Psalm 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Give Thanks

Some things just weren’t made to coexist. Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bulls in a china shop? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? The mixture doesn’t go over well with God. Combine heavenly kindness with earthly ingratitude and expect a sour concoction. Perhaps you’ve sampled it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Bellyaches do. Grumbles and mumbles—no one has to remind us to offer them. Yet they don’t mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.

Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse His accomplishments is to discover His heart. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

From You’ll Get Through This

Psalm 9

A David Psalm

1–2  9 I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart,

I’m writing the book on your wonders.

I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;

I’m singing your song, High God.

3–4  The day my enemies turned tail and ran,

they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.

You took over and set everything right;

when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

5–6  You blow the whistle on godless nations;

you throw dirty players out of the game,

wipe their names right off the roster.

Enemies disappear from the sidelines,

their reputation trashed,

their names erased from the halls of fame.

7–8  God holds the high center,

he sees and sets the world’s mess right.

He decides what is right for us earthlings,

gives people their just deserts.

9–10  God’s a safe-house for the battered,

a sanctuary during bad times.

The moment you arrive, you relax;

you’re never sorry you knocked.

11–12  Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God,

tell his stories to everyone you meet:

How he tracks down killers

yet keeps his eye on us,

registers every whimper and moan.

13–14  Be kind to me, God;

I’ve been kicked around long enough.

Once you’ve pulled me back

from the gates of death,

I’ll write the book on Hallelujahs;

on the corner of Main and First

I’ll hold a street meeting;

I’ll be the song leader; we’ll fill the air

with salvation songs.

15–16  They’re trapped, those godless countries,

in the very snares they set,

Their feet all tangled

in the net they spread.

They have no excuse;

the way God works is well-known.

The cunning machinery made by the wicked

has maimed their own hands.

17–20  The wicked bought a one-way

ticket to hell.

No longer will the poor be nameless—

no more humiliation for the humble.

Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?

Expose these grand pretensions!

Shake them up, God!

Show them how silly they look.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Monday, June 29, 2026

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 10:1-10

The Sacrifice of Jesus

1–10  10 The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Since that old “law plan” wasn’t complete in itself, it couldn’t complete those who followed it. No matter how many sacrifices were offered year after year, they never added up to a complete solution. If they had, the worshipers would have gone merrily on their way, no longer dragged down by their sins. But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt. The plain fact is that bull and goat blood can’t get rid of sin. That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ:

You don’t want sacrifices and offerings year after year;

you’ve prepared a body for me for a sacrifice.

It’s not fragrance and smoke from the altar

that whet your appetite.

So I said, “I’m here to do it your way, O God,

the way it’s described in your Book.”

When he said, “You don’t want sacrifices and offerings,” he was referring to practices according to the old plan. When he added, “I’m here to do it your way,” he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan—God’s way—by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.

Today's Insights

As the writer of Hebrews explains the thorough effectiveness of the sacrifice Christ made for us, he makes it clear that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:4). So what was the point of the sacrificial system the Hebrew people practiced for centuries? It was “only a shadow of the good things that are coming” (10:1). This is why John the Baptist declared of Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). What the slaughter of animals couldn’t do, Christ did. As a result, “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

Learn more about the hope that resurrection gives us by reading Hunting for Resurrection Hope.

Jesus—Our Substitute by John Blase

We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

As the US Civil War (1861-65) dragged on, both sides resorted to conscription (the draft) to fill their ranks. Under the Confederate law, a draftee could dodge service by hiring a man who was exempt from the draft to replace him—in most cases someone under or over the conscription age. Generally, the “principal” (as one evading the draft was called) paid a fee to the government as well as a large sum to his substitute. Only the wealthy could afford substitutes.

The apostle Paul writes of the cosmic spiritual war, where “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “the wages of sin is death” (6:23). There was no clause or loophole that gave those with “means” some way out. But what about a substitute for us all? The writer to the Hebrews praises God, who in His infinite mercy sent Jesus to be our substitute—to bear the punishment our sin deserved, to pay our debt by sacrificing “the body of Jesus Christ once for all” so that we would be “made holy” through His substitutionary sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10). We have “died with Christ,” and one day “we will also live with him” (Romans 6:8).

That’s the good news right there. Christ died for you and for me; the substitute took our place. We’re now more than simply survivors of the war. We’ve become the sons and daughters of God.

Reflect & Pray

How does it make you feel to realize that Jesus died in your place? How might you explain this good news to a friend?

Dear Jesus, I praise You for being my substitute and securing for me life eternal.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Monday, June 29, 2026

The Direction of Discipline

And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. — Matthew 5:30

Pay close attention to the words Jesus speaks here. Jesus doesn’t say that everyone, without exception, must cut off their right hand. He says that if your right hand causes you to stumble, then you must cut it off. Yet even with this condition, Jesus’s command is the toughest discipline ever to strike humankind. Your right hand is one of the best and most useful things you have—and still Jesus says it must go if it causes you to stumble.

After God changes you through spiritual rebirth, you will find that there are a hundred and one perfectly legitimate things you dare not do, because they break your concentration on him. These things are like your right hand: in your eyes and the eyes of the world, they appear good, even necessary. When you begin to cut them out, your life will be maimed and scarred. Unspiritual people will be appalled. “What on earth is wrong with that?” they’ll ask. “How absurd you’re being!” Remember, when this happens, how and why you’ve been given your new insight. Jesus Christ is using his Spirit to warn you away from things which are no longer right for you. These things may still be perfectly fine for everyone else. Make sure you do not use your new limits to criticize others.

There has never been a saint who didn’t lead a maimed life at first. But it is better to enter into life maimed and lovely in God’s sight than to be lovely in the eyes of the world and unfit in God’s. Take heart, and remember that your life will not always be maimed. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus gives a picture of the life he desires you to lead, a life that is full-orbed, a life in him: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Job 14-16; Acts 9:22-43

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Psychology, 199 R

June 28Th

 Max Lucado Daily: Suitcases of Guilt

Do you carry a load of guilt?  So many do. If our spiritual baggage were visible, you know what you’d see? Suitcases of guilt, bulging with binges, blowups, and compromises. The kid with the baggy jeans and nose ring? He’d give anything to retract the words he said to his mother. But he can’t. So he tows them along. The woman in the business suit that looks like she could run for Senator?  She can’t run at all. Not hauling that carpet bag wherever she goes. So what do we do?

In Psalm 23:3 David said it like this, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness.” The path of righteousness is a narrow, winding trail up a steep hill.  At the top is a cross. At the base of the cross are bags, countless bags full of innumerable sins. Calvary is the compost pile for guilt.  Would you like to leave yours there as well?

From Traveling Light

John 14:15-31

The Message

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!

18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”

23-24 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.

