Matthew 23:23-39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A REDEMPTIVE PATTERN - May 29, 2025

It’s the repeated pattern in Scripture: Evil. God. Good.

Evil came to Job. Tempted him, tested him. Job struggled, but God countered. He spoke truth, declared sovereignty. Job, in the end, chose God. Satan’s prime target became came God’s star witness, and good resulted. Evil came to David; he committed adultery. Evil came to Daniel; he was dragged to a foreign land. To Nehemiah; the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed. But God countered. Because he did, David wrote songs of grace, Daniel ruled in a foreign land, and Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem with Babylonian money. Good happened.

And Jesus. The Bethlehem innkeeper told Jesus’ parents to try their luck in the barn. That was bad. God entered the world in the humblest place on earth. That was good. With Jesus bad became good like night becomes day—regularly, reliably, refreshingly. And redemptively.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Matthew 23:23-39

  “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? It’s on account of people like you that I send prophets and wise guides and scholars generation after generation—and generation after generation you treat them like dirt, greeting them with lynch mobs, hounding them with abuse.

35–36  “You can’t squirm out of this: Every drop of righteous blood ever spilled on this earth, beginning with the blood of that good man Abel right down to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah’s son, whom you murdered at his prayers, is on your head. All this, I’m telling you, is coming down on you, on your generation.

37–39  “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God’s news! How often I’ve ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn’t let me. And now you’re so desolate, nothing but a ghost town. What is there left to say? Only this: I’m out of here soon. The next time you see me you’ll say, ‘Oh, God has blessed him! He’s come, bringing God’s rule!’ ”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Thursday, May 29, 2025

by Lisa M. Samra

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Acts 1:1-9

To the Ends of the World

1–5  1 Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but “must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon.”

6  When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?”

7–8  He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

9–11  These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud.

Today's Insights

The book of Luke ends with Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50-53). The book of Acts, also written by Luke, begins with him reminding his reader, Theophilus, of that earlier account by referring to “my former book” (Acts 1:1). Luke then affirms the truth of Christ’s resurrection: “After his suffering, [Jesus] presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive” (v. 3). Luke concludes his introduction by assuring us of Christ’s return: “This same Jesus . . . will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (v. 11). The reality of Jesus’ triumph over death and His promised return are foundational to our faith—faith that allows us to live out His power in our lives.

God’s Great Power

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

Our city fell almost dark after a massive ice storm took down miles of power lines, leaving many of our friends without electricity to heat their homes in the dead of a frigid winter. Families longed to see repair trucks in their neighborhoods working to restore power. Later, I learned that a church parking lot served as a temporary command center for the vehicles being sent out to assist those in need.  

Hearing about the repair trucks brought to mind Jesus’ command to His disciples in the book of Acts. For forty days after His resurrection, Christ appeared to His disciples to encourage and teach them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Before Jesus’ return to heaven, He gave them one last promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (v. 8).

Christ promised that God’s incomparably great power would be available to the disciples through His Spirit. But the purpose of having power wasn’t to keep it to themselves. Instead, the disciples let God empower them in the mission of telling others how to experience once more the connection to God’s power and love that was broken by sin.

As we go out into our communities, we have the same power and calling. Empowered by God’s Spirit, we can care for those who are suffering and share how they too can have access to God’s power.

Reflect & Pray

How have you experienced the power of God’s Spirit to help you? How might you share that message with others? 

Dear God, thank You for the gift of Your power and love.

Check out this simple prayer you can use to connect with the Holy Spirit.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Undisturbed Relationship

In that day you will ask in my name. . . . The Father himself loves you because you have loved me.— John 16:26-27

“You will ask in my name.” By “name,” Jesus means “nature.” He isn’t saying, “You will use my name as a magic word to get what you want from the Father.” He’s saying, “You will be so intimate with me that you will be one with me.”

“In that day . . .” The day Jesus is speaking of isn’t a day in the future; it’s here and now. It’s a day of undisturbed relationship between God and his child. Just as Jesus stood blameless in the presence of his Father, so by the baptism of the Spirit are we lifted into relationship with him: “. . . that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” (John 17:21).

“The Father himself loves you.” The union is complete and absolute. Our Lord doesn’t mean that your external life will be free of complexity and confusion, but that just as he knew the Father’s heart and mind, you too will know it. By the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he will lift you into the heavenly places, where he can reveal God’s counsels to you.

“My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (16:23). Jesus is saying that God will recognize our prayers. What a challenge! By the power of the resurrection and the ascension, by the sent-down Holy Spirit, we can be lifted into such a relationship with the Father that we are at one with his sovereign will, just as Jesus was. In this wonderful position, we can pray to God in his name—in his nature—which is gifted to us by the Holy Spirit, and whatever we ask will be given.

2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are not fundamentally free; external circumstances are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands, the one thing in which we are free is in our personal relationship to God. We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be. 

Conformed to His Image, 354 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Personally Bankrupt, Spiritually Rich - #10014

Funny things happen when church youth groups go on summer missions trips. Suddenly these comfortable American kids are facing a totally unfamiliar situation, maybe for the first time in their lives!

There's money they don't quite understand. There's a language that's different from theirs. Surroundings that are really different from their comfy little room back home. Unusual places to sleep, food they're not used to eating.

And suddenly, teenagers who seldom have quiet time in the Bible, are up early every morning for devotions. Amazing! In fact if you look, there's a teenager with a Bible on every rock. It's not quite like that back home is it? What is happening? And kids who find prayer back home kind of boring? Well, now they want prayer meetings. Some who have never prayed aloud before, suddenly find the words. What's going on here? Maybe the same thing that's happening where you are.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Personally Bankrupt, Spiritually Rich."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 1, and I'm beginning to read at verse 8. Paul is struggling. He says, "We are under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure." Maybe that's something you can relate to. He goes on to say, "so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. But this happened so that..."

Okay, pause for a moment. He's finding the reason for this heavy pressure, getting to the end of his rope, this despairing even of life, why has God allowed this to happen; what's the reason? He says, "It happened so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God." And then he adds, "...who raises the dead." Wow!

Paul says, "I'm bankrupt, man! I have no resources left. Why? How did I get to this point? I had run out of me to depend on. I totally abandoned me and the situation to God." What happened? The next verse says, "He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us."

I told you about the mission trip scenario. Kids are stripped of everything they usually can depend on, and so they're forced to grab Jesus as if their lives depended on Him. Well, it isn't that you suddenly started needing the Lord when you're bankrupt. You just don't realize it until you're bankrupt. Then something very intimate happens in your love relationship with Jesus. You experience His unlimited power at the point of your total powerlessness. In a sense, you don't really know the Lord until you really need the Lord.

Our safe, predictable, well resourced Christianity insulates us from really living by faith.

And then God allows the bottom to drop out, just so He can hold you up. And you find out what He can do when there's none of you and it's all God. And then you can learn that He's enough. He fills up your empty bankrupt account and in a paradox that only God could reveal to us.

Are you ready for it? Here it is: in your bankruptcy you can finally be rich.

