Zechariah 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: NOTHING COMPARES WITH GOD - October 22, 2024

To what can we compare God? Who is like the Lord? What you are to a paper airplane, God is to you. Make one. Challenge it to race you around the block. Who’s faster? Invite the airplane to a game of one-on-one basketball. Will you not dominate the court? And well you should. The thing exists only because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it.

God asks Isaiah, “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” (Isaiah 40:25). As if his question needed an answer, he gives one: “I am God. I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me” (Isaiah 46:9). King David marveled, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

You and I may have power. But God is power. No one and nothing compares with him!

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 5

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

1  5 I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

2  The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

3–4  He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket

5  The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

6  I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

7  Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

8  He said, “This is Miss Wicked.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

9  Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

10  I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

11  He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Today's Scripture

Matthew 23:23-33

“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

25–26  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.

27–28  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.

29–32  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your ancestors, no blood would have been on your hands. You protest too much! You’re cut from the same cloth as those murderers, and daily add to the death count.

33–34  “Snakes! Reptilian sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper?

Insight

Each of the four paragraphs in Matthew 23:23-32 begin with a warning against hypocrisy: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” The religious leaders were condemned for bringing sacrifices while ignoring “more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23). These words are similar to what God said through the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require . . . ? To act justly and to love mercy” (Micah 6:8). Micah’s audience was also offering sacrifices without being truly committed to God; they were shiny on the outside but dead inside. By: J.R. Hudberg

Transformed from the Inside

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:25

In the worst UK residential fire since World War II, fire engulfed the twenty-four story Grenfell Tower building in West London, claiming the lives of seventy people. Investigations revealed a primary reason the flames spread so quickly was the cladding used as part of renovation that covered the building’s exterior. The material was aluminum on the outside but had an extremely flammable plastic core.

How was such a dangerous material allowed to be sold and installed? The product’s sellers failed to disclose poor fire safety test results. And buyers, drawn by the material’s cheap price tag, failed to heed warning signs. The shiny cladding looked nice on the outside.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed at religious teachers He accused of covering corruption behind a nice-looking exterior. He said they were like “whitewashed tombs”—“beautiful on the outside” but inside full of dead bones (Matthew 23:27). Instead of pursuing “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23), they were focused on looking good—cleaning “the outside of the cup” but not the “greed and self-indulgence” inside (v. 25).

It’s easier to focus on looking good than to bring our sin and brokenness honestly before God. But a nice-looking exterior doesn’t make a corrupt heart any less dangerous. God invites us to let Him transform all of us from the inside (1 John 1:9). By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

When have you tried to disguise corruption? How can you prioritize internal change?

Gracious God, please help me not to hide my brokenness but let You transform all of me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Testimony of the Spirit

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit. — Romans 8:16

We are in danger of getting into a negotiating mindset with God, of trying to haggle him into giving us the testimony of the Spirit before we’ve done what he tells us to do. “Why isn’t the Spirit testifying with my spirit?” you ask. “Why doesn’t God reveal himself to me?” The answer is that he won’t, not as long as you are in his way, refusing to abandon yourself to him. The instant you do abandon, God begins to testify to himself. He can’t testify to you—that is, to your human nature. Rather, he testifies to his own nature inside you, the nature you received when you were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

If you were to receive the testimony of the Spirit before the Spirit was a reality inside you, it would end in sentimental emotion. But the moment you stop debating and complete the spiritual transaction, the moment you ask for the Holy Spirit and receive him, God gives you the testimony. When you abandon intellectual reasoning and argument and hand yourself in faith to God, you will be amazed at your impertinence in having kept him waiting so long.

If you are debating the question of whether God can deliver you from sin, either let him do it or tell him he can’t. Don’t come at him with evidence, quoting this or that expert. Instead, try Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” Come, when you are burdened with doubt. Ask, if you know you are evil: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

The simplicity that characterizes commonsense decisions is easy to mistake for the testimony of the Spirit. But the Spirit testifies only to his own nature and to the work of redemption, never to our human reason. If we try to make him testify to our reason, it is no wonder we remain in darkness and perplexity. Fling your doubting and debating overboard, trust in God, and his Spirit will give the testimony.

Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

How To Be The One God Can Trust - #9857

I always knew that if my teenage son ever did with stocks what he did with baseball cards, he'd be a millionaire someday. And then maybe I could go on a cruise...you know, who knows? Well, a lot of young guys, when they go looking for baseball cards, just look for the card of people who are already famous. But, of course, those cards have already done a lot of their appreciating while he was becoming famous.

Now, oldest son looked for players who very few people had ever heard of. He would go back into college and see who looked promising while they were in college. Then he'd monitor their minor league statistics, and he seemed to know a couple of specific statistics to look for as clues to future greatness. Then, when that man issued a rookie card (of course the rookie card is the only one you want to have; that's the really valuable one), then my son bought the rookie card.

Then he just watched it appreciate, and then he would go and sell it and reinvest in some other surprising prospects. Now a lot of people were surprised by that players' greatness and they said, "Hey, who's he?" My son wasn't. He knew what to look for. Now, when it comes to picking God's future stars, there's one clue to future greatness that God looks for.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How To Be The One God Can Trust."

Simon Peter - not a likely prospect to be a future star. Hey, if you were looking in the minor league to see who would become a major league leader for Jesus Christ, I'm not sure you would have picked Simon Peter. Why would God use him? What did He see in him? I mean, he sleeps when you need him to be awake - he talks big, he doesn't deliver on his promises - he takes matters in his own hands and does ear surgery. He denied Jesus to a 12-year-old girl. That's all true, but he had the one trait that Jesus looks for, and that's what makes a disciple's heart.

Luke 5:4-6, our word for today from the Word of God - here's what it says: "When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon said, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.' And when they had done so they caught such a large number of fish their nets began to break."

Okay, yes Peter's inconsistent, he's proud, he's unpredictable, impulsive, but he had the one trait out of which Jesus can build a disciple. When He can think of no other reason to do what Jesus said, he replies, "Just because You say so, I'll do it." Unquestioning obedience - that's the core of a disciple's heart. Now, he already failed to bring in any harvest. That was a reason not to go out as Jesus told him to. It was going to be inconvenient; he'd have to clean his nets again. Everything in his experience was against it; he knew it shouldn't work. You're not going to catch them in the middle of the day if you didn't catch them in the middle of the night. But he does it because Jesus said so, and that's the thing God looks for in His future stars.

So, everything around you might say, "uh... Have sex now." But you're going to keep it pure just because Jesus says so. Everything that seems to make sense says, "Oh, let your marriage go. Get out of it while you can." You might even have people advising you that way. But you're going to fight to keep it together because Jesus says so. You're going to be honest. When it looks like fudging a little bit, a little deceit, a little playing games with the truth might get you where you want to go, but you're going to tell the truth no matter what the cost. You're going to give generously even if the money isn't there. You're going to forgive and restore that relationship you don't feel like restoring because Jesus says so.

