Job 42, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GREAT JOY - April 17, 2025

When the angels announced the arrival of the Messiah, they proclaimed “good news of a great joy” (Luke 2:10 RSV). They did not proclaim “bad news of a great duty.” Where did we get the notion that a good Christian is a solemn Christian? May I state an opinion that could raise an eyebrow? I think Jesus went to the wedding in Cana to have fun.

Think about it. This wedding occurred after he had just spent forty days in the desert—a standoff with the devil. It hadn’t been easy. A good meal with some good wine and some good friends sounded pretty nice.

His purpose wasn’t to turn the water into wine. That was a favor for his friends. His purpose wasn’t to show his power. The wedding host didn’t even know what Jesus did. His purpose wasn’t to preach. There is no record of a sermon. This leaves only one reason: fun.

Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name

Job 42

JOB WORSHIPS GOD

I Babbled On About Things Far Beyond Me

1–6  42 Job answered God:

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.

Nothing and no one can upset your plans.

You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,

ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’

I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,

made small talk about wonders way over my head.

You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.

Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’

I admit I once lived by rumors of you;

now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!

I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!

I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”

GOD RESTORES JOB

I Will Accept His Prayer

7–8  After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here’s what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has.”

9  They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what God commanded. And God accepted Job’s prayer.

10–11  After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.

12–15  God blessed Job’s later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.

16–17  Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, April 17, 2025

by Kenneth Petersen

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

John 12:20-27

A Grain of Wheat Must Die

20–21  There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: “Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?”

22–23  Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip together told Jesus. Jesus answered, “Time’s up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24–25  “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

26  “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.

27–28  “Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place.

Today's Insights

The gospel of John uses words for “life” more often than any other gospel, yet almost half of his gospel is devoted to the passion of Christ—the events of His final week on earth, including His suffering and death. It was only by His death and resurrection that new life became available to us. And that new life would follow a death to our old life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). The paradox of the life of the believer in Christ is that our spiritual “dying” is what produces the fruit of spiritual living (12:24-25).

The day of Jesus’ resurrection occurred on the very day during Passover when the first sheaf of the grain harvest was waved in the temple. It was the sign of a coming harvest only possible because each seed first dies its necessary death.

Life and Death in Christ

Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24

Facing a firing squad, Fyodor Dostoevsky quietly counted the last moments of his life. Dostoevsky, a believer in Jesus, is considered one of the greatest writers in all of literature. His monumental novel The Brothers Karamazov explored themes about God, life, and death. It was said of Dostoevsky, “He spoke about Christ ecstatically.” The rifles raised. “Ready! . . . Aim . . .”

Jesus, alluding to His own execution, speaks to His disciples and to us of the eternal value of life and death when He said, “The hour has come” (John 12:23). The image is a seed (our life), which produces a great harvest through its own sacrifice (v. 24). Jesus tells us not to love this life too much, for it is those who are willing to sacrifice this present life who will find “eternal life” (v. 25).

Being His disciple requires sacrifice. But we find our hope in His words, “My Father will honor the one who serves me” (v. 26).

Fyodor looked death in the face. But a letter from the Czar was delivered at the last second. A reprieve. Dostoevsky’s life was spared, yet this experience would infuse all his later works. Indeed, the epigraph of The Brothers Karamazov is this verse, John 12:24: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

Reflect & Pray

How does your faith affect your thoughts about life and death? What’s your joy for the future?

Father God, please help me accept the challenge of discipleship and understand the meaning of life through death.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Abandoning All

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him . . . and jumped into the water. — John 21:7

Have you ever had a crisis in which you deliberately, emphatically, and recklessly abandoned everything to God? It is a crisis of will. You may come to the crisis many times in your outward experience, giving up worldly things and behaviors. But giving up external things amounts to nothing. The real crisis of abandonment happens within. Giving up external things may be a sign of being in total bondage, not to God but to your own idea of holiness.

Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is, truly, an act of will, not of emotion. Emotion is just the gilded edge of action. If you expect the emotion to come before you act, you will never get to the act itself. Don’t keep asking God what you should do. Reflect on what he is already showing you—in the simple place or in the profound place, in the small thing or the great thing. Then act on what you see.

“Jesus stood on the shore… He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’” (John 21:4–5). If you’ve heard the voice of Jesus Christ calling to you across the waves, let your creeds and convictions go to the wind; let your consistency go to the wind. Dive in and head toward the shore. Maintain your relationship with him.

2 Samuel 1-2; Luke 14:1-24

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him.

Approved Unto God, 10 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, April 17, 2025

THE PROMISE KEEPER - #9984

You know, a hand shake just isn't what it used to be. It used to be all that you needed to guarantee an agreement between two people. There aren't very many deals done today on just a hand shake. If someone says they'll do something, out come the papers, the contract, the warranties, the fine print, the lawyers, the notary public. I've learned from following my wife around antique stores, where we've mostly just looked, that the less there are of certain objects the more valuable that one is. That's true of people too. In a world where words are cheap, you can be one of a rare and priceless breed.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Promise Keeper."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is coming from Psalm 15 - a very interesting psalm. It's a description of what it takes to be a person who is really close to God; to get God's best, to be respected by heaven and earth. What determines all this is how a person handles his tongue, his neighbor, his money, the people around him; actually five solid gold traits. I want to focus on one today. It's our word for today from the Word of God, Psalm 15:4.

The beginning of this psalm says, "Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary; who may live on Your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous." Then it defines that, and this characteristic of that person is this: "One who keeps his oath, even when it hurts." Wow! That's a good one, isn't it? "Keeps his oath when it hurts?" He's a promise keeper, no matter how expensive it is to keep that promise." Hey, that's a rare kind of person.

People today just get through the moment by promising whatever they have to promise and then forgetting it. Well, now, if promise keeping and commitment keeping were common, a lot of lawyers would probably be out of work today. But it's very important to God.

That's what this psalm says. It's important to God whether you keep your promises. You may forget your promises, but God doesn't. You may minimize your commitment, but God doesn't. You make it a top priority to promise only what you can do, and then to do what you promise.

See, the follower of Christ is bound to keep his promise, not by a contract but by his character. God remembers our promises, and someone else who remembers them is our children. If you've promised your child time, or help, or an answer, you deliver on that promise even if it hurts. No matter what you have to rearrange; you move heaven and earth to keep a promise you've made to your son or daughter. The issue is trust, and you've got nothing with that child if you don't have their trust.

