Daniel 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE ASSURING PRESENCE - June 25, 2024

Why anyone would pester Hannah Lake is beyond me. If her sweet face doesn’t de-starch your shirt, her angelic voice will. But a grade school bully tried to stir some trouble. Intimidation.  Pressure. But Hannah did not fold. And in the end, it was her faith that pulled her through. The older student warned Hannah, “Any day now I’m coming after you.” Hannah didn’t flinch or cry; she simply informed the perpetrator about the facts. “Do whatever you need to do,” she said. “Just know this: God is on my side.” Last word has it that no more threats have been made!

Elementary school bullies don’t await you, but job transfers and fair-weather friends do. Challenges pockmark the pathway of your life. Where do you find energy to face them? You know, God never promises the absence of distress. But he does promise the assuring presence of his Holy Spirit.

Daniel 11

“ ‘And I, in my turn, have been helping him out as best I can ever since the first year in the reign of Darius the Mede.’

The Kings of the South and the North

2  “ ‘But now let me tell you the truth of how things stand: Three more kings of Persia will show up, and then a fourth will become richer than all of them. When he senses that he is powerful enough as a result of his wealth, he will go to war against the entire kingdom of Greece.

3–4  “ ‘Then a powerful king will show up and take over a huge territory and run things just as he pleases. But at the height of his power, with everything seemingly under control, his kingdom will split into four parts, like the four points of the compass. But his heirs won’t get in on it. There will be no continuity with his kingship. Others will tear it to pieces and grab whatever they can get for themselves.

5–6  “ ‘Next the king of the south will grow strong, but one of his princes will grow stronger than he and rule an even larger territory. After a few years, the two of them will make a pact, and the daughter of the king of the south will marry the king of the north to cement the peace agreement. But her influence will weaken and her child will not survive. She and her servants, her child, and her husband will be betrayed.

6–9  “ ‘Sometime later a member of the royal family will show up and take over. He will take command of his army and invade the defenses of the king of the north and win a resounding victory. He will load up their tin gods and all the gold and silver trinkets that go with them and cart them off to Egypt. Eventually, the king of the north will recover and invade the country of the king of the south, but unsuccessfully. He will have to retreat.

10  “ ‘But then his sons will raise a huge army and rush down like a flood, a torrential attack, on the defenses of the south.

11–13  “ ‘Furious, the king of the south will come out and engage the king of the north and his huge army in battle and rout them. As the corpses are cleared from the field, the king, inflamed with bloodlust, will go on a bloodletting rampage, massacring tens of thousands. But his victory won’t last long, for the king of the north will put together another army bigger than the last one, and after a few years he’ll come back to do battle again with his immense army and endless supplies.

14  “ ‘In those times, many others will get into the act and go off to fight against the king of the south. Hotheads from your own people, drunk on dreams, will join them. But they’ll sputter out.

15–17  “ ‘When the king of the north arrives, he’ll build siege works and capture the outpost fortress city. The armies of the south will fall to pieces before him. Not even their famous commando shock troops will slow down the attacker. He’ll march in big as you please, as if he owned the place. He’ll take over that beautiful country, Palestine, and make himself at home in it. Then he’ll proceed to get everything, lock, stock, and barrel, in his control. He’ll cook up a peace treaty and even give his daughter in marriage to the king of the south in a plot to destroy him totally. But the plot will fizzle. It won’t succeed.

18–19  “ ‘Later, he’ll turn his attention to the coastal regions and capture a bunch of prisoners, but a general will step in and put a stop to his bullying ways. The bully will be bullied! He’ll go back home and tend to his own military affairs. But by then he’ll be washed up and soon will be heard of no more.

20  “ ‘He will be replaced shortly by a real loser, his rule, reputation, and authority already in shreds. And he won’t last long. He’ll slip out of history quietly, without even a fight.

21–24  “ ‘His place will be taken by a reject, a man spurned and passed over for advancement. He’ll surprise everyone, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and will seize the kingdom. He’ll come in like a steamroller, flattening the opposition. Even the Prince of the Covenant will be crushed. After negotiating a cease-fire, he’ll betray its terms. With a few henchmen, he’ll take total control. Arbitrarily and impulsively, he’ll invade the richest provinces. He’ll surpass all his ancestors, near and distant, in his rape of the country, grabbing and looting, living with his cronies in corrupt and lavish luxury.

24–26  “ ‘He will make plans against the fortress cities, but they’ll turn out to be shortsighted. He’ll get a great army together, all charged up to fight the king of the south. The king of the south in response will get his army—an even greater army—in place, ready to fight. But he won’t be able to sustain that intensity for long because of the treacherous intrigue in his own ranks, his court having been honeycombed with vicious plots. His army will be smashed, the battlefield filled with corpses.

27  “ ‘The two kings, each with evil designs on the other, will sit at the conference table and trade lies. Nothing will come of the treaty, which is nothing but a tissue of lies anyway. But that’s not the end of it. There’s more to this story.

28  “ ‘The king of the north will go home loaded down with plunder, but his mind will be set on destroying the holy covenant as he passes through the country on his way home.

29–32  “ ‘One year later he will mount a fresh invasion of the south. But the second invasion won’t compare to the first. When the Roman ships arrive, he will turn tail and go back home. But as he passes through the country, he will be filled with anger at the holy covenant. He will take up with all those who betray the holy covenant, favoring them. The bodyguards surrounding him will march in and desecrate the Sanctuary and citadel. They’ll throw out the daily worship and set up in its place the obscene sacrilege. The king of the north will play up to those who betray the holy covenant, corrupting them even further with his seductive talk, but those who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand.

33–35  “ ‘Those who keep their heads on straight will teach the crowds right from wrong by their example. They’ll be put to severe testing for a season: some killed, some burned, some exiled, some robbed. When the testing is intense, they’ll get some help, but not much. Many of the helpers will be halfhearted at best. The testing will refine, cleanse, and purify those who keep their heads on straight and stay true, for there is still more to come.

36–39  “ ‘Meanwhile, the king of the north will do whatever he pleases. He’ll puff himself up and posture himself as greater than any god. He will even dare to brag and boast in defiance of the God of gods. And he’ll get by with it for a while—until this time of wrathful judgment is completed, for what is decreed must be done. He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, not even that popular favorite among women, Adonis. Contemptuous of every god and goddess, the king of the north will puff himself up greater than all of them. He’ll even stoop to despising the God of the holy ones, and in the place where God is worshiped he will put on exhibit, with a lavish show of silver and gold and jewels, a new god that no one has ever heard of. Marching under the banner of a strange god, he will attack the key fortresses. He will promote everyone who falls into line behind this god, putting them in positions of power and paying them off with grants of land.

40–45  “ ‘In the final wrap-up of this story, the king of the south will confront him. But the king of the north will come at him like a tornado. Unleashing chariots and horses and an armada of ships, he’ll blow away anything in his path. As he enters the beautiful land, people will fall before him like dominoes. Only Edom, Moab, and a few Ammonites will escape. As he reaches out, grabbing country after country, not even Egypt will be exempt. He will confiscate the treasuries of Egyptian gold and silver and other valuables. The Libyans and Ethiopians will fall in with him. Then disturbing reports will come in from the north and east that will throw him into a panic. Towering in rage, he’ll rush to stamp out the threat. But he’ll no sooner have pitched camp between the Mediterranean Sea and the Holy Mountain—all those royal tents!—than he’ll meet his end. And not a soul around who can help!’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Today's Scripture

Ephesians 1:15-23

That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

20–23  All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Insight

Today’s reading begins with the phrase “for this reason” (Ephesians 1:15). What reason? In verses 3-14, Paul wrote one continuous sentence (in the original Greek) praising “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3) for a variety of things. God blessed us “with every spiritual blessing” (v. 3); “chose us” (v. 4); “predestined us for adoption” (v. 5); redeemed and forgave us (v. 7); and “made known to us the mystery of his will” (v. 9). Paul also notes that we’re “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (vv. 13-14). Taken together, this passage provides us with one of the clearest presentations of the doctrine of the Trinity. The apostle prays, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (v. 17). By: Tim Gustafson

Humble Jørn

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:16

They didn’t think Jørn, a tenant farming the land, would amount to much. Yet despite his weak vision and other physical limitations, he poured himself out for those in his village in Norway, praying the many nights when his pain kept him awake. In prayer he’d move from house to house, naming each person individually, even the children he hadn’t yet met. People loved his gentle spirit and would seek his wisdom and advice. If he couldn’t help them practically, they’d still feel blessed when they left, having received his love. And when Jørn died, his funeral was the biggest ever in that community, even though he had no family there. His prayers blossomed and brought forth fruit beyond what he could have imagined.

