lies—and claiming I sent them! I never sent them, believe me.” God’s Decree!

10–11  This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

12  “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13–14  “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

15–19  “But for right now, because you’ve taken up with these newfangled prophets who set themselves up as ‘Babylonian specialists,’ spreading the word ‘God sent them just for us!’ God is setting the record straight: As for the king still sitting on David’s throne and all the people left in Jerusalem who didn’t go into exile with you, they’re facing bad times. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, ‘Watch this! Catastrophe is on the way: war, hunger, disease! They’re a barrel of rotten apples. I’ll rid the country of them through war and hunger and disease. The whole world is going to hold its nose at the smell, shut its eyes at the horrible sight. They’ll end up in slum ghettos because they wouldn’t listen to a thing I said when I sent my servant-prophets preaching tirelessly and urgently. No, they wouldn’t listen to a word I said.’ ” God’s Decree.

20–23  “And you—you exiles whom I sent out of Jerusalem to Babylon—listen to God’s Message to you. As far as Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah are concerned, the ‘Babylonian specialists’ who are preaching lies in my name, I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will kill them while you watch. The exiles from Judah will take what they see at the execution and use it as a curse: ‘God fry you to a crisp like the king of Babylon fried Zedekiah and Ahab in the fire!’ Those two men, sex predators and prophet-impostors, got what they deserved. They pulled every woman they got their hands on into bed—their neighbors’ wives, no less—and preached lies claiming it was my Message. I never sent those men. I’ve never had anything to do with them.” God’s Decree.

“They won’t get away with a thing. I’ve witnessed it all.”

24–26  And this is the Message for Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: You took it on yourself to send letters to all the people in Jerusalem and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and the company of priests. In your letter you told Zephaniah that God set you up as priest replacing priest Jehoiadah. He’s put you in charge of God’s Temple and made you responsible for locking up any crazy fellow off the street who takes it into his head to be a prophet.

27–28  “So why haven’t you done anything about muzzling Jeremiah of Anathoth, who’s going around posing as a prophet? He’s gone so far as to write to us in Babylon, ‘It’s going to be a long exile, so build houses and make yourselves at home. Plant gardens and prepare Babylonian recipes.’ ”

29  The priest Zephaniah read that letter to the prophet Jeremiah.

30–32  Then God told Jeremiah, “Send this Message to the exiles. Tell them what God says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah is preaching lies to you. I didn’t send him. He is seducing you into believing lies. So this is God’s verdict: I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. He’s going to end up with nothing and no one. No one from his family will be around to see any of the good that I am going to do for my people because he has preached rebellion against me.” God’s Decree.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, May 03, 2024

Today's Scripture

2 Kings 20:1-6

Some time later Hezekiah became deathly sick. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz paid him a visit and said, “Put your affairs in order; you’re about to die—you haven’t long to live.”

2–3  Hezekiah turned from Isaiah and faced God, praying:

Remember, O God, who I am, what I’ve done!

I’ve lived an honest life before you,

My heart’s been true and steady,

I’ve lived to please you; lived for your approval.

And then the tears flowed. Hezekiah wept.

4–6  Isaiah, leaving, was not halfway across the courtyard when the word of God stopped him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, prince of my people, ‘God’s word, Hezekiah! From the God of your ancestor David: I’ve listened to your prayer and I’ve observed your tears. I’m going to heal you. In three days you will walk on your own legs into The Temple of God. I’ve just added fifteen years to your life; I’m saving you from the king of Assyria, and I’m covering this city with my shield—for my sake and my servant David’s sake.’ ”

Insight

Hezekiah witnessed the power of prayer when he cried out to God and He answered him (2 Kings 20:5-6). Prayer is also a prominent theme in the New Testament. Jesus encouraged it, and His life modeled it. The one who taught us to address God as “Father” in prayer (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2) did so Himself when He prayed: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (Matthew 11:25). Christ’s blueprint for prayer included prayer regarding temptation and protection from evil: “He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’ ” (26:39). Jesus modeled praying for our enemies (Luke 6:28) and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (23:34).

