Exodus 18,Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We’re Made Whole

Sin sees the world with no God in it! Where we might think of sin as slip-ups or missteps, God views sin as a godless attitude that leads to godless actions.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”  Sin proclaims, “It’s your life, right?  Pump your body with drugs, your mind with greed, your nights with pleasure.”  The godless life is a a me-dominated, childish life, a life of doing what we feel like doing, whenever we feel like doing it.

God says to love.  I choose to hate. God instructs, forgive.  I opt to get even.  God calls for self-control.  I promote self-indulgence.  This is sin.

Jesus took the punishment for that sin, and made us whole. God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong on him.

Trust his work for you, then trust His work in you.

From Come Thirsty

Exodus 18

Jethro Visits Moses

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,[i] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer,[j] for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.

9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
August 03, 2014

Read: Psalm 77:10-20

Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;
    the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
    the heavens resounded with thunder;
    your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
    your lightning lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Insight
In this lament psalm, Asaph writes of the sense of abandonment, the sleepless nights, the distress, and the anguish he felt when God did not respond to his cries for deliverance from his trials and suffering (vv.1-10). But then he remembered and recounted the mighty works God did for His people in the past (particularly His mighty deliverance at the exodus). When he reflected and meditated on who God is, he was assured of God’s greatness, goodness, and guidance (vv.11-20). Where God leads, He protects and provides (v.20).

Finding God’s Pathway
By David C. McCasland

Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters. —Psalm 77:19

The Channel Tunnel opened on May 6, 1994, nearly two centuries after it was first proposed in 1802 by Napoleon’s engineer, Albert Mathieu. Today the 31-mile passage beneath the English Channel allows thousands of people, cars, and trucks to travel by train each day between England and France. For centuries, people had sailed across the Channel until this surprising new way to go under it was completed.

God planned an unexpected route for His people too—one we read about in Exodus 14:10-22. Faced with certain death, either from Pharaoh’s army or by drowning, the Israelites were near panic. But God parted the Red Sea and they walked through on dry land. Years later, the psalm writer Asaph used this event as evidence of God’s mighty power, “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there! You led Your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds” (Ps. 77:19-20 nlt).

God can create roads where we see only obstacles. When the way ahead of us seems uncertain, it’s good to remember what God has done in the past. He specializes in pathways in any circumstance—pathways that point us to His love and power.

Thank You, God, for the miraculous ways
You have worked in the past. Help me to
remember Your power and faithfulness when
I can see only trouble and difficulty.
The God who created a way for our salvation can certainly see us through our daily trials.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, August 09, 2014

Prayer in the Father’s Hearing

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ’Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’ —John 11:41
When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . ” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name . . .” (John 16:26). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.

Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?

Exodus 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Taps at Your Door

Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, "Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
The world rams at your door but Jesus taps at your door. The voices scream for your allegiance but Jesus softly and tenderly requests it. Which voice do you hear? There is never a time that Jesus is not speaking. There's never a room so dark that the ever-present, ever-pursuing, relentlessly tender Father is not there, tapping gently on the doors of our hearts-waiting to be invited in.
Few hear His voice. Fewer still open the door. But never interpret your numbness as His absence. He says, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). Never.
From In the Eye of the Storm

Exodus 17

Water From the Rock

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah[e] and Meribah[f] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Amalekites Defeated

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[g] the throne of the Lord,[h] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, August 08, 2014

Read: Genesis 6:11-22

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[b] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all around.[d] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Footnotes:

    Genesis 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
    Genesis 6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
    Genesis 6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
    Genesis 6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.


The Upright Thumb
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt 

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. —Genesis 6:8

According to an African fable, four fingers and a thumb lived together on a hand. They were inseparable friends. One day, they noticed a gold ring lying next to them and conspired to take it. The thumb said it would be wrong to steal the ring, but the four fingers called him a self-righteous coward and refused to be his friend. That was just fine with the thumb; he wanted nothing to do with their mischief. This is why, the legend goes, the thumb still stands separate from the other fingers.

This tale reminds me that at times we may feel we’re standing alone when wrongdoing surrounds us. In Noah’s day, the earth was filled with violence; every thought in every heart was “evil continually” (Gen. 6:5,11). Yet “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (v.8). Fully devoted to God, Noah obeyed Him and built the ark. The Lord, in His grace, spared him and his family.

We too have been shown God’s grace through His Son Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We have every reason to bring Him honor and stand strong for Him in our daily lives. He is always near, even abiding in us, so we never really stand alone. His “ears are open to [our] cry” (Ps. 34:15).
They show their colors when they stand
For what is true and right;
And those who venture all on God
Are pleasing in His sight. —D. DeHaan
It’s easy to stand with a crowd; it takes courage to stand alone.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 08, 2014

Prayer in the Father’s Honor

. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God —Luke 1:35

If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me? What was true of the Virgin Mary in the history of the Son of God’s birth on earth is true of every saint. God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child— the right of always being face to face with my Father through prayer. Do I find myself continually saying in amazement to the commonsense part of my life, “Why did you want me to turn here or to go over there? ’Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ ” (Luke 2:49). Whatever our circumstances may be, that holy, innocent, and eternal Child must be in contact with His Father.

Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He having His wonderful way with me? Is God’s will being fulfilled in that His Son has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19), or have I carefully pushed Him to one side? Oh, the noisy outcry of today! Why does everyone seem to be crying out so loudly? People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now— no room for quiet, holy fellowship and oneness with the Father.

Is the Son of God praying in me, bringing honor to the Father, or am I dictating my demands to Him? Is He ministering in me as He did in the time of His manhood here on earth? Is God’s Son in me going through His passion, suffering so that His own purposes might be fulfilled? The more a person knows of the inner life of God’s most mature saints, the more he sees what God’s purpose really is: to “. . . fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . .” (Colossians 1:24). And when we think of what it takes to “fill up,” there is always something yet to be done.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 08, 2014