This humble man followed in the example of the apostle Paul, who loved those he served and prayed for them while confined. He wrote to those in Ephesus while he was likely imprisoned in Rome, praying that God would give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” and that the eyes of their hearts would be “enlightened” (Ephesians 1:17–18). He yearned that they would know Jesus and live with love and unity through the power of the Spirit.

Jørn and the apostle Paul poured themselves out to God, committing those they loved and served to Him in prayer. May we consider their examples in how we love and serve others today. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

Who do you know who’s a gentle prayer warrior? How does that person reflect Christ’s heart?

Jesus, You served others and put their needs first. Please help me to love and serve You joyfully each day.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow

Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. — John 12:27 

As a child of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty shouldn’t be one of wishing they didn’t exist, nor of asking God to prevent them. I should be asking that, in every fire of sorrow, I receive the self God created me to be. Our Lord wasn’t saved from the hour, but out of it. He received himself in the fires of sorrow, fulfilling the purpose God had ordained for him.

We say that there shouldn’t be any sorrow, but there is sorrow. If we try to avoid it, if we refuse to take it into account, we are being foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts of life; it’s no use saying that it shouldn’t exist. Sin and sorrow and suffering are. It isn’t for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow burns up a great amount of our shallowness, but it doesn’t always make us better. Suffering either gives us to ourselves or destroys us. We can’t find ourselves in success; success makes us lose our heads. We can’t find ourselves in times of calm and monotony; they make us bored. The only way we can receive ourselves is in the fires of sorrow. This is true in both Scripture and human experience.

Have I received my self—the self God created me to be—in the fires of sorrow? It’s always easy to identify people who have. They are the people you know you can trust, the people you turn to in moments of trouble and find that they have plenty of time for you. Those who haven’t received themselves are likely to be irritated and contemptuous when you ask for their help; they have no time for you and your troubles. Only those who have received themselves are able to give with open hearts.

Receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, and God will make you nourishment for others.

Job 3-4; Acts 7:44-60

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Temptation Defense - #9772

When I was little, my bicycle and I spent a lot of time together. You would see this little fat guy chugging all over town; that was my way to get around. There was only one thing that compromised my total enjoyment of biking - the dog on the corner. Yeah, since our street ended right after our house and our house was just beyond the corner, there was just no other way to approach our house. So, often that little dog would sense me coming; I'm sure he had lookouts posted. He would appear out of nowhere, charge my direction with teeth bared, his bark would send chills up my spine. I picked up my speed; boy, I got really fast! I could feel him nipping at my heels. I didn't even know I could pedal that fast! I think I could have qualified for the Olympics.

I very quickly learned any evasive action I could think of: getting my speed up before I got there, coming down the other street where he seemed less likely to be. I followed his pattern, ignoring him; pretending I didn't see him so I didn't look scared. Somebody told me that was a good idea. I learned quickly that a vicious dog is nothing to mess with and should be avoided at all costs.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Genesis 39, beginning at verse 7. Joseph is about to be a Jewish transplant; picked up and sold as a slave into Egypt. He's working for Potiphar, a military leader. He's been trusted with total responsibility of the household. Now, Potiphar's wife gets an eye on this good looking young man, and it says, "After a while, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, 'Come to bed with me.' But he refused."

Verse 10 of Genesis 39: "And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her." And notice this, "...or even be with her." Now, this has got to be for Joseph a pretty tempting temptation. He's lonely; he's away from home. I would guess that a powerful man's wife is probably pretty attractive, and he is totally trusted. He may very well get away with this and no one ever know what he's done.

But he says, "How could I sin against God." He knows God will know. He knows that he and his conscience will know. And had he said yes to this temptation, it would have been a spiritually fatal mistake - probably disqualifying him from being God's hero as we know him today.

Now, temptation is always out to bite you, to discredit you, to scar you. But unlike our dog at the corner when I was a kid, it doesn't warn you with a bark. Do you know what your Potiphar's wife is right now? Oh, it could be a sexual opportunity. It could be the apparent advantages of compromising your integrity a little bit, being a little dishonest right now; maybe it's the urge to retaliate or a compromise that seems better than losing this person, or that old habit, or going back to the old friends. The advantages of sinning are always short lived, and the price always lasts a long time.

Now, notice that Joseph can recognize that vicious dog of temptation under all that mascara and perfume. He's smart enough to take evasive action to not ride close to the dog's house. That may be why the pull of temptation is so strong on you. You haven't burned your bridges to it. You want to beat it? Then you have to avoid the places where it is, the people who draw you into it, the props that get you into it. You can't flirt with sin; it's a vicious dog! Pedal fast! The Bible says, "Flee from it." Take a route that's nowhere near the opportunity to do that sin.

Don't get anywhere near that attractive but deadly, vicious dog of sin.

Philemon, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: LIVE IN PEACE - June 24, 2024

We used to have a backyard trampoline. One afternoon all three of our girls were bouncing on it. Like all siblings, they don’t always get along. But for some reason, that afternoon they were one another’s biggest fans. When one jumped, the other two applauded. My chest swelled with pride. After a few moments, you know what I did? I joined them. I couldn’t resist. Their alliance pleased me.

Our alliance pleases Christ. Jesus promised, “When two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there” (Matthew 18:20). Do you desire power of Jesus in your life? Paul said in Romans 12:18 that it will come as you “do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.” Work through your conflicts. Forgive offenses. Resolve disputes. Scripture says, “Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, bind yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

Philemon

Every movement we make in response to God has a ripple effect, touching family, neighbors, friends, community. Belief in God alters our language. Love of God affects daily relationships. Hope in God enters into our work. Also their opposites—unbelief, indifference, and despair. None of these movements and responses, beliefs and prayers, gestures and searches, can be confined to the soul. They spill out and make history. If they don’t, they are under suspicion of being fantasies at best, hypocrisies at worst.

Christians have always insisted on the historicity of Jesus—an actual birth, a datable death, a witnessed resurrection, locatable towns. There is a parallel historicity in the followers of Jesus. As they take in everything Jesus said and did—all of it a personal revelation of God in time and place—it all gets worked into local history, eventually into world history.

Philemon and Onesimus, the slave owner and slave who figure prominently in this letter from Paul, had no idea that believing in Jesus would involve them in radical social change. But as the two of them were brought together by this letter, it did. And it still does.

Philemon

1–3  I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!

4–7  Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!” I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.

To Call the Slave Your Friend

8–9  In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ’s ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn’t hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I’d rather make it a personal request.

10–14  While here in jail, I’ve fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter—Onesimus! He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I’m in jail for the Message. But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn’t willingly agreed to.

15–16  Maybe it’s all for the best that you lost him for a while. You’re getting him back now for good—and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother! That’s what he was to me—he’ll be even more than that to you.

17–20  So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don’t need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You’ll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.

21–22  I know you well enough to know you will. You’ll probably go far beyond what I’ve written. And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.

23–25  Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, June 24, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 20:18-21

All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid—they pulled back and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we’ll listen, but don’t have God speak to us or we’ll die.”

20  Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won’t sin.”