Are you someone that Jesus can build into one of His trusted disciples? Oh, maybe you've got a lot of weaknesses, I do. But once you know what Jesus says, you just do it.

See, then in the major leagues of God's usefulness, you may be destined for greatness.

3 John 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SPIRITUAL FAMILY - October 21, 2024

Is your fantasy that your family will be like the Waltons? An expectation that your dearest friends will be your next of kin? Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how Jesus defined his family in Mark 3:35: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.” He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family did not.

If Jesus himself couldn’t force his family to share his convictions, what makes you think you can force yours?  We can’t control the way our family responds to us. We have to move beyond the naïve expectation that if we do good, our family will treat us right. I can’t assure you that your family will ever give you the blessing you seek, but I know this much: God will. Accept God as your Father, and let God give you what your family does not.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

3 John 1

1–4  The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, October 21, 2024

Today's Scripture

Jeremiah 33:14-16

A Fresh and True Shoot from the David-Tree

14–18  “ ‘Watch for this: The time is coming’—God’s Decree—‘when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “God Has Set Things Right for Us.”

Insight

Despite David’s general success as king over Israel, the story of his successors grew increasingly problematic. King after king failed to live in obedience to the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave them a home in Canaan. The books of 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles describe the spiraling descent of the nation’s rulers, punctuated only with a handful of bright spots.

By the time of Jeremiah, the rulers of Israel and many of the kings of Judah were thoroughly corrupt and the nations were facing exile. The mighty tree of David’s dynasty may have seemed like it had been hewn to the root. The promise of Jeremiah’s prophecy, however, was that God wouldn’t give up. He would bring forth a righteous king out of a seemingly dead dynasty who would make Jerusalem and the people righteous once again. Both Matthew (1:1-17) and Luke (3:23-38) trace Jesus’ lineage back to David, the once-great king. By: Jed Ostoich

Jesus the Branch

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right. Jeremiah 33:15

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.  

The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.

The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.  By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

What are other significant promises from God that Jesus fulfilled? How does their fulfillment encourage you?

Thank You, Almighty God, that You fulfill all Your promises.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, October 21, 2024

Impulse

Building yourselves up in your most holy faith . . . — Jude 1:20

There was nothing impulsive and nothing cold-blooded about our Lord, just a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the line of our own impulses rather than along the line of God. Impulsiveness is a natural human trait, but our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple.

Watch how the Spirit of God checks our impulses. His checks bring a rush of self-consciousness that instantly makes us want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is fine in a child but disastrous in a man or a woman; an impulsive adult is always a petulant adult. Impulsiveness has to be trained into intuition by discipline.

Discipleship has no impulsiveness in it; it is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy in an impulsive burst of courage, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:29)—but he also walked far with Jesus on the land. We don’t need the supernatural grace of God in order to weather crises; human nature and pride are sufficient for that. But we do need his grace in order to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a child of God, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We think that we have to do exceptional things for God, but this isn’t true. We have to be exceptional in ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, and this isn’t learned in five minutes.

Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Psychology

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, October 21, 2024

The Storm Your Ship Can't Handle - #9856

I've been in three hurricanes, but always on land. I can't imagine what it would be like to face it out on the water.

The crew of the container ship El Faro were on pace to be well ahead of Hurricane Joaquin, until they suddenly found themselves with no propulsion system directly in the path of a Category 4 Hurricane: 50-foot waves, 140-mile-an-hour winds, zero visibility. The crew's families asked for people to pray for them and for their missing loved ones.

A Coast Guard officer said, "No matter how big the ship is, when you're disabled and you're at sea, and you're in the middle of a storm, the size and strength of that storm is just enough to overcome just about anything."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Storm Your Ship Can't Handle."

I've never been on a ship in a storm. But in a more personal way, I kind of get what he's saying. Because storms - the physical and emotional kind - are part of everyone's story. I've felt the blows of medical crises that threatened the lives of people I cherish. I've experienced the pain of someone I love being here one day, and then suddenly gone. I've had trust betrayed. And there are the consequences of choices that I made and I wish I could have back.

And, like most people, I want to think I'm smart enough and strong enough to navigate the brutal winds and the surging waves. But, truth be told, it's like the Coast Guard captain said, "Sometimes the size and strength of that storm is just enough to overcome just about anything." And that's when people go under. Marriages break apart. Panic drives us to choices that will even sink us more. Fear, despair, and desperation take us down.

I'd like to think I'm pretty strong emotionally, but not strong enough to hold things together when I'm blindsided by a really brutal storm. But, thank God, I belong to Someone who is.

When Jesus was here, the team He built included some seasoned fishermen who had weathered many a storm, until the night that all their experience and strength wasn't enough to keep their boat from starting to go under. That's when Captain Jesus stepped to the stern, raised His hand and shouted a command, "Peace! Be still!" The Bible says, "The wind died down and it was completely calm." Because whatever storm is bigger than we are, Jesus is bigger than it is. After all, He had the power to walk out of His grave three days after He died on a cross to pay for our sin.

Jesus hasn't always stopped the storm around me. But He's calmed the storm inside me, beginning with the turbulence in my soul from battling with God for the control of my life. But, thanks to Jesus' life-giving love, I have, as it says in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 5:1, "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." That peace is my unshakeable anchor and that anchor has always held. The storm we can't handle finally confronts us with a truth we've never wanted to face. We were never meant to be at the helm in the first place.

This may be the day when you finally surrender your heart and life and the control of your life to the One who gave it to you in the first place. The Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him." Jesus had to die on a cross to pay for our rebellion against God. But today He's ready to bring you home into that relationship you were made for. And that peace with God that comes through Jesus; you can go to sleep with that in your heart tonight and every night for the rest of your life.

There's some wonderful information I'd love to give you at our website so you can be sure you've begun this relationship with the only One who can rescue you from your sin. It's ANewStory.com.

Maybe the storm that you've been in has been for an ultimately eternal purpose. Because for many of us, the storm that almost sank us was the storm that finally blew us Home.

Zechariah 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: No Room

Some of the saddest words on earth are “We don’t have room for you.” Jesus knew the sound of those words.  He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, “We don’t have room for you” (Luke 2:7).

And when he was hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection?  “We don’t have room for you in our world.”

Even today Jesus is given the same treatment.  He goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. Every so often, he’s welcomed.  Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay.  And to that person Jesus gives this great promise, “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2).

What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts….And he makes room for us in his house!

From Grace for the Moment

Zechariah 4

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

1  4 The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.

2–3  He said, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl.”

4  Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, “What does this mean, sir?”

5–7  The Messenger-Angel said, “Can’t you tell?”

“No, sir,” I said.

