July 10th

 TRUST BRINGS PEACE - July 10, 2026

By Max Lucado

Our minds cannot be full of God and at the same time full of fear!  Don’t get lost in your troubles. Lift up your eyes! “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!  (Isa. 26:3 TLB)

Are you troubled, restless, sleepless?  Then rejoice in the Lord’s Sovereignty.  I dare you. I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought.  (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV)

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

Psalm 21

The Message

21 1-7 Your strength, God, is the king’s strength.

    Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas.

You gave him exactly what he wanted;

    you didn’t hold back.

You filled his arms with gifts;

    you gave him a right royal welcome.

He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,

    and then made it a long life as a bonus.

You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,

    then dressed him in rainbow colors.

You pile blessings on him;

    you make him glad when you smile.

Is it any wonder the king loves God?

    that he’s sticking with the Best?

8-12 With a fistful of enemies in one hand

    and a fistful of haters in the other,

You radiate with such brilliance

    that they cringe as before a furnace.

Now the furnace swallows them whole,

    the fire eats them alive!

You purge the earth of their progeny,

    you wipe the slate clean.

All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,

    have fizzled—every one.

You sent them packing;

    they couldn’t face you.

13 Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it.

    We are out singing the good news!

Our daily bread:

Today's Scripture & Insight :

2 Kings 6:9-17

The Holy Man sent a message to the king of Israel: “Watch out when you’re passing this place, because Aram has set an ambush there.”

10 So the king of Israel sent word concerning the place of which the Holy Man had warned him.

This kind of thing happened all the time.

11 The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, “Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?”

12 But one of his men said, “No, my master, dear king. It’s not any of us. It’s Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom.”

13 The king said, “Go and find out where he is. I’ll send someone and capture him.”

The report came back, “He’s in Dothan.”

14 Then he dispatched horses and chariots, an impressive fighting force. They came by night and surrounded the city.

15 Early in the morning a servant of the Holy Man got up and went out. Surprise! Horses and chariots surrounding the city! The young man exclaimed, “Oh, master! What shall we do?”

16 He said, “Don’t worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side.”

17 Then Elisha prayed, “O God, open his eyes and let him see.”

The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!

Insight

When the king of Aram tried to discern how Israel continually evaded his attacks, he suspected betrayal from his officers (2 Kings 6:10-11). But they responded that it was Elisha’s prophecies that revealed the king’s deepest secrets (v. 12). In the ancient Near East, prophecy was regarded not only as a source of divine revelation but also of military information, so it’s not surprising that the king accepted this as a plausible explanation. Yet the Aramean king didn’t acknowledge Elisha’s accurate prophecies as evidence of God’s power. Instead, he decided to capture Elisha (v. 13). In response, God dramatically revealed His protection over Israel (vv. 17-23). God watches over us as well and reveals His loving care for us.

For further study, read Fear, Faith, and the True Cost of Not Trusting God.

By: Monica La Rose

God Watching Over Us

Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 2 Kings 6:16

The angels were there all along, but no one alive had seen them. They adorned the walls of the Old North Church in Boston, looking down from on high, but they’d been covered with layers of paint more than a century ago. Church records indicated a contract with a member of the congregation to paint them in 1730 when the church was undergoing construction. A recent restoration project that commenced in 2017 led to the discovery of the angels.

Scripture speaks of supernatural beings—real, not painted—that were present when others were not aware. On one occasion, the prophet Elisha was surrounded by the army of the king of Aram. When his servant saw the hostile forces, he cried out, “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). “ ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them’ ” (v. 16). Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened, and “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17).

Angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14), messengers of God sent to help us. We may or may not see them, but they’re there because God has more ways of watching over us than we can imagine. And that should cause us to praise Him, like the angels do.

By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

How does it help you to know God watches over you? How can you thank Him for His goodness today?

Thank You for watching over me today, dear Father. Please help me to walk closely with You.