Our Own Ground Zero - #7195

I'll tell you, even the hard-core reporters were having a hard time talking about it. Apparently, that Ground Zero Museum where the Twin Towers once stood is one powerful experience. As you walk in, you hear the last "I love you" messages people sent from the towers or from the doomed planes. It's a heart-rending walk through this nation's darkest hour I guess, and the heroism and hope that lit up that darkness.
Like the man President Obama spoke about at the dedication service. After the wingtip of a hijacked plane sliced through the 78th floor, a group of people were huddling together in the Elevator Sky Lobby, waiting for help. Then they heard the voice. "I found the stairs - follow me!" It was Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader, whose trademark was the red bandanna he had carried in his pocket since he was a boy.
With a woman on his back and a red bandanna in his hand, he led the group to a stairwell. He gave one woman a fire extinguisher, told the group to stay together and go on down the stairs, and they made it out. But Welles didn't go with them. No, he went back upstairs to help others.
That's when another woman, badly injured, saw this man with a red bandanna over his nose and mouth, running across the lobby. He led them to an obscure staircase and then went back for others. Then the tower came down. They found Welles Crowther's body six months later. His red bandanna is on display in the museum.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Our Own Ground Zero."
His father was there at the dedication, and his words actually touched a pretty deep chord in me. He said, "I don't think for a moment he was thinking about his own safety. He was thinking about the lives of all those people. Welles' last hour was his legacy."
Just like my hero. His last hour was on a cross where He bled out His life to save people who otherwise would have died. I'm one of them. All of us whose sins were paid for on that day are His legacy. The Bible tells us in Revelation 1:5, that "Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood." And then in our word for today from the Word of God, in Galatians 1:4 it says, "He gave himself to rescue us".
Jesus came where I was one day and He said, "Hey, I have the way out. Follow Me." Following Him saved my life and my soul. Me and the millions who've accepted His invitation, "Follow Me."
There's one stop in the Ground Zero Museum that is reportedly one of the most moving. I know I'd be spending some time there. It's that cross. The construction worker who found those girders in the shape of a cross said, "My one goal was to find someone alive. I didn't. But I found the cross." The rubble cavern where it was found came to be known as "God's House" to those hope-starved workers at Ground Zero.
It was a Ground Zero chaplain who brought the hope found there right into my hope-hungry life and yours. He said, "When the ground is shaking all around you, find your cross at your Ground Zero." I did. It's the ground that never moves. It's the Love I'll never lose. It's the only safe place for now, forever - Jesus. Who you find when you go to the cross where He died for you and say, "Jesus, this is for me."
If you never have, I invite you to find your way to the safe place, and I would love to help you do that at our website ANewStory.com. Would you go straight there as soon as you can today? Meet me there - ANewStory.com. And be welcomed into the safety of the arms of the Son of God, who died for you.

Exodus 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Need to Call Home?

The plane arrived late and folks were mad. I got off the plane with a cramp in my leg, an empty stomach, a bad attitude and three more hours of travel to go. I skipped lunch and called home. Denalyn answered.  She's always glad when I call. We made no decisions. We solved no problems. We just talked and I felt better. I can handle being a pilgrim as long as I know that I can call home whenever I want.
Maybe that's the rationale behind Matthew 14:19. "Taking the five loaves and two fish, Jesus gave thanks." Jesus was surrounded by people who wanted food and disciples who wanted a break.  He needed a minute with someone who would understand. He needed to call home. Maybe you should call home, too.  God will be glad when you do-but not half as glad as you will be!
From In the Eye of the Storm

Exodus 16

Manna and Quail

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a] for each person you have in your tent.’”

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, August 07, 2014

Read: Ephesians 4:1-12

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”[b]

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
Footnotes:

    Ephesians 4:8 Or God
    Ephesians 4:8 Psalm 68:18
    Ephesians 4:9 Or the depths of the earth

Insight
Paul never gives instruction without reminding readers of the reason for it. Today’s encouragement to bear with one another (Eph. 4:2) is rooted in the necessity of recognizing that the Spirit unites us in one calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God (vv.3-6). We are to be patient with others so that the body of Christ may be edified (vv.2,12).

Difficult People
By Dennis Fisher 

Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called . . . bearing with one another in love. —Ephesians 4:1-2



In the book God in the Dock, author C. S. Lewis describes the kind of people we have trouble getting along with. Selfishness, anger, jealousy, or other quirks often sabotage our relationship with them. We sometimes think, Life would be much easier if we didn’t have to contend with such difficult people.

Lewis then turns the tables on us by pointing out that these frustrations are what God has to endure with each of us every day. He writes: “You are just that sort of person. You also have a fatal flaw in your character. All the hopes and plans of others have again and again shipwrecked on your character just as your hopes and plans have shipwrecked on theirs.” This self-awareness should motivate us to try to show the same patience and acceptance to others that God shows to us daily.

In Ephesians, Paul exhorts us to arm ourselves relationally “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (4:2). The one who is patient is better able to deal with a difficult person without becoming provoked to anger and retaliation. Instead, he or she is able to endure, exhibiting grace in spite of upsetting behavior.

Are there difficult people in your life? Ask God to show His love through you.
Some people can be difficult to love,
And so we do not even try to care;
But God says, “Love them just as I’ve loved you—
You’ll bring Me glory as My love you share.” —Cetas
See others as God sees you.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 07, 2014

Prayer in the Father’s House

. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49

Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?

The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “. . . I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.

Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.

The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 07, 2014

The Container Hang-up - #7194

There's one sure way to gather a crowd at our house. In fact it just happened last night. You just walk slowly through the house with a flat, white, large, square box - "Pizza!" And you will get that Pied Piper feeling. We've noticed that these pizza boxes all say the same thing. I don't know if you've noticed that. You can go to 10 different pizza places, and they all seem to have the same slogan. "You've tried the rest; now try the best." Somebody's got to be wrong about that.
Anyway, I'm surprised we ever noticed anything on the box, because the pizza box doesn't matter. We attack that box to get what's inside! I mean, who spends time admiring the box? It's what's inside that makes it so interesting.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Container Hang-up."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter 3. I'm going to begin reading at verse 3, and it talks about what really matters in a woman. Both men and women need to know this. "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. Instead it should be that of your inner self; that unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
God says here that what really matters is the inner self of a women, not her outward adornment. And then Proverbs 31 talks about a woman who is praised by her children, fully trusted by her husband, admired by all those around. It doesn't get much better than that. It's the woman I think every woman would want to be, and here's what's really valuable about her. It tells us that in Proverbs 31:10, "A wife of noble character who can find?" What's the secret? Her noble character.
Proverbs 31:30, "Charm is deceptive. Beauty is fleeting (Like our pizza box.) But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." It's her relationship with her Lord. Again, the stuff that's going on - on the inside. There's not much here about the container is there? What makes her valuable is the contents inside the container.
This is a pretty radical idea in a world where a women's worth is usually measured by her figure and her face. Women look at a model in a fashion magazine and they compare themselves. They look at this beautiful woman and they go, "I don't look like that." Guess what? Neither does she. She's been worked on for hours by the finest hairdressers, they've got special lighting. Then they pick one photo out of 150, air brush that one. Yeah, that woman doesn't really exist.
Both men and women have bought the lie that the pizza box is what matters instead of the pizza. (If you know what I mean.) We can't stop the world around us from being all superficial. But as followers of Jesus, we can do better. Women who don't feel they measure up physically usually tend to withdraw or become negative or bitter. They give up on themselves. They get discouraged. They get desperate and settle for something they should never settle for. They actually end up killing the beauty inside that really matters because they're so focused on what they feel they don't have on the outside.
God's Word teaches us that our body is just an earth suit; a soul carrier. And while we cannot choose to be physically beautiful, you can choose to be beautiful on the inside. Not every woman can be gorgeous, but any woman can be radiant.
The Bible says to go for that inner glow; that inward beauty; to be a woman who makes other people feel important, who promotes others rather than herself, who develops this joyful, daily walk with Jesus Christ. It's time that God's men and women go after the royal radiance that a princess of God can have. That's what makes a woman a friend worth knowing and a partner worth loving for a lifetime. Don't chase what you want to marry. Be what you want to marry.
Just ask any pizza lover in our house. (That would be everybody.) The box is only important for a minute and then it gets thrown away. For you, it is what's inside that really counts.