Genesis 50, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE STEADY DRUMBEAT OF FAITH - May 28, 2025

Life turns every person upside down. No one escapes unscathed. Not the woman who discovers her husband is in an affair. Not the teenager who discovers a night of romance has resulted in a surprise pregnancy. Not the pastor who feels his faith shaken by questions of suffering and fear. We’d be foolish to think we’re invulnerable. But we’d be just as foolish to think evil wins the day.

The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith: God recycles evil into righteousness. I don’t have an easy solution or a magic wand, but I have found something—or someone—far better. God himself. And when he gets in the middle of life, evil becomes good. Can I urge you? Trust God. No, really trust him. He will get you through this. Will it be easy or quick? I hope so, but it seldom is. Yet God will make good out of this mess.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Genesis 50

Joseph threw himself on his father, wept over him, and kissed him.

2–3  Joseph then instructed the physicians in his employ to embalm his father. The physicians embalmed Israel. The embalming took forty days, the period required for embalming. There was public mourning by the Egyptians for seventy days.

4–5  When the period of mourning was completed, Joseph petitioned Pharaoh’s court: “If you have reason to think kindly of me, present Pharaoh with my request: My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am ready to die. Bury me in the grave plot that I prepared for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Please give me leave to go up and bury my father. Then I’ll come back.”

6  Pharaoh said, “Certainly. Go and bury your father as he made you promise under oath.”

7–9  So Joseph left to bury his father. And all the high-ranking officials from Pharaoh’s court went with him, all the dignitaries of Egypt, joining Joseph’s family—his brothers and his father’s family. Their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen accompanied them. It was a huge funeral procession.

10  Arriving at the Atad Threshing Floor just across the Jordan River, they stopped for a period of mourning, letting their grief out in loud and lengthy lament. For seven days, Joseph engaged in these funeral rites for his father.

11  When the Canaanites who lived in that area saw the grief being poured out at the Atad Threshing Floor, they said, “Look how deeply the Egyptians are mourning.” That is how the site at the Jordan got the name Abel Mizraim (Egyptian Lament).

12–13  Jacob’s sons continued to carry out his instructions to the letter. They took him on into Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.

14–15  After burying his father, Joseph went back to Egypt. All his brothers who had come with him to bury his father returned with him. After the funeral, Joseph’s brothers talked among themselves: “What if Joseph is carrying a grudge and decides to pay us back for all the wrong we did him?”

16–17  So they sent Joseph a message, “Before his death, your father gave this command: Tell Joseph, ‘Forgive your brothers’ sin—all that wrongdoing. They did treat you very badly.’ Will you do it? Will you forgive the sins of the servants of your father’s God?”

When Joseph received their message, he wept.

18  Then the brothers went in person to him, threw themselves on the ground before him and said, “We’ll be your slaves.”

19–21  Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I’ll take care of you and your children.” He reassured them, speaking with them heart-to-heart.

22–23  Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father’s family. Joseph lived 110 years. He lived to see Ephraim’s sons into the third generation. The sons of Makir, Manasseh’s son, were also recognized as Joseph’s.

24  At the end, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am ready to die. God will most certainly pay you a visit and take you out of this land and back to the land he so solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

25  Then Joseph made the sons of Israel promise under oath, “When God makes his visitation, make sure you take my bones with you as you leave here.”

26  Joseph died at the age of 110 years. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

by Alyson Kieda

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Timothy 1:6-14

And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

8–10  So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.

11–12  This is the Message I’ve been set apart to proclaim as preacher, emissary, and teacher. It’s also the cause of all this trouble I’m in. But I have no regrets. I couldn’t be more sure of my ground—the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what he’s trusted me to do right to the end.

13–14  So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.

Today's Insights

The Great Fire of Rome occurred in ad 64, around the time that Paul wrote 2 Timothy. Emperor Nero blamed believers in Jesus for it and persecuted them. Paul was in prison and his death imminent when he wrote this letter to encourage Timothy to persevere in preaching the gospel (4:2-8). He wasn’t to be afraid or ashamed but to boldly witness and be prepared to suffer for Christ (1:7-8). Because God had empowered him to live a holy life (v. 9), he didn’t need to fear death because Jesus had destroyed death and would come back again to vindicate his faith (vv. 10-12). And that kind of faith allows us to boldly share our faith with others.

Go and Tell

Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord . . . . Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel. 2 Timothy 1:8

Elliot is passionate about telling others about Jesus. During a week spent teaching from 2 Timothy for church leaders in a South Asian country, he reminded them of Paul’s farewell to Timothy. He urged them not to be ashamed of the good news but instead to embrace suffering and persecution for the gospel’s sake as did Paul (1:8-9). A few days later, Elliot learned that evangelism and Christian conversion had been banned in that country. With deep concern for their welfare, he prayed for these leaders to persevere and to boldly and with urgency continue to proclaim the gospel.

Paul understood the danger inherent in proclaiming the good news. He spent time in prison (vv. 8, 16) and had suffered in many other ways because of his teaching (vv. 11-12)—including being beaten, whipped, and stoned (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-29). But nothing kept Paul from telling others about Jesus. His philosophy? “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). He lived to tell others about Christ, but he knew that if he died, he would be with Jesus. Paul reminded Timothy that the Holy Spirit would empower him (2 Timothy 1:7).

God calls all of us who believe, wherever we are—at home or abroad—to tell others about Jesus. We may suffer, but He is right there with us.

Reflect & Pray

What helps you to tell others about Jesus? How have you suffered for telling someone the good news?

Dear God, I want others to know You as I do! Please empower me through Your Holy Spirt to tell them the great news about You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Unquestioned Revelation

In that day you will no longer ask me anything.— John 16:23

When is “that day”? It is when the resurrection life of Jesus manifests itself inside you, and the ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. Then, says Jesus, “you will no longer ask me anything.”

Until the resurrection life of Jesus is manifested inside you, you may often find yourself confused and wanting to ask questions. After his life has been established in you, the questions begin to fade, until finally none remain. At this point, you know that you have come to the place of complete reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, a place of perfect contact with God’s purposes. Are you living that life now?

In this place of perfect contact, you find that many things are still dark to your understanding—yet none have the ability to come between your heart and God. That is why Jesus says that, in that day, “you will no longer ask me anything.” You will not ask because you will not need to ask. The command given in John 14:1—“Do not let your hearts be troubled”—will describe the real state of your heart, and you will know, beyond a doubt, that God is working everything out according to his purpose.

If something is a mystery to you and it is coming between you and God, don’t look for the explanation in your intellect; look for it in your disposition. Your disposition is what is wrong. When you have submitted yourself entirely to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear. You will have come to the place where there is no distance between the Father and his child, because the Lord has made you one.

2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” 

So Send I You, 1325 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

NO TURF IN HIS KINGDOM - #10013

Ahhh, Nantucket! My wife and I had some wonderful, romantic times on that picturesque little island 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The little village of Nantucket is just full of colonial charm. And everywhere you look you find reminders of its glory days in the whaling industry. I was surprised to learn, though, that during those glory days most of the town actually burned to the ground, right to the docks. It was a tragedy that nearly put Nantucket out of business. But it was a tragedy that never had to happen. It was an ugly, four-letter word that ultimately destroyed Nantucket, and the word wasn't fire. It's a word that's still destroying things.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Turf In His Kingdom."