Now, this affects every area. Meet the deadlines you said you would, deliver what you said you would in your business, even if things don't go as you thought they would, keep a commitment even if. Especially if something better comes along. Give what you said you'd give; go where you said you'd go. And then just really try to be what you said you would be. Maybe it's your marriage oath, your marriage commitment. It's hurting right now to keep it. Don't even consider quitting as an option. Put all your energy into fighting for her, fighting for him. Most important, stay true to that commitment you made to your Lord Jesus, even if it's costing you right now in some ways you've never anticipated.

God richly rewards the one who keeps his oath even when it hurts. He rewards the promise keepers. Oh, yeah, they're rare, but they are priceless.

Job 41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 

Max Lucado Daily: JOY AND ABUNDANCE - April 16, 2025

Jesus was accused of much, but of being a grump, sourpuss, or self-centered jerk? Nope! People didn’t groan when he appeared. They didn’t duck for cover when he entered the room. He called them by name, he listened to their stories, he answered their questions. He visited their sick relatives and helped their sick friends. He fished with fishermen and ate lunch with the little guy and spoke words of resounding affirmation. He went to enough parties that he was criticized for hanging out with rowdy people and questionable crowds.

People were drawn to Jesus. Thousands came to hear him. Hundreds chose to follow him. They shut down their businesses and walked away from careers to be with him. His purpose statement read: “I came to give life with joy and abundance” (John 10:10 VOICE). Jesus was happy, and I think he wants us to be the same.

Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name

Job 41

I Run This Universe

1–11  41 “Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod

and stuff him in your creel?

Can you lasso him with a rope,

or snag him with an anchor?

Will he beg you over and over for mercy,

or flatter you with flowery speech?

Will he apply for a job with you

to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?

Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?

Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?

Will you put him on display in the market

and have shoppers haggle over the price?

Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,

or drive harpoons into his huge head?

If you so much as lay a hand on him,

you won’t live to tell the story.

What hope would you have with such a creature?

Why, one look at him would do you in!

If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage,

how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?

Who could confront me and get by with it?

I’m in charge of all this—I run this universe!

12–17  “But I’ve more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast,

his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape.

Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin

or putting those jaws into bit and bridle?

And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth

filled with row upon row of fierce teeth?

His pride is invincible;

nothing can make a dent in that pride.

Nothing can get through that proud skin—

impervious to weapons and weather,

The thickest and toughest of hides,

impenetrable!

18–34  “He snorts and the world lights up with fire,

he blinks and the dawn breaks.

Comets pour out of his mouth,

fireworks arc and branch.

Smoke erupts from his nostrils

like steam from a boiling pot.

He blows and fires blaze;

flames of fire stream from his mouth.

All muscle he is—sheer and seamless muscle.

To meet him is to dance with death.

Sinewy and lithe,

there’s not a soft spot in his entire body—

As tough inside as out,

rock-hard, invulnerable.

Even angels run for cover when he surfaces,

cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence.

Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide,

harpoons ricochet wildly.

Iron bars are so much straw to him,

bronze weapons beneath notice.

Arrows don’t even make him blink;

bullets make no more impression than raindrops.

A battle ax is nothing but a splinter of kindling;

he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke.

His belly is armor-plated, inexorable—

unstoppable as a barge.

He roils deep ocean the way you’d boil water,

he whips the sea like you’d whip an egg into batter.

With a luminous trail stretching out behind him,

you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard!

There’s nothing on this earth quite like him,

not an ounce of fear in that creature!

He surveys all the high and mighty—

king of the ocean, king of the deep!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

by Winn Collier

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ecclesiastes 7:3-9

Crying is better than laughing.

It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

4  Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving.

Fools waste their lives in fun and games.

5  You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage

Than from the song and dance of fools.

6  The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs

Under the cooking pot. And like smoke.

7  Brutality stupefies even the wise

And destroys the strongest heart.

8  Endings are better than beginnings.

Sticking to it is better than standing out.

9  Don’t be quick to fly off the handle.

Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.

Today's Insights

Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, asks: “Who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow” (6:12 nlt). The book contains some odd and morbid advice about life’s brevity, adversity, and festivity (7:1-14). One’s death is better than one’s birth (v. 1); attend funerals, not parties (v. 2); and think about life’s pains, not pleasures (v. 3). Since “death is the destiny of everyone” (v. 2), Solomon advises us to live life with our end in mind, pondering life’s brevity instead of pursuing festivity, “for sadness has a refining influence on us” (v. 3 nlt). In light of life’s brevity and adversity and death’s reality, we’re to decide how to wisely spend our time. Even as we experience the uncertainties of life—adversity and prosperity, good times and bad times—God is in control (vv. 13-14).

Visit ODBU.org/OT022 and dive deeper into the wisdom of Ecclesiastes.

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:9

Of all the foolish things that have led to nations going to war, could a pastry be the worst of all? In 1832, amid tensions between France and Mexico, a group of Mexican army officers visited a French pastry shop in Mexico City and sampled all the baker’s goods without paying. Though the details get complicated (and other provocations compounded the troubles), the result was the first Franco-Mexican War (1838-39)—known as the Pastry War—in which more than three hundred soldiers died. It’s sad what a moment of anger can incite.

Most human conflicts—shattered marriages and ruined friendships—are likely rooted in some form of unmanaged anger. Selfishness and power plays, unresolved misunderstandings, slights and counter-aggression—it’s all foolishness. So often, our ill-advised perceptions or reactions lead to destructive anger. Yet Ecclesiastes offers wisdom: “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (7:9).

It’s foolish to have a short fuse and be easily provoked to anger, especially when God offers a better way—perhaps through “the rebuke of a wise person” (v. 5). Pursuing wisdom, we can “let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts” (Colossians 3:15). We can live in wisdom and forgiveness as He helps us.

Reflect & Pray

Where have you given in to foolish anger? How did it hurt you or others?

Dear God, I don’t want to allow foolish anger to control me or harm others. Please help me release my anger and receive Your peace.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Can You Come Down?

Believe in the light while you have the light. — John 12:36

We all have moments when we feel better than our best, moments when we’re up for anything. “If only I could always feel like this!” we say. We aren’t meant to. Moments of inspiration are moments for us to live up to after the moment has passed. Many of us are no good for this workaday world when we’re not inspired. We have to learn that God wants us to bring our workaday life up to the standard revealed to us on high.

Never allow a feeling stirred in you on the mountaintop to evaporate when you descend into the valley. Don’t sit back, put up your feet, and say, “What a wonderful state of mind to be in!” Instead, act immediately, if only because you’d rather not. If you are praying and God shows you something he wants you to do, don’t says, “I’ll do it.” Get up and do it. Take yourself by the scruff of the neck and shake off your laziness.