21  The people kept their distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

Insight

Two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1-2). Mount Sinai, also called Mount Horeb (3:1; 33:6), was the place where Moses first got to know who God was at the burning bush (3:1-12). Now the whole nation would get to know the “I am” (vv. 14-15). Their arrival is a fulfillment of verse 12: “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” It marked the beginning of their privileged status as God’s covenant people—“a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:6). It’s here that God gave them His laws—instructions for how to relate to God and worship Him (20:1-11) and how to live as His holy people (vv. 12-17). They camped at the foot of Mount Sinai for about a year (Numbers 10:11). Their stay in the Sinai wilderness is told in Exodus 19 through Numbers 10. By: K. T. Sim

In Awe of God

Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you. Exodus 20:20

A phobia is defined as the “irrational fear” of certain things or situations. Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders (though some might argue that’s a perfectly rational thing to be afraid of!). Then there’s globophobia and xocolatophobia. These and some four hundred other phobias are real and documented. It seems we can become afraid of most anything.

The Bible tells of the Israelites’ fear after receiving the Ten Commandments: “When the people saw the thunder and lightning . . . they trembled with fear” (Exodus 20:18). Moses comforted them, offering this most interesting statement: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you” (v. 20). Moses seems to contradict himself: “Don’t be afraid but be afraid.” In fact, the Hebrew word for “fear” contains at least two meanings—a trembling terror of something or a reverent awe of God.

We may laugh to learn that globophobia is the fear of balloons and xocolatophobia is a fear of chocolate. The more serious bottom line about phobias is that we can be afraid of all kinds of things. Fears creep into our lives like spiders, and the world can be a scary place. As we struggle with phobias and fears, we do well to be reminded that our God is an awesome God, offering us His present comfort in the midst of darkness. By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

What in your life are you afraid of? How does God’s love help you overcome those fears?

Dear God, I find myself afraid of so many things. Please comfort my heart, and help me to rest in Your love.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, June 24, 2024

Reconciling Yourself to the Fact of Sin

But this is your hour—when darkness reigns. — Luke 22:53

Not being reconciled to the fact that sin exists is what produces all the disasters in life. We talk about the nobility of human nature, but something in human nature laughs in the face of our ideals. If we refuse to accept that there is wickedness and self-seeking in human beings, something downright spiteful and wrong, we’ll compromise with sin and say there’s no use battling against it when it shows up in our lives.

Have you made allowance for the hour “when darkness reigns” in you? Or do you have a conception of yourself that leaves out sin? In your friendships and physical relationships, are you caught off guard by sinful impulses, or do you reconcile yourself in advance to the reality of sin? If you do, you’ll recognize danger the instant it appears; you’ll know ahead of time what engaging in sinful behavior would mean. Recognizing that sin exists doesn’t destroy human relationships; it establishes a mutual regard founded on the fact that the basis of life is tragic.

Always beware of an estimate of human nature that doesn’t take the existence of sin into account. Jesus Christ never trusted human nature, yet he was never cynical, never suspicious. He trusted absolutely in what God could do.

The pure person, not the innocent person, is the safeguarded person. Innocence is the quality of the child. You are never safe with an innocent man or woman; God demands that we be pure and virtuous. It is a blameworthy thing not to be reconciled to the fact of sin.

Job 1-2; Acts 7:22-43

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 388 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, June 24, 2024

How Suffering Improves Your Vision - #9771

Have you ever been to the mall and seen one of those mall walkers? They're going at a steady clip, getting their mile or their three miles for the day. One of those mall walkers actually made the national news a few years back. He was power walking, which means "Don't get in my way! I am coming fast." He must have looked away for a moment, because he walked full-speed into a metal pole in the middle of the mall. Now, why would a collision with a pole be news? The man has not had any sight in his left eye for years. Suddenly, after running into that pole, he sees light in that eye. That collision turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him! It suddenly helped him see.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Suffering Improves Your Vision."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the book of Job, whose name is associated with human suffering. He symbolizes suffering probably more than anybody else in all the literature in the world. He really had some painful collisions in his life. He lost his wealth, he lost his health, and he lost his children.

Job 42:5 - his final conclusion on the really hard things he had run into. He says this to God, "My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You." Job says, "I can now see God as I never saw him before because of the pain I've been through." Before he ran into those awful losses he knew a lot about God. Because of running into those ordeals, he says now he really knows God.

Actually, that's been the experience of so many hurting people over the years. They ran into something hard, but the collision was what helped them to be able to see things they had missed before like that man at the mall.

Our son would tell you that his personal idol in junior high and early high school was football. Then came the day his knee got seriously injured. I was in the doctor's office when he was told he would never play football again. That day he cried as I had never seen him cry before. And he'll tell you now he understands that not just as the day his dream died. It was the day that his god died - the god of sports.

Not long after that he surrendered his life to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Running into that injury and that depressing news was the hardest thing he had ever run into at that point. But because of it, he saw what he'd never seen before - how losable our idols are, how worth it it is to live for Jesus and he became a missionary to Native America.

Maybe you've run into some hard things and it hurts. It's confusing, maybe even depressing. But consider what God might be trying to do in this collision. Could it be He's helping you be able to see? Maybe He wants to use the collision to expose the presence of an idol in your life or to let that other god die on you. Or He may want to open your eyes to your neglect of your family, or your neglect of Him. Or to show you that your schemes are not the answer. Or that the eternal things are the only things that really matter.

You know, for so many people it's when we hit a wall, when you run into something we can't fix or we can't control, or we can't change that we begin to consider "Who can I turn to? I am not enough." And at that moment God uses that to open our eyes to a man named Jesus, whose love was proven by His death for you on the cross. Taking your place, your death penalty for your sin. Whose power was proven by walking out of His grave. And He's ready to walk into your life today.

The purpose of the pain may have been a wakeup call from God to bring you into a relationship with Him so you could be with Him forever. And if you've never said, "Jesus, I'm yours," let this be the day. I'd love to help you with that. Just go to our website ANewStory.com.

For a child of God, the good news is there's never a collision without meaning. Open your eyes and let your Heavenly Father help you see what you might never have seen without the collision.

Daniel 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: What Pleases a Father

When our daughters were young, Denalyn went away for a couple of days and left me alone with the girls. Though the time was not without the typical children’s quarrels and occasional misbehavior, it went fine.

“How were the girls?” Denalyn asked when she got home. “Good. No problem at all.” Jenna overheard me. “We weren’t good, Daddy,” she objected. “We fought once; we didn’t do what you said once. We weren’t good.”

Jenna and I had different perceptions of what pleases a father. She thought it depended on what she did. It didn’t. We think the same about God. We think His love rises and falls with our performance. It doesn’t. I didn’t love Jenna for what she did. I loved her—and love her still—for whose she is. She’s mine. God loves you for the same reason. He loves you for whose you are; and you are His child!

From Dad Time

Daniel 10

A Vision of a Big War

In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was made plain to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. The message was true. It dealt with a big war. He understood the message, the understanding coming by revelation:

2–3  “During those days, I, Daniel, went into mourning over Jerusalem for three weeks. I ate only plain and simple food, no seasoning or meat or wine. I neither bathed nor shaved until the three weeks were up.

4–6  “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris. I looked up and to my surprise saw a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body was hard and glistening, as if sculpted from a precious stone, his face radiant, his eyes bright and penetrating like torches, his arms and feet glistening like polished bronze, and his voice, deep and resonant, sounded like a huge choir of voices.

7–8  “I, Daniel, was the only one to see this. The men who were with me, although they didn’t see it, were overcome with fear and ran off and hid, fearing the worst. Left alone after the appearance, abandoned by my friends, I went weak in the knees, the blood drained from my face.

9–10  “I heard his voice. At the sound of it I fainted, fell flat on the ground, face in the dirt. A hand touched me and pulled me to my hands and knees.

11  “ ‘Daniel,’ he said, ‘man of quality, listen carefully to my message. And get up on your feet. Stand at attention. I’ve been sent to bring you news.’

“When he had said this, I stood up, but I was still shaking.

12–14  “ ‘Relax, Daniel,’ he continued, ‘don’t be afraid. From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you. But I was waylaid by the angel-prince of the kingdom of Persia and was delayed for a good three weeks. But then Michael, one of the chief angel-princes, intervened to help me. I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia. And now I’m here to help you understand what will eventually happen to your people. The vision has to do with what’s ahead.’