Turf. Yep, that's what destroyed Nantucket Village many years ago. See, when the fire companies arrived at the site of the blaze that day, the fire was still small. But the firefighters got into an argument over who got to use the fire hydrants. They all wanted to be the heroes. Duh! And while they were fighting over turf, literally, the fire spread and they lost the town. That's hard to believe isn't it? But it's true. Or is it that hard to believe? Losing the town while the rescuers fight over turf. That's still happening today, and it's not a new problem.

It's talked about in our word for today in the Word of God, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. "I appeal to you, brothers," Paul said," in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some of Chloe's household have informed me there are quarrels among you." Sadly, this tendency for God's people to fragment into camps and different groups, to focus on their differences, to get entangled in quarrels, has infected Christ's church for 2,000 years.

And we tend to operate as if only our group, our leader, is right. Paul said here, "One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas"; and still another, 'I follow Christ'" (that was the really spiritual group.) "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" The apostle seems to be saying, "Folks, can't you see? It's all about Jesus! This turf thing is tearing His Body apart!"

It was this turf pride that allowed a fire to destroy Nantucket Village while the rescuers argued with each other. Well, today our world is burning down. Lost people are farther from Christ than ever, but we have more means of rescuing them than ever before! So where are the spiritual firefighters? They're fighting over turf.

We're so concerned about our organization, our denomination, our church, our group's doctrinal distinctives, the agenda of our group, getting the credit so we can get the glory, or maybe the donations, or loyalty to human leaders rather than to the Lord who raised up those leaders. And meanwhile, a lost world is burning down around us. This has to break the heart of God.

There's probably 90% Bible-based Christians agree on, maybe 10% we disagree on. Why do we have to spend 90% of our energy on the 10% we disagree on? That's what makes us "us." We're surrounded by a life-or-death situation! And like the people at Ground Zero when the towers came down, we need to pull together for a desperate rescue operation! Turf does not matter when people are dying!

It's time to unite our resources to defeat a militant and united enemy; to get the attention of neighbors who know nothing about the cross, replacing "My kingdom come" with "Thy kingdom come!"

There's no stopping God's people when they're united; there's no stomaching God's people when they're divided into hundreds of little personal kingdoms. The town's on fire, folks! The firemen have got to work together!

Genesis 49, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE - May 27, 2025

You sleep alone in a double bed. You walk the hallways of a silent house. You catch yourself calling out his name or reaching for her hand. Goodbye is the challenge of your life. To get through this is to get through this raging loneliness, this strength-draining grief. Just the separation has exhausted your spirit. You feel quarantined, isolated.

May I give you some hope? If heaven’s throne room has a calendar, one day is circled in red and highlighted in yellow. The Bible says, “The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He will come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then the rest of us who are still alive will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 MSG). What a day that will be! We’ll be walking on air. And there will be one huge family reunion.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Genesis 49

Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around. I want to tell you what you can expect in the days to come.”

2  Come together, listen sons of Jacob,

listen to Israel your father.

3–4  Reuben, you’re my firstborn,

my strength, first proof of my manhood,

at the top in honor and at the top in power,

But like a bucket of water spilled,

you’ll be at the top no more,

Because you climbed into your father’s marriage bed,

mounting that couch, and you defiled it.

5–6  Simeon and Levi are two of a kind,

ready to fight at the drop of a hat.

I don’t want anything to do with their vendettas,

want no part in their bitter feuds;

They kill men in fits of temper,

slash oxen on a whim.

7  A curse on their uncontrolled anger,

on their indiscriminate wrath.

I’ll throw them out with the trash;

I’ll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel.

8–12  You, Judah, your brothers will praise you:

Your fingers on your enemies’ throat,

while your brothers honor you.

You’re a lion’s cub, Judah,

home fresh from the kill, my son.

Look at him, crouched like a lion, king of beasts;

who dares mess with him?

The scepter shall not leave Judah;

he’ll keep a firm grip on the command staff

Until the ultimate ruler comes

and the nations obey him.

He’ll tie up his donkey to the grapevine,

his purebred prize to a sturdy branch.

He will wash his shirt in wine

and his cloak in the blood of grapes,

His eyes will be darker than wine,

his teeth whiter than milk.

13  Zebulun settles down on the seashore;

he’s a safe harbor for ships,

right alongside Sidon.

14–15  Issachar is one tough donkey

crouching between the corrals;

When he saw how good the place was,

how pleasant the country,

He gave up his freedom

and went to work as a slave.

16–17  Dan will handle matters of justice for his people;

he will hold his own just fine among the tribes of Israel.

Dan is only a small snake in the grass,

a lethal serpent in ambush by the road

When he strikes a horse in the heel,

and brings its huge rider crashing down.

18  I wait in hope

for your salvation, God.

19  Gad will be attacked by bandits,

but he will trip them up.

20  Asher will become famous for rich foods,

candies and sweets fit for kings.

21–26  Naphtali is a deer running free

that gives birth to lovely fawns.

Joseph is a wild donkey,

a wild donkey by a spring,

spirited donkeys on a hill.

The archers with malice attacked,

shooting their hate-tipped arrows;

But he held steady under fire,

his bow firm, his arms limber,

With the backing of the Champion of Jacob,

the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

The God of your father—may he help you!

And may The Strong God—may he give you his blessings,

Blessings tumbling out of the skies,

blessings bursting up from the Earth—

blessings of breasts and womb.

May the blessings of your father

exceed the blessings of the ancient mountains,

surpass the delights of the eternal hills;

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the one consecrated among his brothers.

27  Ben-jamin is a ravenous wolf;

all morning he gorges on his kill,

at evening divides up what’s left over.

28  All these are the tribes of Israel, the twelve tribes. And this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one with his own special farewell blessing.

29–32  Then he instructed them: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial plot. Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there; Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there; I also buried Leah there. The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”

33  Jacob finished instructing his sons, pulled his feet into bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

by Arthur Jackson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Luke 11:27-32

While he was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd: “Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”

28  Jesus commented, “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”

Keep Your Eyes Open

29–30  As the crowd swelled, he took a fresh tack: “The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody’s looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you’re looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the only proof you’re going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age.

32,31  “On Judgment Day the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about ‘proofs.’ On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that condemns this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon’s is right in front of you, and you quibble over ‘evidence.’

Today's Insights

In Luke 11:31, Jesus says that “someone greater than Solomon is here” (nlt). The uniqueness of Christ’s words and works inspired faith and wonder in the people of His day. One word that captured their response is amazed, translated from the Greek word thaumazo, which means “wonder, marvel, admire.” After speaking at the synagogue in Nazareth, Luke said of Jesus: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips” (4:22). Regarding His works, after Christ delivered a boy from demonic power, “everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did” (9:43).

Another word used in reference to Jesus’ awe-inspiring ministry is existemi, which means “to amaze, astonish, throw into wonderment.” In response to Christ raising a little girl from the dead, “they were completely astonished” (Mark 5:42). The Message renders it: “They . . . were all beside themselves with joy.”

Wow!