Laziness is always seen in cravings for the mountaintop experience. We talk about “working toward” the great experience or “working up to” the moment of glory. We have to learn to live in the gray day according to what we saw on the mount. Don’t cave in because your experience has failed to live up to your expectations. Get at it again. Burn your bridges behind you. Stand committed to God; stand as an act of your own free will. Never go back on your decisions—but be sure to make them in the light of the vision you received on high.

1 Samuel 30-31; Luke 13:23-35

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. 

Disciples Indeed, 393 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Laser Giving - #9983

We were far from home in Phoenix, Arizona, living in New Jersey, when my wife had a gallbladder crisis. In fact, she was going to have to have her gallbladder removed. Well, I wasn't too happy about that happening so far from home, but God was in it. Because our friend who we were there with at a conference said, "Well, I just had this surgery not long ago, and our doctor here is one of the few in the country (at that time anyway) who is an expert at doing gallbladder surgery with lasers. Really? Well, instead of the six weeks that I thought my wife was going to have to recuperate in Arizona, why she was up and around in a very few days, because of the amazing power of a laser. Think about that. I mean, lasers can penetrate steel. They can help you get better eyesight, or take care of a gallbladder that needs to come out. It's pretty amazing power. Now, diffused light can't do that; only the focused light can do it. If my wife had been under just diffused light all that time, it wouldn't do anything about her gall bladder. But it took the focused light - that powerful energy - to really change things. There's awesome power when you focus the energy on one thing.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Laser Giving."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 1 beginning in verse 4, where Paul says, "In all my prayers for you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now." Imagine being partners with the spread of the Gospel through a dynamo like the Apostle Paul.

At the end of his letter in chapter 4 and beginning at verse 13, he writes about their support. He says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength, yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only: for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account."

Now these people found a piece of God's work, the Apostle Paul, and they invested heavily in it and they received great dividends. They lasered their giving on this one missionary. All of his fruit, all the people Paul reached; all that was credited to their eternal account. See, you and I live in a world that hits us with more causes than you could ever support. Think of that stack of mail you get from Christian organizations. Now, there's a pattern. You're like, "I don't know how I can possibly support all these things." Well, you can't. Isn't it a better idea to get a lot of stock in a few eternal investments?

I remember when my wife's grandmother went home to be with the Lord. Her Grandma had all these records that we went through and we found her list of "Giving and Praying." It was all about the organizations she really believed in. It started out in real tiny script. That list probably went back to the 1940s and then the print got larger as her eyes began to fail, and at the age of 99 she was still praying for and giving to the same ministries. God laid that on her heart and here was 50 years of praying and 50 years of canceled checks to match. She was a partner in the Gospel.

Now in our self-focused generation, we've lost that excitement of sharing stock in Eternity, Inc. My friend, Jeff said, "I have decided I am drawing a line in my checkbook and that's all we really need to live on and from thereon I'm putting it into the work of God."

Would you ask the Lord for a piece of his broken heart for this broken world, for a particular need, for some group, for some area of the world? I encourage you to ask God for a few spiritual works or people who you could really believe in, and pray for them and stick with them and give to them. Laser your giving!

The way to have a winning part of God's work on earth is to have a lot of stock in a few eternal investments. See, diffused energy doesn't make much of a difference, but lasered energy changes everything. You know what? You laser your giving, you'll be reaping dividends forever.

Matthew 15:21-39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: NO ORDINARY NIGHT - April 15, 2025

Only one word describes the night that Jesus came—ordinary. No reason to expect a surprise. An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. And were it not for a God who loves to hook an extra on the front of the ordinary, the night would have gone unnoticed. But God dances amid the common, and that night he did a waltz.

The black sky exploded with brightness. Trees that had been shadows jumped into clarity. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an angel, who declared, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11 NKJV). The night was ordinary no more. God had entered the world as a baby.

Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name

Matthew 15:21-39

Healing the People

21–22  From there Jesus took a trip to Tyre and Sidon. They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, “Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit.”

23  Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, “Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.”

24  Jesus refused, telling them, “I’ve got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.”

25  Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. “Master, help me.”

26  He said, “It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to dogs.”

27  She was quick: “You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.”

28  Jesus gave in. “Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!” Right then her daughter became well.

29–31  After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.

32  But Jesus wasn’t finished with them. He called his disciples and said, “I hurt for these people. For three days now they’ve been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can’t send them away without a meal—they’d probably collapse on the road.”

33  His disciples said, “But where in this deserted place are you going to dig up enough food for a meal?”

34–39  Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they said, “plus a few fish.” At that, Jesus directed the people to sit down. He took the seven loaves and the fish. After giving thanks, he divided it up and gave it to the people. Everyone ate. They had all they wanted. It took seven large baskets to collect the leftovers. Over four thousand people ate their fill at that meal. After Jesus sent them away, he climbed in the boat and crossed over to the Magadan hills.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

by Karen Pimpo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Ruth 1:6-17

One day she got herself together, she and her two daughters-in-law, to leave the country of Moab and set out for home; she had heard that God had been pleased to visit his people and give them food. And so she started out from the place she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law with her, on the road back to the land of Judah.

8–9  After a short while on the road, Naomi told her two daughters-in-law, “Go back. Go home and live with your mothers. And may God treat you as graciously as you treated your deceased husbands and me. May God give each of you a new home and a new husband!” She kissed them and they cried openly.

10  They said, “No, we’re going on with you to your people.”

11–13  But Naomi was firm: “Go back, my dear daughters. Why would you come with me? Do you suppose I still have sons in my womb who can become your future husbands? Go back, dear daughters—on your way, please! I’m too old to get a husband. Why, even if I said, ‘There’s still hope!’ and this very night got a man and had sons, can you imagine being satisfied to wait until they were grown? Would you wait that long to get married again? No, dear daughters; this is a bitter pill for me to swallow—more bitter for me than for you. God has dealt me a hard blow.”

14  Again they cried openly. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye; but Ruth embraced her and held on.

15  Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back home to live with her own people and gods; go with her.”

16–17  But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!”

Today's Insights

Throughout Scripture, we find statements declaring the necessity of commitment to God or Jesus (Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 8:34). Ruth’s statement of commitment is remarkable, however, because in addition to a commitment to her mother-in-law Naomi, she includes a commitment to Israel’s God: “Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). This is surprising because she’s a Moabitess and a foreigner. Her declaration echoes that of Rahab (Joshua 2), the Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), and the Canaanite woman (15:21-28). All these foreigners expressed confidence in or a commitment to God. Their acceptance shows hints of His love for the whole world.