25-27 “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.”

Our daily bread reading and devotion :

Psalm 119:97-104

The Message

97-104 Oh, how I love all you’ve revealed;

    I reverently ponder it all the day long.

Your commands give me an edge on my enemies;

    they never become obsolete.

I’ve even become smarter than my teachers

    since I’ve pondered and absorbed your counsel.

I’ve become wiser than the wise old sages

    simply by doing what you tell me.

I watch my step, avoiding the ditches and ruts of evil

    so I can spend all my time keeping your Word.

I never make detours from the route you laid out;

    you gave me such good directions.

Your words are so choice, so tasty;

    I prefer them to the best home cooking.

With your instruction, I understand life;

    that’s why I hate false propaganda.

Today's Insights

Psalm 119 celebrates the unsurpassed value of the Scriptures. In this psalm, we journey with one whose mind was saturated with the words of God. The beauty of Psalm 119 includes how it’s arranged. The author takes the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet—from aleph to taw—and expresses himself to God. At the same time, the psalm provides instruction for the people. The psalmist’s delight is expressed in verse 97, where he summarizes his sentiments: “Oh, how I love your law!” The psalm highlights several advantages of engagement with the Bible: “Your commands . . . make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers . . . . I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts” (vv. 98-100). Not only are the words of Scripture sweet to the taste, they strengthen and enrich our lives and help us to honor God.

Sweeter Than Honey

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

By  Arthur Jackson

Today's Devotion

If you want to bring a smile to Jarrett’s face, ask him about his bees. He’s an apiarist—a beekeeper. Though our meetings in his backyard are not about bees, it’s not uncommon for “apiculture” lessons to be a stimulating part of our conversations. But even better than “bee talk” is the nature-fresh, sweet taste of the golden-colored honey produced by Jarrett’s hardworking bees. Mm, mm, good!

In Psalm 119:103, the psalmist exclaims, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Closer examination of verses 97-104 reveals that the “sweeter than honey” comparison is just one of several phrases the writer uses to accent the supreme value of Scripture: “Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts” (vv. 98-100). The bottom line is that wholeheartedly embracing what God has revealed through the words of the Bible situates us to live well in this world.

Similarly, when Jesus, the living Word (see John 1:1-14), is experienced and valued, His followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, are well-positioned to live in ways that honor God and serve His purposes.

Reflect & Pray

How can you better savor the written words of the Bible? What have you experienced that was particularly sweet in your journey with Jesus?

Dear Jesus, I’ve tasted and seen that You and the Scriptures are good. Please help me love and embrace You more and more.

My utmost for his highest:

Gripped by God

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. — Philippians 3:12

Never choose to be a worker for God. But if God has called you, watch out that you don’t “turn to the right or the left” (Proverbs 4:27). We aren’t here to work for God because we have chosen to do so; we’re here because Christ Jesus has taken hold of us. Now that we are in his service, we no longer wonder whether or not we’re cut out for it; we no longer think about what we’d like to preach. What we preach is determined by God, not by our natural inclinations.

Keep your soul steadily related to God and remember why you have been called—not only to give personal testimony but to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify, but Christians who have received the call to preach have an added responsibility: they must endure the agonizing grip of God’s hand on their lives. Your life is in the grip of God for one thing and one thing only: to answer his call. How many of us are held like that?

Never water down the word of God. Preach it in its undiluted sternness, with unflinching loyalty. But when it comes to dealing with your fellow human beings, remember who you are: not a special being set above the rest, but a sinner saved by grace, a sinner who has yet to obtain the prize. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Job 11-13; Acts 9:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Psychology, 199 R

June 27th

 Max Lucado Daily: Parents’ Number One Assignment

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”

Straight teeth, straight A’s, or straight posture cannot hold a candle compared to placing a child on the straight spiritual path. The highest privilege and purpose you have as a parent is to lead your child in the way of Christ. The towering questions for Christian parents are these:

Do my kids know Christ?

Have they tasted His grace and found comfort at His cross?

Do they know their death is defeated and their hearts are empowered?

Parents, assignment number one is discipleship. Help your child walk in the way of the Master. What a phenomenal privilege is yours! Imagine the joy you will feel when you stand before Christ, flanked by your wife and children—when your child says, “Thanks, Dad.  Thanks for telling me about Christ.”

From Dad Time

Psalm 8

The Message

8 God, brilliant Lord,

    yours is a household name.

2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;

    toddlers shout the songs

That drown out enemy talk,

    and silence atheist babble.

3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,

    your handmade sky-jewelry,

Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,

Why do you bother with us?

    Why take a second look our way?

5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,

    bright with Eden’s dawn light.

You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,

    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,

Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,

    even animals out in the wild,

Birds flying and fish swimming,

    whales singing in the ocean deeps.

9 God, brilliant Lord,

    your name echoes around the world.

Our daily bread:

One Sure Thing

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

By Mike Wittmer

Bookmarking is coming back soon!

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Colossians 1:15-23

The Message

Christ Holds It All Together

15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

Today's Insights

In Colossians, Paul refutes false teaching about who Jesus is and affirms His identity, deity, and authority. He’s God (1:15), the creator who sustains all creation (vv. 16-17). He’s the head of His new creation, the church (v. 18). And He’s the Savior who redeemed and reconciled us to God by shedding His blood on the cross (vv. 19-23). The apostle praises the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus as Savior: “In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority” (2:9-10 nlt). Paul says, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him” (v. 7 nlt). Our salvation is certain in Jesus, and we can trust Him no matter what we face.

Learn more about overcoming fear by reading When Fear Seems Overwhelming.

Today's Devotion

Trees in cold climates prepare for winter through a process called “hardening.” Water drains from cells so they won’t freeze, expand, and burst the tree. The water that remains between the cells is too pure for ice crystals to attach. Its temperature may now drop to forty degrees below zero without cracking the tree. Trees harden at the same time each year because they take their cues from the fixed calendar of shortening days. They don't stake their lives on the weather, which may be unseasonably mild. They trust the sun, their one sure thing.

The Son who made the sun is surer yet. He is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created,” and “in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17). Who tells trees when to harden each year? The same Son who makes the sun rise each morning and puts it to bed each night, pulls tides with the moon, whirls electrons in every cell, pumps your heart and inflates your lungs, and holds you when your heart is broken.

What holds the world together isn’t a force within nature but a person outside it. A person who entered the world He’d made so he could “reconcile to himself all things,” including you (v. 20). In this unpredictable world, you’ve got one sure thing. Jesus will “present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (v. 22).

Reflect & Pray

What frightens you? How does Jesus’ power over the world encourage you to pray and rest in Him?

Dear Jesus, I trust You today with whatever comes my way.