Now someone greater than Solomon is here. Luke 11:31 nlt

Luke 11:27-32

“Wow!” was the response of our team members who toured a retreat center—purchased at great cost by a person with a vision for the refreshment and encouragement of people serving in ministry. We were amazed by double-decker, queen-sized bunks and bedroom suites with king-sized beds. The exquisitely equipped kitchen and dining area also generated wide-eyed delight. And, just when you thought that you’d seen it all, there were more surprises—including a full-sized, indoor basketball court. Every “wow” was warranted.

The Queen of Sheba had a similar “wow” response when she visited King Solomon in ancient Jerusalem. When she “saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built . . . she was overwhelmed” (1 Kings 10:4-5). Centuries later, another royal son of David—Jesus—appeared, and He amazed people in other ways. Everywhere He went, people recognized the wonder of His wisdom and works (Luke 4:36), and He urged them to see that “someone greater than Solomon” had stepped onto the scene (11:31 nlt). The stunning ministry of Jesus grants forgiveness of sin—purchased at great cost, His death. He welcomes anyone who will to come to Him. And those who do will experience His beauty and grace and will sing His praises now and throughout eternity. Wow!

Reflect & Pray

What about Jesus compels you to say, “Wow!”? If you haven’t yet experienced the goodness of God through Jesus, what’s keeping you from getting to know Him?

Dear Jesus, please continue to open my eyes and heart to see how amazing You are.

Learn to see the goodness of God, even in the everyday moments of life by reading this prayer from Reclaim Today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

The Life That Lives

Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.— Luke 24:49

When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive life itself from the ascended Lord. The baptism of the Spirit isn’t what changes us; it’s the power of the ascended Christ coming into our lives through the Spirit. Too often we separate what the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t something we experience separately from Jesus Christ; it’s the evidence of the ascended Christ coming to dwell within us.

Are you still waiting to receive the Spirit? If you are, it isn’t because of God. In Luke 24, the disciples are told to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Spirit—to be “clothed with power from on high”—but there is a specific reason why they must wait: “The Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39). As soon as our Lord was glorified, what happened? “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33).

We have to embrace the revelation that the Holy Spirit is here, now, among us. After our Lord was glorified, the Spirit came into this world, and he has been with us ever since. This means that, unlike the disciples, we do not have to wait. If you haven’t yet received the Spirit, it isn’t because God is holding the Spirit back from you; it’s because of your lack of fitness. Openness to the Holy Spirit is the maintained attitude of the believer.

If you are still waiting for the Spirit, consider what you’re denying yourself. The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t for time or eternity; it is one amazing, glorious now. “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Begin to know him now, and never stop.

2 Chronicles 1-3; John 10:1-23

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Both nations and individuals have tried Christianity and abandoned it, because it has been found too difficult; but no man has ever gone through the crisis of deliberately making Jesus Lord and found Him to be a failure.

The Love of God—The Making of a Christian, 680 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

WIMPY WEAPONS FOR YOUR BIGGEST BATTLES - #10012

Back when my sons were young, they were watching Saturday morning television. One morning I walked by the living room and they were watching Superman. I'll tell you, I got hooked! It brought back memories.

Superman was originally on in the mid '50s, and Fred Flintstone was there in school with me at that time. You might remember that. Television was a brand new thing! We had this little seven-inch screen in our home. I could barely put words together, but I used to watch Superman. Oh, I never missed those 30 minutes. It was always amusing to watch the crooks try to stop Superman. Did you ever see that? They'd be firing this gun as many times as they could find bullets for it, and every bullet would bounce off Superman, and they'd kind of look at their gun quizzically, and he stands there like he's not even aware of anything...like the bullets were mosquitoes bouncing off of him.

Or they would come up and stab him with a knife and the knife bent and it hits them. Or they try to break a pipe over his head, and of course the pipe breaks and nothing happens to him. They sure did waste a lot of ammunition on Superman. But once in a while a clever criminal would discover Superman's one weakness. Kryptonite! That's right; that ore from his original planet. And if you could use a little of that ore on Superman, he would fall to his knees, powerless, and he was beatable.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wimpy Weapons for Our Biggest Battles."

Well, Ephesians 6 is where we find our word for today from the Word of God. It's a very revealing chapter. It reveals the real battle that we're fighting; the spiritual warfare that you and I are involved in. And it gives us a description of the armor that you can put on to protect your heart and your mind from what is called the Devil's flaming arrows. Then it goes on to reveal to us the only weapon he fears.

I'm reading from Ephesians 6:18. After you've got all the armor on, "pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Now, the comparison between Satan and Superman is pretty inadequate. Satan is no hero. He is the Prince of Death. Superman was fiction; Satan is very real, very active around us. But there is a parallel when it comes to wasted bullets and spiritual kryptonite.

Prayer in Jesus' name renders Satan powerless. But unfortunately we usually fight our battles with wimpier weapons. We try to do God's work on the strength of good management, our great plans, our cleverness, our power of persuasion, more committee meetings, human charisma. We try to get God's work done with abundant programs, new buildings and persuasion. And the Devil laughs. Those bullets bounce right off of him.

How much time and money do we throw away on wasted bullets? We're trying to win a personal battle with schemes, and endless discussions, and phone calls, and emails, and back room politics, and personal determination. Those bullets are bouncing right off our enemy.

Our last resort, usually, is prevailing prayer. The kind when we get on our knees, we confess our total bankruptcy in the situation, we surrender all our schemes, we allow a total Holy Spirit takeover, we invoke the cross and the blood of Christ against our enemy. When you do that, Satan crumbles to his knees. He's rendered powerless by the spiritual kryptonite of fervent prayer.

Hey, for once, put all the other meetings on the back burner. You need a prayer meeting. You may need many prayer meetings. Without that, all our other weapons? They're wasted bullets.

Matthew 23:1-22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: FROM MOURNFUL TO HOPEFUL - May 26, 2025

In May of 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, lost their five-year-old daughter in an automobile accident. They were deluged by messages of kindness. One in particular gave Steven strength. It was from a pastor friend who had lost his son in an auto accident. “Remember, your future with your daughter will be greater than your past with her.”

Death seems to take so much. We bury the wedding that never happened, the golden years we never knew. We bury dreams. But in heaven these dreams will come true. Acts 3:21 says that God has promised a “restoration of all things.” And all things include all relationships. Our final home will hear no “goodbyes.”  Gone forever. Let the promise change you. From sagging to seeking, from mournful to hopeful, from dwellers in the land of goodbyes to a heaven of hellos! You’ll get through this.

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Matthew 23:1-22

Religious Fashion Shows

1–3  23 Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer.

4–7  “Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’

8–10  “Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ.

11–12  “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

Frauds!

13  “I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either.

15  “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned.

16–22  “You’re hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, May 26, 2025

by Tim Gustafson

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Psalm 144:1-2, 9-15

Blessed be God, my mountain,

who trains me to fight fair and well.

He’s the bedrock on which I stand,

the castle in which I live,

my rescuing knight,

The high crag where I run for dear life,

while he lays my enemies low.

9–10  O God, let me sing a new song to you,

let me play it on a twelve-string guitar—

A song to the God who saved the king,

the God who rescued David, his servant.