Going with God

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Ruth 1:16

In The Courier, a film inspired by true events, the main character, Greville, is confronted with a difficult decision. He learns that a close friend is going to be arrested and will likely face a grueling imprisonment. Greville can save himself from the same fate if he flees the country immediately and denies association with his friend. Moved with compassion, Greville loyally refuses to leave and is imprisoned, suffering the same agony as his friend. Neither man betrays the other. In the end, Greville is released a broken, but true and faithful companion.

Naomi needed a friend like that. When her husband and sons died, Naomi faced destitution and a long journey to her homeland. Naomi told her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth to remain in Moab and find a new life for herself (Ruth 1:8-9). Ruth responded, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go” (v. 16). Ruth loyally accompanied Naomi to a foreign land and helped provide for their family. Ruth’s faithfulness transformed their broken family into an incredible legacy. Much later, her great-grandson David would become king of Israel and was called a man after God’s own heart.

Facing suffering with others is daunting. But if we surrender our own will and seek God’s strength, He enables us to love people in extraordinary ways. In His power, we can choose to say, “Where you go, I will go.”

Reflect & Pray

Who around you is walking a difficult road? How can you choose to walk alongside that person?

Thank You, Jesus, for never abandoning me.

Learn more about Ruth's connection to Jesus' genealogy by reading Scandalous Details and an Unexpected Hope.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Taking Down the High Places

Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. — 2 Chronicles 15:17

Beware of the thing you shrug at and say “Oh, that doesn’t matter very much.” The fact that is doesn’t matter to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Asa was mostly right with the Lord, but he was incomplete in his outward obedience. Although he loved God and was a good king in many respects, he didn’t rid Israel of the high places, the places where gods were worshipped.

Are there any “high places” in your life? Take an inventory. Look at the life of your body and the life of your mind. Is there something you should be concentrating on that you’ve let slid? Are there protesting that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something he has caused you to doubt? Whenever you begin to doubt that God would approve of what you are doing, quit it immediately. Nothing is a mere detail to a child of God. Nothing is a light matter. How long will you make God try to teach you the same lesson? God never loses patience; he will keep trying until you learn.

You no more need a holiday from spiritual concentration than your heart needs a holiday from beating. You can’t have a moral holiday and remain moral; you can’t have a spiritual holiday and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely his, and this means you have to keep yourself spiritually fit. It takes a tremendous amount of time to learn how to do this. Some of us expect to scale the mountain in two minutes flat.

1 Samuel 27-29; Luke 13:1-22

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold. 

Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

PRAYER - ALWAYS CONNECTED - #9982

Our oldest son was only two years old when our neighbor's daughter, Kim, broke her leg. Now, on the scale of world disasters, Kim's leg wouldn't even move the needle. But it was a very big disaster to our two-year-old son. We got the news, and when we did we stopped, and as a family we prayed for Kim. We were done, but my son wasn't. All day that day he kept coming up to Mom while she was at the sink or the stove, cleaning the bedroom, or whatever. And he tugged on her pant leg, and she would say, "Yes?" And he would say, "Pray for Kim."

So they stopped and prayed for Kim once, twice, ten times. I think they prayed 20 times for Kim that day. A couple of days later we got word that Kim was doing pretty well and we told our son. He pulled Mom over to a picture of Jesus that we had hanging next to the refrigerator, and he pointed at Him and just said, "Jesus make Kim better." We had smiled only at the way a little boy wanted to pray for Kim all day long. Maybe instead of smiling we should have been taking notes.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Prayer - Always Connected."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God, Nehemiah 2:4. The situation: Nehemiah is cupbearer to the king. He has just received word that the walls of Jerusalem are down, his native city really needs rebuilding. He knows the king has the resources to make it happen, but Nehemiah is going to use his position to get to the king and he is scared.

Well, he goes before the king, "And the king said to me," the Bible says, "'What is it you want?' Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king." Now, here's Nehemiah in his big pressure moment, and he quietly plugs into the Throne Room in heaven before he gives his answer. He prays, then he answers.

Now, as you read, you find that Nehemiah was a spiritual champion, because all through this book it says he prayed about everything as it came up. When he got some bad news at the beginning of the book, he says, "I sat down, wept and prayed." When he heard vicious things being said about him, he instinctively begins and says, "Hear us, O Lord," and starts talking. When an attack was imminent, it says, "We prayed to our God and posted a guard." And now here in the big meeting with the king he prays before he answers.

See, Nehemiah believed that prayer was a lifestyle, not a compartment. We tend to put praying into certain time slots in our life: I'm having my devotions, I'm in church, I'm in a crisis, it's bedtime. But life is happening all day long. We need to be talking with our Father and listening to Him throughout the day, entering a class, praying as we do that, praying as we answer a question, an email, as we make a stand, as we buy something, as we start a meal, pick up the phone, praying as we do our homework, as we take out the garbage, as we're running those thousand and one errands we've got to do.

Prayer isn't a religious exercise; it's your declaration of dependence on God. To look up and say throughout the day, "This piece of my day is Yours, Lord." You don't have to drop to your knees or close your eyes, especially if you're driving. It's just a quiet recognition of Christ's presence in your need. That's how you carry out what the Bible says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Integrate prayer into your everyday life. Wherever possible, stop and pray with someone else when they bring a need to you. Let that be your response.

I can go back and see this little boy insisting on praying for Kim throughout the day and then the simple worship that resulted as he pointed to a picture of Jesus, who had answered his prayers.

That could happen to you all day long if you make prayer more than just a compartment. Prayer is a lifestyle.

Job 40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A GREAT DESCENT - April 14, 2025

Gabriel had his orders: take the message to Mary. Must be a special girl, he assumed. But Gabriel was in for a shock. Mary was a Jewish peasant who’d barely outgrown her acne and had a crush on a guy named Joe. But Gabriel followed through on his assignment. He wasn’t about to rebel against his boss, who also happened to control the universe. He visited Mary and told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:30–31 NKJV).

The story of Jesus begins with the story of a great descent. The Son of God became the child of Mary. He became one of us so we might become one with him. He entered our world in the high hope that we will enter his.

Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name

Job 40

 God then confronted Job directly:

“Now what do you have to say for yourself?

Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?”

JOB ANSWERS GOD

I’m Ready to Shut Up and Listen

3–5  Job answered:

“I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.

I should never have opened my mouth!

I’ve talked too much, way too much.

I’m ready to shut up and listen.”

GOD’S SECOND SET OF QUESTIONS

I Want Straight Answers

6–7  God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:

“I have some more questions for you,

and I want straight answers.

8–14  “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong?

Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?

Do you have an arm like my arm?

Can you shout in thunder the way I can?

Go ahead, show your stuff.

Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do.

Unleash your outrage.

Target the arrogant and lay them flat.

Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees.

Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!

Dig a mass grave and dump them in it—

faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.