Witness the power of prayer in James Banks’ class. By: Arthur Jackson

Prayer Matters

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5

“Prayers for an upcoming brain scan.” “That my kids would come back to church.” “Comfort for Dave, who lost his wife.” Our card ministry team receives a weekly list of prayer requests like these so we can pray and send each person a handwritten note. The requests are overwhelming, and our efforts can feel small and unnoticed. That changed after I received a heartfelt thank-you card from Dave, the recently bereaved husband, with a copy of his beloved wife’s obituary. I realized anew that prayer matters.

Jesus modeled that we should pray earnestly, often, and with hopeful faith. His time on earth was limited, but He prioritized getting away by Himself to pray (Mark 1:35; 6:46; 14:32).

Hundreds of years earlier, the Israelite king Hezekiah learned this lesson too. He was told that an illness would soon take his life (2 Kings 20:1). In distress and weeping bitterly, Hezekiah “turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord” (v. 2). In this instance, God’s response was immediate. He healed Hezekiah’s sickness, added fifteen years to his life, and promised to rescue the kingdom from an adversary (vv. 5-6). God answered his prayer not because Hezekiah was living a good life, but “for [his] own honor and for the sake of [his] servant David” (v. 6 nlt). We may not always receive what we ask for, but we can be sure that God is working in and through every prayer.

By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

Who in your life needs prayer today? How can you remind yourself to pause and pray more frequently?

Heavenly Father, thank You for listening to my prayers. 

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, May 03, 2024

Vital Intercession

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. — Ephesians 6:18

If we are praying as this verse commands, our prayers might cost the ones for whom we pray more than we expect. When we begin to intercede in prayer for others, God begins to lift them into a totally

different sphere, a process that may involve trials and difficulties. We have to make sure that our natural sympathy doesn’t get in God’s way. If we slip from identifying with his interests in others into personal sympathy for them, our vital connection with God will be lost. Putting sympathy first is a rebuke to him.

It is impossible to pray vitally unless we have perfect confidence in God. Personal sympathy and prejudice weaken this confidence; identification with God ensures it. Whenever we stop being identified with God, it is because of sympathy, not sin. Sin isn’t likely to interfere with our relationship to God, but sympathy will make us say, “I refuse to allow this to happen.” When we refuse to allow God to have his way, we have lost our vital connection with him.

If we are interceding properly, we have neither time nor inclination to pray for our own sad, sweet selves. It’s not that we’re working hard to keep thoughts of ourselves at bay; thoughts of ourselves simply aren’t there. In vital intercession, we are completely and entirely identified with God’s interests, and our natural sympathy—for ourselves and for others—is entirely eclipsed.

1 Kings 14-15; Luke 22:21-46

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, May 03, 2024

The Bad News Bearers - #9735

One of the amazing frustrations about families is that you just can't get everybody to agree on a comfortable temperature. Sometimes you can't even get a husband and wife to agree on it. One likes the room cozy and warm; the other likes it cool and refreshing, shall we say. It's hard to even be in agreement on what is hot and what is cold.

Now, actually, when we were driving along with our family on a freezing winter day, and we'd gotten it nice and warm, we could get four out of five members of our family to agree that we were at a comfortable temperature. But then, suddenly we were all aware of this cold air blowing through the car because there was one member of our family, who shall remain nameless, who always wanted some fresh air; who said, "It's hot and stifling!" And you could hear almost in unison four voices turn to this one person and say, "Who opened the window!" Well, one person does have the ability to send a chill through any group.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bad News Bearers."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Numbers 13. I'll begin reading at verse 26. The spies have just scouted out the Promised Land and they've come back. The Bible says, "There they reported to them unto the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account, ‘We went into the land to which you sent us and it does flow with milk and honey. Here is its' fruit.'" By the way, it took two men to carry one bunch of grapes back on a pole! That's some fruit! "But the people who live there are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there (who was a giant)."

Then it says in verse 31, "The men who had gone up with them said, ‘We can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are." So, they are disagreeing with the report that Caleb and Joshua had given. They said, "Hey, we could go for it under God's leadership." And it says, "These people spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they'd explored." They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

Some years ago there was a movie entitled The Bad News Bears. Well, these guys were the bad news bear-ers and they're still busy today. Oh yeah, the people who bring the bad report! You've always got the people who bring a bad report into every situation.