11  Rescue me from the enemy sword,

release me from the grip of those barbarians

Who lie through their teeth,

who shake your hand

then knife you in the back.

12–14  Make our sons in their prime

like sturdy oak trees,

Our daughters as shapely and bright

as fields of wildflowers.

Fill our barns with great harvest,

fill our fields with huge flocks;

Protect us from invasion and exile—

eliminate the crime in our streets.

15  How blessed the people who have all this!

How blessed the people who have God for God!

Today's Insights

Quick to wield the weapons of war, David rose to prominence after killing Goliath with a sling and a stone (see 1 Samuel 17). Although he was God’s anointed to lead Israel into battle, David was prohibited from building the temple for God (see 1 Chronicles 17) partly due to how “much blood” he had “shed” (22:8). Despite his military prowess, he knew he couldn’t rely on military strength. In Psalm 20 he wrote, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (v. 7). And as we trust Him, we can find the strength to promote peace wherever we are.

From the Deadly Sword

I will sing a new song to you, my God. Psalm 144:9

Sabin Howard’s remarkable sculpture A Soldier’s Journey breathes with vitality and anguish. Thirty-eight bronze figures lean forward across a fifty-eight-foot bas-relief that traces the life of a World War I soldier. Completed in 2024, the panorama begins with a heartrending goodbye to family, leads us through the naive elation of departure, and moves into the horrors of battle. Finally the sculpture returns us home, where the veteran’s daughter peers into his upturned helmet—only to foresee World War II.

Howard sought “to find the thread that runs through humanity—that human beings can reach great heights, and they can sink to the level of the animal.” War reveals this reality.

The psalmist David knew well the bloody consequences of war. Aware of its tragic necessity to confront evil, he praised the God who “trains my hands for war” (Psalm 144:1). Yet he also recoiled from combat, praying, “From the deadly sword deliver me” (vv. 10-11). David looked forward to the time when the young won’t die in war, but sons “will be like well-nurtured plants” and daughters “like pillars carved to adorn a palace” (v. 12). On that day “there will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets” (v. 14).

Looking back, we remember those who’ve fallen in battle. Looking ahead, we sing with David, “I will sing a new song to you, my God” (v. 9).

Reflect & Pray

How has war affected you? What can you do to work for peace?

Father, we remember those who’ve died in war. We long for Your lasting peace.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, May 26, 2025

Think as Jesus Taught

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We think rightly or wrongly about prayer according to the idea of prayer we have in our minds. If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood in our hearts, we think rightly. The breathing continues ceaselessly; the blood flows ceaselessly. We’re not always conscious of these activities, but they are always going on. This is how it ought to be with prayer. We might not be conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect, prayerful harmony with God, but if we are obeying him, he always is. Prayer isn’t an exercise; it’s life. To “pray continually” means to keep the childlike habit of spontaneous prayer in our hearts at all times.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. Do we, through the Holy Spirit, share Jesus’s certainty? Or do we always think of the times when it seemed God didn’t answer? Jesus taught that “everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:8). “But, but, but . . .” we say. We forget that God answers prayer in the best way—not sometimes but every time. His answer might not come immediately, nor in the exact way we want, but it does come.

Do we truly expect God to answer prayer? The danger with many of us is that we want to water down what Jesus said. We want to make his words mean something that agrees with common sense. If what Jesus said is only common sense, it wasn’t worthwhile for him to say it. The things Jesus said about prayer are supernatural revelations.

1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41

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

Monday, May 26, 2025

YOUR CRISIS OF CONTROL - #10011

It's a well known fact that men are never lost, right? We just find alternative routes - scenic routes. I've found more than my share, but my choice of a wrong road has never led to deadly consequences. It did for Comair Flight 5191 out of Lexington, Kentucky some years ago. Somehow, the pilot went down the wrong runway; one half the length of the runway from which he'd been cleared to take off. He ran out of runway, he hit a row of trees, and tragically, 49 of the 50 people aboard died in that crash. As the investigation of the crash unfolded, we found out that the one flight controller in the tower wasn't looking when the plane turned onto that fatal runway. He had what was described as "administrative duties" to tend to, and he turned his back, and moments later - disaster.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Crisis of Control."

No matter what season of your life you're in, you've got tons of choices to make about money, your job, your family, your relationships. At any given point, you could probably make a list of at least a dozen important decisions you need to make, any one of which can significantly affect your life if you get it wrong.

We need a flight controller; someone who can see what we can't see. We're stuck looking out our little window, trying to choose a runway based on the little that we can see. The good news from the Bible is that we can have a flight controller like that; one who has promised He will never turn His back. One of His many promises to His children is recorded in Psalm 32:8, and it's our word for today from the Word of God. God says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

In other words, God's offering to direct you each day in every area of your life. And face it, He's so much smarter than we are; He can see the whole picture. He has the plans that He made you for. He talks about them in Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That's security. That's safety from a God who is not going to let you crash.

Here's the problem. We'd rather navigate our own life. Listen to God's statement right after the "I will instruct and teach you" verse. "Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit or bridle or they will not come to you." That's us. We'll give God money, we'll give Him time, belief; we'll give Him everything but one thing - control. We want a God who bails us out but not a God who calls the shots. So here we are, trying to call our own shots from our own little cockpit window, and missing the runway we're designed for.

If we refuse to let the Divine Flight Controller direct our path, we will die. In the Bible's words, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That's eternal death, as in "hell." But that's not what God wants. In spite of the fact that we've chosen to reject His Creator-right to run our life, He loves us so much that He chose to pay that death penalty Himself. His Son was butchered on a cross, dying as your substitute, taking the punishment for your sin so you could be forgiven; so you could belong to the God that you can't really live without. The God you sure don't want to die without.

He's coming to you today, down in your heart, to invite you to finally let Him be God for your life. The life He made you for, the moment you tell His Son, "Jesus, I'm Yours. You died for me. You came back from the grave to prove You can give life forever, and I am Yours beginning today."

Listen, if that's what you want I would love to help you be sure you belong to Him before this day is over. That's what our website is there for. Please go there - it's ANewStory.com.

You've tried doing it your way long enough. It hasn't taken you where you want to go. It never will. You were made to live with God as your Flight Controller, the One who will never turn His back on you. Let Him call the shots before you crash.

Genesis 48, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Follow Me

“‘Follow Me,’” [Jesus] told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” Matthew 2:9, NIV

You gotta wonder what Jesus saw in Matthew . . .

Whatever it was, it must’ve been something. Matthew heard the call and never went back. He spent the rest of his life convincing folks that the carpenter was the King. Jesus gave the call and never took it back. He spent his life dying for people like Matthew, convincing a lot of us that if he had a place for Matthew, he just might have a place for us.

Genesis 48

 Some time after this conversation, Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” He took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to Jacob. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come,” he roused himself and sat up in bed.

3–7  Jacob said to Joseph, “The Strong God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said, ‘I’m going to make you prosperous and numerous, turn you into a congregation of tribes; and I’ll turn this land over to your children coming after you as a permanent inheritance.’ I’m adopting your two sons who were born to you here in Egypt before I joined you; they have equal status with Reuben and Simeon. But any children born after them are yours; they will come after their brothers in matters of inheritance. I want it this way because, as I was returning from Paddan, your mother Rachel, to my deep sorrow, died as we were on our way through Canaan when we were only a short distance from Ephrath, now called Bethlehem.”