I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—

you can surely save yourself with no help from me!

15–24  “Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you.

Grazing on grass, docile as a cow—

Just look at the strength of his back,

the powerful muscles of his belly.

His tail sways like a cedar in the wind;

his huge legs are like beech trees.

His skeleton is made of steel,

every bone in his body hard as steel.

Most magnificent of all my creatures,

but I still lead him around like a lamb!

The grass-covered hills serve him meals,

while field mice frolic in his shadow.

He takes afternoon naps under shade trees,

cools himself in the reedy swamps,

Lazily cool in the leafy shadows

as the breeze moves through the willows.

And when the river rages he doesn’t budge,

stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild.

But you’d never want him for a pet—

you’d never be able to housebreak him!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, April 14, 2025

by Arthur Jackson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Romans 1:8-17

I thank God through Jesus for every one of you. That’s first. People everywhere keep telling me about your lives of faith, and every time I hear them, I thank him. And God, whom I so love to worship and serve by spreading the good news of his Son—the Message!—knows that every time I think of you in my prayers, which is practically all the time, I ask him to clear the way for me to come and see you. The longer this waiting goes on, the deeper the ache. I so want to be there to deliver God’s gift in person and watch you grow stronger right before my eyes! But don’t think I’m not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you.

13–15  Please don’t misinterpret my failure to visit you, friends. You have no idea how many times I’ve made plans for Rome. I’ve been determined to get some personal enjoyment out of God’s work among you, as I have in so many other non-Jewish towns and communities. But something has always come up and prevented it. Everyone I meet—it matters little whether they’re mannered or rude, smart or simple—deepens my sense of interdependence and obligation. And that’s why I can’t wait to get to you in Rome, preaching this wonderful good news of God.

16–17  It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.”

Today's Insights

Romans opens with Paul identifying himself as “an apostle . . . set apart for the gospel of God” (1:1). His letter is written “to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people” (v. 7). Yet he singles out the gentiles for special mention (vv. 5-6), perhaps because their inclusion in the family of faith was still a radical concept. Paul reiterates this cross-cultural unity later in the chapter: “The power of God . . . brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (v. 16). His example inspires us to reach out to people in new places with the love of Christ.

Sharing Gospel Resources

I am not ashamed of the gospel. Romans 1:16

The venue and accommodations for our leadership meeting in downtown Chicago were in stark contrast with the neediness I encountered on my way there—neediness that included individuals who lacked the basics of food and shelter. The differences helped me picture and articulate things we needed to include in our vision planning for serving in the city and elsewhere: to get gospel resources (anything given by God to help spread the message of His love and salvation) to places where they’re needed most.

At the time Paul wrote to the Roman believers in Jesus, he hadn’t visited them yet—but wanted to: “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1:11-12). The apostle was looking forward to a “gift exchange” that would benefit him and others as they sought to live for Jesus and serve others.

The resources we possess include the spiritual gifts and material resources given to us by God. May we allow Him to use us to compassionately reach out to people with the gospel message. And, as God empowers us, let’s open our hearts, hands, and lips to serve others. May we do so “[un]ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (v. 16).

Reflect & Pray

How will you share the good news of forgiveness that you’ve received? How can you meet others’ physical needs while sharing the love of Christ?

Dear Jesus, please help me to unashamedly share the good news of Your forgiveness.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, April 14, 2025

Inspired Invincibility

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. — Matthew 11:29

“The Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Hebrews 12:6). How petty is our complaining! Our Lord begins to discipline us, bringing us to a place where we can have communion with him. We should be

delighted. Instead, we whine and say, “Oh, Lord, let me be like other people.” Jesus wants us to be unlike everyone but him. He is asking us to take one side of his yoke so that we can learn to bear our burdens lightly: “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29). When we fully identify ourselves with Jesus, taking up one side of his yoke, our complaining will turn into a psalm of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to know the yoke of Jesus.

“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). If we didn’t know some saintly people personally, we might be tempted to think that their pleasant and peaceful demeanor means they have nothing to bear. Lift the veil. The fact that the peace and the light and the joy of God are there is proof that the burden is there too.

If your burden is weighing on you just now, remember that no power on earth or in hell can defeat the Spirit of God inside a human spirit. To be born again in the Spirit is to gain an inner invincibility. Recall this to your mind whenever you find yourself beginning to grumble. If you have the whine in you, kick it out. It is positively a crime to be weak in God’s strength.

1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 395 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, April 14, 2025

MAKING SURE YOU'RE SECURE - #9981

"Office of Homeland Security" - I suppose there are some younger people that didn't know that wasn't always part of the United States government. It's a pretty new thing. The fact that we have, and that we need, an Office of Homeland Security pretty much tells the story of the kind of world we're in right now. I mean, we've got enhanced security at our airports, sometimes tours are curtailed at many public utilities, your bags get searched at sporting events, and business is booming at security companies.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Making Sure You're Secure."

Security is on a lot of our minds these days. We feel a lot more vulnerable, probably, than we ever have. I mean, when we think about security for here and now. Unfortunately, we tend to neglect the largest security concerns of all - our security beyond this life, beyond our last heartbeat. It's eternally important to know that you're safe then. Whether it's the awful toll we've seen in terrorist attacks, or just the death of someone in our personal world, there are constant reminders that eternity can come so close, so quickly.

I once heard about a medieval king who was on his deathbed. He called for the court jester; they called him the court fool back then. He wanted him to come and make him feel better. At one point, the king said, "Fool, I am going on a long journey from which I will not return." The court fool asked if the king had made preparations for his journey, to which the king answered "no." The jester answered, "Then, sire, I fear that you are a greater fool than I."

That sounds like a conversation God had with a very rich man in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 12, beginning in verse 19. The man is totally involved in managing his success, protecting his financial security. He says, "I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then you will get what you have prepared for yourself.'" Tragically, this man who had made such elaborate preparations for his earth-security had made no preparations for eternity.

That man made the mistake of thinking he had many years - a mistake many have made. Frankly, we never know how much longer we have. And you're not secure until you know that you're ready for eternity...which you can be today. 1 John 5, beginning in verse 11, tells us that "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life." Now that is security! Knowing for sure. Knowing right now that when you die you are going to heaven.

And it all depends on whether you have Jesus. Why? Because He's the One, the only One, who died to remove what will keep you out of heaven - your sin. It can't be repaid by doing good. There's a death penalty for the sin. It can only be erased by putting your trust in the One who took your death penalty for you. When you commit yourself to Jesus, what's between you and God is gone and you "have eternal life"!