Personal Deliverance

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

“Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. — Jeremiah 1:8

In the book of Jeremiah, God poses a question with a terrifying answer: “Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people.” But he also makes a promise: “Wherever you go I will let you escape with your life” (Jeremiah 45:5). This is all God promises his children—that wherever he sends us, he will guard our lives. Our personal possessions are a matter of indifference to him; we have to hold them loosely. If we don’t, there will be panic and heartbreak and distress.

God is equally indifferent to our sense of what we deserve. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus suggests that when we are on his errands, there is no time to stand up for ourselves or to worry about whether people are treating us justly: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11). To look for justice for ourselves is to be distracted from devotion to our Lord. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it.

If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we know that we have no control over what we encounter. Our Lord’s message for us is this: “Keep working steadily at what I’ve told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you will remove yourself from my deliverance.” The most devout among us become atheistic in this regard. Rather than believing in God, we enthrone common sense and tack God’s name onto it. We lean on our own understanding, instead of trusting him with all our heart.

Job 8-10; Acts 8:26-40

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Disciples Indeed, 388 L

June 26

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED - June 26, 2026

By Max Lucado

Do you want to see a father’s face go ashen as he discovers three words on the box of a just-bought toy: some assembly required. What follows are hours of squeezing A into B, bolting D into F, sliding R over Z, and hoping no one notices if steps four, five, and six were skipped altogether. I’m convinced the devil indwells the details of toy assembly. Somewhere in perdition is a warehouse of stolen toy parts.

“Some assembly required.” Not the most welcome sentence but an honest one. Life is a gift, albeit unassembled. The pieces don’t fit. When they don’t, take your problem to Jesus. He says, “Bring your problems to me.” In prayer, state them simply. Present them faithfully, and trust him reverently.

 Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Read more Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Psalm 7

The Message

7 1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life;

    the chase is wild.

If they catch me, I’m finished:

    ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,

    dragged into the forest and left

    unlooked for, unremembered.

3-5 God, if I’ve done what they say—

    betrayed my friends,

    ripped off my enemies—

If my hands are really that dirty,

    let them get me, walk all over me,

    leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

6-8 Stand up, God; pit your holy fury

    against my furious enemies.

Wake up, God. My accusers have packed

    the courtroom; it’s judgment time.

Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,

    throw out the false charges against me.

I’m ready, confident in your verdict:

    “Innocent.”

9-11 Close the book on Evil, God,

    but publish your mandate for us.

You get us ready for life:

    you probe for our soft spots,

    you knock off our rough edges.

And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:

    made right, kept right.

God in solemn honor does things right,

    but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

11-13 Nobody gets by with anything.

    God is already in action—

Sword honed on his whetstone,

    bow strung, arrow on the string,

Lethal weapons in hand,

    each arrow a flaming missile.

14 Look at that guy!

    He had sex with sin,

    he’s pregnant with evil.

Oh, look! He’s having

    the baby—a Lie-Baby!

15-16 See that man shoveling day after day,

    digging, then concealing, his man-trap

    down that lonely stretch of road?

Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,

    legs waving in the breeze.

That’s what happens:

    mischief backfires;

    violence boomerangs.

17 I’m thanking God, who makes things right.

I’m singing the fame of heaven-high God.

Our daily bread reading and devotion:

Luke 10:30-37

View Full Chapter

30-32Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

33-35“A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’

36“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”

37“The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

Who’s My Neighbor?

“Who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29

By Alyson Kieda

Today's Devotion

An elderly woman became unconscious on a hot sidewalk after a terrible fall. Several people stopped to help. One called 911. Another gently placed a coat under her head. Others put towels under her arms, and still another held an umbrella over her head until paramedics arrived. The person who posted the video wrote that it was an especially heartwarming scene because those who stopped included people of different ages and ethnicities—all working together to help someone in distress.

When an expert in God’s law asked Jesus who his neighbor was (Luke 10:29)—that is, who he was obligated to show love to—Jesus told a story of a man badly beaten by robbers, lying near death by the side of the road (vv. 30-31). A priest and then a Levite approached, but both passed by on the other side. Finally, a Samaritan stopped to help. What made this so unusual was that Jews and Samaritans had a bitter history of scorn for each other. Yet it was the Samaritan who stopped and “took pity” on the man (v. 33).

After telling this parable, Jesus asked which was a neighbor to the fallen man. The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him” (v. 37). Jesus told him, and us, “Go and do likewise.”

May God help us see that everyone we meet is our neighbor, another human created by Him and deserving of our aid.

Reflect & Pray

To whom do you find it difficult to be a good neighbor? How does Jesus show what it means to be a loving neighbor to others?

Dear God, please help me to love others—regardless of differences—as my neighbor.

Always Now

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS, June 26, 2026

As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. — 2 Corinthians 6:1

The grace you had yesterday won’t do for today. Grace is the overflowing, endlessly renewing favor of God; you can always count on there being enough.

Are you failing to draw upon God’s grace “in troubles, hardships and distresses” (2 Corinthians 6:4)? It is in difficulty that our patience is tested and in difficulty that we must learn to draw upon his grace. Each time you fail to do so, you are saying, “Oh well, this time doesn’t count.” It isn’t a question of praying and asking God to help you; it’s a question of accepting his grace, here and now.

We make prayer a kind of preparation. It is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God. It is the most practical thing. Don’t say, “I’ll endure this difficulty until I can get away and pray.” Pray now. Call upon the grace of God in the moment of need.

“In beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger . . .” (v. 5). In every hardship, draw upon the grace of God in a way that makes you a marvel to yourself and others. Draw now, not soon. One of the most important words in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances bring you wherever they will. No matter where you find yourself, no matter how difficult the situation, keep drawing on the grace of God. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on his grace is that you can be humiliated without showing the slightest trace of anything but his grace.

“. . . having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (v. 10). God has given you a priceless treasure in his grace. Never be diplomatic or careful about the treasure God gives. Pour out the best you have, and always be poor. This is poverty triumphant.

Job 5-7; Acts 8:1-25

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 

Lost But Looking Found - #10295

Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Matthew 13:24

Occasionally I see this bumper sticker that says, “I brake for antique shops.” I’m not a bumper sticker guy, but I think we would have qualified for that over the years, depending on who was driving—my wife or me. If it was my wife, we were a lot more likely to break for an antique shop. But my wife was not so much into collecting old stuff, it was more about finding items that she had as a girl growing up on a farm that had very few modern conveniences. And she had an eye for what was real and what was just a reproduction: Depression Glass, pottery, butter churns, even old violins. Take the famous Stradivarius violin. We didn’t have one, there are relatively few originals. There are a lot of copies.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Lost But Looking Found.”

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s a copy in antiques and in people; especially people who claim that they belong to Jesus Christ.