8  Just then Jacob noticed Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?”

9–11  Joseph told his father, “They are my sons whom God gave to me in this place.”

“Bring them to me,” he said, “so I can bless them.” Israel’s eyesight was poor from old age; he was nearly blind. So Joseph brought them up close. Old Israel kissed and embraced them and then said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has let me see your children as well!”

12–16  Joseph took them from Israel’s knees and bowed respectfully, his face to the ground. Then Joseph took the two boys, Ephraim with his right hand setting him to Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand setting him to Israel’s right, and stood them before him. But Israel crossed his arms and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim who was the younger and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn. Then he blessed them:

The God before whom walked

my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

The God who has been my shepherd

all my life long to this very day,

The Angel who delivered me from every evil,

Bless the boys.

May my name be echoed in their lives,

and the names of Abraham and Isaac, my fathers,

And may they grow

covering the Earth with their children.

17–18  When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought he had made a mistake, so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s, saying, “That’s the wrong head, Father; the other one is the firstborn; place your right hand on his head.”

19–20  But his father wouldn’t do it. He said, “I know, my son; but I know what I’m doing. He also will develop into a people, and he also will be great. But his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will enrich nations.” Then he blessed them both:

Israel will use your names to give blessings:

May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.

In that he made it explicit: he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21–22  Israel then said to Joseph, “I’m about to die. God be with you and give you safe passage back to the land of your fathers. As for me, I’m presenting you, as the first among your brothers, the ridge of land I took from Amorites with my sword and bow.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Sunday, May 25, 2025

by Jasmine Goh

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

1 Thessalonians 5:4-15

But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

9–11  God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.

The Way He Wants You to Live

12–13  And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

13–15  Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

Today's Insights

Paul urges his readers to “[put] on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thessalonians 5:8). His use of this imagery might sound familiar. He expands on this idea in Ephesians 6 when he urges believers in Jesus to “put on the full armor of God” (v. 13), including “the belt of truth” (v. 14), “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (v. 15), the “shield of faith” (v. 16), and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 17). As we put on God’s armor, we’re better prepared to serve God and to come alongside those who need encouragement.

Hope Renewed

Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Thia was puzzled. Why was his eighteen-year-old son spending so much time in the library these days? His son, who was autistic and rarely spoke to anyone, would usually return straight home after class. What changed? When pressed, his son finally replied: “Studying with Navin.”

Navin, it turned out, was a classmate who'd noticed that Thia’s son was struggling in class and had invited him to study together. This budding friendship—the first in eighteen years—greatly encouraged the disheartened father, who’d given up hope of his son ever having a friend.

Hope was renewed because one person cared enough to come alongside another who needed help. In Paul’s ministry to the early church, he knew this also applied to our hope of salvation. For believers in Jesus to “be awake and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6), living in the hope of His return, they had to help one another (v. 11), especially those who were struggling.

That’s why, even though these believers led lives of love that pleased God (4:1, 10), Paul reminded them to “encourage the disheartened, help the weak” (5:14). When we notice believers in Christ who are fearful, anxious, or despondent, and we come alongside them—whether to listen, offer a kind word, or sit quietly together—God can use us to give them the strength and courage to hold on to their hope in Jesus.

Reflect & Pray

Who in your community can you come alongside this week? What can you do to show them care and attention?

 

Dear God, please help me to care for the disheartened and the weak so that their hope in Jesus may be renewed.

Learn how we can prioritze others over our own busyness by reading this article from Reclaim Today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Sunday, May 25, 2025

The Test of Self-Interest

Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me. . . . If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”— Genesis 13:8-9

As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, rich and fascinating possibilities open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith, you will exercise your right to waive your rights. You will let God choose for you.

In Genesis 13, Abraham declines to choose a parcel of land, even though choosing would seem the wisest thing for him to do. Even though it is Abraham’s right to choose, even though people will consider him a fool for not choosing, Abraham lets God decide.

God sometimes allows you to be tested in a way that requires you to sacrifice your own well-being. At such times, it seems only right for you to think about yourself, to put your needs first. But if you are living a life of faith, you will joyfully set aside your right and allow God to direct your path. This is the discipline by which the natural is transformed into the spiritual, through obedience to the voice of God.

Whenever we allow rights and entitlements to guide us, we dull our spiritual insight. The great enemy of the life of faith in God isn’t sin; it’s the good which isn’t good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best.

Many of us fail to progress spiritually because we prefer to choose what seems right instead of relying on God to choose for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which keeps its eye on God: “Walk before me” (Genesis 17:1).

1 Chronicles 25-27; John 9:1-23

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L

Genesis 47, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: At Once, Man and God

Christ—at once, man and God.  Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Christ there is all of God in a human body.” Jesus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God.  He was God-man. What do we do with such a person? One thing is certain, we can’t ignore Him.  He is the single most significant person who ever lived. Forget MVP; He is the entire league. The head of the parade?  Hardly.  No one else shares the street.

Dismiss Him?  We can’t.  Resist Him?  Equally difficult.

Don’t we need a God-man Savior? A just-God Jesus could make us but not understand us.  A just-man Jesus could love us but never save us. But a God-man Jesus? Near enough to touch.  Strong enough to trust.  A Savior found by millions to be irresistible.

As the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:8, nothing compares to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

from Next Door Savior

Genesis 47

Joseph went to Pharaoh and told him, “My father and brothers with their flocks and herds and everything they own have come from Canaan. Right now they are in Goshen.”

2–3  He had taken five of his brothers with him and introduced them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked them, “What kind of work do you do?”

3–4  “Your servants are shepherds, the same as our fathers were. We have come to this country to find a new place to live. There is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine has been very bad there. Please, would you let your servants settle in the region of Goshen?”

5–6  Pharaoh looked at Joseph. “So, your father and brothers have arrived—a reunion! Egypt welcomes them. Settle your father and brothers on the choicest land—yes, give them Goshen. And if you know any among them that are especially good at their work, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

7–8  Next Joseph brought his father Jacob in and introduced him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How old are you?”

9–10  Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are 130—a short and hard life and not nearly as long as my ancestors were given.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.

11–12  Joseph settled his father and brothers in Egypt, made them proud owners of choice land—it was the region of Rameses (that is, Goshen)—just as Pharaoh had ordered. Joseph took good care of them—his father and brothers and all his father’s family, right down to the smallest baby. He made sure they had plenty of everything.

13–15  The time eventually came when there was no food anywhere. The famine was very bad. Egypt and Canaan alike were devastated by the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan to pay for the distribution of food. He banked the money in Pharaoh’s palace. When the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Food! Give us food! Are you going to watch us die right in front of you? The money is all gone.”

16–17  Joseph said, “Bring your livestock. I’ll trade you food for livestock since your money’s run out.” So they brought Joseph their livestock. He traded them food for their horses, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. He got them through that year in exchange for all their livestock.