Then he said, “This is God’s Message to Zerubbabel: ‘You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,’ says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. ‘So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you’re nothing but a molehill. He’ll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!’ ”

8–10  After that, the Word of God came to me: “Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!”

Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, “The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights.”

11–12  And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?” I asked. “What’s the meaning of them? And while you’re at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?”

13  He said, “You haven’t figured that out?”

I said, “No, sir.”

14  He said, “These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Today's Scripture

Ecclesiastes 2:1-5, 11-17

 I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment with pleasure, have a good time!” But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke.

What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane!

My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it?

With the help of a bottle of wine

and all the wisdom I could muster,

I tried my level best

to penetrate the absurdity of life.

I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do

during the years we spend on this earth.

I Never Said No to Myself

4–8  Oh, I did great things:

built houses,

planted vineyards,

designed gardens and parks

and planted a variety of fruit trees in them,

I Hate Life

11  Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.

12–14  And then I took a hard look at what’s smart and what’s stupid. What’s left to do after you’ve been king? That’s a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that’s it. But I did see that it’s better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. Even so, though the smart ones see where they’re going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they’re all the same in the end. One fate for all—and that’s it.

15–16  When I realized that my fate’s the same as the fool’s, I had to ask myself, “So why bother being wise?” It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke. The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they’re both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that’s it.

17  I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It’s smoke—and spitting into the wind.

Insight

Should we view this life’s frustrations as a gift? For that matter, is even death itself a gift? Those are questions we must consider given the Teacher’s (see Ecclesiastes 1:1) conclusion here: “The wise, like the fool . . . must die” (2:16). The prospect of his own death compelled him to ponder where he might find true meaning. If he’d found satisfaction in the temporary pleasures and even the good things he pursued, the Teacher might not have acknowledged the only true source of fulfillment—God Himself (see 12:13). Awareness of our own mortality can prompt us to seek God.  By: Tim Gustafson

The Payoff

Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

In 1921, artist Sam Rodia began construction on his Watts Towers. Thirty-three years later, seventeen sculptures rose as high as thirty meters over Los Angeles. Musician Jerry Garcia was dismissive of Rodia’s lifework. “That’s the payoff,” said Garcia. “That thing that exists after you’re dead.” Then he said, “Wow, that’s not it for me.”

So what was the payoff for him? His bandmate Bob Weir summed up their philosophy: “In eternity, nothing will be remembered of you. So why not just have fun?”

A wealthy, wise man once tried to find the “payoff” by doing everything he possibly could. He wrote, “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good’ ” (Ecclesiastes 2:1). But he noted, “The wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered” (v. 16). He concluded, “The work that is done under the sun was grievous to me” (v. 17).

The life and message of Jesus radically counter such shortsighted living. Jesus came to give us “life to the full” (John 10:10) and taught us to live this life with the next one in view. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,” He said. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20). Then He summed it up: “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33).

That’s the payoff—both under the sun and beyond. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How do you want to be remembered? What does it mean to “store up treasures in heaven”?

Father God, please help me serve You joyfully with eternity in view.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Is God’s Will My Will?

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified. — 1 Thessalonians 4:3

My sanctification isn’t a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me. The question is, Am I willing? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the atonement? Am I willing to let the life of Jesus Christ manifest itself in my mortal flesh?

Beware of saying, “I’m longing to be sanctified.” Stop longing and treat it as a transaction, a simple matter of asking and receiving. Ask God for the Holy Spirit on the basis of Luke 11:13: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Then, in implicit faith, receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you, and the great marvel of the atonement will be made real in you.

All that Jesus Christ made possible is mine because of one thing and one thing only: the free, loving gift of God. My attitude as a saved and sanctified soul must be one of profound, humble holiness. (There’s no such thing as proud holiness.) I recognize what Jesus has done for me with agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation. I have the amazing realization that even when I cared nothing for God, his love for me was so great that he completed everything for my salvation and sanctification.

No wonder Paul says that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in him one with God. This is done only through the atonement of Christ, which is the cause of my holiness. Never confuse the cause and the effect. My holiness and obedience and service and prayer are all effects—the outcome of speechless thanks and adoration for the sanctification worked in me by the atonement.

Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”

The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R

Zechariah 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Grace-given, Give Grace

The grace-given-give grace!  Is grace happening to you?  Is there anyone in your life you refuse to forgive?  If so, do you appreciate God's forgiveness toward you?  Do you resent God's kindness to others?  Do you grumble at God's uneven compensation?  How long has it been since your generosity stunned someone?

Since someone objected, "No, really, this is too generous?"  If it's been awhile reconsider God's extravagant grace.  Psalm 103:2-3 says, "Forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity."

Let grace unscrooge your heart.  Like Peter encourages us in 2 Peter 3:18, "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

When grace happens, generosity happens.  Unsquashable, eye-popping, big-heartedness happens!  You simply can't contain it all.  Let it bubble over.  Let it spill out.  Let it pour forth.

From GRACE

Zechariah 3

Fourth Vision: Joshua’s New Clothes

1–2  3 Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God’s Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, “I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!”

3–4  Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, “Get him out of those filthy clothes,” and then said to Joshua, “Look, I’ve stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes.”

5  I spoke up and said, “How about a clean new turban for his head also?” And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God’s Angel looking on.

6–7  God’s Angel then charged Joshua, “Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you’ll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service.

8–9  “ ‘Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here’s what I’m doing next: I’m introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I’m placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes’—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—‘I’ll engrave with these words: “I’ll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day.”

10  “ ‘At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another’s porches.’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Today's Scripture

Colossians 3:17, 23-24

Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritancel from the Lord as a reward.m It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Insight

Colossians 3:23-24 reminds us of whom we serve: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart . . . . It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Jesus Himself is the ultimate example of living before the audience of One. Notice these statements from Jesus: “My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (6:38). “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (8:29). In everything He undertook, Jesus had one overarching purpose—to please His Father. That truly is what it means to live before the audience of One. With the Spirit’s help, we can aspire to live out His example. By: Bill Crowder

An Audience of One

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23

As the “voice of the Denver Nuggets,” team chaplain Kyle Speller is most known for his rip-roaring, public address announcing during the championship basketball club’s games. “Let’s go!” he thunders into the mic, and thousands of onsite NBA fans, as well as millions more watching or listening to the action, react to the voice that earned Speller’s nomination as the 2022 All-Star Game PA Announcer. “I know how to feel the crowd and kind of set that home court atmosphere,” he says. Still, every word of his voice artistry—featured also in TV and radio commercials—is to glorify God. His work, Speller adds, is “just doing everything for an audience of One.”

The apostle Paul stressed a similar ethic to the Colossian church, whose members let doubts about Christ’s divinity and sovereignty seep into even their practical lives. Instead, wrote Paul, in “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Paul added, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (v. 23). For Kyle Speller, that includes his role as a chaplain, of which he says, “That’s kind of my purpose here . . . and the announcing is the icing on the cake.” Our own work for God can be just as sweet for our audience of One. By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What’s the key factor in your work ethic? How would working as for God change your perspective?