The Spiritual Sluggard

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together. —Hebrews 10:24-25

We are all capable of being spiritual sluggards. There are times when we don’t want to mix with the rough-and-tumble of life as it is, when our sole objective is to secure peace and comfort for ourselves. The note struck in Hebrews 10 is that of coming together to encourage each other and to spur each other on. This requires a special kind of initiative—the initiative of Christ-realization, not self-realization. To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antithesis of the spirituality Jesus Christ taught.

The test of our spirituality comes when we find ourselves faced with injustice and cruelty and ingratitude and turmoil. All these can turn us into spiritual sluggards; they can cause us to retreat from the world and to use prayer and Bible reading merely to soothe ourselves. We might start going to God for the sole purpose of getting enjoyment; we might lose interest in manifesting the life of Jesus Christ in our own lives. If we are behaving like this, we can be sure we’ve taken a step in the wrong direction. Enjoyment, peace, and relaxation are effects of the spiritual life, but we try to make them causes.

Peter wanted to rouse Christians to action by reminding them of

what Christ had done. “I think it meet,” he said, “to stir you up by putting you in remembrance” (2 Peter 1:13 kjv). It is a shocking thing to be stirred up by one of God’s provokers—by someone who is full of spiritual activity. The danger of spiritual sluggishness is that we do not want to be stirred up. All we want is repose. Jesus Christ never encouraged the idea of spiritual repose. His instructions were clear: “Go and tell . . .” (Matthew 28:10).

Job 41-42; Acts 16:22-40

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment.

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R

 One There To Celebrate You - #10305

By Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Isaiah 49:15-16

Matt is 16, and he hates his birthday. At least, that’s what some of his friends said. He said his birthday is always the worst day of the year for him ever since his sixth birthday. He remembers that like it was yesterday. See, his mom went out and bought a special cake, she invited all his friends to come over for Matt’s birthday party, and nobody came. And since there was nobody there for the party, his mom took the cake back to the store. There was no one there to celebrate him.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “No One There To Celebrate You.”

Most people haven’t had a party in their honor that no one showed up for. But a lot of people feel like their life has been a party that no one showed up for. In fact, you may feel right now like there’s no one celebrating you. So many times, you have felt overlooked, neglected, maybe you’ve felt abandoned, and betrayed. You’re questioning your own value. You may be successful, you could be surrounded by people, spiritually involved, but maybe the feelings of unworthiness have never gone away.

Someone very important thinks you’re very important. Actually, He was there for your first birthday - the day you were born. He created you. And this One who rules the galaxies values you more than you can imagine. God’s commitment to you is spelled out very clearly in our word for today from the Word of God. You need to hear this.

In Isaiah 49:15-16, your Creator says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you.” Did you get what God’s saying here? “I will not forget you.” If everyone else does, He will not. He never has. He never will. How can you be sure that you’re always on God’s mind? Listen to the next verse, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.”

Do you know how Jesus’ friends knew it was Him after He came back from the dead? By the nail prints in His hands. Those prints, hammered there when He was nailed to the cross, are there forever. And when Jesus looks at His hands, He sees the nail prints and He thinks of you, because He died on that cross for you. You can walk up to that cross in your mind and say these words right from the Bible, “He loved me and gave Himself for me.”

It was the only way you could ever spend eternity with Jesus in heaven. All your religion, your good deeds, could never pay the death penalty that goes with your sin. And because Jesus doesn’t want to lose you, He took that death penalty for you. That’s how much you mean to Him. That’s how much He loves you. And once you belong to Him, He will never turn His back on someone He loved enough to die for.

But sadly, you may not belong to Jesus because you’ve never opened your heart to Him; you’ve never given Him you. You’ve never felt like you’re worth much because you’ve never known the One who gave you your worth - who thought you were worth His life. But beginning today, you can finally belong to the One who loves you most. But you have to tell Him that you want to begin a relationship with Him.