Now, you know what? It's hard to see it in yourself if it's you. But I wonder how would you evaluate yourself if you played back a recording of this past week? Were there many complaints? Was there a lot of talking about the bad news about people? Maybe a lot about the problems? See, we drift into becoming a negative influence and we don't even know it. But when you're around, do people feel lighter or do they feel heavier? Do they feel motivated or inundated? Do they feel like the sun came out, or that the clouds moved in?

The bad news bearers, oh they see the problems, and there were real giants and there were real walls back then. But the believers see the promises and they choose to focus on the promises of God instead. The negative voice can turn a whole group cold. It did then! In fact it caused a nation's faith to fail and they wandered for years because of people who brought back negative news.

So as a family member, a friend, a church member, a coworker, are you often the bad news bearer too often? Ask the Lord to help you sense the negative before it ever comes out of your mouth - and to talk about the positives.

After all, who wants to be the person who's the chill that freezes everyone in the room?

Jeremiah 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: TAKE IT AWAY - May 2, 2024

Denalyn and I enjoyed a nice dinner at a local restaurant one night. About the same time we received our bill, we received a visit from a church member. After we chatted for a moment, he reached down and took our bill and said, “I’ll take this.” Guess what I did? I just let him take it away.

Someday we will all stand before God. All of us will have to give an account for our lives. And were it not for the grace of Christ, I would find this to be a terrifying thought. Yet, according to Scripture, Jesus came to “take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29 Phillips). On the day when I appear before the judgment seat of God, when my list of sins is produced, I will gesture toward Christ and say, “He took it.” Let him take yours.

Jeremiah 28

From a Wooden to an Iron Yoke

1–2  28 Later that same year (it was in the fifth month of King Zedekiah’s fourth year) Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, confronted Jeremiah in the Temple of God in front of the priests and all the people who were there. 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.’ ”

5–9  Prophet Jeremiah stood up to prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were in God’s Temple that day. Prophet Jeremiah said, “Wonderful! Would that it were true—that God would validate your preaching by bringing the Temple furnishings and all the exiles back from Babylon. But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today: The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague. So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there’s nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We’ll wait and see. If it happens, it happens—and then we’ll know that God sent him.”

10–11  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.’ ”

17  Prophet Hananiah died that very year, in the seventh month.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, May 02, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 3:10-17

Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?

13–15  “No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

16–18  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

Insight

In John 3:10, we sense Jesus’ frustration with Nicodemus, who, as a well-educated Pharisee (“Israel’s teacher,” as Christ put it), should’ve understood the Scriptures better than he did. Nicodemus was also a member of the ruling council, the Sanhedrin (v. 1), which plotted to have Jesus arrested and executed. But we must give Nicodemus credit for several key points. First, he came to Christ with his questions (vv. 4, 9). Second, his dialogue with Jesus must have taken root in his heart, for later he spoke in defense of Christ when his colleagues were clamoring for His arrest (7:50-51). And third, he courageously identified with the Savior—at a time when the disciples had fled in fear—by joining Joseph of Arimathea to take Jesus’ body from the cross and give Him a respectful Jewish burial (19:38-42). By: Tim Gustafson

A Creator We Can Trust

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. John 3:16

The “monster” in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most widely known literary characters, captivating our cultural imagination. But close readers of the beloved novel know that a strong case can be made that Shelley actually portrays Victor Frankenstein, the delusional scientist who created the creature, as the real monster. After creating an intelligent creature, Victor denies him any guidance, companionship, or hope of happiness—seemingly guaranteeing the creature’s descent into desperation and rage. Confronting Victor, the creature laments, “You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph.”

Scripture reveals how different the true Creator of all things is—with unchanging, tireless love for His creation. God didn’t create on a whim, but out of love created a beautiful, “very good” world (Genesis 1:31). And even when humanity turned from Him to choose monstrous evil instead, God’s commitment to and love for humanity didn’t change.

As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, God’s love for His creation was so great He was willing to give even what was most dear to Him—“his one and only Son” (John 3:16)—that the world might be saved. Jesus sacrificed Himself, bearing the consequences of our sin, so “that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (v. 15).

We have a Creator we can trust with our hearts and lives. By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How does God’s commitment to His creation impact you? How can you respond to His love for you?