Jesus described both the real ones and the copies in the story He told in Matthew 13, beginning in verse 24. It’s our word for today from the Word of God. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” Jesus said the man’s servants wanted to go out and pull up the weeds, but he stopped them. “’No,’ He answered, ‘because while you are pulling out the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

When Jesus explained His parable later, He made clear that the wheat represents those who really do belong to Him, and the weeds; they represent those who look like they belong to Him, but they don’t. That’s a pretty sobering thought—sitting next to one another in church may be two people who are singing the same songs, believing the same beliefs, saying the same words, but one is headed for heaven and the other is headed for hell. And no one on earth can tell the difference. But on Judgment Day it will be very clear who was real and who was the look-alike. That’s why God says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.”

For some of us church folks, the business of being a Christian is really more of a religion, or a performance, or maybe a belief, or a script where we’ve got all the right words. You can have all that and you can miss what this is all really about; a deep love personal relationship with Jesus Christ based on His dying for your sins. It is a relationship you can only begin one way. You begin it the day you tell Him you are putting your total trust in Him, consciously giving all of you to Him. With all your Christianity, it’s possible you've missed Christ, even though everyone around you thinks you know Him. That's everyone except Jesus.

It’s very hard to admit that you’ve never really given yourself to Him, but it’s fatal not to. So would you let this be the day that you finally, consciously and clearly make Jesus Christ your personal Savior from your personal sin. Tell Him, "Jesus, I want to know you for real. I'm pinning all my hopes on You like a drowning person would grab a rescuer."

Then go to our website and check that out. Because there you will find the information you need to secure your relationship with Christ and know for sure you've got this settled. Our website is ANewStory.com.

There’s all the difference in the world between someone who really belongs to Jesus and someone who just looks like they do. It’s actually the difference between heaven and hell.

June 25

 GOD, A FATHER TO ALL - June 25, 2026

Buy Max Lucado

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” A glimpse of God’s goodness changes us. If He is only slightly stronger than us, why pray?  If He has limitations, questions, and hesitations, then you might as well pray to the Wizard of Oz.

Psalm 68:5-6 says that God is “a father to the fatherless.  He sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.”

Pray with me! “Dear God. Remind me today that you protect me.  Be my father and defender.  Defend those who are weak and afraid and feel forgotten.  Show up in their lives today. Thank you for giving me a spiritual family that can never be taken away.  I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.”

At any point you’re only a prayer away from help!

 Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Read more Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

John 1:1-14

The Message

The Life-Light

1 1-2 The Word was first,

    the Word present to God,

    God present to the Word.

The Word was God,

    in readiness for God from day one.

3-5 Everything was created through him;

    nothing—not one thing!—

    came into being without him.

What came into existence was Life,

    and the Life was Light to live by.

The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;

    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:

    Every person entering Life

    he brings into Light.

He was in the world,

    the world was there through him,

    and yet the world didn’t even notice.

He came to his own people,

    but they didn’t want him.

But whoever did want him,

    who believed he was who he claimed

    and would do what he said,

He made to be their true selves,

    their child-of-God selves.

These are the God-begotten,

    not blood-begotten,

    not flesh-begotten,

    not sex-begotten.

14 The Word became flesh and blood,

    and moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory with our own eyes,

    the one-of-a-kind glory,

    like Father, like Son,

Generous inside and out,

    true from start to finish.

Our daily bread reading and devotion:

The Father’s Open Arms

In you the fatherless find compassion. Hosea 14:3

By Tom Felten

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Hosea 14:1-7, 9

Hosea 14:1-8

The Message

Come Back! Return to Your God!

14 1-3 O Israel, come back! Return to your God!

    You’re down but you’re not out.

Prepare your confession

    and come back to God.

Pray to him, “Take away our sin,

    accept our confession.

Receive as restitution

    our repentant prayers.

Assyria won’t save us;

    horses won’t get us where we want to go.

We’ll never again say ‘our god’

    to something we’ve made or made up.

You’re our last hope. Is it not true

    that in you the orphan finds mercy?”

* * *

4-8 “I will heal their waywardness.

    I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.

I will make a fresh start with Israel.

    He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring.

9  If you want to live well,

    make sure you understand all of this.

If you know what’s good for you,

    you’ll learn this inside and out.

God’s paths get you where you want to go.

    Right-living people walk them easily;

    wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

He’ll put down deep oak tree roots,

    he’ll become a forest of oaks!

He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia,

    his fragrance like a grove of cedars!

Those who live near him will be blessed by him,

    be blessed and prosper like golden grain.

Everyone will be talking about them,

    spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.

Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods.

    From now on I’m the one who answers and satisfies him.

I am like a luxuriant fruit tree.

    Everything you need is to be found in me.”

Today's Insights

The book of Hosea begins with a bitter, living picture of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God, lived out in the promiscuous lifestyle of Hosea’s unfaithful wife (1:2). Ultimately Hosea buys her back out of her enslaved condition—a picture of God’s redemption of His wayward people (3:1-5). At the time, Israel faced severe judgment for their sins. The book’s final chapter brings hope and an appeal. The prophet says, “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (14:2). He counsels them, “Say to [God], ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips’ ” (v. 2). Some scholars believe the “fruit of our lips” is a reference to their honest confession before God—a far preferable sacrifice than the empty rituals they’d been performing (6:6). As we share what God has done for us, we invite others to accept the love of our gracious and forgiving Father.

Learn what it means to be a sacrificial servant by reading Who Is Your Neighbor?

Today's Devotion

Mary Slessor’s compassionate heart led her to open her arms to those in need. The Scottish missionary, born in 1848, served among the people of Okoyong in a distant land. Superstition led people of that region to believe that when twins were born, one was good and one was the child of a demon. This often led to both twins dying—being abandoned to starvation or other dangers. Reflecting the loving heart of God, in time Mary helped save hundreds of the at-risk children, adopting nine as her own!

In his inspired words to the rebellious nation of Israel, the prophet Hosea offers a glimpse into God’s caring heart for children. The prophet said of Him, “In you the fatherless find compassion” (14:3). Hosea stated that God cared for His own and desired to “love them freely” (v. 4). But they needed to turn from their defiance of Him and embrace His ways. They were instructed to turn from pagan deities to the true God who cares for the most helpless, the orphans. And if they returned to God, they’d find forgiveness from the one who would “receive [them] graciously” (vv. 1-2).

As we open our arms to those around us, including at-risk children, we reflect the love of God. Let’s embrace His compassionate heart and extend His care to those in need as He helps us.

Reflect & Pray

How has God’s loving example led you to care for those in need? How does it encourage you to know that in Him “the fatherless find compassion”?

Compassionate God, please open my heart and my arms to children and others who are in need around me.

Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Job 3-4; Acts 7:44-60

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally.

The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R

Parents Afraid - #10294

By Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  2 Timothy 1:7

My wife and I were staying in this apartment at the Jersey shore for a weekend. We were going to save some money by cooking for ourselves. But, there was one small problem with the kitchen. We discovered it the first morning. We had this English muffin in the toaster. Suddenly I hear this high-pitched alarm in the kitchen. I went running out there. The smoke detector had gone off. Problem: There was no smoke, just a little English muffin cooking. It was just a little heat coming from across the room from the toaster. Oh, we got to hear that smoke alarm again several times while we were there. It was a very sensitive alarm. And the problem is because it would go off so often, guess what? Pretty soon you don’t take it seriously any more.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Parents Afraid.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is a great verse for anyone, but especially for parents in times like these. 2 Timothy 1:7 - “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind.” You’re not supposed to have a spirit of fear. See, fear-based decisions usually don’t take us down the right road. Fear-based parenting usually backfires.

If you’re a parent today, there are a lot of things you could be afraid of for your children. They could be physically hurt, they could be spiritually hurt, or they can be infected by the moral pollution that’s everywhere. They could lose their faith, they could rebel, or they could mess up sexually. Our kids can choose the wrong friends; they can make a romantic mistake. They can believe a sophisticated lie.

Raising children in this kind of world, you could find yourself letting fear take over; especially if you see a warning sign in your son or daughter. But God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. He wants you to parent with a spirit of power and love and a sound mind. He wants you to parent positively, not with criticism and nagging and worrying and put downs or being overly possessive or protective. Those approaches usually help produce the very rebellion we were afraid of.

When we parent out of fear, our alarm keeps going off all the time. Every incident, every negative comment from our child becomes a battleground. Maybe you see signs that you’re becoming like that smoke detector; you’re going off on everything. If you do, eventually you won’t be taken seriously anymore, probably at just the point in your child’s life when you really need to be taken seriously. You just can’t afford to have your son or daughter saying, “The alarm, again?”

Parents whose fear or negativism or perfectionism makes them sound off all the time tend to create rebels, because we create an immunity to a parental voice. And a child who is immune to mom or dad’s voice is like an unguided missile. If you sense that your alarm’s been going off too often, it’s time to turn that around.

It begins with an apology - asking your child to forgive you because of the nagging and the negative. Be honest with them about some of your fears for them. Tell them how much you believe in their potential and in their gifts and that you hate anything that might keep them from becoming all they were created to be. Be willing to be vulnerable with them. Be willing to need forgiving. You might be amazed how many walls that can bring down.

Then choose your battlegrounds. Learn to analyze a conflict or a concern, and put them in one of two categories: major battle or minor battle. And then save your ammunition for the battles that really matter. Bite your tongue on the others. Before you talk to your child, talk to God about your child. Bring your fear and your anger and your frustration to God so you don’t always have to dump it on your son or daughter. Give God time to work it out, and then jump in only as He prompts you to.

Because of Christ in your life, you can parent with confidence, with authority and restraint. And then when your parent alarm goes off, your kids will respond. Just wait until there’s real smoke from a real fire.

June 24

AN OPEN DOOR TO GOD - June 24, 2026

By Max Lucado

A lot of us make unnecessary messes, but we can change that. May I make a suggestion? Before you face the world, face your Father.

Take this pocket prayer: Father…You are good. Your heart is good. Your words come slowly at first, but stay at it. You are always right. The weather’s bad, the economy is bad, but God, you are awesome. Don’t underestimate the power of this moment. You just opened the door to God and welcomed truth to enter your heart. Who knows, you might even start to worship.

Is your world different because you prayed? In one sense, no. But you are different. You have peace; you’ve talked to your Father. Here’s my challenge for you: every day for four weeks pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.

 Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Psalm 6

The Message

6 1-2 Please, God, no more yelling,

    no more trips to the woodshed.

Treat me nice for a change;

    I’m so starved for affection.

2-3 Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue,

    beaten up badly in bones and soul?

God, how long will it take

    for you to let up?

4-5 Break in, God, and break up this fight;

    if you love me at all, get me out of here.

I’m no good to you dead, am I?

    I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!

6-7 I’m tired of all this—so tired. My bed

    has been floating forty days and nights

On the flood of my tears.

    My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.

The sockets of my eyes are black holes;

    nearly blind, I squint and grope.

8-9 Get out of here, you Devil’s crew:

    at last God has heard my sobs.

My requests have all been granted,

    my prayers are answered.

10 Cowards, my enemies disappear.

Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

Our daily bread devotional and reading:

Faith Rooted in God

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

by Katara Patton

June 24, 2026

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Matthew 19:23-26

23-24As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom? Let me tell you, it’s easier to gallop a camel through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.”

25The disciples were staggered. “Then who has any chance at all?”

26Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

Today's Insights

The rich man was trusting in himself, his good works, and his wealth for eternal life rather than in God (Matthew 19:16-22). To highlight the impossibility that he could enter heaven based on his own merits, Jesus said it would be easier for a large camel to go through the small eye of a needle than for a rich man to save himself (v. 23). The Jewish belief at that time was that God bestowed wealth on the deserving. If a moral and rich person who had God’s favor couldn’t make it into heaven, then seemingly no one could (v. 25). Christ says it’s impossible for humans to save themselves but “with God all things are possible” (v. 26). God did the impossible and the unthinkable when “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him” would “have eternal life” (John 3:16). As believers in Jesus, we can trust God—who can do the impossible—to help us.

Today's Devotion

I was inspired while reading a historical fiction account of the life of Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman University. The stories of her determination and care for others led me to read more about her. One account tells how in the early 1900s, she “described” the buildings at her school for young African American women to a wealthy businessman. But when he visited the “campus,” he found only one building. She’d described her dream to him, hoping that he would invest in the school. Her faith and vision worked together to secure funding. Her school eventually became—and still is—a four-year university.

Bethune is credited with saying: “Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” Her quote is similar to what Jesus told the astonished disciples who were asking questions about salvation. They were trying to figure out how people could “enter the kingdom of God,” or heaven (Matthew 19:24). They wanted to know “who then can be saved?” (v. 25). Jesus shared with His followers that faith in God was the only way, because “with God all things are possible” (v. 26).

Faith is rooted in a belief in God and His abilities. Faith prompts us to believe in the possibility of things we don’t see yet (see Hebrews 11:1)—like a dream of a school for the underprivileged or an eternal home for those who accept Christ. May God help us see what He sees.

Reflect & Pray

What are you struggling to believe? How can trusting in God’s power help you?

Dear God of all, please increase my faith in Your ability to do the impossible.

For further study, read Are You the One? Keeping Faith when Life Doesn’t Go Our Way.