15–17  “While he was saying all this, I looked at the ground and said nothing. Then I was surprised by something like a human hand that touched my lips. I opened my mouth and started talking to the messenger: ‘When I saw you, master, I was terror-stricken. My knees turned to water. I couldn’t move. How can I, a lowly servant, speak to you, my master? I’m paralyzed. I can hardly breathe!’

18–19  “Then this humanlike figure touched me again and gave me strength. He said, ‘Don’t be afraid, friend. Peace. Everything is going to be all right. Take courage. Be strong.’

“Even as he spoke, courage surged up within me. I said, ‘Go ahead, let my master speak. You’ve given me courage.’

20–21  “He said, ‘Do you know why I’ve come here to you? I now have to go back to fight against the angel-prince of Persia, and when I get him out of the way, the angel-prince of Greece will arrive. But first let me tell you what’s written in The True Book. No one helps me in my fight against these beings except Michael, your angel-prince.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19

 devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.

9–10  But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

17–19  Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

Insight

Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 calls to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The concept of “laying up treasures” is common to both passages. Treasures on earth speak of investments of things that only have earthly value and usefulness, such as gifts or money. Treasures in heaven refer to earthly investments that have eternal value. Generous giving on earth stores up treasure in heaven. Thus, the need for cultivating contentment. Doing so makes us less susceptible to greed and better positioned for doing good deeds and thereby truly enriching ourselves in the process. By: Arthur Jackson

Rich in Good Deeds

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18

After seven decades of hard work as a washerwoman—scrubbing, drying, and pressing clothes by hand—Oseola McCarty was finally ready to retire at the age of eighty-six. She had scrupulously saved her meager earnings all those years, and to the amazement of her community, Oseola donated $150,000 to the nearby university to create a scholarship fund for needy students. Inspired by her selfless gift, hundreds of people donated enough to triple her endowment.

Oseola understood the true value of her wealth was not in using it for her own gain, but to bless others. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to command those who are rich in this present world “to be rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18). Each of us has been given wealth to steward, whether it’s in the form of financial means or other resources. Instead of trusting in our resources, Paul cautions us to put our hope only in God (v. 17) and to lay up treasure in heaven by being “generous and willing to share” (v. 18).

In God’s economy, withholding and not being generous only leads to emptiness. Giving to others out of love is the way to fulfillment. To have both godliness and contentment with what we have, instead of striving for more, is great gain (v. 6). What would it look like for us to be generous with our resources, as Oseola was? Let us strive to be rich in good deeds today as God leads us. By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

What opportunity do you have to be generous today? How can sharing what you have lead to greater contentment?

Thank You for the resources I have, God. I surrender them to You today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Acquaintance with Grief

He is . . . a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. — Isaiah 53:3

We are not acquainted with grief in the way our Lord was acquainted with grief. We endure it, we get through it, but we don’t become intimate with it. The reason for this is that we don’t understand the cause of grief and sorrow in life. Grief and sorrow are caused by sin— but many of us refuse to recognize the fact that sin exists.

At the beginning of our lives, we take a rational view of things. We say that human beings, by educating themselves and looking after their instincts, by controlling “the ape and tiger” within, can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we discover the presence of something we hadn’t taken into account: sin.

Sin upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild, not rational. Some of us never learn to accept the fact of sin because we don’t think it should be there. We have to recognize that sin is a fact.

Sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed. If God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no other possible outcome. Sin reached its climax when it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. We have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation for why Jesus Christ came, and the only explanation for grief and sorrow in life.

Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L

Daniel 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: He Wants You To Fly

“If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22

Don’t reduce this grand statement to the category of new cars and paychecks . . .

God wants you to fly. He wants you to fly free of yesterday’s guilt. He wants you to fly free of today’s fears. He wants you to fly free of tomorrow’s grave. Sin, fear, and death. These are the mountains he has moved. These are the prayers he will answer.

Daniel 9

God’s Covenant Commitment

1–4  9 “Darius, son of Ahasuerus, born a Mede, became king over the land of Babylon. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was meditating on the Scriptures that gave, according to the Word of God to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years that Jerusalem had to lie in ruins, namely, seventy. I turned to the Master God, asking for an answer—praying earnestly, fasting from meals, wearing rough penitential burlap, and kneeling in the ashes. I poured out my heart, baring my soul to God, my God:

4–8  “ ‘O Master, great and august God. You never waver in your covenant commitment, never give up on those who love you and do what you say. Yet we have sinned in every way imaginable. We’ve done evil things, rebelled, dodged and taken detours around your clearly marked paths. We’ve turned a deaf ear to your servants the prophets, who preached your Word to our kings and leaders, our parents, and all the people in the land. You have done everything right, Master, but all we have to show for our lives is guilt and shame, the whole lot of us—people of Judah, citizens of Jerusalem, Israel at home and Israel in exile in all the places we’ve been banished to because of our betrayal of you. Oh yes, God, we’ve been exposed in our shame, all of us—our kings, leaders, parents—before the whole world. And deservedly so, because of our sin.

9–12  “ ‘Compassion is our only hope, the compassion of you, the Master, our God, since in our rebellion we’ve forfeited our rights. We paid no attention to you when you told us how to live, the clear teaching that came through your servants the prophets. All of us in Israel ignored what you said. We defied your instructions and did what we pleased. And now we’re paying for it: The solemn curse written out plainly in the revelation to God’s servant Moses is now doing its work among us, the wages of our sin against you. You did to us and our rulers what you said you would do: You brought this catastrophic disaster on us, the worst disaster on record—and in Jerusalem!

13–14  “ ‘Just as written in God’s revelation to Moses, the catastrophe was total. Nothing was held back. We kept at our sinning, never giving you a second thought, oblivious to your clear warning, and so you had no choice but to let the disaster loose on us in full force. You, our God, had a perfect right to do this since we persistently and defiantly ignored you.

15–17  “ ‘Master, you are our God, for you delivered your people from the land of Egypt in a show of power—people are still talking about it! We confess that we have sinned, that we have lived bad lives. Following the lines of what you have always done in setting things right, setting people right, please stop being so angry with Jerusalem, your very own city, your holy mountain. We know it’s our fault that this has happened, all because of our sins and our parents’ sins, and now we’re an embarrassment to everyone around us. We’re a blot on the neighborhood. So listen, God, to this determined prayer of your servant. Have mercy on your ruined Sanctuary. Act out of who you are, not out of what we are.

18  “ ‘Turn your ears our way, God, and listen. Open your eyes and take a long look at our ruined city, this city named after you. We know that we don’t deserve a hearing from you. Our appeal is to your compassion. This prayer is our last and only hope:

19  “ ‘Master, listen to us!

Master, forgive us!

Master, look at us and do something!

Master, don’t put us off!

Your city and your people are named after you:

You have a stake in us!’

Seventy Sevens

20–21  “While I was pouring out my heart, baring my sins and the sins of my people Israel, praying my life out before my God, interceding for the holy mountain of my God—while I was absorbed in this praying, the humanlike Gabriel, the one I had seen in an earlier vision, approached me, flying in like a bird about the time of evening worship.

22–23  “He stood before me and said, ‘Daniel, I have come to make things plain to you. You had no sooner started your prayer when the answer was given. And now I’m here to deliver the answer to you. You are much loved! So listen carefully to the answer, the plain meaning of what is revealed:

24  “ ‘Seventy sevens are set for your people and for your holy city to throttle rebellion, stop sin, wipe out crime, set things right forever, confirm what the prophet saw, and anoint The Holy of Holies.

25–26  “ ‘Here is what you must understand: From the time the word goes out to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed Leader, there will be seven sevens. The rebuilding will take sixty-two sevens, including building streets and digging a moat. Those will be rough times. After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed Leader will be killed—the end of him. The city and Sanctuary will be laid in ruins by the army of the newly arriving leader. The end will come in a rush, like a flood. War will rage right up to the end, desolation the order of the day.