1 Timothy 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WE ARE NOT ALONE - August 6, 2024

Jesus doesn’t want us to think of the Holy Spirit as an it or a thing. The Spirit is a person. According to one study only four people in ten believe that the Spirit is a divine person. The rest of those surveyed either don’t have an opinion or choose to believe the Spirit is more like a power surge than a divine being who empowers and teaches us.

Can you join me in a pledge? “I hereby resolve never to call the Holy Spirit an it.” The Spirit is a person.  And Jesus calls him the Paraclete. Now translators land on different, yet similar, translations for this Greek word: “Comforter,” “Counselor,” “Advocate,” “Intercessor.” But the central message is the same: we are not alone.

1 Timothy 6

 Whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his

master so that outsiders don’t blame God and our teaching for his behavior. Slaves with Christian masters all the more so—their masters are really their beloved brothers!

The Lust for Money

2–5  These are the things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.

6–8  A 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.

Running Hard

11–12  But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

13–16  I’m charging you before the life-giving God and before Christ, who took his stand before Pontius Pilate and didn’t give an inch: Keep this command to the letter, and don’t slack off. Our Master, Jesus Christ, is on his way. He’ll show up right on time, his arrival guaranteed by the Blessed and Undisputed Ruler, High King, High God. He’s the only one death can’t touch, his light so bright no one can get close. He’s never been seen by human eyes—human eyes can’t take him in! Honor to him, and eternal rule! Oh, yes.

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.

20–21  And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith.

Overwhelming grace keep you!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Today's Scripture

Job 1:6-12, 20-22

The First Test: Family and Fortune

6–7  One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan, who was the Designated Accuser, came along with them. God singled out Satan and said, “What have you been up to?”

Satan answered God, “Going here and there, checking things out on earth.”

8  God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.”

9–10  Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can’t lose!

11  “But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He’d curse you right to your face, that’s what.”

12  God replied, “We’ll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don’t hurt him.” Then Satan left the presence of God.

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

21  Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

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

God gives, God takes.

God’s name be ever blessed.

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

Insight

The word we translate as Satan in Hebrew means “accuser” or “adversary.” The role he plays in the narrative of Job is peculiar: he challenges the superiority of Yahweh by accusing God Himself. If people worship God only because He’s good to them, Satan asks, then is He really worthy (Job 1:9-11)?

Job’s faithfulness in the midst of trial demonstrated that God’s people do worship Him in both good and bad times and thus silenced the accuser. But Job also learned his own lesson: no one—angelic or human—can tell Him what He must do. God is worthy of His people’s faithfulness regardless of what we might experience in life. By: Jed Ostoich

God Is in Control

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

Carol couldn’t understand why it was happening all at once. As if work wasn’t bad enough, her daughter fractured her foot in school, and she herself came down with a severe infection. What did I do to deserve this? Carol wondered. All she could do was ask God for strength.

Job didn’t know why calamity had hit him so hard either—pain and loss far greater than what Carol experienced. There’s no indication he was aware of the cosmic battle for his soul. Satan wanted to test Job’s faith, claiming he’d turn from God if he lost everything (Job 1:6-12). When disaster struck, Job’s friends insisted he was being punished for his sins. That wasn’t why, but he must have wondered, Why me? What he didn’t know was that God had allowed it to happen.

Job’s story offers a powerful lesson about suffering and about faith. We may try to discover the reason behind our pain, but perhaps there’s a bigger story behind the scenes that we won’t understand in our lifetime.

Like Job, we can hold on to what we do know: God is in full control. It’s not an easy thing to say, but in the midst of his pain, Job kept looking to God and trusting in His sovereignty: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (v. 21). May we too keep trusting in God no matter what happens—and even when we don’t understand. By:  Leslie Koh

Reflect & Pray

What challenges are you facing? Which promises of God give you strength to keep going?

Dear Father, I don’t understand why some of life’s challenges happen to me. But I choose to trust You.

For further study, read In the Grip of God’s Love.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

The Cross in Prayer

In that day you will ask in my name. — John 16:26

We are too much given to thinking of the cross as something we have to get through, imagining it simply as the gateway to our salvation. We have to realize that we get through the cross only to get into it. The cross should stand for one thing only: complete and absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our identification with the Lord is realized most strongly in prayer. Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why ask? So that you “may be one” as the Father and Son are one (John 17:22–23). Prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God.

If we think of prayer not as a oneness with God but rather as a way to get answers or blessings, we think wrongly. When we go to God for answers, we are bound to get irritated, because although God always responds, it isn’t always in the way we want. When a prayer seems to go unanswered, we must be careful not to blame someone else; that is a snare of Satan. If we look to God, we will find that there’s a reason which is a deep instruction for us, not for anyone else. We will see that our refusal to identify ourselves with our Lord in prayer is what has led to our irritation. We must remember that we are not here to prove that God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of his grace.

Have you, by the power of the cross, reached such oneness and intimacy with God that the only explanation for your life of prayer is Jesus Christ’s life of prayer? “In that day you will ask in my name.” You will be so identified with your Lord that there will be no distinction between his life and yours.

Psalms 70-71; Romans 8:22-39

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6).

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Always Enough Grace - #9802

Over the years, when our kids were growing up and at home, they didn't carry a wallet full of money. And they did need some money along the way. They had to buy their lunch at school. They had to buy clothes when they outgrew them or wore them out; which happened frequently. They had to pay admission prices when they went to special attractions. They needed spending money for trips and vacations, and for cards and gifts.

But you know, they didn't worry much about having the money even though they didn't carry much with them or really have much. See, experience taught them that when they needed it, they had it from their Father. Now, of course, as they got older they went and earned it, and they could come up with their own. But in the days when they couldn't come up with it themselves, Dad was there. Maybe they didn't have the money in their pocket for next month's lunches, but they always had money for that days' lunch. Not only is that the way their Father operated, it's the way your Father operates too.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Enough Grace."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 12, and I'll begin at verse 7. Let me say that I believe these are very special words for people who are going through a storm right now. And maybe you are; maybe everything is just, like, up for grabs. Or maybe you are going through a desert right now where there just doesn't seem to be anything there for you. Well, listen to these words from the Word of God.

Paul says, "There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me."