The Bible says about Him, “You were created by Him and for Him.” And He waits now for you to reach out in total trust to tell Him He is your only hope. So, find a quiet place as soon as you can and just talk to Him something like this: “Jesus, thank You for dying for me. I was never supposed to run my life. I have, but I thank You that You made me and you loved me enough to die for me. And I want the love and the worth of my life from the only One who can give it to me. I want the relationship I was made for. I want You.”

Our website is designed specifically for a moment like this, for a person like you. I urge you to go there today - ANewStory.com. You will find the information right from God's Word that will help you be sure you belong to Him.

See, the Son of God made you. He gave His life for you, and you are on the edge right now of more love than you have ever dreamed you could have.

July 9Th

PRAISE THE SOVEREIGN LORD - July 9, 2026

By Max Lucado

The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do. Fill your mind with thoughts of God.

“He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25).

“He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27).

He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, and overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers. He needs no congress. He reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

 Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

Psalm 20

The Message

20 1-4 God answer you on the day you crash,

The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach,

Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,

Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,

Exclaim over your offerings,

Celebrate your sacrifices,

Give you what your heart desires,

Accomplish your plans.

5 When you win, we plan to raise the roof

    and lead the parade with our banners.

May all your wishes come true!

6 That clinches it—help’s coming,

    an answer’s on the way,

    everything’s going to work out.

7-8 See those people polishing their chariots,

    and those others grooming their horses?

    But we’re making garlands for God our God.

The chariots will rust,

    those horses pull up lame—

    and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.

9 Make the king a winner, God;

    the day we call, give us your answer.

Our daily bread:

Today's Scripture & Insight :

Romans 12:3-8

The Message

3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

6-8 If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Insight

Spiritual (grace) gifts are listed in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; and 1 Corinthians 12:28. No two lists are identical, which indicates they aren’t exhaustive. The purpose of listing the gifts isn’t to enumerate how many types of gifts there are but rather to teach us to use them in a loving way that promotes growth and unity in the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; 13:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10). Spiritual gifts equip God’s people to do His work, to edify and build up the church (Ephesians 4:11-16), and to serve others and bring glory to God (1 Peter 4:10-11). To achieve this, Paul tells us not to think too highly or too lowly of ourselves but to use our spiritual giftedness in humility (Romans 12:3). With our diverse gifts (vv. 4-6), we can serve others in sincere love (v. 9) and mutual respect (v. 10). Today, God helps us humbly use our gifts to serve others. 

By KT Sim

Sharing Our Spiritual Gifts

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6

“You’re good at playing the guitar,” I said to a new friend at church. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s my ministry.” There was that word again. Ministry. I didn’t know what that was or how someone “got” a ministry. But my friend was simply using the musical ability he’d been given to serve others. When I later discovered that one of my gifts was exhortation, or encouragement, I was a bit disappointed. It felt too plain. But soon I realized that as the care leader of our small group, I delighted in writing encouraging notes or calling our members. I’d been using one of my spiritual gifts without even knowing it.

As believers in Jesus, we’re each given spiritual gifts to serve in the church (1 Corinthians 12:6). Sometimes we don’t know what they are, so we simply serve where there’s need. The Holy Spirit will do the rest (vv. 4-6, 8-11).

Just as our human body has many parts with different functions, in Christ, “we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:5-6). Teaching, encouraging, giving, and showing mercy are just some of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the passage from the book of Romans (vv. 6-8). Whatever spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit entrusts us with, let’s use them to serve others in the church—the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).

By:  Nancy Gavilanes

Reflect & Pray

What’s one of your spiritual gifts? How can you use it to bless others?

Dear God, please help me use my spiritual gifts to serve others.

The Great Examination

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

EDITION

Modern ClassicUpdatedClassic

Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. . . . He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.” —Joshua 24:19

Do you have the slightest reliance on anything other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural virtue, any set of circumstances? When it comes to the new dilemma God has put before you, are you relying on yourself in any way?