Thank You for my work, Jesus, and inspire me to do it all as for You.

For further study, read How Can I Find Satisfaction in My Work?

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, October 19, 2024

The Unheeded Secret

My kingdom is not of this world. — John 18:36

Today, a great enemy of Jesus Christ is the idea we have of practical work. This idea doesn’t come from the New Testament but rather from systems of the world in which endless energy and activity are insisted upon, but no private life with God. The emphasis is placed on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 kjv); it is hidden and obscure. Too often Christian workers live in the shop window. They’ve forgotten that it is the innermost of the innermost that reveals the power of the disciple’s life.

We have to rid ourselves of the spirit of the religious age we live in. As disciples, our lives are supposed to resemble our Master’s life; in his life, there was none of the stress and rush of tremendous activity that are regarded so highly today. The cornerstone of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship to him, not public usefulness to other people. Rather than wasting our time in activity, we should be soaking in the great fundamental truths of his redemption.

If we don’t get into the habit of soaking in God’s truths, we will snap when the strain comes—and it will come. None of us has any idea where God is going to put us nor any knowledge of what kinds of difficulty we will face. But if we’ve prepared ourselves beforehand by getting rooted and grounded in God, we will remain true to him whatever happens.

Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them.

Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

Zechariah 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: BEHIND THE SCENES - October 18, 2024

No one believed in people more than Jesus did. He saw something in Peter worth developing, in the adulterous woman worth forgiving, and in John worth harnessing. He saw something in the thief on the cross, and what he saw was worth saving. In the life of a wild-eyed, bloodthirsty extremist, he saw the apostle of grace. He believed in Saul.

Don’t give up on your Saul. When others write him off, give him another chance. Stay strong. Call him brother. Call her sister.  It’s too soon to throw in the towel. Tell your Saul about Jesus, and pray. God is at work behind the scenes. And remember this: God never sends you where he hasn’t already been. By the time you reach your Saul, who knows what you’ll find. God used Saul—who became Paul—to touch the world. Has God given you a Saul? 

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 2

Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure

1–5  2 I looked up and was surprised to see

a man holding a tape measure in his hand.

I said, “What are you up to?”

“I’m on my way,” he said, “to survey Jerusalem,

to measure its width and length.”

Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out

met another angel coming in and said,

“Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls—

bursting with people, bursting with animals.

And I’ll be right there with her’—God’s Decree—‘a wall of fire

around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.’ ”

6–7  “Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!” God says so.

“Return from your far exile.

I scattered you to the four winds.” God’s Decree.

“Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!”

8–9  God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, “Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.” Then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.

10  “Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!

I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!”

God’s Decree.

11–12  Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. (“They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!”) And then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.

13  Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, October 18, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Kings 19:1-8

Revenge from Jezebel

1–2  19 Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: “The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets.”

3–5  When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beer-sheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day’s journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: “Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush.

Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, “Get up and eat!”

6  He looked around and, to his surprise, right by his head were a loaf of bread baked on some coals and a jug of water. He ate the meal and went back to sleep.

7  The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, “Get up and eat some more—you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”

8–9  He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb.

Insight

Elijah’s plea for God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4) may give us some insight into his condition. His wish for death wasn’t just because he feared Jezebel’s death threat, but because he felt he was “no better than [his] ancestors” (v. 4). It’s possible that his depression was rooted in the reality that though he’d trusted God to do the impossible when He consumed the burnt offering (18:38-39) and witnessed His power when He sent rain (vv. 41-46), he’d immediately fled in fear of Jezebel. Perhaps he felt that his own faith, like that of his ancestors, was weak and fickle. Or he may have been discouraged because he’d failed to rid Israel of Baal worship and idolatry. By: J.R. Hudberg

Scraped Butter

I have had enough, Lord . . . . Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors. 1 Kings 19:4

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins starts showing the effects of carrying, for six decades, a magical ring with dark powers. Weighed down by its slowly corrosive nature, he says to the wizard Gandalf, “Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” He decides to leave his home in search of rest, somewhere “in peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around.”

This aspect of Tolkien’s story reminds me of an Old Testament prophet’s experience. On the run from Jezebel and wrung out after his battle with false prophets, Elijah badly needed some rest. Feeling depleted, he asked God to let him die, saying, “I have had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). After he fell asleep, God’s angel woke him so he could eat and drink. He slept again, and then ate more of the food provided by the angel. Revitalized, he had enough energy for the forty-day walk to the mountain of God.

When we feel scraped thin, we too can look to God for true refreshment. We might need to care for our bodies while we also ask Him to fill us with His hope, peace, and rest. Even as the angel tended to Elijah, we can trust that God will impart His refreshing presence on us (see Matthew 11:28). By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

When you’re wrung out and exhausted, what actions tempt you? How can you put your trust in God when you’re tired and overwhelmed?

Strengthening God, I look to You for true rest. Please help me put my hope in You and fill me with Your presence.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, October 18, 2024

The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion

It was for the sake of the Name that they went out. — 3 John 1:7

Our Lord has told us how our love for him should manifest itself: “Do you love me?” he asks. “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Our Lord is saying, “Identify yourself with my interests in other people,” not “Identify me with your interests in other people.” This kind of love has a specific character. It’s defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8: “Love is patient, love is kind . . .” It is the love of God expressing itself. Other expressions of love are merely sentimental. The love of God is able to stand up to the most practical tests.

“It was for the sake of the Name that they went out.” The Holy Spirit fills my heart with the love of God and sends that love through me to everyone I meet. It enables me to remain loyal to the Name, even though every commonsense fact declares that Jesus Christ has no more power than the morning mist. This loyalty is the supernatural work of redemption, worked in me by the Holy Spirit.

The key to the missionary’s devotion is being attached to nothing and no one except our Lord himself. This doesn’t mean being separated from the outside world; our Lord was always in the world, among ordinary people and things. His detachment was entirely on the inside, where he was attached only to God. Avoiding the world is often a sign of a secret, inner attachment to the very things we’re setting out to avoid. The missionary has no such attachments. His or her soul is kept concentratedly open to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. The men and women our Lord chooses to send out as his missionaries, though they are made of ordinary human stuff, have a dominating devotion to him, formed by the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 385 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, October 18, 2024

Security in Uncertainty - #9855

Man, our garage was one busy place! I mean, you know, being in Youth Ministry, having meetings at our house. It was the fastest way to get to the basement. So, I mean teenagers were coming and going through the garage, and my wife and I were going in and out daily through the garage, and I usually had an armload of something. And in bad weather, the garage was the best way to get to the driveway, to the back yard. Well, listen, I'll tell you what. I got a great Christmas present that year - an automatic garage door opener. Never had one of those before and someone gave it to me.