You know, in these verses are the Christian answer to suffering and hardship in two words. Now, I can't buy a theology that says there won't be suffering and hardship in the life of a committed believer, because there was no one more committed than Paul, and look at his suffering that wouldn't leave him. But here is God's two-word answer to the storm, the desert, the pain you're in right now. Listen to these words, "Grace sufficient." Man, that lifts the load so much!

If you've got twenty pounds of grief, He's going to give you twenty pounds of grace. If you've got 100 pounds of grief, He's going to give you 100 pounds of grace. I've experienced it. You will never have more grief than grace. Do you get a year's supply of grace; a month's supply; some for next week? No. Just like my kids, you get what you need for today.

Deuteronomy 33:25 says, "Your strength will equal your days." Not your weeks, not your months, not your years - your days. That's why the child of God has nothing to fear. Your Father will always see that you have what you need. Maybe you're trying to run ahead of Him. You say, "Well, how am I going to handle it if my situation gets worse, or if I lose my job? Or maybe the business will go under, or my health will get worse. What if I lose this person I love?" There's something you're afraid of right now, and God's answer is, "Grace sufficient." You don't have it now because you don't need it now. You have enough for today's grief, for today's challenge, for today's need. No more, no less.

So, take your assignment from God in 24-hour chunks. Count on enough grace for each day. My kids knew that their Father would see that they had what they needed that day. God's kids know their Father is much better than that.

Listen to your Lord's loving answer today to the cry of your hurting, anxious heart. Grace sufficient!

Ezekiel 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: DON’T NEGLECT THE HOLY SPIRIT - August 5, 2024

Some time ago I realized my car’s gas tank was nearly empty. I spotted a convenience store and parked next to a pump. I placed the nozzle in my tank, and swiped my card, and began filling up my car. I then went into the store and bought a soda. I chatted with the store clerk. I went back to my car and washed the windshield. I was barely back on the road when I happened to look at my gas gauge. It was on empty! Knowing my attention span, I probably forgot to squeeze the lever.

I did everything except the one thing I needed to do. Have you done the same? Have you neglected the Holy Spirit? The Spirit of God longs to give you his great power. Challenges come with life, but they need not define your life. Help is here.

Ezekiel 13

People Who Love Listening to Lies

1–2  13 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, preach against the prophets of Israel who are making things up out of their own heads and calling it ‘prophesying.’

2–6  “Preach to them the real thing. Tell them, ‘Listen to God’s Message!’ God, the Master, pronounces doom on the empty-headed prophets who do their own thing and know nothing of what’s going on! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals scavenging through the ruins. They haven’t lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on God’s Day of Judgment. All they do is fantasize comforting illusions and preach lying sermons. They say ‘God says …’ when God hasn’t so much as breathed in their direction. And yet they stand around thinking that something they said is going to happen.

7–9  “Haven’t you fantasized sheer nonsense? Aren’t your sermons tissues of lies, saying ‘God says …’ when I’ve done nothing of the kind? Therefore—and this is the Message of God, the Master, remember—I’m dead set against prophets who substitute illusions for visions and use sermons to tell lies. I’m going to ban them from the council of my people, remove them from membership in Israel, and outlaw them from the land of Israel. Then you’ll realize that I am God, the Master.

10–12  “The fact is that they’ve lied to my people. They’ve said, ‘No problem; everything’s just fine,’ when things are not at all fine. When people build a wall, they’re right behind them slapping on whitewash. Tell those who are slapping on the whitewash, ‘When a torrent of rain comes and the hailstones crash down and the hurricane sweeps in and the wall collapses, what’s the good of the whitewash that you slapped on so liberally, making it look so good?’

13–14  “And that’s exactly what will happen. I, God, the Master, say so: ‘I’ll let the hurricane of my wrath loose, a torrent of my hailstone-anger. I’ll make that wall you’ve slapped with whitewash collapse. I’ll level it to the ground so that only the foundation stones will be left. And in the ruin you’ll all die. You’ll realize then that I am God.

15–16  “ ‘I’ll dump my wrath on that wall, all of it, and on those who plastered it with whitewash. I will say to them, There is no wall, and those who did such a good job of whitewashing it wasted their time, those prophets of Israel who preached to Jerusalem and announced all their visions telling us things were just fine when they weren’t at all fine. Decree of God, the Master.’

17–19  “And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say ‘Doom’ to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, ‘Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn’t live. You’ve lied to people who love listening to lies.’

20–21  “Therefore God says, ‘I am against all the devices and techniques you use to hunt down souls. I’ll rip them out of your hands. I’ll free the souls you’re trying to catch. I’ll rip your magic bracelets and scarves to shreds and deliver my people from your influence so they’ll no longer be victimized by you. That’s how you’ll come to realize that I am God.

22–23  “ ‘Because you’ve confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you’ve made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn’t even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you’re finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I’m going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you’ll realize that I am God.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, August 05, 2024

Today's Scripture

Romans 12:9-18

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

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

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

17–19  Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody.

Insight

As a rule, Paul’s letters to churches (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians) are written in two major sections. The first section is more doctrinal, teaching his readers about the faith we have in Jesus. The second section is practical, revealing wise guidance for how we live out that faith. One teacher put it this way: the first section is about what we believe, and the second section is about how we behave. In Romans, arguably Paul’s most heavily theological letter, we find this pattern exemplified. In Romans 1-11, we’re taught what it means that salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. In chapters 12-16, he explains how those beliefs impact our conduct, with some attention to how our faith impacts our relationships. As you read Paul’s New Testament church letters, look for this pattern and see how the apostle crafted his message under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Learn more about Paul’s letters to churches.

By: Bill Crowder

Reflecting Christ’s Character

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Two faces at the table stood out—one contorted by bitter anger, the other twisted in emotional pain. A reunion of old friends had just erupted into shouting, with one woman berating another for her beliefs. The contention continued until the first woman stomped out of the restaurant, leaving the other shaken and humiliated.

Are we really living in a time when a difference of opinion can’t be tolerated? Just because two people can’t agree doesn’t mean that either is evil. Speech that’s harsh or unyielding is never persuasive, and strong views shouldn’t overcome decency or compassion.

Romans 12 is a great guide for how to “honor one another,” and “live in harmony” with other people (vv. 10, 16). Jesus indicated that an identifying characteristic for believers in Him is the love we have for each other (John 13:35). While pride and anger can easily derail us, they’re in direct contrast to the love God wants us to show to others.

It’s a challenge not to blame others when we lose control of our emotions, but the words “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” show us that the responsibility for living a life that reflects Christ’s character can’t be shifted to anyone else (Romans 12:18). It lies with each one of us who bears His name. By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

What words of other people trigger anger or resentment in you? How can you turn a bad situation into a peaceful one?