This is the kind of rigorous self-examination God expects. When you say to yourself, “I can’t live a holy life,” you let yourself off the hook too easily. It’s true that you can’t make yourself holy, but you can always decide to let Jesus make you holy. Perhaps, like the Israelites in Joshua 24:19, you “are not able to serve the Lord” because your sinfulness and rebellion are too great. Yet it is always possible for God’s almighty power to work through you. You simply have to put yourself in the proper place—the place where you are right with him. Are you sufficiently right with God to expect him to manifest his wonderful life through you?

“The people said to Joshua, ‘No! We will serve the Lord’” (v. 21). The decision to serve isn’t an impulse but a deliberate commitment. You say, “God can’t possibly have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. He can’t mean me.” He does mean you. The weaker you are, the better. The person who has something besides God to trust in doesn’t come anywhere close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”

We say, “If only I could truly believe.” The point is “If only I will believe.” No wonder Jesus Christ puts so much emphasis on the sin of unbelief: “He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what he said, what would we be like? Do I dare let God be to me all he says he will?

Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. 

My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

A word with you:

God-Shaped Days - #10304

By Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Ephesians 2:10

I think in a way, life is kind of like 365 deaths and resurrections every year. You know, you go to bed at night. It’s kind of like you die, and then you come back to life the next morning. Now I know some mornings those resurrections look a little doubtful, like they may not happen. There’s the sound of a buzzer, or a bell, or a radio going on, and then no signs of life. But eventually, sooner or later, there are signs of stirring and the dead person returns to life - another new start in a lifetime full of new starts. Whether or not you find those early moments of your day a little tough, I think I’ve got something that just might help you get out of the gate each morning.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “God-Shaped Days.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 2:10. I think this is I guess I’d call it a cosmically exciting verse. Listen to this: “For we are God’s workmanship.” Well, that’s pretty good, but he’s not done yet. “…created in Christ Jesus…” Okay, it’s getting better. “…to do good works.” All right. “…which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Now, think about this. The Word of God is saying that you are uniquely crafted by God. You’re His workmanship. All the experiences, the education, the people, even the hurts of your life (maybe especially the hurts of your life) have shaped you for some special assignments from God. He’s given you gifts that will enable you to go and make a difference in your world. You have “make a difference” equipment that God has literally built into you.

And now this verse tells us that there are, throughout your life, assignments specially prepared for you to do. I can’t do them; they were prepared for you. Now, he doesn’t say great works. He says good works. We’re sometimes waiting around for some giant thing to do. “I want something big to do for God.” He says, “I just want you to do a lot of little good works.”

See, God is daily bringing into your life people that He’s planned for you to touch; to help with what you know; to help with what you can do. He’s daily setting you up for a cup of cold water that you were destined to give in His name to someone. Or a compliment, or a word of encouragement that you were destined to give, an insight that maybe will lift someone’s load or change their life. A pre-destined contact with someone who needs what you uniquely can give them.

So when you’re starting a new day and resurrecting from the night before, you don’t have to say, “Oh, here we go again! Seen one day, seen them all.” Uh-uh! No way! You can wake up and say, “This is the day the Lord has made.” Not, “This is the day the boss has made, or the weather has made, or that my husband or wife has made, or my kids have made, or my To Do List has made. No, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

Right now God is maneuvering your life and someone else’s so that they will intersect at just the right time; so they will come together for His glory today. But you can miss it. You have to look for it. You have to expect it each new day, because God promised “good works that were prepared in advance for you to do.”

Today you will discover the good works He’s prepared in advance for you to do. That should help you resurrect each morning. That daily destiny? That’s something worth getting up for.

July 8th

REJOICE, GOD IS ABLE - July 8, 2026 

By Max Lucado

What will happen if your job disappears? Or your health diminishes? Or the economy takes a nosedive? Does God have a message for his people when calamity strikes?