Oh, that changed my life. Wow! It just meant so much with all I had to do and all I had to carry and how fast I was trying to move. Why, that door would open before I got there!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Security in Uncertainty."

Okay, our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 10:3-4. Some years ago we felt the Lord's leading to move from a ministry in Chicago. That was a place and it was people that we really knew well, and we knew we should move to the New York area - a place where we knew virtually no one. We were literally jumping from the very known to the very unknown. And God gave us a word from the Bible that was my anchor then and has been my anchor since then in a lot of uncertain moments.

Jesus says in John 10, speaking of the shepherd, "He calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. And when he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them." Oh, man, I love that! I told you about that garage door opener. It makes sure that the way is open before I get there. I've got a Shepherd who does that, and so do you if you belong to Him.

See, the Shepherd gets there ahead of the sheep. And no matter how new, or how dark, or how scary, or how uncertain the path seems to be, the Shepherd has gone ahead of you there. I'm sure they did that back in Jesus' day. The shepherd would go wherever the sheep were being led - first - and he'd check it out and make sure there was pasture to feed them, see if there were any wolves there, and see where the edge of the cliff was so they wouldn't walk over it. Your Shepherd is doing that for you right now.

Maybe you're facing a situation that's got a lot of question marks. Maybe more than question marks - maybe even some frightening possibilities. You can be sure that Jesus is already there. He's way ahead of you, clearing the way, making sure that your needs will be met. He's dealing effectively with the dangers that are going to be there, and He is securing your future for you because you're a lamb in His flock. Yeah, He leads His sheep out, but then He goes before them.

Boy, I'm glad that's John 10:4 - it's kind of like the radio people saying, "Ten-four, good buddy. That's all you need to know; that the Shepherd goes on ahead of you." You know in the Old Testament King David said "The Lord is my Shepherd." I wonder if you can say that. I wonder if you've ever actually begun a relationship with this Jesus who loved you enough to die for your sin on the cross and who is powerful enough to walk out of His grave. He wants to walk right into your life and be your Shepherd. Yeah, He is The Shepherd, but is He yours? You could ask Him into your life this very day and I pray that you'll do that. Say "Jesus, I'm Yours. I want to belong to You." And if you're not sure you do, go to our website and I think we can help with that.

When you're in Christ's care and you're headed toward what seems to be a closed door or maybe even what's ahead in eternity, remember your Lord's going ahead of you first making sure that the door is open before you get there.

Zechariah 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES - October 17, 2024

Legalism is a systematic process of defending self, explaining self, exalting self, and justifying self. Legalists are obsessed with self, not God. Legalism turns my opinion into your burden. There’s only room for one opinion, and guess who’s wrong?

Spiritual life is not a human endeavor. It’s rooted in and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Every spiritual achievement is created and energized by God. The Bible says, “everyone who believes can have eternal life.” Not “everyone who achieves.” Not “everyone who agrees.” But “everyone who believes.”

Listen. Salvation is God’s idea. It’s his business, his work, his expense. He offers it to whom he desires, when he desires. Our job in the process is to inform people, not to screen the people.

Cast of Characters: Lost and Found

Zechariah 1

 In the eighth month of the second year in the reign of Darius, God’s Message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: “God was very angry with your ancestors. So give to the people this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘Come back to me and I’ll come back to you. Don’t be like your parents. The old-time prophets called out to them, “A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: Leave your evil life. Quit your evil practices.” But they ignored everything I said to them, stubbornly refused to listen.’

5–6  “And where are your ancestors now? Dead and buried. And the prophets who preached to them? Also dead and buried. But the Message that my servants the prophets spoke, that isn’t dead and buried. That Message did its work on your ancestors, did it not? It woke them up and they came back, saying, ‘He did what he said he would do, sure enough. We didn’t get by with a thing.’ ”

First Vision: Four Riders

7  On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of the reign of Darius, the Message of God was given to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:

8  One night I looked out and saw a man astride a red horse. He was in the shadows in a grove of birches. Behind him were more horses—a red, a chestnut, and a white.

9  I said, “Sir, what are these horses doing here? What’s the meaning of this?”

The Angel-Messenger said, “Let me show you.”

10  Then the rider in the birch grove spoke up, “These are the riders that God sent to check things out on earth.”

11  They reported their findings to the Angel of God in the birch grove: “We have looked over the whole earth and all is well. Everything’s under control.”

12  The Angel of God reported back, “O God-of-the-Angel-Armies, how long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? When are you going to let up? Isn’t seventy years long enough?”

13–15  God reassured the Angel-Messenger—good words, comforting words—who then addressed me: “Tell them this. Tell them that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has spoken. This is God’s Message: ‘I care deeply for Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of them. But I’m thoroughly angry with the godless nations that act as if they own the whole world. I was only moderately angry earlier, but now they’ve gone too far. I’m going into action.

16–17  “ ‘I’ve come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time.’

This is God speaking.

‘I’ll see to it that my Temple is rebuilt.’

A Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

‘The rebuilding operation is already staked out.’

Say it again—a Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

‘My cities will prosper again,

God will comfort Zion again,

Jerusalem will be back in my favor again.’ ”

Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Blacksmiths

18  I looked up, and was surprised by another vision: four horns!

19  I asked the Messenger-Angel, “And what’s the meaning of this?”

He said, “These are the powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad.”

20  Then God expanded the vision to include four blacksmiths.

21  I asked, “And what are these all about?”

He said, “Since the ‘horns’ scattered Judah so badly that no one had any hope left, these blacksmiths have arrived to combat the horns. They’ll dehorn the godless nations who used their horns to scatter Judah to the four winds.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Today's Scripture

Exodus 16:11-19

God spoke to Moses, “I’ve listened to the complaints of the Israelites. Now tell them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat and at dawn you’ll eat your fill of bread; and you’ll realize that I am God, your God.’ ”

13–15  That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was.

15–16  So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’ ”

17–18  The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.

19  Moses said to them, “Don’t leave any of it until morning.”

Insight

The children of Israel experienced God’s provision in the wilderness for forty years (see Exodus 16:35; Nehemiah 9:20-21). The Scriptures are full of reminders of how God faithfully provides for us. One great promise is found in the book of Lamentations, a collection of laments over the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. The bleak collection of poems is full of sadness, but there in the midst of lament and despair we discover a timeless, priceless jewel: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Even in seasons of dark lament, God’s faithfulness shines. By: Bill Crowder

God’s Provision

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” Exodus 16:15

The world was amazed when four siblings ages one to thirteen were found alive in Colombia’s Amazon jungle in June 2023. The siblings had survived forty days in the jungle after a plane crash, which killed their mother. The children, who were familiar with the jungle’s harsh terrain, hid from wild animals in tree trunks, collected water from streams and rain in bottles, and ate food such as cassava flour from the wreckage. They also knew which wild fruits and seeds were safe to eat.