27  “ ‘Then for one seven, he will forge many and strong alliances, but halfway through the seven he will banish worship and prayers. At the place of worship, a desecrating obscenity will be set up and remain until finally the desecrator himself is decisively destroyed.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 26:30-27:8

Then put The Dwelling together, following the design you were shown on the mountain.

31–35  “Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Have a design of angel-cherubim woven into it by a skilled craftsman. Fasten it with gold hooks to four posts of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold, set on four silver bases. After hanging the curtain from the clasps, bring the Chest of The Testimony in behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Holy-of-Holies. Now place the Atonement-Cover lid on the Chest of The Testimony in the Holy-of-Holies. Place the Table and the Lampstand outside the curtain, the Lampstand on the south side of The Dwelling and the Table opposite it on the north side.

36–37  “Make a screen for the door of the tent. Weave it from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Frame the weaving with five poles of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold and make gold hooks to hang the weaving. Cast five bronze bases for the poles.”

The Altar

1–8  27 “Make an Altar of acacia wood. Make it seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. Make horns at each of the four corners. The horns are to be of one piece with the Altar and covered with a veneer of bronze. Make buckets for removing the ashes, along with shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. Make all these utensils from bronze. Make a grate of bronze mesh and attach bronze rings at each of the four corners. Put the grate under the ledge of the Altar at the halfway point of the Altar. Make acacia wood poles for the Altar and cover them with a veneer of bronze. Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the Altar for carrying. Use boards to make the Altar, keeping the interior hollow.

Insight

The curtain described here (Exodus 26:31-33) separated the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle from the Holy Place. This is crucial because the Most Holy Place was only for the high priest (Aaron) to enter, and only under particular circumstances (Leviticus 16). Any violation would result in death. The letter to the Hebrews gives us remarkable insight into Jesus’ role as our high priest (see chs. 7-9). We may now “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (4:16). The curtain to the Most Holy Place was “torn in two” when Christ was crucified (Matthew 27:51). By: Tim Gustafson

House of Worship

Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. Exodus 26:30

When Britain’s House of Commons was bombed in World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament they must rebuild it according to its original design. It must be small, so debates would remain face-to-face. It must be oblong rather than semicircular, allowing politicians to “move around the center.” This preserved Britain’s party system, where Left and Right faced each other across the room, requiring careful thought before switching sides. Churchill concluded, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”

God seems to agree. Seven chapters in Exodus (chs. 25-31) give instructions on building the tabernacle, and six more (chs. 35-40) describe how Israel did it. God cared about their worship. When the people entered the courtyard, the gleaming gold and the tabernacle’s colorful curtains (26:1, 31-37) dazzled them. The altar of burnt offering (27:1-8) and water basin (30:17-21) reminded them of the cost of their forgiveness. The tabernacle contained a lampstand (25:31-40), bread table (25:23-30), altar of incense (30:1-6), and ark of the covenant (25:10-22). Each item held great significance.

God doesn’t give us detailed instructions for our worship space as He did with Israel, yet our worship is no less vital. Our very being is to be a tabernacle set apart for Him to dwell in. May everything we do remind us of who He is and what He does. By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray

What does your worship teach you about God and His love for you? What changes might you want to make?

Father, You’re worthy of my best worship.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, June 22, 2024

The Undeviating Test

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. — Matthew 7:2

What Jesus says here about judging isn’t a haphazard guess; it’s an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you make of another person will be made of you. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus says that the basis of life is retribution: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding defects in others, remember that this is how you will be dealt with. This is the law from God’s throne downward: “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd” (Psalm 18:26). Life serves you back in the coin you pay.

Romans 2 applies this law of judgment in an even more definite way. It says that the person who criticizes another is guilty of the exact thing they’re criticizing. God doesn’t look at the act alone; he looks at the possibility of the act. The problem with many of us is that we don’t believe the statements of the Bible in the first place. Do you, for instance, believe you are actually guilty of all the things you criticize in others? The reason we see hypocrisy and fraud and unreality in others is because we have these things in our own hearts. The defining quality of the truly righteous person is humility. The righteous person knows, “All those evil things and many more would rule me if it weren’t for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”

Jesus says, “Do not judge” (Matthew 7:1). If you judge, you will be judged to the same degree. Which of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged my fellow human beings”? We have judged our fellow human beings as sinners. If God were to judge us like that, we would be in hell. God judges us through the marvelous atonement of Jesus Christ.

Esther 6-8; Acts 6

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. 

Not Knowing Whither, 888 L

Daniel 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

A GOOD, HEALTHY STRUGGLE - June 21, 2024 -God’s using your struggle to toughen you up. It’s like viewing a movie after you’ve read the book. When something bad happens, everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. But not you. Why? You’ve read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot.

God views your life with the same confidence. He’s not only read your story, he wrote it. His perspective is different, and his purpose is clear. One of God’s cures for weak faith? A good, healthy struggle. “Consider it a gift when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. Under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” Scripture says, “Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (James 1:2-4 MSG). Join with Isaiah who resolved, “I will trust in him and not be afraid!” (Isaiah 12:2 NLT).

Daniel 8

A Vision of a Ram and a Billy Goat

1  8 “In King Belshazzar’s third year as king, another vision came to me, Daniel. This was now the second vision.

2–4  “In the vision, I saw myself in Susa, the capital city of the province Elam, standing at the Ulai Canal. Looking around, I was surprised to see a ram also standing at the gate. The ram had two huge horns, one bigger than the other, but the bigger horn was the last to appear. I watched as the ram charged: first west, then north, then south. No beast could stand up to him. He did just as he pleased, strutting as if he were king of the beasts.

5–7  “While I was watching this, wondering what it all meant, I saw a billy goat with an immense horn in the middle of its forehead come up out of the west and fly across the whole country, not once touching the ground. The billy goat approached the double-horned ram that I had earlier seen standing at the gate and, enraged, charged it viciously. I watched as, mad with rage, it charged the ram and hit it so hard that it broke off its two horns. The ram didn’t stand a chance against it. The billy goat knocked the ram to the ground and stomped all over it. Nothing could have saved the ram from the goat.

8–12  “Then the billy goat swelled to an enormous size. At the height of its power its immense horn broke off and four other big horns sprouted in its place, pointing to the four points of the compass. And then from one of these big horns another horn sprouted. It started small, but then grew to an enormous size, facing south and east—toward lovely Palestine. The horn grew tall, reaching to the stars, the heavenly army, and threw some of the stars to the earth and stomped on them. It even dared to challenge the power of God, Prince of the Celestial Army! And then it threw out daily worship and desecrated the Sanctuary. As judgment against their sin, the holy people of God got the same treatment as the daily worship. The horn cast God’s Truth aside. High-handed, it took over everything and everyone.

13  “Then I overheard two holy angels talking. One asked, ‘How long is what we see here going to last—the abolishing of daily worship, this devastating judgment against sin, the kicking around of God’s holy people and the Sanctuary?’

14  “The other answered, ‘Over the course of 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning. Then the Sanctuary will be set right again.’

15  “While I, Daniel, was trying to make sense of what I was seeing, suddenly there was a humanlike figure standing before me.

16–17  “Then I heard a man’s voice from over by the Ulai Canal calling out, ‘Gabriel, tell this man what is going on. Explain the vision to him.’ He came up to me, but when he got close I became terrified and fell facedown on the ground.

17–18  “He said, ‘Understand that this vision has to do with the time of the end.’ As soon as he spoke, I fainted, my face in the dirt. But he picked me up and put me on my feet.

19  “And then he continued, ‘I want to tell you what is going to happen as the judgment days of wrath wind down, for there is going to be an end to all this.

20–22  “ ‘The double-horned ram you saw stands for the two kings of the Medes and Persians. The billy goat stands for the kingdom of the Greeks. The huge horn on its forehead is the first Greek king. The four horns that sprouted after it was broken off are the four kings that come after him, but without his power.

23–26  “ ‘As their kingdoms cool down

and rebellions heat up,

A king will show up,

hard-faced, a master trickster.

His power will swell enormously.

He’ll talk big, high-handedly,

Doing whatever he pleases,

knocking off heroes and holy ones left and right.