He certainly had a word for Isaiah. The prophet wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up…above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory’” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

God calmed the fears of Isaiah, not by removing the problem, but by revealing his divine power and presence. Rejoice that God is able to do what you cannot do! Your anxiety decreases as your understanding of your heavenly father increases.

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

John 17

The Message

Jesus’ Prayer for His Followers

17 1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:

Father, it’s time.

Display the bright splendor of your Son

So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.

You put him in charge of everything human

So he might give real and eternal life to all in his care.

And this is the real and eternal life:

That they know you,

The one and only true God,

And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

I glorified you on earth

By completing down to the last detail

What you assigned me to do.

And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,

The very splendor I had in your presence

Before there was a world.

* * *

6-12 I spelled out your character in detail

To the men and women you gave me.

They were yours in the first place;

Then you gave them to me,

And they have now done what you said.

They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,

That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,

For the message you gave me, I gave them;

And they took it, and were convinced

That I came from you.

They believed that you sent me.

I pray for them.

I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world

But for those you gave me,

For they are yours by right.

Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,

And my life is on display in them.

For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;

They’ll continue in the world

While I return to you.

Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life

That you conferred as a gift through me,

So they can be one heart and mind

As we are one heart and mind.

As long as I was with them, I guarded them

In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;

I even posted a lookout.

And not one of them got away,

Except for the rebel bent on destruction

(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).

* * *

13-19 Now I’m returning to you.

I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing

So my people can experience

My joy completed in them.

I gave them your word;

The godless world hated them because of it,

Because they didn’t join the world’s ways,

Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.

I’m not asking that you take them out of the world

But that you guard them from the Evil One.

They are no more defined by the world

Than I am defined by the world.

Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;

Your word is consecrating truth.

In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,

I give them a mission in the world.

I’m consecrating myself for their sakes

So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.

* * *

20-23 I’m praying not only for them

But also for those who will believe in me

Because of them and their witness about me.

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—

Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

So they might be one heart and mind with us.

Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.

The same glory you gave me, I gave them,

So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—

I in them and you in me.

Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,

And give the godless world evidence

That you’ve sent me and loved them

In the same way you’ve loved me.

* * *

24-26 Father, I want those you gave me

To be with me, right where I am,

So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,

Having loved me

Long before there ever was a world.

Righteous Father, the world has never known you,

But I have known you, and these disciples know

That you sent me on this mission.

I have made your very being known to them—

Who you are and what you do—

And continue to make it known,

So that your love for me

Might be in them

Exactly as I am in them.

Our Daily Bread:

Today's Scripture & Insight :

Matthew 26:20-30

20-21 After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”

22 They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”

23-24 Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”

25 Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”

Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”

The Bread and the Cup

26-29 During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:

Take, eat.

This is my body.

Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:

Drink this, all of you.

This is my blood,

God’s new covenant poured out for many people

    for the forgiveness of sins.

“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”

30 They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.

Insight

Jesus commanded His believers to remember His death through which forgiveness has been secured (Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). In the observance of Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, believers take the bread and the cup as visible symbols of His death. 

In 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, Paul instructs believers on how to observe Communion. The Corinthians’ conduct was out of character with what Jesus had done. There were reports of “divisions among” them (v. 18). They were inconsiderate and self-indulgent (vv. 19-22). The apostle highlighted the gravity of how they observed this remembrance (vv. 23-34). Today, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we can thank Him for His sacrifice for us.

By: Arthur Jackson

The Holy Grail

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28

For centuries, people have been fascinated by the Holy Grail—the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. The legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table detail their obsession over the search for the cup. They believed it had magical powers. In film, Indiana Jones and his father, Henry, fulfilled Henry’s lifelong pursuit of the Grail.