That is a choice you can make this very day, right where you are. Don't you want to belong to this Jesus? You can from this day on. You just tell Him you're putting your total trust in Him, you're done running your life. You are His, beginning this day, based on His dying for you.

If you'll go to our website as soon as you possibly can today, I'd love to show you, there, how to be sure you belong to Jesus Christ. It's ANewStory.com.

With eternity so close, does it make any sense to wait? Ultimate security is knowing you're going to heaven, no matter what happens here. Jesus made His move to get you to heaven when He died on the cross for you. It's your move now.

Job 39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: What’s Separating You From Joy?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3”

How would you finish the statement: “I’ll be happy when….” With your answer firmly in mind, answer this question. “What’s the one thing separating you from joy?”

What if your ship never comes in, if your dream never comes true? If the situation never changes, could you be happy? If not, then you’re sleeping in the cold cell of discontent. You’re in prison. And you need to know what you have in your Shepherd!

You have a God who hears you; the power of love behind you; the Holy Spirit within you; and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm.

Job 39

“Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth?

Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn?

Do you know how many months she is pregnant?

Do you know the season of her delivery,

when she crouches down and drops her offspring?

Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own;

they leave and don’t come back.

5–8  “Who do you think set the wild donkey free,

opened the corral gates and let him go?

I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in,

the rolling plains and wide-open places.

He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried.

He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters.

He grazes freely through the hills,

nibbling anything that’s green.

9–12  “Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you,

volunteer to spend the night in your barn?

Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo

and getting him to till your fields?

He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him,

would you dare turn the job over to him?

You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you,

to do what you said when you said it?

13–18  “The ostrich flaps her wings futilely—

all those beautiful feathers, but useless!

She lays her eggs on the hard ground,

leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather,

Not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked

or trampled by some wild animal.

She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers.

She cares nothing about anything.

She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure,

wasn’t given her share of good sense.

But when she runs, oh, how she runs,

laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust.

19–25  “Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess

and adorned him with a shimmering mane?

Did you create him to prance proudly

and strike terror with his royal snorts?

He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited,

then charges into the fray.

He laughs at danger, fearless,

doesn’t shy away from the sword.

The banging and clanging

of quiver and lance don’t faze him.

He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast

races off at a gallop.

At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily,

smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off,

catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.

26–30  “Was it through your know-how that the hawk learned to fly,

soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?

Did you command the eagle’s flight,

and teach her to build her nest in the heights,

Perfectly at home on the high cliff face,

invulnerable on pinnacle and crag?

From her perch she searches for prey,

spies it at a great distance.

Her young gorge themselves on carrion;

wherever there’s a roadkill, you’ll see her circling.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, April 13, 2025

by Elisa Morgan

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Luke 19:37-40

 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

Blessed is he who comes,

the king in God’s name!

All’s well in heaven!

Glory in the high places!

39  Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”

40  But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

Today's Insights

Some scholars believe that Jesus’ statement in Luke 19:40 that “if [the crowds] keep quiet, the stones will cry out” is a reference to Habakkuk 2:11: “The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.” Others suppose that the stones in view are the stones of the very gates themselves, as seen in Psalm 118:19-20: “Open for me the gates of the righteous . . . the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.” Whether Luke 19:40 echoes an Old Testament text or not, it’s an example of poetic imagery where inanimate objects praise God (see also Psalm 114:6; Psalm 148; Isaiah 55:12). Jesus had often refused praise during His earthly ministry. Now He not only accepted it but encouraged it. When humans fail to praise the Creator, the creation itself will praise God.

Listen to the Stones

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:40

After our family held a riverside memorial service for my father, we each selected a stone to help us remember him. His life had been a checkerboard of wins and losses, but we knew his heart had been for us. My fingers traced my stone’s smooth surface and helped me remember to hold him close.

In Luke 19, Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem while the crowds waved palm branches, shouted Hosannas, and cheered, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (v. 38; see John 12:12-13). In the Pharisees’ disdain of what they perceived to be a blasphemous claim of messiahship, they ordered Jesus to tell the disciples to be quiet. Jesus replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).

The stones do cry out—in many ways. God has used stones throughout the story of His love for us. Two rough-hewn stones carried ten chiseled commandments to tell us how to live (Exodus 34:1). Stones of remembrance piled by the Jordan River and in the middle of the river reminded generations of Israelites of God’s provision and faithfulness (Joshua 4:8-9 nlt). The one rolled into place to contain Jesus’ body is the same one that rolled away to show He had risen (Matthew 27:59-66; Luke 24:2). We “hear” this stone as it reminds us of Jesus’ words: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

Listen to the stones and lift your own voice along with them in praise to our loving Father.

Reflect & Pray

How have the stones of God’s work in our world “cried out” to you? What message might God intend for you to take to heart?

Dear Father, thank You for using even stones to speak of Your love.

For further study, read Give Me a Sign

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, April 13, 2025

You Who Are Weary and Burdened

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. — Matthew 11:28

Are you weary and burdened? The Lord says to come to him, and he will give you rest. Just make sure the burden you are bearing is the right kind of burden. We should never bear the burden of sin or doubt, but at times God places other burdens on us he doesn’t intend to lift. He gives them to us so that we will give them back to him: “Cast your cares on the Lord” (Psalm 55:22).

If we take on work for God and then get out of touch with him, the sense of responsibility is crushing. But if we roll back onto God the burden he’s placed on us, he takes away our sense of responsibility, removing it by bringing in a strong realization of himself.

Many who do God’s work start out with high courage and fine intentions. But if they aren’t in intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon overwhelmed. Their cares exhaust them, and their fine beginning comes to a bitter end.

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). You have been bearing it all. Jesus wants to ease the strain. Deliberately put one end of the yoke on his shoulders. Commit to God the burden he has given you. Never disassociate yourself from it; never fling it carelessly away. Instead, put the burden over on God, and yourself beside him. If you do, the sense of companionship you’ll find with your Lord will immediately lighten your load.

1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.

Disciples Indeed, 388 R

Job 38, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Three Cookie Days

Every day, God prepares for us a plate of experiences.  Some days are “three cookie days.” Many are not!  Sometimes our plate has nothing but vegetables, twenty-four hours of celery, carrots, and squash.  Apparently God knows we need some strength, and though the portion may be hard to swallow, isn’t it for our own good?  All are important and all are from God. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.”

The next time your plate has a portion you find hard to swallow, talk to God about it.  Jesus did. In the garden of Gethsemane His Father handed Him a cup of suffering so sour, so vile, that Jesus handed it back to heaven.

“My Father,” He prayed, “if it is possible may this cup be taken from Me.  Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Mark 14:36).

from The Great House of God

Job 38

GOD CONFRONTS JOB

Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?