Loving God, please help me to show Your love through what I say and do and whenever possible to live at peace with others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, August 05, 2024

The Baffling Call of God

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.” . . . The disciples did not understand. — Luke 18:31,34

God called Jesus Christ to what seemed like unmitigated disaster. Jesus Christ called his disciples to see him put to death; he led them to the place where their hearts were broken and baffled. Jesus Christ’s life was an absolute failure from every viewpoint but God’s. But what seemed like failure to the world was a tremendous triumph to God, because God’s purpose is never humanity’s.

The baffling call of God comes in our lives, too. The call of God can never be stated outright. It is like the call of the sea. No one hears the call of the sea but those who have the nature of the sea within them. Similarly, no one hears the call of God but those who have God dwelling within them by the power of his Holy Spirit.

It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to; he calls us to enter into a relationship with him for his own purpose. The test is to believe that, though we cannot understand him, God knows what he is doing. Nothing happens by chance, only by his decree.

When we are in communion with God and recognize that he is taking us up into his purpose, we will stop trying to find out what his purpose is. This gets simpler as we go on in Christian life, because we begin to see that behind everything lies the great compelling of God.

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends.” A Christian is one who trusts the wits and wisdom of God. If instead we trust our own wits and wisdom, if we go off pursuing our own ends, we will destroy the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize our lives as children of God.

Psalms 68-69; Romans 8:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, August 05, 2024

When Your Life is Too Small - #9801

There's nothing in nature I love to see more than an eagle soaring majestically through the sky. That's why I enjoy the story of the farmer who once found a little eaglet all alone in the woods. And since the little bird was struggling to survive, the farmer decided to take the eaglet back to his farm to raise him. The problem was the only birds he had on his farm were chickens, and that's who the eaglet was raised with. So, as the chickens walked around looking down and pecking on the ground for chicken feed, the eaglet learned to live the same way. Now poking around for chicken feed looks okay on a chicken – no way for an eagle to live.

So when the farmer felt the eagle was big and strong enough to survive on his own, he took him out to the back forty to help him learn to fly. Twice he tried to launch that great bird by throwing him skyward, and twice the eagle flopped to the ground and, you guessed it, started poking around for more chicken feed. The farmer had one last idea. He set the eagle on the highest fence post he had. And that's when it happened. The eagle looked up for the first time and he saw the sky. He saw the sun. And suddenly, this great cry came from his mouth, he spread those broad wings, and he took off from that fence post. At first, he just flew in small circles over the farmer's head, but then he took off for the sky, soaring toward the sun. He's an eagle! He's not born to poke around in the chicken feed. He's born to fly. So are you.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Your Life is Too Small."

Maybe these words would basically describe how you would size up your life these days: "It's not bad; it's just not enough." Things are going okay. Nothing's melting down. But you're inexplicably, incurably restless. There's never enough love. There's never enough fulfillment, never enough peace. Something's missing.

It could be that you're surviving, but not really living like you were designed to live. You might say you're poking around in the chicken feed like everyone else around you. But you were created for something much bigger, much higher, and your soul knows that. It's like this voice inside of you that goes, "You're made for more." And you'll never be complete; you'll never have peace until you live where you were created to live.

Your real worth, your real identity is spelled out in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 2:10 where it says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God says you were made by Him, you were made for Him and for a purpose and plan that is bigger than anything you could ever find with you running your life.

And that's why our lives are too small to satisfy us. Because we are running our own lives. The Bible calls that sin. The Bible also says, "God has placed eternity in the hearts of men." You were born to fly, but without Jesus in your heart, you're looking down, living on chicken feed. Sin has grounded us.

And that's why you need to be, as the Bible says, "in Christ Jesus." God's Son went all the way to a cross to die for the sinning that you and I have done. He wanted you to be forgiven. He wanted you to be in the arms of the God who made you, so you don't have to waste one more day outside the awesome plan you were made for. God's wanting to enlarge your life beyond anything you could have ever dreamed.

But maybe you've never really asked this Jesus, who loves you more than anyone, to come in and begin, in your life, this life-changing relationship. Let this be the day you turn it around. You want to begin this relationship? Tell Jesus you're putting your total trust in Him right now to remove the sin that's keeping you from Him.

Our website's all about beginning that relationship, this would be a great time for you to check it out - ANewStory.com.

You're destined for the sky; you're meant for heaven, for bigger things. It's time to look toward the Son - S-O-N - the Son of God who loved you enough to die for you.

Ezekiel 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Understands You

When Jesus saw people, He saw an opportunity to love and affirm value. When we see people, we often only see thousands of problems. What did Jesus know that enabled Him to do what He did? He knew how people felt, and He knew that they were special. I hope you never forget that.

Are you under the gun at work?  Jesus knows how you feel. Do people take more from you than they give? Jesus understands. He knows what that’s like. Your teenagers won’t listen? Believe me, Jesus knows how you feel. You’re precious to Him. So precious that He became like you so that you would come to Him. When you struggle, He listens. When you yearn, He responds. When you question, He hears. He loves you. He understands you. And He paid a great price to take you home.

From In the Eye of the Storm

Ezekiel 12

Put the Bundle on Your Shoulder and Walk into the Night

1–6  12 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, you’re living with a bunch of rebellious people. They have eyes but don’t see a thing, they have ears but don’t hear a thing. They’re rebels all. So, son of man, pack up your exile duffel bags. Leave in broad daylight with everyone watching and go off, as if into exile. Maybe then they’ll understand what’s going on, rebels though they are. You’ll take up your baggage while they watch, a bundle of the bare necessities of someone going into exile, and toward evening leave, just like a person going off into exile. As they watch, dig through the wall of the house and carry your bundle through it. In full sight of the people, put the bundle on your shoulder and walk out into the night. Cover your face so you won’t have to look at what you’ll never see again. I’m using you as a sign for the family of Israel.”

7  I did exactly as he commanded me. I got my stuff together and brought it out in the street where everyone could see me, bundled it up the way someone being taken off into exile would, and then, as the sun went down, made a hole in the wall of the house with my hands. As it grew dark and as they watched, I left, throwing my bundle across my shoulders.

8–10  The next morning God spoke to me: “Son of man, when anyone in Israel, that bunch of rebels, asks you, ‘What are you doing?’ Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says that this Message especially concerns the prince in Jerusalem—Zedekiah—but includes all the people of Israel.’

11  “Also tell them, ‘I am drawing a picture for you. As I am now doing, it will be done to all the people of Israel. They will go into exile as captives.’

12–15  “The prince will put his bundle on his shoulders in the dark and leave. He’ll dig through the wall of the house, covering his face so he won’t have to look at the land he’ll never see again. But I’ll make sure he gets caught and is taken to Babylon. Blinded, he’ll never see that land in which he’ll die. I’ll scatter to the four winds those who helped him escape, along with his troops, and many will die in battle. They’ll realize that I am God when I scatter them among foreign countries.

16  “I’ll permit a few of them to escape the killing, starvation, and deadly sickness so that they can confess among the foreign countries all the disgusting obscenities they’ve been involved in. They will realize that I am God.”