God sustained the siblings.

Their incredible story reminds me of how God miraculously sustained the Israelites in the desert for forty years, which is recorded in the books of Exodus and Numbers and mentioned throughout the Bible. He preserved their lives so that they would know He was their God.

God turned bitter spring water into drinkable water, provided water from a rock twice, and guided His people in a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He also provided manna for them. “Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: Everyone is to gather as much as they need’ ” (Exodus 16:15-16).

The same God provides us with “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). We can trust Him to provide for our needs “according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). What a mighty God we serve!  By:  Nancy Gavilanes

Reflect & Pray

How have you experienced God’s provision? What are you currently trusting Him for?

Dear God, thank You for providing for my every need.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Greater Works

They will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. — John 14:12

Prayer doesn’t prepare us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work. We think of prayer as a commonsense exercise of our higher powers, as something that gets us ready to do God’s work. In the teaching of Jesus Christ, prayer is the miracle of the redemption at work in me—a miracle which, by the power of God, produces the miracle of the redemption in others: “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (John 15:16). It’s true that my prayer produces lasting fruit, but I must remember that it is prayer based on the agony of the redemption, not on my agony.

Prayer doesn’t prepare us for battle; prayer is the battle. It doesn’t matter where we are nor how God has engineered our circumstances; our duty is to pray. Never allow the thought, “I’m of no use where I am.” You certainly can be of no use where you’re not. Wherever God has dumped you down, pray to him—pray all the time. Most of us won’t pray unless it gives us a thrill, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We have to work according to God’s direction; and he says, simply, pray.

“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:38 kjv). There’s nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the conceptions of the genius possible. In the same way, the laboring disciple makes the conceptions of the Master possible. You may not see the fruits of your prayer immediately, but from God’s viewpoint there are results all the time. What an astonishment it will be to find, when the veil is lifted, how many souls have been reaped by you simply because you were in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 50-52; 1 Thessalonians 5

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them.

The Place of Help

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Safe In a Dangerous World - #9854

When I was with my grandchildren when they were younger, I didn't want them to watch the news. It's too gruesome: another brutal execution, the slaughter of captured soldiers, an act of terrorism, more bloody battles in more places than the news can possibly cover. It used to be that there were intelligence reports of an increased terror chatter, for example, when any major holiday or when the September 11th anniversary approaches. Now we get those reports, it seems like, every day. I remember the Secretary of Defense said, "The world is exploding all over."

I guess we could run around like Chicken Little, clucking that "the sky is falling." Or we can play the proverbial ostrich with our head in the sand. I don't think either one of those is a good idea. Yes, I do need to know that the world is getting more dangerous and the future less secure. No, I don't need to live in fear. When I see ominous clouds in the sky, I know I can't stop the storm, but I can get ready in case it turns nasty.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Safe In a Dangerous World."

There are three questions about the world that I have some control over; my personal world. Number one, does my family feel safe in my love? Years ago, I realized that I needed to give each member of my family all of me at least once a day. We're talking focused love here. Sometimes it just takes two minutes of laser focus attention. Other times it takes two hours. But knowing I'm the family thermostat, I know they need daily evidence that they are secure in my love.

And these days we live in are a great time to do whatever it takes to make each one feel safe and valued, heard, and understood. So everybody knows that once they come in this house, they are safe - this is not just another battlefield.

Number two, am I living to make a difference? I saw it a lot after the wake-up call of 9/11. And again in '08 when the economy collapsed, seemingly overnight. Suddenly, lots of folks were asking questions they didn't usually ask about what really matters and what really doesn't.

Many concluded that it's not making money or making a nest or making an impression that matters - it's making a difference. Investing in what will last, like people. Finding a need we can do something about and doing it, from the homeless to the hungry, to that hurting person at work or school, children without dads, wounded warriors, lonely seniors, exploited women, kids in need of mentors. I can't change the world. But I might be able to change a life.

Number three, am I safe, no matter what happens? See, we live with regular reminders of how quickly things can change, how suddenly it can all be gone. But it's not a time for fear or anxiety. It's time for hope. Time to be sure I'm anchored to a hope that is disaster-proof, terror-proof, tragedy-proof, and death-proof.

Three days after the 9/11 attacks shook the country, the President of the United States spoke at a national prayer service, and he concluded by quoting a statement from the Bible. It's our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 8:38-39, "Neither death nor life...neither anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Listen, that's my anchor. That's my unloseable - a love that would not turn His back on me even when He was dying on a cross to pay for all the garbage of my life, of my sin. I found what for me is the one safe place in a world that is "falling apart." It's Jesus. The only One who ever walked out of His grave under His own power. I've found Him to be what the Bible says He will be - "an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19).

Don't you need that anchor? In a world of so much uncertainty, this is your day to grab His outstretched hand with nail prints in them because He died for you and say, "Jesus, I'm yours." If you'll go to our website I think we can help you be sure that you belong to Him by the information you'll find there. It's ANewStory.com.

Belonging to Jesus - that's the safe harbor, whatever the storm.

2 John 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PRAY AT ALL TIMES - October 16, 2024

Early Christians were urged by the apostle Paul to “pray without ceasing.” In Romans 12:12 Paul said, “always be prayerful.” And in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray at all times and on every occasion.” Unceasing prayer may sound complicated, but it needn’t be. As you stand in line to register your car, think, “Thank you, Lord, for being here.” In the grocery store as you shop, as you load the dishwasher, worship your Maker.

Brother Lawrence was a well-known saint who called himself the “lord of pots and pans.” He wrote, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

Though a rookie in the League of Unceasing Prayer, I sure enjoy the result! I think you will too.

Come Thirsty

2 John 1

My dear congregation, I, your pastor, love you in very truth. And I’m not alone—everyone who knows the Truth

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Today's Scripture

John 15:9-11

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

11–15  “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.

Insight

Love, joy, and peace are key words in John’s gospel. In John 15:9-15, love and joy are associated with obedience. One can’t choose joy without choosing obedience: “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (vv. 10-11). Love and joy are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 as fruit or evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of believers in Jesus: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Disobedience to Christ’s commands, specifically the command to love, robs us of joy. Empowered by the Spirit, however, we can obey Him, which results in joy that the world can’t give and can’t take away. By: Arthur Jackson

The Speed of Joy

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

Go at the speed of joy. The phrase dropped into my mind as I prayerfully considered the year ahead one morning, and it seemed apt. I had a propensity to overwork, which often sapped my joy. So, following this guidance, I committed to working at an enjoyable pace in the coming year, making space for friends and joyful activities.

This plan worked . . . until March! Then I partnered with a university to oversee the trial of a course I’d been developing. With students to enroll and teaching to deliver, I was soon working long hours to keep up. How could I go at the speed of joy now?