1  38 And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:

2–11  “Why do you confuse the issue?

Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?

Pull yourself together, Job!

Up on your feet! Stand tall!

I have some questions for you,

and I want some straight answers.

Where were you when I created the earth?

Tell me, since you know so much!

Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!

Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?

How was its foundation poured,

and who set the cornerstone,

While the morning stars sang in chorus

and all the angels shouted praise?

And who took charge of the ocean

when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?

That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,

and tucked it in safely at night.

Then I made a playpen for it,

a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,

And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.

Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’

12–15  “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’

told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’

So you could seize Earth like a blanket

and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?

As the sun brings everything to light,

brings out all the colors and shapes,

The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked—

they’re caught in the very act!

16–18  “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things,

explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?

Do you know the first thing about death?

Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries?

And do you have any idea how large this earth is?

Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.

19–21  “Do you know where Light comes from

and where Darkness lives

So you can take them by the hand

and lead them home when they get lost?

Why, of course you know that.

You’ve known them all your life,

grown up in the same neighborhood with them!

22–30  “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,

seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,

The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness

for times of trouble and battle and war?

Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,

or to the place from which the wind blows?

Who do you suppose carves canyons

for the downpours of rain, and charts

the route of thunderstorms

That bring water to unvisited fields,

deserts no one ever lays eyes on,

Drenching the useless wastelands

so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass?

And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,

the mother of ice and frost?

You don’t for a minute imagine

these marvels of weather just happen, do you?

31–33  “Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters,

or distract Orion from his hunt?

Can you get Venus to look your way,

or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play?

Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations

and how they affect things on Earth?

34–35  “Can you get the attention of the clouds,

and commission a shower of rain?

Can you take charge of the lightning bolts

and have them report to you for orders?

What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?

36–38  “Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis,

and storm-savvy to the rooster?

Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds

or tip over the rain barrels of heaven

When the earth is cracked and dry,

the ground baked hard as a brick?

39–41  “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey

and satisfy the appetite of her cubs

As they crouch in their den,

waiting hungrily in their cave?

And who sets out food for the ravens

when their young cry to God,

fluttering about because they have no food?”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, April 12, 2025

by Xochitl Dixon

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

John 14:15-17, 25-31

The Spirit of Truth

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

“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

28  “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

29–31  “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.

“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”

Today's Insights

On the night of His arrest, Jesus celebrated Passover together with His closest followers, which was a commemoration of their ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt (John 13; see Exodus 12:1-12). Christ reminded His disciples that they were special in the world (John 14:16-18, 22), just as God had reminded the Israelites of this through Moses in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 4:5-8; 7:7-9; 10:14).

Jesus’ disciples won’t be removed from this world, but they’re to be distinct or set apart from it. Following God’s commands is what set Israel apart from the rest of the world, and it’s the thrust of Christ’s commands to those who believe in Him.

The Spirit’s Helpful Reminders

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, . . . will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

One year, I agreed to sing a song before one of my son’s sporting events. I practiced for weeks, but I knew the song by heart already. So when I walked onto the field with the teams lined up on both sides of me, I closed my eyes and prayed. I started singing the first few lines. Then, I froze. In that moment I couldn’t remember the next line. A man behind me whispered the words I’d forgotten. As soon as I heard the helpful reminder, I belted out the rest of the lyrics with confidence.

We all need a little help sometimes. In John 14, Jesus explained that we love Him by obeying Him (v. 15), and He promised to ask the Father to give us a Helper—“the Spirit of truth” (v. 17). Jesus said, “The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (v. 17). Though Jesus taught the disciples a lot while with them (v. 25), He said “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (v. 26).

As we prayerfully read the Bible, the Holy Spirit helps us interpret, understand, and apply God’s wisdom. His leading always aligns with Scripture—guiding, comforting, and transforming us in love, one helpful reminder at a time.

Reflect & Pray

What can you do to better recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice? How do you acknowledge Him daily?

Holy Spirit, please help me recognize Your voice and submit to You as You make me more like Jesus, one helpful reminder at a time.

What does it mean that "God is with us"? Find out more by reading The Promise of Presence.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Moral Dominion

Death no longer has mastery over him. . . . The life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. — Romans 6:9-11

When Jesus Christ walked among us, the life he exhibited was eternal life. Eternal life is not a gift from God. It is the gift of God—the gift God makes of himself to his children. This same life, not a copy of it, is manifested in us when we are born of God.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). The power we receive isn’t a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit. The energy and the power which were manifested in Jesus will be manifested in us by the sheer sovereign grace of God once we’ve made the moral decision about sin. The life that was in Jesus is made ours by means of the cross when once we make the decision to be identified with him. As soon as we do make the decision, we receive the full life of God.

Jesus came to give us endless supplies of life: “That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It isn’t life but Life, and its only source is the Lord Jesus Christ. The weakest among us can experience the power of Jesus Christ if we are willing to let go. If instead we cling to our own power, we will blur the life of Jesus inside us. We have to keep letting go, keep identifying with him. Slowly and surely, the great full life of God will invade us in every part of our being, and those we meet will sense that we have been with Jesus.

1 Samuel 19-21; Luke 11:29-54

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.

Not Knowing Whither, 901 R

Matthew 15:1-20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHAT GABRIEL NEVER EXPECTED - April 11, 2025

Prior to Bethlehem God gave us his messengers, his teachers, his words. But in the manger God gave us himself. Extraordinary, don’t you think? I imagine even Gabriel scratched his head at the idea of “God with us.” Gabriel surely was not one to question his God-given missions. When God sent, Gabriel went.

And when word got out that God was to become a human, Gabriel was no doubt enthused. He could envision the moment: The Messiah in a blazing chariot. The King descending on a fiery cloud. An explosion of light from which the Messiah would emerge. What he never expected, however, was a slip of paper with a Nazarene address. “God will become a baby,” it read. “Tell the mother to name the child Jesus. And tell her not to be afraid.”

Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name

Matthew 15:1-20

What Pollutes Your Life

1–2  15 After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, “Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?”

3–9  But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules. Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye:

These people make a big show of saying the right thing,

but their heart isn’t in it.

They act like they’re worshiping me,

but they don’t mean it.

They just use me as a cover

for teaching whatever suits their fancy.”

10–11  He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.”

12  Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?”

13–14  Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.”

15  Peter said, “I don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”

16–20  Jesus replied, “You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, April 11, 2025

by Mike Wittmer

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Kings 2:7-14

Meanwhile, fifty men from the guild of prophets gathered some distance away while the two of them stood at the Jordan.

8  Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and hit the water with it. The river divided and the two men walked through on dry land.