17–20  God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, eat your meals shaking in your boots, drink your water trembling with fear. Tell the people of this land, everyone living in Jerusalem and Israel, God’s Message: ‘You’ll eat your meals shaking in your boots and drink your water in terror because your land is going to be stripped bare as punishment for the brutality rampant in it. All the cities and villages will be emptied out and the fields destroyed. Then you’ll realize that I am God.’ ”

21–22  God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, what’s this proverb making the rounds in the land of Israel that says, ‘Everything goes on the same as ever; all the prophetic warnings are false alarms’?

23–25  “Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, This proverb’s going to have a short life!’

“Tell them, ‘Time’s about up. Every warning is about to come true. False alarms and easygoing preaching are a thing of the past in the life of Israel. I, God, am doing the speaking. What I say happens. None of what I say is on hold. What I say, I’ll do—and soon, you rebels!’ Decree of God the Master.”

26–28  God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, do you hear what Israel is saying: that the alarm the prophet raises is for a long time off, that he’s preaching about the far-off future? Well, tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, “Nothing of what I say is on hold. What I say happens.” ’ Decree of God, the Master.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, August 04, 2024

Today's Scripture

Matthew 8:5-13

As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.”

7  Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.”

8–9  “Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10–12  Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”

13  Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.

Insight

After challenging the Pharisees’ teaching and the people’s understanding of the law by repeatedly saying, “You have heard that it was said . . . but I tell you . . .” (Matthew 5:21-48), Jesus demonstrated the true nature of God’s kingdom. He healed a man with leprosy, thereby touching someone who was unclean (8:1-4). Then He healed a centurion’s servant (vv. 5-13). The centurion would’ve been considered unclean because of his nationality (Roman) and was also despised as a representative of the occupying force of the Roman Empire. Yet it’s in this despised foreigner that Jesus finds a greater faith than anyone in Israel. Matthew says that He turned to “those following him” (v. 10)—the verb used to describe discipleship—and praised the centurion’s faith. The irony is that the man who was hated by the Jews was demonstrating to Christ’s own followers what it truly meant to have faith. By: J.R. Hudberg

I’m Just the Driver

I myself am a man under authority. Matthew 8:9

“Dad, can I spend the night with my friend?” my daughter asked, getting into the car after practice. “Honey, you know the answer,” I said. “I’m just the driver. I don’t know what’s happening. Let’s talk with Mom.”  

“I’m just the driver” has become a joke in our home. Daily, I ask my organized wife where I need to be, when, and whom I’m taking where. With three teens, my “moonlighting” as a “taxi driver” sometimes feels like a second job. Often, I don’t know what I don’t know. So, I have to check in with the master calendar keeper.

In Matthew 8, Jesus encountered a man who also knew something about taking and giving instruction. A Roman centurion, this man understood that Jesus had the authority to heal, just as the centurion had authority to issue commands to those under him. “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me” (vv. 8-9). Christ commended the man’s faith (vv. 10, 13), amazed that he understood what His authority looked like in action.

So what about us? What does it look like to trust Jesus with our daily assignments from Him? Because even if we think we’re “just the driver,” each assignment has kingdom meaning and purpose.

By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

What helps you to discern where and how God is leading you daily? What barriers sometimes get in the way of hearing and obeying Him?

Father, thank You that You lead me and guide my steps. Please help me to walk daily in dependence on You as You direct me according to Your plan and purpose.

For further study, read Making Decisions God’s Way.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, August 04, 2024

The Brave Comradeship of God

Jesus took the Twelve aside. — Luke 18:31

How brave is God in trusting us! You say, “God has been unwise to choose me. There’s nothing of value in me.” That is exactly why he chose you! As long as you believe that there’s something of value in you, God cannot choose you, because you have goals of your own to pursue. Only those who let God bring them to the end of their self-sufficiency are able to be chosen. These are the ones God will select to go with him to Jerusalem to fulfill his purpose.

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (1 Corinthians 1:26). We tend to believe that people with natural abilities will make good Christians. But it isn’t a question of our abilities; it’s a question of our poverty. The question isn’t what we bring with us; it’s what God puts into us. Our natural virtues, knowledge, experience, and strength of character are of no importance. The only thing that matters is that we are taken up into the compelling purpose of God.

When we are taken up by God, we become his comrades. The comradeship of God is made up of people who know their own poverty. He can do nothing with those who think themselves useful. As Christians, we are to have no cause of our own to serve. We are dedicated to serving God’s cause, which can never be our cause. We don’t know what God’s cause is; we only know that, no matter what, we have to maintain our relationship with him. We must never allow anything to injure this relationship. If it does get injured, we must take time to put it right. The main thing about Christianity isn’t the work we do but the relationship we maintain. That is all God asks us to look after, and it’s the one thing that is constantly under threat.

Psalms 66-67; Romans 7

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them. 

Workmen of God, 1341 L

Ezekiel 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Giant-Slayer

God called David a “man after His own heart!”  One might read his story and wonder what God saw in him.  He fell as often as he stood. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba.  He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family.  Raging David.  Weeping David.  Bloodthirsty.  God-hungry.  Eight wives.  One God.  A man after God’s own heart?

That God saw him as such gives hope to us all.  David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint.  Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing.  But we need David’s story…most of us do.  Giants lurk in our neighborhoods.  Giants of rejection, failure, and revenge.  We must face them.  Yet we need not face them alone.

Focus on God.  The times David did, giants fell. The days he did not, David fell.  Lift your eyes, giant-slayer!  The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you!

From Facing Your Giants

Ezekiel 11

A New Heart and a New Spirit

1  11 Then the Spirit picked me up and took me to the gate of the Temple that faces east. There were twenty-five men standing at the gate. I recognized the leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah.

2–3  God said, “Son of man, these are the men who draw up blueprints for sin, who think up new programs for evil in this city. They say, ‘We can make anything happen here. We’re the best. We’re the choice pieces of meat in the soup pot.’

4  “Oppose them, son of man. Preach against them.”

5–6  Then the Spirit of God came upon me and told me what to say: “This is what God says: ‘That’s a fine public speech, Israel, but I know what you are thinking. You’ve murdered a lot of people in this city. The streets are piled high with corpses.’

7–12  “Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: ‘The corpses that you’ve piled in the streets are the meat and this city is the soup pot, and you’re not even in the pot! I’m throwing you out! You fear war, but war is what you’re going to get. I’m bringing war against you. I’m throwing you out of this city, giving you over to foreigners, and punishing you good. You’ll be killed in battle. I’ll carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you’ll realize that I am God. This city will not be your soup pot and you won’t be the choice pieces of meat in it either. Hardly. I will carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel and you’ll realize that I am God, for you haven’t followed my statutes and ordinances. Instead of following my ways, you’ve sunk to the level of the laws of the nations around you.’ ”

13  Even while I was preaching, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. I fell down, face to the ground, and prayed loudly, “O Master, God! Will you completely wipe out what’s left of Israel?”