Jesus promises joy to those who believe in Him, telling us it comes through remaining in His love (John 15:9) and prayerfully bringing our needs to Him (16:24). “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete,” he says (15:11). This joy comes as a gift through His Spirit, who we’re to keep in step with (Galatians 5:22-25). I found I could only maintain joy during my busy period when I spent time each night in restful, trusting prayer.

Since joy is so important, it makes sense to prioritize it in our schedules. But since life is never completely under our control, I’m glad another source of joy—the Spirit—is available to us. For me, going at the speed of joy now means going at the speed of prayer—making time to receive from the Joy-Giver. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

What saps your joy? How will you rest in the Joy-Giver today?

Holy Spirit, please fill me afresh today with Your love, peace, and joy.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

The Key to the Master’s Orders

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. — Matthew 9:38kjv

The key to the problems that arise in missionary work lies in God’s hand, not humanity’s. The key isn’t hard work or common sense. It isn’t education or medical aid. It isn’t even evangelizing. The key is prayer.

“Pray ye therefore . . .” We are challenged by the difference between our human view of prayer and the Lord’s. From our point of view, prayer is completely impractical and absurd. From our Lord’s point of view, prayer is the only thing that makes sense. We say, “It’s ridiculous to think that God is going to change things in answer to prayer!” This is exactly what Jesus Christ says God will do.

“. . . into his harvest.” Jesus Christ owns the harvest that is produced by distress and by conviction of sin. This is the harvest we must pray that laborers will be sent to reap. This harvest isn’t located in a particular place; it isn’t directed at certain people. There are no nations or tribes in Jesus Christ’s outlook, only the world. How many of us have learned to pray without respect to persons, only with respect to a person, Jesus Christ? Too often we lose sight of Jesus Christ, becoming distracted by our own agendas. People all around us are ripe to harvest, and we don’t even notice; we just go on wasting our Lord’s time in over-energized activities. Suppose a crisis of faith comes in your father’s life, in your sister’s life: Are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Or do you say, “I have special work to do! I don’t have time to deal with my brother.” No Christian has special work to do. Christians are called to be Jesus Christ’s own, disciples who don’t dictate to their master. Our Lord doesn’t call us to special work; he calls us to himself. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,” and he will engineer your circumstances and send you out.

Isaiah 47-49; 1 Thessalonians 4

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ. 

My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

A Rescuer Spot For You - #9853

It started out as an unimpressive ripple in the weather off the coast of Africa. By the time it was over, it had become Hurricane Katrina, pummeling Florida as a category one storm, then surprising most observers by becoming a category five monster over the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina's last minute shift to the east nearly destroyed the city of New Orleans. Yes, we saw some of the darkest side of human nature as people looted things that they didn't really need, and some even tried to shoot some of the very people who were coming to help. But on a much greater scale, the aftermath to Hurricane Katrina was a massive outpouring of heroism in many flavors.

As Americans learned of the desperation of the victims of the storm, thousands of us mobilized to give them a chance to live. We won't soon forget the military helicopters, launching and re-launching every 15 minutes to look for more people stranded in the toxic floodwaters that buried parts of the city. There were those memorable scenes of the rescuers coming down the rope from those choppers to save people trapped on their roofs. Doctors and nurses came from all over the country. So many came and did what they knew how to do - from cooking, to counseling, to contributing, to caring enough to take in whole families because lives were at stake.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Rescuer Spot For You."

Thousands of lives were saved, many of whom would have died otherwise because of this massive rescue operation where everyone did what they knew how to do; each one realizing that a rescue effort means all hands on deck.

It's a picture of the largest scale rescue operation on the planet. It is the rescue mission for which Jesus Christ gave His life, launched at a cross. In His personal mission statement in Luke 19:10 He said He came "to seek and to save what was lost." His final command: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). Because it really is a life-or-death situation, where the eternal destiny of millions of people depends on the rescue efforts of God's people - all of God's people.

The orders are summarized in Proverbs 24:11-12, our word for today from the Word of God. "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter." Those stark words describe every person we know, every person on this planet who has not grabbed the only one God provided to rescue us from the eternal punishment that our sin deserves. That Rescuer is Jesus! The next verse says, "If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this, does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?'" God is not going to excuse us for being AWOL in His all out mobilization to rescue the dying, whatever it takes.

He's expecting you to do what His Son did - to do all you can to rescue the lost. If you cook, cook to rescue the dying. If you're musical, if you're mechanical, if you're a techie, if you're in the media, if you're a prayer warrior, if you contribute to God's work, do what you do to help people go to heaven instead of hell. And if you have influence in anyone's life (and we all do) don't just use that influence to be a nice person for them. Use the relationship you have to tell them about the Rescuer from heaven who rescued you and who is their only hope.

In the wake of a hurricane, we saw thousands of people on the verge of dying without hope and an army of us who said, "We can't just let them die." If you'll ask Jesus to help you see the world through His eyes, you're going to see millions on the verge of dying with no hope of heaven, headed for an unspeakable eternity. And some of them are right within your reach. Can you see them? Are you going to do something about it? Will you do more than you've ever done before? We're losing so many because no rescuer has come.

Haggai 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S PRESENCE - October 15, 2024

As Romans 12:18 instructs, “As you do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible,” it’ll also come as you pray.

For ten days Jesus’ disciples prayed. Ten days of prayer, plus a few minutes of preaching, led to three thousand saved souls. Perhaps we invert the numbers. We’re prone to pray for a few minutes and then preach for ten days! Not the apostles. They lingered in Jesus’ presence. They never left the place of prayer.

Are you wondering, “My business needs attention, my children need dinner, my bills need paying. How can I stay in one place of prayer?” Think of it less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Uninterrupted awareness. Acknowledge his presence everywhere you go!

Come Thirsty

Haggai 2

This Temple Will End Up Better Than It Started Out

1–3  2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: “Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people: ‘Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?

4–5  “ ‘So get to work, Zerubbabel!’—God is speaking.

“ ‘Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!’

“ ‘Get to work, all you people!’—God is speaking.

“ ‘Yes, get to work! For I am with you.’ The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! ‘Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.’

6–7  “This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: ‘Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I’ll shake down all the godless nations. They’ll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.’ God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.

8  ‘I own the silver,

I own the gold.’

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

9  “ ‘This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.’ Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”

10–12  On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (again, this was in the second year of Darius), God’s Message came to Haggai: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: Consult the priests for a ruling. If someone carries a piece of sacred meat in his pocket, meat that is set apart for sacrifice on the altar, and the pocket touches a loaf of bread, a dish of stew, a bottle of wine or oil, or any other food, will these foods be made holy by such contact?”

The priests said, “No.”

13  Then Haggai said, “How about someone who is contaminated by touching a corpse—if that person touches one of these foods, will it be contaminated?”

The priests said, “Yes, it will be contaminated.”