18–19  When that year was over, the next year rolled around and they were back, saying, “Master, it’s no secret to you that we’re broke: our money’s gone and we’ve traded you all our livestock. We’ve nothing left to barter with but our bodies and our farms. What use are our bodies and our land if we stand here and starve to death right in front of you? Trade us food for our bodies and our land. We’ll be slaves to Pharaoh and give up our land—all we ask is seed for survival, just enough to live on and keep the farms alive.”

20–21  So Joseph bought up all the farms in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his land—the famine was that bad. That’s how Pharaoh ended up owning all the land and the people ended up slaves; Joseph reduced the people to slavery from one end of Egypt to the other.

22  Joseph made an exception for the priests. He didn’t buy their land because they received a fixed salary from Pharaoh and were able to live off of that salary. So they didn’t need to sell their land.

23–24  Joseph then announced to the people: “Here’s how things stand: I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh. In exchange I’m giving you seed so you can plant the ground. When the crops are harvested, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and keep four-fifths for yourselves, for seed for yourselves and your families—you’re going to be able to feed your children!”

25  They said, “You’ve saved our lives! Master, we’re grateful and glad to be slaves to Pharaoh.”

26  Joseph decreed a land law in Egypt that is still in effect, A Fifth Goes to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ lands were not owned by Pharaoh.

27–28  And so Israel settled down in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property and flourished. They became a large company of people. Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. In all, he lived 147 years.

29–30  When the time came for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said, “Do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh, a sign that you’re loyal and true to me to the end. Don’t bury me in Egypt. When I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me alongside them.”

“I will,” he said. “I’ll do what you’ve asked.”

31  Israel said, “Promise me.” Joseph promised.

Israel bowed his head in submission and gratitude from his bed.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Saturday, May 24, 2025

by Nancy Gavilanes

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 11:1-8

Faith in What We Don’t See

1–2  11 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

3  By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

4  By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.

5–6  By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

7  By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.

8–10  By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going.

Today's Insights

Jewish believers in Jesus suffered under severe persecution and were at risk of reverting back to Judaism. The author of Hebrews wrote to encourage them to live by faith and to persevere, for the “righteous ones will live by faith” (10:38 nlt). Here in Hebrews 11’s “Hall of Faith,” he gives examples of many people who had lived by faith (vv. 4-38) and shows what unwavering faith looks like (see vv. 39-40). He uses the phrase “by faith” more than twenty times in this chapter to emphasize that this is the only way to please God “because anyone who comes to [God] must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (v. 6). In love, He also disciplines His children for their good.

Leap of Faith

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

About seven hundred emperor penguins in West Antarctica, only six months old, huddled together at the edge of a towering icy cliff fifty feet above the frigid water. Finally one penguin leaned forward and took “a leap of faith,” diving into the icy water below and swimming away. Soon scores of penguins took the plunge.

Young penguins typically jump just a couple of feet into the water for their first swim. This group’s death-defying leap was the first to be caught on camera.

Some people would say that the blind leap into the unknown by those penguins is similar to what happens when a person trusts in Jesus for salvation. However, faith in Him is just the opposite. The author of Hebrews said, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Enoch’s faith pleased God: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (v. 6). The world hadn’t seen anything like the great flood, and yet Noah “in holy fear built an ark to save his family” (v. 7) because he trusted in God. By faith Abraham followed God “even though he did not know where he was going” (v. 8).

When we first put our trust in Jesus, it’s by faith. As we continue following Him and our faith is tested, we can remember how God came through for these men. Even when we don’t know the whys and hows, we can trust God with the outcome.

Reflect & Pray

When has your faith resulted in God’s hand of protection? How do you see God working in your life because of your faith in Him?

Dear Jesus, thank You for being so faithful.

Watch this video for insights on God's power and love for us all.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Saturday, May 24, 2025

The Delight of Despair

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.— Revelation 1:17

It may be that, like the apostle John, you know Jesus Christ intimately. Then one day, Jesus appears and you hardly recognize him. No longer counselor or comrade, he is in his majesty. Instead of walking to triumph, Jesus goes to disaster; instead of bringing peace, he brings a sword. All you can do is fall at his feet as though you were dead.

At times God can’t reveal himself in any way other than in his majesty, and the awfulness of the vision brings you to the delight of despair. There is another kind of despair, one with no horizon, no hope of anything brighter. But when Jesus appears to you in his deity, the despair you feel at your own weakness is tempered by the vision of his overwhelming strength. In this moment, you understand that if you are ever going to be raised up, it must be by the hand of God. God can do nothing for you until you get to the limit of the possible.

“Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid’” (Revelation 1:17). In the midst of the awfulness comes a touch. It isn’t a touch of restraint or correction; it’s the right hand of the everlasting Father. Whenever this hand is laid upon you, it brings instant peace and comfort. You sense that nothing can ever cast you into fear again. “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). The Lord’s tenderness in this moment is indescribably sweet: in the midst of his glory, he comes to an insignificant disciple to say, “Fear not.” Do I know Jesus like this?

1 Chronicles 22-24; John 8:28-59

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart.

Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L

Genesis 46, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THIS IS OUR HOPE - May 23, 2025

Goodbye. No one wants to say it. And death is the most difficult goodbye of all.

After our church had five funerals in seven days, the sorrow took its toll on me. I chided myself, “Come on, Max, get over it.  Death is a natural part of living.” Then I self-corrected. No it isn’t. Birth is. Breathing is. Belly laughs, big hugs and bedtime kisses are. But death? We weren’t made to say goodbye.

God’s original plan had no farewell, no final breath, day, or heartbeat. No matter how you frame it, goodbye doesn’t feel right. But God has served notice. All farewells are on the clock. He has decreed a family reunion, and what a reunion it will be! Revelation 21:4 says on that day, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” This long journey will come to an end. You’ll see him—and you’ll see them. Isn’t this our hope?

You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Genesis 46

 So Israel set out on the journey with everything he owned. He arrived at Beer-sheba and worshiped, offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2  God spoke to Israel in a vision that night: “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Yes?” he said. “I’m listening.”

3–4  God said, “I am the God of your father. Don’t be afraid of going down to Egypt. I’m going to make you a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt; I’ll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he’ll close your eyes.”

5–7  Then Jacob left Beer-sheba. Israel’s sons loaded their father and their little ones and their wives on the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They arrived in Egypt with the livestock and the wealth they had accumulated in Canaan. Jacob brought everyone in his family with him—sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters. Everyone.

8  These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who went to Egypt:

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

9  Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

10  Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

11  Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12  Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (Er and Onan had already died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

13  Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

14  Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15  These are the sons that Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram. There was also his daughter Dinah. Altogether, sons and daughters, they numbered thirty-three.

16  Gad’s sons: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

17  Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Also their sister Serah, and Beriah’s sons, Heber and Malkiel.

18  These are the children that Zilpah, the maid that Laban gave to his daughter Leah, bore to Jacob—sixteen of them.

19–21  The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Ben-jamin. Joseph was the father of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, from his marriage to Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. They were born to him in Egypt. Ben-jamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

22  These are the children born to Jacob through Rachel—fourteen.

23  Dan’s son: Hushim.

24  Naphtali’s sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25  These are the children born to Jacob through Bilhah, the maid Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven.

26–27  Summing up, all those who went down to Egypt with Jacob—his own children, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six. Counting in the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who ended up in Egypt numbered seventy.