14–15  The answer from God came back: “Son of man, your brothers—I mean the whole people of Israel who are in exile with you—are the people of whom the citizens of Jerusalem are saying, ‘They’re in the far country, far from God. This land has been given to us to own.’

16–20  “Well, tell them this, ‘This is your Message from God, the Master. True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through other lands. All the same, I’ve provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you’ve gone. I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you’ve been scattered and give you back the land of Israel. You’ll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols. I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. I’ll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. Then you’ll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

21  “ ‘But not those who are self-willed and addicted to their rotten images and obscene idols! I’ll see that they’re paid in full for what they’ve done.’ Decree of God, the Master.”

22–23  Then the cherubim spread their wings, with the wheels beside them and the Glory of the God of Israel hovering over them. The Glory of God ascended from within the city and rested on the mountain to the east of the city.

24–25  Then, still in the vision given me by the Spirit of God, the Spirit took me and carried me back to the exiles in Babylon. And then the vision left me. I told the exiles everything that God had shown me.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, August 03, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Kings 19:14-21

Elijah said it again, “I’ve been working my heart out for God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.”

15–18  God said, “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael; make him king over Aram. Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi; make him king over Israel. Finally, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Anyone who escapes death by Hazael will be killed by Jehu; and anyone who escapes death by Jehu will be killed by Elisha. Meanwhile, I’m preserving for myself seven thousand souls: the knees that haven’t bowed to the god Baal, the mouths that haven’t kissed his image.”

19  Elijah went straight out and found Elisha son of Shaphat in a field where there were twelve pairs of yoked oxen at work plowing; Elisha was in charge of the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak over him.

20  Elisha deserted the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please! Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye—then I’ll follow you.”

“Go ahead,” said Elijah, “but, mind you, don’t forget what I’ve just done to you.”

21  So Elisha left; he took his yoke of oxen and butchered them. He made a fire with the plow and tackle and then boiled the meat—a true farewell meal for the family. Then he left and followed Elijah, becoming his right-hand man.

Insight

In response to Elijah’s discouragement (1 Kings 19:10), he’s promised a divine revelation of God (v. 11). He experiences wind, earthquake, and fire (vv. 11-12), which we might have expected given other appearances of God in Scripture (Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 18:7-15). But this time, Elijah senses God’s presence only in “a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). This may have encouraged him that God doesn’t just reveal Himself through magnificent wonders but through the faithfulness of those who quietly listen to and share His words. This revelation encourages Elijah to continue his work as well as appoint his successor, Elisha.  By: Monica La Rose

Being Finishers in Christ

You are a chosen people . . . that you may declare [his] praises. 1 Peter 2:9

Barbara passed away before she could finish a sweater she was knitting for her great-grandson, Ethan. The sweater was entrusted to the hands of another avid knitter to be completed thanks to an organization that connects volunteer crafters—“finishers”—with those whose loved ones have departed this life before finishing their projects. The “finishers” lovingly invest their time and skill to bring closure to a task that provides comfort to those who are grieving.

God appointed a “finisher” for Elijah’s work too. The prophet was lonely and discouraged at how the Israelites were rejecting God’s covenant and killing prophets. In response, God instructed Elijah to “anoint Elisha . . . to succeed [him] as prophet” (1 Kings 19:16). This ensured that the labor of proclaiming God’s truth would continue long past Elijah’s death.

To show Elisha that God had called him to succeed Elijah as God’s prophet, Elijah “threw his cloak around [Elisha]” (v. 19). Since a prophet’s cloak was used to indicate one’s authority as God’s chosen spokesman (see 2 Kings 2:8), this act made Elisha’s prophetic call clear.

As believers in Jesus, we’ve been called to share God’s love with others and “declare [his] praises” (1 Peter 2:9). Though the task may outlive us too, we can be assured that He’ll sustain the work and will continue to call other “finishers” to the sacred work of making Him known. By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

Who proclaimed God’s truth to you? How can you be part of making Him known to the world?

Father, please use me to accomplish Your work in the world.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, August 03, 2024

The Compelling Purpose of God

We are going up to Jerusalem. — Luke 18:31

In the life of our Lord, Jerusalem stands as the place where he reached the climax of his Father’s will. “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). Doing his Father’s will was our Lord’s compelling purpose throughout his life. Nothing he met with along the way—neither joy nor sorrow, success nor failure—deterred him: “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

The big thing to remember is that we go to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In our worldly life, our ambitions are our own. In our Christian life, we have no aims of our own. It’s common to hear people talking about their decision to follow Jesus Christ, their determination to be Christian. In the New Testament, the emphasis is on God’s decision: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). We don’t have any conscious awareness of God’s decision; we are taken up into his purpose without any awareness at all. Nor do we have any conception of what he is aiming at. As we go on in our life with him, our understanding of his goal only gets more and more vague.

God’s aim looks like it’s missing the mark because we are too short-sighted to see his target. At the beginning of our life as Christians, we have our own ideas of God’s purpose. We think, “God has called me to do a special work,” and we go and do the work. Yet the work doesn’t satisfy the feeling of being compelled by his larger purpose.

“Jesus took the Twelve aside” (Luke 18:31). He is taking us aside for his purpose all the time. There’s more to his plan than we have yet understood.

Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him. 

The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L

1 Timothy 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES WITH POWER - August 2, 2024

Jesus would not let his followers begin their ministries unless they knew the Holy Spirit. By this point the disciples had spent three years in training. They had seen the empty tomb, they had touched his resurrected body, they had spent forty days listening to the resurrected Christ teach about the kingdom. But they needed more. Jesus told them, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NKJV).

The Holy Spirit comes with power. Power to make good choices, to keep promises, to silence the inner voices of fear and failure. Power to get busy about the right things in the right way. Power. This is what Jesus promised then, and this is what Jesus promises still.

.

1 Timothy 5

The Family of Faith

1–2  5 Don’t be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.

3–8  Take care of widows who are destitute. If a widow has family members to take care of her, let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep and that they should pay back with gratitude some of what they have received. This pleases God immensely. You can tell a legitimate widow by the way she has put all her hope in God, praying to him constantly for the needs of others as well as her own. But a widow who exploits people’s emotions and pocketbooks—well, there’s nothing to her. Tell these things to the people so that they will do the right thing in their extended family. Anyone who neglects to care for family members in need repudiates the faith. That’s worse than refusing to believe in the first place.

9–10  Sign some widows up for the special ministry of offering assistance. They will in turn receive support from the church. They must be over sixty, married only once, and have a reputation for helping out with children, strangers, tired Christians, the hurt and troubled.