Reconciling Yourself to the Fact of Sin

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

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

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

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

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

Job 1-2; Acts 7:22-43

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… 

The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L

A Leader’s Real Assignment - #10293

June 24, 2026 by Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  1 Peter 5:2

Before D. L. Moody became the greatest evangelist of the 19th Century, he ran a storefront Sunday School to reach some of the street kids of Chicago. The story is told of one tough little guy who was seen on Sunday after Sunday. He lived a long way from his destination. Well, on one brutally cold and snowy Chicago day, one man saw the boy walking into the wind, making his usual Sunday morning journey to Moody’s Sunday School. He asked the boy why he would make that effort every Sunday, even on a day when no one else was out, especially when he passed by a lot of churches that were a lot closer to his home. The boy’s explanation was pretty clear and pretty simple, “I go there Mister, because they really make a fellow feel loved there.”

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “A Leader’s Real Assignment.”

The first portrait of Jesus I can ever remember seeing as a child was one that portrays Him as the Good Shepherd, with His sheep following Him closely and this one little lamb cuddled in His arms. Interestingly enough, now that I’m in Christian leadership, I realize that picture is also what I’m supposed to be about. And you, too, if God has entrusted you with any kind of influence or direction in people’s lives. Your template is supposed to be that of a shepherd of whom people say, “He or she sure makes a person feel loved.”

Listen to 1 Peter 5, beginning with verse 2. It’s our word for today from the Word of God, and it’s a picture of leadership worth planting deeply in your heart. Writing to those in leadership God says, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers...” OK, quick timeout here! Notice whose sheep your people are—your children are. They’re God’s; they’re not yours. Don’t ever start acting like they’re yours. And notice, too, that they are given to you to be under your care, not under your thumb.

Peter goes on: “Not because you must, but because you are willing…not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” OK, what’s the Biblical picture of being a leader? Right, shepherding. Leading the sheep, not lording it over them. Loving the sheep, not using them for your own ends. Modeling more than demanding.

So if you’re a shepherd, what should you be doing? Well, a shepherd always leads the sheep to what they need. If you’ve been entrusted with people to lead, it’s your job to gently direct them to what they need emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally, and to know when they need encouraging, and when they need correcting, and when they just need loving. Christian leadership is all about you meeting their needs, not them meeting yours.

Shepherding also means keeping your sheep from wandering—establishing clear boundaries and pulling them back at the first sign of wandering. Being a shepherd also means protecting your sheep from the enemy. A few verses later in this passage, Peter talks about resisting the roaring lion who’s looking for someone to devour. It is the Christian leader’s job to keep his eyes open for where Satan might get in and then to defend his flock from the stalking of the lion.

And Jesus taught us one other thing the “good shepherd” does. He said, “He calls His own sheep by name” (John 10:3). I love that! In other words, if you’re a good shepherd, you will give each of His sheep individual attention, the kind that street kid in Chicago must have felt at D. L. Moody’s Sunday School. Make each one feel like the most important person in the world when they’re with you. There’s nobody else for you right now, than them. Don’t treat them just like another nameless face in the flock.

Jesus was a shepherd, and now He’s called you to be one, trusting you with some of the sheep that He died for. Your children, your grandchildren, your church, your Bible study. All those people under your leadership. Is leadership worth the price you pay? Is it worth the sacrifices you make? Listen to the bottom line in 1 Peter 5:4 - “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory, that will never fade away.”

June 23

AUTHORITY OVER YOUR WORLD - June 23, 2026

By Max Lucado

Most people have small thoughts about God. In an effort to see God as our friend, we have lost his immensity. In our desire to understand him, we have sought to contain him.

The God of the Bible cannot be contained. With a word he called Adam out of dust and Eve out of a bone. He consulted no committee; he sought no counsel. He has authority over the world, and he has authority over your world. He’s never surprised. He has never, ever uttered the phrase, “How did that happen?”

God’s goodness is a major headline in the Bible. If he were only mighty, we’d salute him. But since he is merciful and mighty, we can approach him. If God is at once Father and Creator, holy—unlike us—and high above us, then we at any point are only a prayer away from help.

 Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Psalm 5

The Message

5 1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!    Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries?

    King-God, I need your help. Every morning you’ll hear me at it again.

Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.

4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked, or invite Evil over as your houseguest.

Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you; you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.

God destroys Lie-Speaker; Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

7-8 And here I am, your invited guest— it’s incredible!

I enter your house; here I am, prostrate in your inner sanctum,

Waiting for directions 

    to get me safely through enemy lines.

9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;

    their lungs breathe out poison gas.

Their throats are gaping graves,

    their tongues slick as mudslides.

Pile on the guilt, God!

    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.

Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.

11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms

    when we run for cover to you.

Let the party last all night!

    Stand guard over our celebration.

You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,

    for decking us out in delight.

Our Daily bread reading:    to get me safely through enemy lines.

9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;

    their lungs breathe out poison gas.

Their throats are gaping graves,

    their tongues slick as mudslides.

Pile on the guilt, God!

    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.

Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.

11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms

    when we run for cover to you.

Let the party last all night!

    Stand guard over our celebration.

You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,

    for decking us out in delight.

Our daily bread reading and Devotion

Exodus 34:29-35

The Message

29-30 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two Tablets of The Testimony, he didn’t know that the skin of his face glowed because he had been speaking with God. Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, saw his radiant face, and held back, afraid to get close to him.

31-32 Moses called out to them. Aaron and the leaders in the community came back and Moses talked with them. Later all the Israelites came up to him and he passed on the commands, everything that God had told him on Mount Sinai.

33-35 When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face, but when he went into the presence of God to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. When he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they would see Moses’ face, its skin glowing, and then he would again put the veil on his face until he went back in to speak with God.Today's Insights

In Exodus 34, Moses’ face was literally shining after his encounters with God captured the intensity of His glory. It revealed that God was truly with His people through Moses and that His revelation could be trusted. In the ancient Near East, shining faces were believed to indicate someone was divine. Aaron and the Israelites were frightened by Moses’ appearance (v. 30), perhaps thinking he’d become a god himself. By allowing his shining face to be seen only when delivering God’s instructions to the people and veiling it the rest of the time (vv. 34-35), Moses may have been trying to prevent the people from worshiping him instead of God.

In 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, Paul suggests that because of Jesus, anyone can encounter God’s glory like Moses did. Those who “contemplate” Christ’s glory are “transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (v. 18)—reflecting Him more and more. As we spend time with God, our faces will “shine” with His love.

God loves us even in our imperfect state. Learn more by watching this video.