He’ll plot and scheme to make crime flourish—

and oh, how it will flourish!

He’ll think he’s invincible

and get rid of anyone who gets in his way.

But when he takes on the Prince of all princes,

he’ll be smashed to bits—

but not by human hands.

This vision of the 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning,

is accurate but confidential.

Keep it to yourself.

It refers to the far future.’

27  “I, Daniel, walked around in a daze, unwell for days. Then I got a grip on myself and went back to work taking care of the king’s affairs. But I continued to be upset by the vision. I couldn’t make sense of it.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, June 21, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

Insight

The church in Corinth was established by Paul on his second missionary journey (around ad 50). Some four years later, at the end of his third missionary journey, he wrote to a troubled church characterized by congregational conflicts, abuse of liberty, lack of humility, immorality, and disunity. Paul deals with the source of their problems—their arrogant pride (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). He reminded them they weren’t the influential, powerful elites they assumed they were—wise philosophers, politically powerful, or materially wealthy. They were the opposite—foolish, weak, lowly, despised nobodies (vv. 27-28). Yet, God chose them to be His children based solely on His grace, not on their merits. Therefore, “no one may boast before him” (v. 29; see vv. 4-5). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Unpack Paul’s letters to the church of Corinth. By: K. T. Sim

Use Me

Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31

James Morris was once described as “an illiterate but warmhearted layman,” but God used him to draw Augustus Toplady to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Toplady, the eighteenth-century author of the timeless hymn “Rock of Ages,” described hearing Morris preach: “Strange that I . . . should be brought nigh unto God . . . amidst a handful of God’s people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous.”

Indeed, God does marvelous things in unlikely places and through those we may rank as “unqualified” or ordinary. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminded believers in Jesus that they were an unimpressive lot. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (v. 26). Though the Corinthian believers were quite ordinary, by God’s grace they weren’t lacking in giftedness and usefulness (see v. 7). And God—who knows how to put boasters in their place (vv. 27-29)—was at work among them and through them.

Do you see yourself as “plain,” “ordinary,” or even “less than”? Don’t fret. If you have Jesus and are willing to be used by Him, you have enough. May your heart’s prayer be, “God, use me!” By:  Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

Who comes to mind when you think of one who’s been quietly but effectively used by God? What can you do to help shift your focus from what you have or don’t have to what God can do through you?

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for focusing on myself and not enough on You. Use me where I am in Your holy service.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, June 21, 2024

A Royal Priesthood

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. — 1 Peter 2:9

By what right do we become “a royal priesthood”? By the right of the atonement, which is given to us as an absolute gift. Are we prepared to accept this gift, set aside all concerns about ourselves, and embark on the priestly work of intercessory prayer?

To begin the work of intercessory prayer is to take the focus off ourselves. The endless, self-centered quest to find out if we are what we ought to be creates a morbid kind of Christianity, not the simple, robust life of the child of God. Until we get into a right relationship with God, we are always wondering whether or not we’ve done enough to win his favor, and our prayers are devoted to worries about our own salvation.

There is nothing of the miracle of the redemption in this mindset. We must launch ourselves out in the reckless belief that the redemption is complete. Jesus Christ has already saved us; we don’t need to ask him to do it again. If we truly believe that our salvation is already accomplished, we will set aside concerns for ourselves and do as Jesus said: we will pray for the friend who comes to us at midnight, pray for the faithful, pray for everyone (Luke 11:1–13; 1 Timothy 2:1–4). We will pray in the realization that we are only perfect in Christ Jesus, not on this plea: “Oh, Lord, I’ve done my best; please hear me.”

How long is it going to take God to free us from the morbid habit of thinking about ourselves? We must get sick to death of ourselves, until we are no longer surprised by anything God can tell us about ourselves. If we are searching ourselves in the hopes of discovering how deep our depravity goes, we’ll be searching forever: the depth of sinfulness inside us is so profound we can never fathom it. There is only one place where we are right, and that is in Christ Jesus.

Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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, 946 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, June 21, 2024

Love Protects - #9770

When I used to go places with my two sons, people would often say, "And who are these young men?" And I'd say, "Oh, these are my bodyguards." We'd all get a good laugh at that! Of course, you know, these guys of ours grew up pretty fast, and it was believable that they could be my bodyguards.

Actually, if I really felt that I needed one, well I would look to, you know, a professional wrestler or good old Mr. T from TV days of yore. Now, there was a bodyguard. In fact, before he became a TV personality and a movie star, he was actually a bodyguard for people like Muhammad Ali. So he got noticed first and got into the movies and into that old A-Team series.

Now, it's interesting to think of bodyguards. There are people who need them, and you picture those big beefy guys who stand between the celebrity or whoever they're protecting and whoever might want to cause them any trouble. It's almost as if they're saying, "Nothing's going to happen to you my friend as long as I'm looking out for you. I'm going to stand between you and anyone who tries to hurt you." That's bodyguards. Hey, did you know you're a bodyguard? Well, I mean, at least you're supposed to be.

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

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from that great love chapter of the Bible - 1 Corinthians 13. I'm going to read just a portion of it beginning with verse 4. As you listen to this ultimate description of love, perhaps you might compare your own love right now for your family, the people you live with, the people you spend a lot of time with. Compare your love to this description, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13:7 - I want to pick up these three little words from that wonderful description, "...love always protects." In other words, if we love as Christ loves, we are meant to be looking out for each other. I guess I'm supposed to be your bodyguard and you're supposed to be mine if we're brothers and sisters in Christ. That means that if someone comes to me and starts to attack a brother or sister's reputation, then I'm the one who intervenes and says, "Hey, wait a minute! Let's not talk about him. Have you thought about the other side of the story?" You become, as a spiritual body guard, the one who stops the gossip when it comes to you and then it says, "Excuse me, but that will be enough of that. It stops here."

When someone comes to you and starts criticizing another person, you've got to be the one who says, "Hey wait a minute! Go to them. I don't think I need to hear this. Have you talked to them about it? Go tell them." You're the one who makes sure that you never say anything bad about a family member or lets anyone else get away with it. You're the one who reminds people of the good points of a person that maybe they're having a hard time remembering. You say, "Yeah, but have you thought about this?" You're the one who encourages understanding and communication, because ultimately it is not your body that you're protecting. It is the body of Christ.

We are all part of that, those of us who are in Christ. And His body has been broken enough. He said, "This is My body which was broken for you." Don't allow it to be broken any more by a Christian attacking another Christian. Don't throw any punches at someone that Jesus loves very much.

Instead say, "Nothing's going to happen to you because I'm looking out for you."

Titus 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THOUGHTS OF HEAVEN - June 20, 2024

It’s been a long time, but there was a time when my daughters celebrated my daily arrival. Jenna was five at the time, Andrea three. Denalyn would alert them, and they’d scamper to the window, pressing noses and hands against the tall pane that paralleled the front door. As I pulled in, I would see them. Jenna, a head taller than her sister Andrea, squeezed into the frame.  Seeing me, they’d squeal. My, how they jumped and clapped. You’d think someone had switched their M&M’s for coffee beans. No returning Caesar ever felt more welcomed. Their father was home!

You know, it’s been too long since I searched for God that way. Let’s do better! Colossians 3:2 (TLB) says, “Let heaven fill your thoughts!” Every day carries us closer to the day our Father will come. Let’s keep a look out for him.

Titus 3

He Put Our Lives Together

1–2  3 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.

3–8  It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

8–11  I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

12–13  As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.

14  Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don’t end up with nothing to show for their lives.

15  All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Today's Scripture

Lamentations 3:19-26

It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

19–21  I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,

the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.

I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—

the feeling of hitting the bottom.

But there’s one other thing I remember,

and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

22–24  God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,

his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.

They’re created new every morning.

How great your faithfulness!

I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).

He’s all I’ve got left.

25–27  God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,

to the woman who diligently seeks.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope,

quietly hope for help from God.