11–15  Don’t put young widows on this list. No sooner will they get on than they’ll want to get off, obsessed with wanting to get a husband rather than serving Christ in this way. By breaking their word, they’re liable to go from bad to worse, frittering away their days on empty talk, gossip, and trivialities. No, I’d rather the young widows go ahead and get married in the first place, have children, manage their homes, and not give critics any foothold for finding fault. Some of them have already left and gone after Satan.

16  Any Christian woman who has widows in her family is responsible for them. They shouldn’t be dumped on the church. The church has its hands full already with widows who need help.

17–18  Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, “Don’t muzzle a working ox” and “A worker deserves his pay.”

19  Don’t listen to a complaint against a leader that isn’t backed up by two or three responsible witnesses.

20  If anyone falls into sin, call that person on the carpet. Those who are inclined that way will know right off they can’t get by with it.

21–23  God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions. Carry them out without favoritism, without taking sides. Don’t appoint people to church leadership positions too hastily. If a person is involved in some serious sins, you don’t want to become an unwitting accomplice. In any event, keep a close check on yourself. And don’t worry too much about what the critics will say. Go ahead and drink a little wine, for instance; it’s good for your digestion, good medicine for what ails you.

24–25  The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, August 02, 2024

Today's Scripture

Luke 18:15-17

People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”

Insight

Although not specifically stated, Luke is believed to be the author of both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Both books are dedicated to Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1) and are considered companion volumes. Luke’s gospel tells the story of Jesus, and Acts presents the story of the early church. Luke was most likely a gentile by birth, well-educated in Greek culture, and trained as a physician. Paul refers to him as his “dear friend Luke, the doctor” (Colossians 4:14). Luke wasn’t an eyewitness to Christ but “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3).

Today’s reading (Luke 18:15-17) follows immediately after the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, which underscores the necessity of humility (18:9-14; see Matthew 19:13-14). Little children picture the humility, dependence, trust, openness, and sincerity necessary to see our need for Christ (Luke 18:16-17). By: Alyson Kieda

A Child’s Hope

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them. Luke 18:16

When my granddaughter Eliana was just seven, she saw a video at her school about an orphanage in Guatemala. She told her mom, “We have to go there to help them.” Her mom replied that they would think about it when she was older.

Eliana never forgot, and, sure enough, when she was ten, her family went to help in the orphanage. Two years later, they went back, this time taking along a couple of other families from Eliana’s school. When Eliana was fifteen, she and her dad went again to Guatemala to serve.

We sometimes think the wishes and dreams of little children don’t carry the weight of adult hopes. But Scripture seems to make no such distinction. God calls children, as in the case of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:4). Jesus honors the faith of little ones (Luke 18:16-17). And Paul said younger believers shouldn’t let people discount them just because they “are young” (1 Timothy 4:12). So, we’re called to guide our children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs 22:6), recognizing that their faith is a model for us all (Matthew 18:3) and understanding that hindering them is something Christ warned against (Luke 18:15).

When we see a spark of hope in children, our job as adults is to help ignite it. And as God leads us, encourage them toward a life dedicated to trust in Jesus and service for Him. By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

How can you encourage children to believe in Jesus? How can you help them grow in faith?

Dear heavenly Father, the children in our world need Christ. Please help me to encourage them to believe in You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, August 02, 2024

The Discipline of Difficulty

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. — John 16:33

An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different. If you are a child of God, there certainly will be troubles to face. Jesus says not to be surprised when they come: “In this world you will have trouble.” But he also says that troubles are no match for him: “Take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Sometimes people who never wanted to complain or go on about their troubles before they were saved become frail in the face of trouble afterward. This happens because they had the wrong idea of what salvation meant. They thought it meant that God would allow them to triumph easily over all adversity. But God does not give us overcoming life; he gives us life as we overcome.

Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy? He cannot—not unless you also accept the strain. The strain is the strength. Where there is no strain, there is no strength.

Overcome your timidity. Take the step God is telling you to take, and he will nourish you: “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life” (Revelation 2:7). If you push yourself to your physical limits, you will become exhausted, but if you push yourself spiritually, you will get more strength. God never gives strength for tomorrow or for the next hour, only for the strain of the minute.

Face your troubles with courage and gladness, remembering that you have nothing to fear. The saint is filled with hilarity when crushed by difficulties, because the situation is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God. “If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you” (Psalm 91:9–10). No plague can come near the place where you are at one with God.

Psalms 60-62; Romans 5

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance.

Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, August 02, 2024

A Man and His Marriage - #9800

I've ridden with a lot of people on a lot of elevators, but none quite as unusual as the young man that I met on an elevator a while back. Actually, he wasn't unusual; but what he carried was. He had his arms full of a wadded up tuxedo and a wadded up wedding gown. So here's this fellow, marching down the hall with a wedding gown and a tuxedo in his arms.

Now, you can put two and two together. He must have noticed the bemused look on my face though, because as the elevator door closed in front of us he smiled at me and said, "Last night was a life-changing experience!" That's a pretty perceptive insight from a newly married man. And then he added, "Probably more than I know." Oh, he's got that right.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Man and His Marriage."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 5, and we'll begin reading at verse 25. It's about husbands and wives. It says, "Husbands love your wives..." I wish it stopped there; that would make it easier. But listen, it doesn't stop there. "...just as Christ loved the church (Ah!) and gave Himself up for her." Okay, it's getting tougher! It says, "...to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish; but holy and blameless."

Now, when a man says, "I do" to a woman, here's what God hears him say, "I will on a daily basis lay down my life for this woman as Christ laid down His life for us." Whew! Man, that's radical! As the newlywed carrying yesterday's tuxedo and bridal gown said, "Yeah, it's a life-changing experience."

From the time we're born, we're like "me" people: change me, feed me, take care of me, hold me. We grow up and we get more sophisticated, but we're still expecting to be the sun and for everyone else to be the planets who revolve around us. Marriage radically changes that me-ness. Jesus said marriage is the moving of someone else to the center position - my wife. So I will revolve around her needs, not her around mine.

This isn't just radical, it's practical. Like listening to your wife's heart poured out even when you're dead tired, or ready to watch your favorite sporting event. That's how you lay down your life. It's putting her fulfillment ahead of yours in sexual love; that's laying down your life for her. It means unloading your day's burdens that you want to carry around with you and you want everybody to cater to you because of those. But you unload those on the way home so you can focus on her and her burdens when you get there.

So, laying down your life? It can mean changing diapers, or taking out garbage, or doing the dishes, or caring about the sacrifice of time; the sacrifice that involves listening when you don't feel like it or you don't want to listen that long. She needs your attention; you promised it to her. You promised she would be first. When you do this you get a wife that's radiant like the church that Christ loves. You know, you can tell the women who have been loved like this. They're radiant; they kind of glow! Beautiful women grow in the garden of a man's selfless love.

It's a life-changing experience for both of you; that's the radical side of "I do."