Shining Faces

When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant. Exodus 34:30Today's Devotion

“He has a sugar face!” our vet exclaimed as she gave our young dog his annual checkup. “A sugar face?” I asked. “It’s a term used for retrievers whose faces turn prematurely white,” she replied, smiling. “It’s just a sign of the sweetness inside.”

Reflecting on that moment later, I thought about what shows up on my face when others meet me. Do they catch a glimpse of “the sweetness inside,” the transforming power of Jesus’ love in my heart and life? The Bible tells of the breathtaking moments when Moses came down from Mount Sinai after spending days in God’s presence. Moses “was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord,” so radiant that the people “were afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30). To avoid frightening them further, Moses “put a veil over his face” and removed it when “he went in to speak with the Lord” (vv. 33, 35).

Moses was of course literally speaking with God “face to face” (33:11), a unique moment in the Bible. But Scripture also reminds us that we who know God through Christ “are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). His presence within us can be winsome to others—a work of God’s love. Our faces may not shine like Moses’ did, but as we spend time in God’s presence, He’ll become increasingly evident in us.

Reflect & Pray

How is God’s love evident in your life? How might you share it with others today?

Please let my face shine with Your love, dear Father, that others may love You 

Acquaintance with Grief

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

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

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

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

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

Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 

The Power of Powerlessness - #10292

By Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  2 Chronicles 20:12

When you grow up in the Midwest, you don’t get too much experience with hurricanes; a tornado maybe, but not hurricanes. We were vacationing out on the end of Long Island some summers ago, and the word came that there was a hurricane making its way up the East Coast and would probably go over Long Island. We were well up from the water and were not in any real danger, even though the people near the water were being evacuated.

So we went into town and every store had candles and batteries. We thought we might lose power during that time and evidently so did the whole town! We got everything out that we thought we'd need; all the batteries, a little hibachi grill in case we had to cook without a stove, we lined the refrigerator with newspaper like you’re supposed to, we filled the bathtub with water so in case the electric goes out we’d still have some water. And then we all moved, as the storm was moving up the coast, from our upstairs bedrooms to the living room, and we all just kind of slept together on the floor there.

You know what? Everybody loved it! The kids said, “Is this a hurricane? This is cool!” Because we weren’t in separate bedrooms; we were all kind of all cozy together, and sure enough we lost the electric. It was knocked out for four days. So our nights were all by candle light, and it was great! We read, we cuddled, we got close, we made lifetime memories. That power outage gave us a whole new closeness; one of the best things that could happen for us turned out to be losing all our power.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Power of Powerlessness.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles 20, and I’m going to read at verse 12. Jehoshaphat is the King of Judah, and Judah has already encountered enough difficulties, and they are now having a massive army coming toward them. And this is the testimony of Jehoshaphat to the Lord, “We have no power to face this vast enemy that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” Isn’t that great?

Can you relate to those words, “no power”? You say, “Boy, when it comes to money right now, or my health, or my family, or people that I’m having trouble with, I feel like I have no power against it.” Can you relate to those words, “a vast army”? You say, “Man, I’m overwhelmed by all that’s going on. I’m paralyzed. Sometimes I’m about to panic.” Well, that’s good! You say, “Why is that good?” For the same reason no power was good for our family during that hurricane. Something happened between us that would never have happened if we had the power that we always depend on.

Right now you have the opportunity to run and wrap yourself around your Heavenly Father like a desperate child. And in that complete dependency His power takes over unobstructed by your efforts to do it. It’s all God; it’s none of you, because there’s no more of you left to fight. And at that moment you are more powerful than you have ever been – powerless but powerful.

You’ve admitted you’re a beggar and God is a billionaire. You have nothing to contribute to a victory, and so now the billionaire pours His resources into you. This vast army moving against you could be the greatest thing that ever happened to you if you do what Jehoshaphat says here, “Our eyes are upon You.” Not on that army. “Our eyes are upon You.” You say, “Lord, it’s all Yours.” Your power has been blown out by the storm, but it would and it could lead you to a deeper closeness with your Father than you have ever known.

By the way, an incredible victory was wrought by the power of God back in Jehoshaphat’s day. And maybe that’s going to happen in your life right now because you’re powerless at last.

June 22

 A Heartfelt Plea - June 22, 2026  by Max Lucado-

When my eldest daughter was 13, she flubbed her piano piece at a recital. The silence in the auditorium was broken only by the pounding of her parents’ hearts. She hurried off the stage, threw her arms around me and buried her face in my shirt. “Oh, Daddy.” That was enough for me. At that moment I’d have given her the moon, and all she said was, “Oh, Daddy.”

Prayer starts here. Prayer begins with an honest, heartfelt, “Oh Daddy!” Jesus invites us to approach God the way a child approaches his or her daddy.

Here’s my challenge for you: every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.

 Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Psalm 4

The Message

4 When I call, give me answers. God, take my side!

Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;

Now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me!

2 You rabble—how long do I put up with your scorn?

How long will you lust after lies?

How long will you live crazed by illusion?

3 Look at this: look

Who got picked by God!

He listens the split second I call to him.

4-5 Complain if you must, but don’t lash out.

Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.

Build your case before God and wait for his verdict.

6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.

“More, more.”

I have God’s more-than-enough,

More joy in one ordinary day

7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees.

At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,

For you, God, have put my life back together.

Our daily bread byKaren Pimpo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

Leviticus 19:1-10

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

4Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

5And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. 6It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. 8Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

9And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Today's Insights

God promised to abundantly provide food for His people (Leviticus 25:18-19), and so, in remembrance of their enslavement in Egypt, He commanded them to feed the poor and needy (19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-22). The story of Ruth took place in the backdrop of this law of gleaning (Ruth 2). God also wants us to be open-handed with his material blessings (see Deuteronomy 15:7-11). The apostle Paul says that God gives us material blessings for our enjoyment and commands believers in Jesus “to use their money to do good. . . . Be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others” (1 Timothy 6:18 nlt).Today, because God has richly given to us, we can look for opportunities to be generous to others.

Each of us has been given a gift we can use to bless others. Learn more by watching this video.

Ready to Be Generous

My great-uncle’s memorial service featured a meal of roast beef, corn, and beans to honor the hospitality that he and his wife had lived out for many years. Each Sunday morning, they would put a large roast and veggies in the Crock-Pot before going to church. After the service, they would look for someone to invite for lunch. Sometimes it was a good friend, sometimes a stranger. Either way, they made sure there was plenty of food at home and those afternoons were especially set aside for hospitality.

Their Sunday habit required an intentional readiness for generosity. The Israelites followed a similar pattern. Through Moses, God commanded them to leave a portion of their food “for the poor and the foreigner” (Leviticus 19:10). During harvest time, they were instructed not to reap to the edges of their field, leave what had fallen, and not re-harvest their vineyards (vv. 9-10). With these redeeming methods, those who didn’t own land could still work to gather food. For the people of God, this wasn’t a one-time, spontaneous act—although that can be a beautiful blessing too. It was how they lived year after year.