28–29  Jacob sent Judah on ahead to get directions to Goshen from Joseph. When they got to Goshen, Joseph gave orders for his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. The moment Joseph saw him, he threw himself on his neck and wept. He wept a long time.

30  Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die. I’ve looked into your face—you are indeed alive.”

31–34  Joseph then spoke to his brothers and his father’s family. “I’ll go and tell Pharaoh, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, all of whom lived in Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they’ve always made their living by raising livestock. And they’ve brought their flocks and herds with them, along with everything else they own.’ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks what kind of work you do, tell him, ‘Your servants have always kept livestock for as long as we can remember—we and our parents also.’ That way he’ll let you stay apart in the area of Goshen—for Egyptians look down on anyone who is a shepherd.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Friday, May 23, 2025

by Mike Wittmer

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12

That doesn’t mean that the spirit of anarchy is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and—puff!—the Anarchist is out of there.

9–12  The Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them. And since they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it—gives them what they want. Since they refuse to trust truth, they’re banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.

Today's Insights

Embracing the truth is essential for believers in Jesus, for He’s the one who is the truth (see John 14:6). Judas Iscariot is a classic example of one who had the opportunity to fully follow Christ but didn’t. The life of Judas and the teaching of 2 Thessalonians have several things in common. First, Satan is at work in both. Luke 22:3 says that “Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot,” and 2 Thessalonians 2:9 notes that “the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works.” Furthermore, John 17:12 refers to Judas as “the son of destruction” (esv), a term also found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (esv). Satan’s agenda is deception that leads to destruction. We can avoid his deceiving ways by loving Jesus and embracing His truth.

Love the Truth

They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:10

Jack hates school. The lectures on algebra, grammar, and the periodic table bore him. But he loves building houses. His father takes him to work in the summer, and Jack can’t get enough. He’s only sixteen, but he knows about cement, shingles, and how to frame a wall. What’s the difference between school and construction? Love. Jack loves one and not the other. His love fuels knowledge.

As believers in Jesus, we’re to “love the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Paul says a satanic figure will use “signs and wonders” (v. 9) to deceive “those who are perishing” (v. 10). Why are they perishing? “They refused to love the truth and so be saved” (v. 10). Their failure to love the truth blinds them from knowing it. They’ll be duped (v. 11).

What do we know? That important question depends on a more basic one: What do we love? Our passions incline our heart and direct our mind. We cherish what we love. We protect it and seek more of it. If we love truth and wisdom, we’ll search for them as precious gold (Proverbs 3:13-14; 4:7-9). They’ll guard us. “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you” (4:6).

What is true wisdom? Jesus says it’s Him. “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Our most important question is who do we love? Love Jesus and you’ll learn His way. He’ll guard your life by guiding you into His truth.

Reflect & Pray

Why is it important to love the truth? Why does Jesus say He is the truth?

Dear Father, please fill my heart with love for You and what’s true.

Learn more about the astonishing claims Jesus makes about himself by reading I Am the Way.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Friday, May 23, 2025

Careful Infidelity

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.— Matthew 6:25

Jesus speaks of commonsense carefulness in a disciple as infidelity—a

failure to have faith in him. If we’ve received the Spirit of God, he

will press us on certain points, asking us to examine our commonsense

decisions and plans. “Where is God in this relationship?” the Spirit will

ask. “Where is God in this carefully mapped-out vacation? In these new

books?” God always presses a point until we learn to put him first in our

thoughts. Whenever we put something else first, the result is confusion.

“Do not worry . . .” Refusing to worry means refusing to put pres-

sure on ourselves about the future. Not only is it wrong to worry but

it’s also a lack of faith. Worry implies that we don’t believe God can

look after the practical details of our lives.

Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the word of

God in us? The devil? No, the cares of the world—“the little foxes that

ruin the vineyards” (Song of Songs 2:15). It is always the little wor-

ries that threaten to derail us. Yet worry becomes impossible once we

accept Jesus Christ’s revelation that God is our Father and that we can

never think of anything he will forget. People who trust Jesus Christ

in a definite, practical way are freer than anyone else to do their work

in the world. Free from fretting and worry, they are able to go about

their days with absolute certainty because the responsibility for their

lives rests not with them but with God.

Infidelity to God begins when we say, “I will not trust where I can-

not see.” The only cure is obedience to the Spirit and abandonment

to Jesus Christ. “Abandon to me” is the great message of Jesus to his

disciples.

1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart.

Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Friday, May 23, 2025

RESTLESS FOR MORE - #10010

If someone is a champion in sports, we tend to make them an automatic hero. Now, not every champion lives like a hero or necessarily deserves to be one. But Wilma Rudolph? Oh, she was more than a champion. She really belonged in the hero category. See, she began her life with a bout of polio.

As a little girl, she grew up in braces. And then she battled her way to be able to walk again, and she finally begged the basketball coach to give her one chance to play basketball. She did, and she got better and better. Then she started to run competitively. What an accomplishment! One day she qualified for the Olympics! She went to the Olympics in Rome and became the first woman ever to win three gold medals in track and field.

Wilma Rudolph's philosophy rings a bell with me. Here's what she said: "When you're running, you're always in the process of trying to master something, and you're never quite there." I guess that's what makes the champion," she said, "the willingness to continue to work and strive to improve your excellence every day." Well, are you tired of just jogging along with that herd of mediocre runners? Maybe you're ready for the gold.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Restless for More."

Revival - that's the spiritual gold that every healthy Christian is hungry for. It's that extraordinary, powerful, transforming visit of the Holy Spirit above and beyond our normal relationship with Him. That extra visit that gives a generation a taste of all God can do. I want revival. I'm not sure I understand all its implications, but I am finding everywhere I travel that God's people are hungry for something more. I think that's what they want. As we run our race, we have to share that Olympians restlessness. "We're never quite there," she said.

Are you tired of the ordinary? I hope you are. Is spiritual business as usual just not enough for you any more? Oh, I hope it's not. Return with me to that first spirit invasion of the book of Acts. While Pentecost is not a repeatable event, because the Holy Spirit's unique birthing of the church at that time won't happen quite that way again, there is here a pattern for being ready for revival.

Acts 1:1 talks about the fact that this is about all that Jesus began to do and to teach. Well, going back to what Jesus began - chapter 1, verse 4 Jesus says, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised." "Go back there and wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, guys." And then in chapter 1, verse 14, you find out what to do in the waiting room while you're waiting for a visit from the Holy Spirit. "They all joined together constantly in prayer."

Now, how can we get the power and reality that we all want; are restless for and hungry for? Well, you find a group of restless runners who are restless like you; a group you can pray with, who together can say, "Lord, we're not there yet. We want your best. We want the rest of You. We want all of You." Realize that this unusual, reviving work of the Holy Spirit comes when Christians wait for it together, ask for it together, prepare for it by finally dealing with their sin.

Open up the book of Acts; read it again. Let God warm your heart with how it can be, how it ought to be. So much more powerful; so much more supernatural than what we're experiencing right now. And then go into the waiting room with some other folks who know there's more and who must have that more.

Then together let's tell our Lord, "We are restless for Your gold."