9  When they reached the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I’m taken from you? Ask anything.”

Elisha said, “Your life repeated in my life. I want to be a holy man just like you.”

10  “That’s a hard one!” said Elijah. “But if you’re watching when I’m taken from you, you’ll get what you’ve asked for. But only if you’re watching.”

11–14  And so it happened. They were walking along and talking. Suddenly a chariot and horses of fire came between them and Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it all and shouted, “My father, my father! You—the chariot and cavalry of Israel!” When he could no longer see anything, he grabbed his robe and ripped it to pieces. Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him, returned to the shore of the Jordan, and stood there. He took Elijah’s cloak—all that was left of Elijah!—and hit the river with it, saying, “Now where is the God of Elijah? Where is he?”

When he struck the water, the river divided and Elisha walked through.

Today's Insights

After Elijah (Hebrew, “Yahweh is my God”) had completed his ministry assignments, he was miraculously taken from the earth (2 Kings 2:11). Plans were in place, however, for God’s work to continue among His people. Some years before, Elisha (Hebrew, “God is salvation”) had been designated as Elijah’s successor (see 1 Kings 19:16-21). Centuries later, Jesus or Yeshua (Hebrew, “Yah [Yahweh] saves”) also prepared for His departure after His death and resurrection. His work would go on through successors who saw Him when He ascended (Acts 1:10-11) and were empowered by the Holy Spirit. We also can press on in Him even as we grieve those who are no longer with us.

Good Grief

As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you. 2 Kings 2:2

A man named Hidesaburo Ueno taught at Tokyo’s Imperial University in the 1920s. Every afternoon, he returned on the 3:00 p.m. train to find his dog, Hachiko, waiting for him. One day Professor Ueno suffered a stroke during class and died. When he didn’t get off the afternoon train, Hachiko lingered a while, then went home. The dog returned the next day at 3:00, and the next day, and the day after that, for ten years. Hachiko’s loyalty touched the hearts of many Japanese, who came to sit with him.

Elisha was similarly committed to his master, Elijah. On the day Elisha knew he would lose him, Elisha refused to let him out of his sight. Then a chariot of fire whisked Elijah to heaven. Elisha choked out what he saw: “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (2 Kings 2:12). He picked up Elijah’s cloak, the symbol of the prophet’s power that had parted the Jordan moments earlier (v. 8), and asked, “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” (v. 14). He struck the water, which parted as it had for his master. What a bittersweet day!

Have you lost someone you love? No words can do justice to your pain. Every sob releases memories of the love you shared. You hurt deeply because you loved deeply. How bittersweet! Thank God for this beloved person and for your capacity to love. Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak. What might you do?

Reflect & Pray

What tangible sign or ritual honors the memory of your loved one? How does Jesus help to carry your burden?

Dear Father, thank You for giving me people to love.

Learn more about Elijah and Elisha by reading A Tale of Two Prophets.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, April 11, 2025

Moral Divinity

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. — Romans 6:5

The proof that I have been through crucifixion with Jesus is that I resemble him in both attitude and behavior. Through his resurrection, Jesus has the authority to impart the life of God to me, and my outward life must be built on this basis. I can receive the resurrection life of Jesus Christ here and now, and it will show itself outwardly in holiness.

Romans 6:5 presents an idea that runs throughout the apostle Paul’s writings: after I’ve made the moral decision to be identified with Jesus in his death, the resurrection life of Jesus fills every aspect of my human nature. Once I’ve decided my old self—the self defined by the heredity of sin—will be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me and takes charge of everything. The Spirit isn’t a mere guest in the house; he fills every nook and cranny. My responsibility is to walk in the light and to obey everything he reveals to me.

When I’ve made the moral decision about sin, it is easy to conclude that, yes, I really am dead to sin, because wherever I look inside myself I find the life of Jesus there. Just as there is only one stamp of humanity, there is only one stamp of holiness: the holiness of Jesus Christ. God puts the holiness of his Son into me, and I belong to a new order of spirituality.

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 17-18; Luke 11:1-28

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.

Disciples Indeed

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, April 11, 2025

When You Know An Ugly Secret - #9980

When you're a little kid, they're pretty rough on you if you tell on somebody else. Remember? Oh, maybe that happened to you. Oh, the names they call you when you do that are not particularly complimentary: tattle tail, traitor, (depending on your generation) rat fink. Those are the nice names. It gets worse than that. Kids almost get to feeling that telling about something wrong is worse than doing something wrong. That's not true.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Know an Ugly Secret."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God is from 1 Samuel 3. It's about a man named Eli. He was the main man at the temple in those days, and unfortunately for Eli, even though he wasn't carrying out any gross sin that we know about, his sons were out-of-control. They would have been the media scandal of the day, because they used their position as priests at the temple to take money for themselves, and to take women for themselves. And God passes His verdict as we look at 1 Samuel 3, beginning at verse 11.

"And the Lord said to Samuel: 'See, I'm about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family - from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them."

Did you notice that? God says, "I'm going to judge Eli because of the sin, not that he did, but that he knew about." See, with God, knowledge equals responsibility. Now, that's not just in God's scales of justice. Remember way back at the Watergate hearings and how they kept hammering home the question, "What did you know?" And, "When did you know it?"

People who know about a violation of the law and don't do anything about it can be convicted of charges like conspiracy, or obstruction of justice. See, God insists that you take action if you know about wrong that's being done. The Bible says, "He that covers sin will not prosper."

Think how much embarrassment has come to the cause of Christ because of scandals involving Christian leaders, TV evangelists, pastors, and how much of that could have been avoided if people who knew about sin had acted on that knowledge. Often we just bury the secret. Why? Sometimes it's blind loyalty, but sin's going to grow like a cancer. And it will be discovered, but by then the damage will be irreparable. Sometimes it's because of vested interest; we're afraid of what we might lose. But look at Eli. You'll lose a lot more if you don't.

There's a pattern for doing this in Matthew 18, beginning at verse 15. First, you go to the person one-on-one with the sin that you know about. Talk to them about it. If that doesn't work, you go with one or two others. Then Jesus said you go to the church or whatever large group is appropriate. And finally, if they don't respond, Jesus said you cut off fellowship from them, so they'll come to their senses. You do no one a favor when you know about sin and you don't deal with it.

What happens when you don't deal with it, when you don't confront it, is that you are condemning the one who is doing it to greater consequences, and you condemn others to being hurt by that covered-up sin. Oh, and you condemn yourself to judgment from God for covering it up. The longer you wait, the worse the fallout's going to be. So, don't be guilty of obstructing justice - God's justice that is. Remember, when you know an ugly secret, knowledge equals responsibility.