There are opportunities all around us to show Jesus’ hospitable love. Some we can’t prepare for; some we can. As God helps us, let’s consider how we can treat others kindly today (v. 33).

Reflect & Pray

Where is God calling you to be generous? What does it look like to be ready to show love and kindness?

Dear Jesus, You modeled perfect love and self-sacrifice. Please help me to be ready to show Your love to others.

The Undeviating Test

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

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

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

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

Esther 6-8; Acts 6

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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, 1032 L

Why God Will Never Be a Grandfather - #10291

June 22, 2026

By Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  John 1:12

It was one of those unforgettable, milestone moments for our family. Our firstborn child was holding her firstborn child. Wow! What a moment! And we got to join them in the delivery room just moments after the little guy's arrival. And I knew this presented a shocking development. My wife was a grandmother! Could you believe it? Me, living with a grandmother! Yes, I was living in denial. And then after becoming a grandmother more than once, well finally, I had to accept that disturbing reality and glorious reality. I am a grandfather!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Why God Will Never Be a Grandfather.”

All through the Bible, God introduces Himself to us as our Father in heaven, but never as our grandfather. God never has been and never will be anyone’s grandfather. See, He only has children. He doesn't have any grandchildren.

That might be some very important information for you to consider - eternally important - because you might be one of the many people who could be counting on the faith of their family to qualify them for heaven. If you've got a Christian mom or dad, that might help you know about Jesus. It won't do a thing for you when it comes to knowing Jesus personally though. You can't "osmote" a relationship with Jesus from your Christian parents or your Christian husband or your wife, or from the Christians you've been with your whole life. Unless there's been a personal transaction between you and Jesus to have your sins forgiven, you've never been born into God's family, and you'll never see heaven. God has no grandchildren.

Jesus described the essential qualification for going to heaven when He said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). A couple of chapters earlier, the Bible describes just how that birthing into God’s family takes place. It’s in John 1:12, our word for today from the Word of God. Speaking of Jesus, it says, “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

What does it mean to “receive” Christ? Well, it’s consciously opening the door of your heart and welcoming Jesus in. So, has there ever been a time when you did that for yourself? This verse talks about “believing in His name.” What’s that about? When you check out “believe” in the original language of the New Testament, it’s clear that it’s a lot more than just agreeing with all the facts about Jesus dying for your sin. It’s about total trust in Jesus like He's your only hope. “His name” literally means, “Jehovah rescues.” That’s what He died for—to pay for your sin so you don’t have to. To rescue you.

Just picture that you're desperately drowning and Jesus has come like the rescuer. You’ve got to grab onto Him like He's your only hope. Has there ever been a time when you did that with Jesus? You say, "I'm not sure." Well, if you don’t know you have, I'd say you probably haven’t. When you’ve grown up in a Christian home, spent a lot of time in a Christian environment, it’s easy to feel like, "Man, I must have picked up Jesus somewhere." Well, no, not unless there’s been a time when you consciously put all your trust in Him for yourself and you told Him that. That’s when your sins get erased from God’s records. That’s when you get born into God’s family.

It may be God has you listening today so He could whisper to your heart, “Take care of this now. Look, you’ve known a lot about Me all these years, but you’ve never known Me. Don’t wait another day to begin your personal relationship with Me.” You know, you could do that by telling Jesus, “Beginning this day, I'm Yours.”

This what could be your Jesus day, this would be a great day for you to go visit our website. It's ANewStory.com.

From now on, this date can be your new birthday—your second birthday. The day you got God as your Father. You got Jesus as your Savior—your personal Savior!

June 20

 Max Lucado Daily: He Leads

Worrying is one job you can’t farm out, but you can overcome it. There’s no better place to begin than in Psalm 23:2. “He leads me beside the still waters,” David declares. “He leads me.”  God isn’t behind me, yelling, “Go!”  He’s ahead of me bidding, “Come!”  He’s in front, clearing the path, cutting the brush. Standing next to the rocks, He warns, “Watch your step there.”

Isn’t this what God gave the children of Israel? He promised to supply them with manna each day. But He told them to collect only one day’s supply at a time. Matthew 6:34 says, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

God is leading you! Leave tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow!

From Traveling Light

Luke 22:24-46 The Message

Get Ready for Trouble

24-26 Within minutes they were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest. But Jesus intervened: “Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It’s not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.

27-30 “Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among you as the one who serves. And you’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. Now I confer on you the royal authority my Father conferred on me so you can eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and be strengthened as you take up responsibilities among the congregations of God’s people.

31-32 “Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start.”

33 Peter said, “Master, I’m ready for anything with you. I’d go to jail for you. I’d die for you!”

34 Jesus said, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you know me.”

35 Then Jesus said, “When I sent you out and told you to travel light, to take only the bare necessities, did you get along all right?”

“Certainly,” they said, “we got along just fine.”

36-37 He said, “This is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you’ll need; there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. What was written in Scripture, ‘He was lumped in with the criminals,’ gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion.”

38 They said, “Look, Master, two swords!”

But he said, “Enough of that; no more sword talk!”

A Dark Night

39-40 Leaving there, he went, as he so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. When they arrived at the place, he said, “Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.”

41-44 He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.

45-46 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. He said, “What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won’t give in to temptation.”

Our daily bread reading and devotion Colon

Galatians 5:13-26 The Message

13-15 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are contrary to each other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

* * *

19-21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

Receiving from God

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

In his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich, author Napoleon Hill said, “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Hill’s quote epitomizes the American Dream: If you work hard, you can achieve your wildest dreams.

Hard work may lead to earthly benefits; many passages of Scripture—especially in Proverbs—link those things. But as I grow older, I also see a real danger in following Hill’s ideas: My grasping attempts to achieve my dreams can be a self-focused attempt to live independently from God.

In Galatians 5, Paul contrasts two ways of life: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (v. 16). Eugene Petersen paraphrases it this way: “Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness” (The Message). A few verses later, Paul describes what a flourishing life in Christ looks like: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (vv. 22-23).

Many voices in this world compel us to grasp our desires with both hands. The life we long for, though, is not one we earn but one we receive as we yield to the Holy Spirit—freely walking with Him—rather than striving desperately to grasp blessing on our own terms.

Reflect & Pray

How have you tried to achieve your dreams? What habits help you to be in a posture to receive blessings from God?

Dear Father, sometimes I try to fill myself apart from You. Please help me yield to Your Spirit’s guidance and trust You to fill me.

My Utmost for his highest 

Have You Come to “After” Yet?

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

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

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

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

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

Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21

 

 

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Biblical Ethics, 111 L