Insight

Lamentations is one of the darkest books in the Bible; it’s Jeremiah’s heart cry for his violated nation. But here, at the center point of his poem, we find real hope. “The Lord’s . . . compassions never fail” (3:22). The book also concludes in hope, yet we still sense Jeremiah’s doubt. He proclaims, “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation” (5:19). That’s how we might expect the book to end—in ultimate triumph. The prophet, however, asks God a pair of haunting questions: “Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?” (v. 20). Although he asks God to “restore us to yourself” (v. 21), he doesn’t do so with unwavering confidence. Rather, he adds this caveat: “unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure” (v. 22). Jeremiah is a prophet who struggled mightily with the tragedy he saw. By: Tim Gustafson

New and Certain

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23

For three years, apart from household necessities, Susan didn’t buy anything for herself. The Covid-19 pandemic affected my friend’s income, and she embraced a simple lifestyle. “One day, while cleaning my apartment, I noticed how shabby and faded my things looked,” she shared. “That’s when I started to miss having new things—the sense of freshness and excitement. My surroundings seemed tired and stale. I felt as if there was nothing to look forward to.”

Susan found encouragement in an unlikely book in the Bible. Written by Jeremiah after Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Lamentations describes the open wound of grief suffered by the prophet and the people. In the midst of grief’s despair, however, lies sure ground for hope-God’s love. "His compassions never fail,” Jeremiah wrote. “They are new every morning” (3:22-23).

Susan was reminded that God’s deep love relentlessly breaks through anew each day. When circumstances make us feel there’s no longer anything to look forward to, we can call to mind His faithfulness and look forward to how He’ll provide for us. We can confidently hope in God, knowing our hoping is never in vain (vv. 24-25) because it’s secured in His steadfast love and compassion.

“God’s love is my ‘something new’ each day,” Susan says. “I can look ahead with hope.” By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

When have you felt unable to see any hope in your situation? How does the promise of God’s love as “new every morning” give you hope?

Thank You, dear God, because each day brings with it Your certain, steadfast love.

Deal head-on with pain and pressure in this study.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Have You Come to “After” Yet?

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. — Job 42:10

A self-centered, pleading prayer—the kind of prayer in which I vow to “get right” with God if only he’ll help me—is never found in the New Testament. Am I telling God that I’ll purify my heart if he’ll hear my plea? That I’ll make myself good and righteous if he’ll extend his grace to me? I have to realize I can’t make myself right with God; I can’t make my life perfect, no matter how I plead. The only way I can be right with God is by accepting the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift.

Am I humble enough to accept the gift Jesus bought for me on the cross? I have to stop every effort I’m making and leave myself entirely alone in God’s hands. If I find myself constantly trying to get right with him, it’s a sign that I’m rebelling against the atonement. Many prayers are made in total disbelief of the atonement. We beg Jesus to save us, forgetting he already has. Asking him to do it again is an insult.

“After Job had prayed for his friends . . .” If your fortunes haven’t been restored, if you aren’t getting insight into God’s word, stop praying in a self-centered way and start praying for others. Intercessory prayer is the real business of your life as a saved soul. Wherever God places you, no matter the circumstances, pray immediately for those around you. Pray that the atonement will be realized for others as it has for you. Pray for your friends; pray for your acquaintances; pray for all whose lives have been brought into contact with your own.

Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. 

Not Knowing Whither, 867 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Trusting Jesus With What You Treasure - #9769

Dino and Nanette are dear Navajo friends of ours and they became Mr. and Mrs.! Oh, we wanted to be at their wedding because they are two very special friends, very special Native American Christian leaders. Now this was years ago but we couldn't be there, but our son attended, and that afternoon he described the wedding to us, as well as any man can describe a wedding. I choked up when I heard about their wedding vows. Dino made his vows to Nanette on bended knee. Nanette made her vows to Dino and then handed him a beautiful Navajo blanket. But this wasn't just any blanket. It had belonged to her father who died several years ago and it represented a relationship and memories that she really treasures. That blanket was Nanette's father's love gift to her. And in this moment of commitment, she was handing her new husband this most precious treasure from her most precious person. I guess in a sense, she was handing him her heart.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Trusting Jesus With What You Treasure."

In a tangible, deeply moving way, a young bride was saying with that gift, "I totally trust you, my husband. I'm giving you my heart. I'm giving you my life." She understood the deepest meaning of commitment. And commitment is the key to life's most important relationship; your personal relationship with the Man who died for you - Jesus Christ.

Now, our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Luke 7:37 - "A woman in that town who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." Like that Navajo bride, this woman understood the commitment of a heart to Jesus. She brought what may have been the most valuable possession she had and lavished it on Jesus. She worshiped Him with abandonment, not caring what anyone thought. She was pouring out more than expensive perfume; just like that bride was handing over more than a blanket. This lady was pouring out her life to Jesus.

Later, when the religious leader Jesus was dining with objected to what she had done, Jesus said, "You did not put oil even on my head, but she has poured perfume on My feet Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'" Jesus seems to be saying, "This lady just came to me with all her heart because she knows her need. You don't know your need and you come to Me with all your head."

Could it be that total commitment is "the" issue between you and Jesus right now? I mean, we're talking about the kind that releases to Him the things that matter most to you. Maybe you're clutching whatever is your "blanket," your security blanket. It's a relationship that really matters to you, or a dream you insist on hanging onto, or a possession, a position, your business, your ministry, something from your past. And you're at a crossroads now. You can't go any deeper, can't go any further in Christ until you release that precious treasure to Him. And the nagging, unspoken question really is, "Can I trust Jesus with this?"

Marty struggled with that question at a youth conference where I spoke some years ago. He told me he just couldn't give everything to Jesus because he couldn't surrender basketball, the most important thing in his life. Put your own treasure in there. But at the conclusion of the conference he said, "Ron, I've surrendered everything to Jesus, even basketball." I asked him why. He told me about his walk on the beach the night before where he finally settled the deciding issue. He said, "Anyone who loved me enough to die for me would never do me wrong."

You know, that's why you can trust Jesus with your life, your treasure, your eternity, your soul. He loved you enough to die for you. Isn't it time you gave Him your life. Do you want to begin that relationship with Him finally? Tell Him that. Go to our website to be sure you have - it's ANewStory.com.

Jesus can be trusted. Let this be the day you cross over into a relationship with Him, the day you put the treasure you've clutched in your hands into His hands. "Jesus, here. I trust You. I'm handing You my heart."

Daniel 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: JOINT HEIRS - June 19, 2024

You’ve been claimed. Adopted. God’s very own child! Romans 8:29: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.”

Abandon you to a fatherless world? No way. Before you knew you needed adopting, he’d already filed the papers and selected the wallpaper for your room. Those who have access to God’s family Bible can read your name. He wrote it there. He covered the adoption fees. We don’t finance our adoption, but we do accept it. And the moment we accept his offer, we go from orphans to heirs!

Romans 8:17 says we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. No stepchildren or grandchildren. You and Christ share the same will. What he inherits, you inherit. You are headed home!

Daniel 7

A Vision of Four Animals

1  7 In the first year of the reign of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream. What he saw as he slept in his bed terrified him—a real nightmare. Then he wrote out his dream:

2–3  “In my dream that night I saw the four winds of heaven whipping up a great storm on the sea. Four huge animals, each different from the others, ascended out of the sea.

4  “The first animal looked like a lion, but it had the wings of an eagle. While I watched, its wings were pulled off. It was then pulled erect so that it was standing on two feet like a man. Then a human heart was placed in it.

5  “Then I saw a second animal that looked like a bear. It lurched from side to side, holding three ribs in its jaws. It was told, ‘Attack! Devour! Fill your belly!’

6  “Next I saw another animal. This one looked like a panther. It had four birdlike wings on its back. This animal had four heads and was made to rule.

7  “After that, a fourth animal appeared in my dream. This one was a grisly horror—hideous. It had huge iron teeth. It crunched and swallowed its victims. Anything left over, it trampled into the ground. It was different from the other animals—this one was a real monster. It had ten horns.

8  “As I was staring at the horns and trying to figure out what they meant, another horn sprouted up, a little horn. Three of the original horns were pulled out to make room for it. There were human eyes in this little horn, and a big mouth speaking arrogantly.