Dear God, thank You for being a good Creator who I can trust.  

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, May 02, 2024

The Passion of Patience

Though it linger, wait for it. — Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is not indifference. Patience is an immensely strong rock, withstanding all onslaughts. The vision of God is the source of patience, because it gives moral inspiration. Moses was able to be patient, not because he had a sense of duty but because he had the vision of God: “He persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). If God gives you a time of temptation in the wilderness, when there is no word from him at all, be patient. The power to endure is yours because you see God.

A person who has had a vision of God is devoted to God himself, not to any particular cause or issue. You always know if the vision you’re having is of God because of the inspiration it brings. When you see God, everything around you is energized. Everything is larger, more vibrant, more.

“Though it linger, wait for it.” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. We have the tendency to look for satisfaction in our experience. We think that because we’ve experienced salvation and sanctification, we have the power to endure anything. The instant we begin to think this way, we are on the road to ruin. If we have nothing more than our experiences, we have nothing. If we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience.

Never let yourself relax spiritually. Press on toward your goal. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

1 Kings 12-13; Luke 22:1-20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, May 02, 2024

How Valuable You Really Are - #9734

When our oldest son was little he started a hobby that really helped him pay his way through college eventually - collecting baseball cards. He was doing pretty well collecting, when he asked me to start taking him to these shows on the baseball circuit. One summer I was scheduled to speak at Ocean City, New Jersey, and he wanted to go down a day early so we could catch the last day of this huge card show. He walked into a large hall with all the money the little guy could have saved from recent chores and allowances.

As we strolled along together, something caught my eye. It was the baseball card I had tried so hard to get as a little boy and I never could. See, growing up in Chicago, my hero was the second baseman of the Chicago White Sox, Nellie Fox. He was the hero of a lot of kids. I bought tons of baseball cards. I had the whole Chicago White Sox team, but I could never get Nellie Fox.

We found a table with one of those very rare Fox cards that I could never find as a kid, and I said, "This guy had it!" My son said, "Are you going to buy it, Dad?" I said, "No, it's too much. I'm just going to keep looking around." So we went our separate ways for a few minutes, until I felt a tug on my pants. It was my son, looking up at me with eyes I'll never forget. "Here, Dad. I love you." I looked down and he handed me that Nellie Fox baseball card. My son had basically spent everything he had on that gift for me. That card is on my desk in a plastic protector. There have been few times in my life when I felt so loved as I did that moment.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Valuable You Really Are."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in 1 Corinthians 6:20, "You were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." The Bible says Jesus paid a very high price for you. Actually the book of Revelation pulls the curtain on heaven and lets us see Jesus there surrounded by billions of angels and people who have died and gone there. And part of what they sing about is what never ceases to amaze everyone in heaven.

It says in Revelation 5:9, "With your blood you purchased men for God." So this price you are bought with is the life blood of Jesus Christ, God's one and only Son. Now, I knew my son loved me. He proved it by what he gave me that day. You can tell how much God loves you because He spent everything He had on you. No one has ever loved you like that; this is the price tag of the blood of God's Son spent for you.

The Bible says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Forgiveness means erasing our sin from God's book, because the penalty for our sin is clear. It's death. My sins are only going to be paid for by dying. If you want to know that God really loves you, here is His overwhelming best. He sacrificed His Son to die your eternal death penalty on a cross. He spent it all on you.

Maybe there's never been that time when you have experienced that love for yourself; taken the gift He paid for with His life. I don't know who's been there for you in your life. I don't know who's betrayed you, who's abandoned you, made it hard for you to trust. But I know that the One who made you, who holds your eternity in His hands loves you desperately. He loves you so very much. Look at the price He paid for you. This is the love you've spent a lifetime looking for, and it's yours for the taking when you tell Jesus Christ that you're putting all your hopes in Him. All your trust in what He did on the cross for you.

If you've never done that, if you're ready to open up to that love and experience it for yourself, tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website ANewStory.com. Let me help you, there, be sure you belong to this Jesus.

I knew my son loved me, because he sacrificed everything he had to give to me. You know what? That's just a small picture of how much Jesus loves you. The Son of God has come to you, knocking on the door of your heart saying, "I loved you enough to spend everything on you." This is your day to start belonging to Him.