14  Then Haggai said, “ ‘So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.’ God says so.

15–17  “ ‘Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn’t it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn’t seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.’ God’s Decree.

18–19  “ ‘Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.’ ”

20–21  God’s Message came a second time to Haggai on that most memorable day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah:

21–23  “ ‘I am about to shake up everything, to turn everything upside down and start over from top to bottom—overthrow governments, destroy foreign powers, dismantle the world of weapons and armaments, throw armies into confusion, so that they end up killing one another. And on that day’ ”—this is God’s Message—“ ‘I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, as my personal servant and I will set you as a signet ring, the sign of my sovereign presence and authority. I’ve looked over the field and chosen you for this work.’ ” The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Today's Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.

26–27  I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

Insight

Paul’s original audience would have immediately resonated with his sports metaphors. Corinth hosted the Isthmian games on the years before and after the Olympic games. The athletes who competed were required by the rules to train for a minimum of ten months. Failing to do so would disqualify them entirely.

In his letter to the Corinthian believers in Jesus, the apostle exhorts them to live with the same kind of discipline that an athlete would have (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)—not to compete in the games but to live faithfully in the example of Christ (Hebrews 12:1-3). He’s not pitting them against each other like the games would, but he does call them to the same level of commitment in following Jesus. Instead of ten months, though, the life of the believer in Him calls us to a lifetime of growing discipline aimed at walking in His footsteps and ultimately sharing in His prize (2 Thessalonians 2:14). By: Jed Ostoich

A Disciplined Life in God

I discipline my body and keep it under control. 1 Corinthians 9:27 esv

It was June 2016 during the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s ninetieth birthday. From her carriage, the monarch waved to the crowds, passing in front of long lines of red-coated soldiers standing at perfect, unflinching attention. It was a warm day in England, and the guards were dressed in their traditional dark wool pants, wool jackets buttoned to the chin, and massive bear-fur hats. As the soldiers stood in rigid rows under the sun, one guard began to faint. Remarkably, he maintained his strict control and simply fell forward, his body remaining straight as a board as he planted his face in the sandy gravel. There he lay—somehow still at attention.

It took years of practice and discipline for this guard to learn such self-control, to hold his body in place even as he was falling unconscious. The apostle Paul describes such training: “I discipline my body and keep it under control,” he wrote (1 Corinthians 9:27 esv). Paul recognized that “everyone who competes . . . goes into strict training” (v. 25).

While God’s grace (not our efforts) undergirds all we do, our spiritual life deserves rigorous discipline. As God helps us discipline our mind, heart, and body, we learn to keep our attention fixed on Him, even amid trials or distractions. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

Where is it most difficult for you to discipline your heart, mind, or body? How do you sense God inviting you into deeper discipline?

Dear God, please teach me how to be more disciplined for You. I want to grow my love for You and keep my heart close to You.

For further study, read The Sword, The Son, and a Rest for God’s People.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

The Key to the Missionary’s Message

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. — 1 John 2:2

The key to the missionary’s message is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Take any phase of Christ’s work—the healing phase, the teaching phase, the saving and sanctifying phase. There’s nothing limitless about any of these. But “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)—that is limitless, and that is the missionary’s message. A missionary is one who has soaked in this revelation and has made it the basis of his or her appeal.

The key to the missionary’s message isn’t Jesus Christ’s kindness and goodness. It’s the great limitless significance of the fact that “he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” The missionary’s message isn’t patriotic. It has no allegiance to nations or to individuals. It’s meant for the whole world. When the Holy Spirit comes in, he doesn’t consider personal preferences. He simply brings everyone he touches into union with Jesus Christ.

A missionary is one who is wedded to Jesus Christ’s own message. A missionary has no desire to proclaim a personal point of view, only to proclaim the Lamb of God. It’s easier to share personal stories of salvation. It’s easier to be a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul didn’t say, “Woe to me if I do not preach what the gospel has done for me.” He said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). What is the gospel? Only this: “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Isaiah 45-46; 1 Thessalonians 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him.  

So Send I You, 1301 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Hope is a Rescuer - #9852

"Active shooter in Colorado Springs." It was years ago but I got that news alert, and I turned to a news channel right away. I've got friends in that city.

After a violent five-hour siege, the gunman surrendered. And the tragic count of dead and wounded began to become clear, but so did the heroism in the middle of that fear and violence. Like Garrett Swasey, one of the first officers on the scene rushing to save lives. He lost his. His courage and sacrifice were a bright light in the dark sky of that tragic afternoon. Selfless love when evil seemed so strong.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope is a Rescuer."

Garrett Swasey was a real three-dimensional guy, a former ice dancing champion, a great husband and dad, a pastor, a dedicated police officer; a man who lived his last day like he lived every day. As a friend said, "always putting other people's lives before his own." That friend explained why. He said, "He believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. That's what he lived for."

Apparently, it's also what made him willing to die to save others. His friend said, "Here's a man who loves Christ, and he'd be willing to go in and lay down his life, because that's what Christ has done for us." You know, we've got a lot to learn from a true hero like this.

First, ultimately, there are two categories that really matter. Don't we deal with most people as if they're a category: young, old, black, white, brown, rich, poor, Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, gay, straight, Christian, homeless, cop or whatever? Except God didn't make any categories. He only made people created in His image.

That day during the shooting, Garrett Swasey saw only two categories: safe and endangered. That's what God sees, too. Spiritually safe described this way, "He who has the Son (Jesus) has life." And then spiritually endangered. The Bible says in that same verse, "He who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). Those who have trusted the One who died for their sins as the Rescuer from their sins and those who have not.

As one of those who chose to be rescued, I know what I must do. I have to see the spiritually endangered people around me and go in for the rescue so they can have the chance I had - to live forever.

Secondly, I think we learn from the heroes of that day, forgiven people have no choice but to forgive. "Forgive as the Lord forgave you," the Bible says in Colossians 3:13. Garrett Swasey's friend said, "There's forgiveness in the cross of Christ. And that's what Garrett would want for us, to forgive this man." That's the man who shot him. That's what the loved ones of those Charleston church shooting victims did, amazing the nation. That's what Jesus did for the ones who crucified Him, "Father, forgive them."

Third lesson here, our only hope is a rescuer. Actually, the Rescuer. In our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 1:4, God's book reveals that "Jesus gave His life for our sins...to rescue us from this evil world we live in." I want to tell you, that's the sacrifice that blew my mind and captured my heart.

I hope you will open up to that love today, because He went to that cross for you as much as He did for me; paying for the sins that have separated you from God, and will forever unless He forgives them. And He can do that based on what He did on the cross.

I'd love to have you know for sure you belong to Him. So I'm going to invite you to our website because I think we can help you make sure you've begun your relationship with Him and are forgiven of your sins. It's ANewStory.com. Remember that. Please check it out.

None of us has to die. The Rescuer has come.