9–10  “As I was watching all this,

“Thrones were set in place

and The Old One sat down.

His robes were white as snow,

his hair was white like wool.

His throne was flaming with fire,

its wheels blazing.

A river of fire

poured out of the throne.

Thousands upon thousands served him,

tens of thousands attended him.

The courtroom was called to order,

and the books were opened.

11–13  “I kept watching. The little horn was speaking arrogantly. Then, as I watched, the monster was killed and its body cremated in a roaring fire. The other animals lived on for a limited time, but they didn’t really do anything, had no power to rule. My dream continued.

13–14  “I saw a human form, a son of man,

arriving in a whirl of clouds.

He came to The Old One

and was presented to him.

He was given power to rule—all the glory of royalty.

Everyone—race, color, and creed—had to serve him.

His rule would be forever, never ending.

His kingly rule would never be replaced.

15–16  “But as for me, Daniel, I was disturbed. All these dream-visions had me agitated. So I went up to one of those standing by and asked him the meaning of all this. And he told me, interpreting the dream for me:

17–18  “ ‘These four huge animals,’ he said, ‘mean that four kingdoms will appear on earth. But eventually the holy people of the High God will be given the kingdom and have it ever after—yes, forever and ever.’

19–22  “But I wanted to know more. I was curious about the fourth animal, the one so different from the others, the hideous monster with the iron teeth and the bronze claws, gulping down what it ripped to pieces and trampling the leftovers into the dirt. And I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that sprouted up while three of the original horns were removed. This new horn had eyes and a big mouth and spoke arrogantly, dominating the other horns. I watched as this horn was making war on God’s holy people and getting the best of them. But then The Old One intervened and decided things in favor of the people of the High God. In the end, God’s holy people took over the kingdom.

23–25  “The bystander continued, telling me this: ‘The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from the first three kingdoms, a monster kingdom that will chew up everyone in sight and spit them out. The ten horns are ten kings, one after another, that will come from this kingdom. But then another king will arrive. He will be different from the earlier kings. He will begin by toppling three kings. Then he will blaspheme the High God, persecute the followers of the High God, and try to get rid of sacred worship and moral practice. God’s holy people will be persecuted by him for a time, two times, half a time.

26–27  “ ‘But when the court comes to order, the horn will be stripped of its power and totally destroyed. Then the royal rule and the authority and the glory of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the people of the High God. Their royal rule will last forever. All other rulers will serve and obey them.’

28  “And there it ended. I, Daniel, was in shock. I was like a man who had seen a ghost. But I kept it all to myself.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 3:1-10

Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.

3  Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

4  God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

5  God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

6  Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

7–8  God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

9–10  “The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Insight

Moses was one of the most significant leaders in the Bible. We can sometimes overlook, however, how God prepared him to lead. For four decades as a shepherd (Acts 7:30), he tended the flock of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 3:1; see 2:16-22). Like David (Psalm 78:70-71), God took Moses from caring for animals to caring for people. While it was the Great Shepherd who saw the misery, heard the cries, and was concerned about the suffering of His people (Exodus 3:7), His rescue plan called for a liberator in the flesh to function on His behalf: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 77:20). 

By: Arthur Jackson

God of Freedom

I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10

President Abraham Lincoln had emancipated people held in slavery two-and-a half-years earlier and the Confederacy had surrendered, yet the state of Texas still hadn’t acknowledged the freedom of enslaved persons. However, on June 19, 1865, Union army general Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and demanded that all enslaved persons be released. Imagine the shock and joy as shackles fell off and those in bondage heard the pronouncement of freedom.

God sees the oppressed, and He’ll ultimately announce freedom for those under the weight of injustice. This is true now just as it was true in Moses’ day. God appeared to him from a burning bush with an urgent message: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7). He not only saw Egypt’s brutality against Israel—but He also planned to do something about it. “I have come down to rescue them,” God declared, “and to bring them . . . into a good and spacious land” (v. 8). He intended to declare freedom to Israel, and Moses would be the mouthpiece. “I am sending you to Pharaoh,” God told His servant, “to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (v. 10).

Though God’s timing may not happen as quickly as we hope, one day He’ll free us from all bondage and injustice. He gives hope and liberation to all who are oppressed. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

How have you seen God work to help the oppressed? How does He invite you to participate in His work?

Dear God, there’s so much oppression in the story of our world. It’s easy to despair. Please help me stay attuned to Your intention to announce freedom.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Service of Passionate Devotion

Do you love me? . . . Feed my sheep. — John 21:17

Jesus doesn’t say, “Make converts to your way of thinking.” He says, “Look after my sheep. Make sure they are nourished with knowledge of me.” We think that the work we do in Christian ministry counts as service; Jesus Christ says that service is what we are to him, not only what we do for him. Christianity is not devotion to a work or a cause or a doctrine; it is devotion to a person.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t argue or compel. He simply says that if we wish to be his disciples, we must be devoted to him. When we are touched by the Spirit of God, we see suddenly who Jesus is, and this becomes the source of our devotion.

Today, we’ve substituted ideological belief for personal belief. This is why so many are devoted to causes and so few to him. People don’t want to be devoted to Jesus; they want to be devoted to the cause he started. Jesus Christ the person is deeply offensive to the educated mind of today, to those who don’t want to see him as anything other than a champion of their cause.

Our Lord’s obedience was to the will of the Father, not to the needs of humanity. The saving of humanity was the natural outcome of that obedience. If we are devoted only to humanity, our love will falter, and we will soon be exhausted. But if we love Jesus, personally and passionately, we will be able to serve humanity, even if people treat us like doormats.

The secret of the disciple’s life is devotion to Jesus Christ; its hallmark is unobtrusiveness. It is like a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, then springs up, transforming the entire landscape (John 12:24).

Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. 

Biblical Ethics, 111 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Joy of "Others First" - #9768

It had been a frozen and freezing winter in New England and Canada. They got walloped with a mega ice-storm that left two inches of ice on everything. In Montreal, for example, power lines and poles and trees just collapsed under the weight of the ice, and thousands of people were without power for days; which means many were without heat in the middle of a Montreal winter. In one neighborhood, one man got pretty resourceful after shivering for five days. He marched across the street with a lot of orange extension cord and asked his neighbor if he could plug into their outdoor outlet. The people on one side curiously were without power and very cold. The people on the other side of the street had power and were pretty cozy.

That power from across the street was enough to start that man's furnace. And within a few hours, from one end of the block to the other, you could see long orange extension cords crisscrossing the street from the cold side to the warm side. Those who had no power were supplied by those who did and everybody was warm!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Joy of 'Others First.'"

They didn't have the extension cords back in New Testament times, but the first Christians sure understood the idea of sharing power with people who don't have any. It was part of what made them so magnetic to the unbelievers around them.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 2 beginning with verse 44. "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Just like those folks in Canada on the warm side of the street, "We've got it, they need it, and I'm going to share it."

Listen to how this worked out (back to the Bible), "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." This selfless sharing drew a lot of people to Jesus!

The basic principle is still supposed to be at the heart of how a Christian views everything he or she has. "I don't have this just for me. God gave it to me so others can have it, too." Those original believers basically erased the words "my" and "mine" from their vocabularies. How about you and me?

If God has given you transportation power (like a car, for example), He's expecting you to let that car help someone who is without power when it comes to transportation. If you own a place to go and rest, it could be an answer to prayer for someone who can't afford a place to get away. Some of that closet full of clothes could really encourage someone whose closet isn't very full at all. Your home isn't just meant to be your castle; it should be a refuge for someone who needs a place to stay. Someone without power needs some of the power you have.

You may be able to share your encouragement with someone who doesn't have much encouragement in their life; your knowledge in an area where they could use some help. The point is that you look around at what you can give, and you keep your eyes open for people who need it. It's great to wake up in the morning and say, "Who needs me today, Lord?" Maybe you have some of something they need, they have a little, and if you share what you have, you could both have enough.

That is New Testament living! That is Jesus-living! And in a world that's pretty cold for some people near you, you have the power to make it warm again!