While this makes for fascinating storytelling, the truth is much more straightforward. The cup itself has no special powers. The real power is found in what it represents. Matthew describes the scene in the upper room the night before Jesus went to the cross: “Then [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ ” (26:27-28). The cup is a picture of the blood that Jesus would shed on our behalf.

John the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” And Paul wrote that Christ himself is “our Passover lamb” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. How thankful we are for the shed blood of our Savior, the Lamb!

By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean for you to celebrate Communion? How do you express your thanks for the sacrifice Jesus made for you?

Loving Father, left to myself I would be forever lost. Thank You for the provision of Your Son and His willingness to go to the cross in my place.

The Will to Loyalty

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. —Joshua 24:15

I can’t give up my will; I must exercise it. Will is the whole person active. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of what should be, the question is never what he will do but what I will do.

Has the Lord been putting some big decisions before you? The best thing to do, as you consider your course of action, is to think back on what you did when you first were saved or realized some truth. Do you remember how easy it was to give allegiance to God? Recall those moments now as the Spirit of God brings new possibilities before you, asking you to be loyal to him.

Serving the Lord is a deliberate choice, not something you drift into. Everything else is put on hold until you choose. The decision is between you and God; you must not “consult any human being” (Galatians 1:16). With every new crossroads, other people’s ability to understand your specific situation diminishes, and that is where the strain comes in. God allows the opinions of his children to continue to matter to you, and yet you are brought more and more to a place where others can’t understand the steps you’re taking. What God is doing with you isn’t their business—but neither is it yours. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading you. The only thing God will explain to you is himself.

Profess to God, “I will be loyal.” The moment you choose to be loyal to Jesus Christ, you become a witness against your own selfishness and self-interest. Will to be loyal—and give other people proper credit for being loyal, too.

Job 36-37; Acts 15:22-41

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. 

Shade of His Hand, 1226 L

The Open Door on Our Safe Place - #10303

Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Acts 2:42

You know, there’s a stretch of Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, that has been called “Tornado Alley.” On the Weather Channel, a lot of spring and summer days show that part of the country colored in the bright red that indicates severe weather. The most powerful tornado America ever had so far roared through the Oklahoma City area just a few years ago. As I drove through that area on a spring day between storm systems, I couldn’t help but be impressed with what I saw as I drove by a church. Right in front of the church you could see an open door sticking up out of the ground. The church actually has a storm cellar right out on the street, and the door was wide open!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Open Door on Our Safe Place.”

That’s how every church and Christian fellowship should be - a storm cellar with the door wide open for everybody to enter! Sadly, too many churches turn out to be a place where you find more storms, but it’s meant to be the safest place in town.

We’ve got a lot to learn from the original template of how God’s people are supposed to operate together. It’s described for us in our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 2, beginning with verse 42. These were the original Christians and they showed us how to do it right. “They devoted themselves, to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” First of all, there’s the key to being Jesus’ kind of church - stay focused on the majors and don’t get mired in the minors. The majors are studying the Word of God together, celebrating your common ground in Christ, remembering His cross, and waging war on your knees. Not majoring on personalities, buildings, budgets, music styles, or putting people in categories.

This powerful blueprint goes on to say that “all the believers were together…they gave to anyone as he had need.” They focused on needs, not programs. And “every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” Well, of course they won the favor of all the people! How could they miss when they provided a place where you could count on being loved, count on having people care about your needs, and count on finding a safe place. That’s the storm cellar so many people are looking for in our stormy world.

So, how do we let God’s safe place deteriorate into just another stormy place? Egos, personal agendas masquerading as God’s agenda, making small issues into big issues, developing an unofficial caste system that effectively has one group of people who are the insiders and the rest who feel like the outsiders, judging people by their outward appearance instead of by their heart, or treating people as categories instead of as individuals. Somehow, the church can become a place where we’re known for something other than the one characteristic Jesus said would draw people to Him… “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

We represent the welcoming Savior who said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The One who was called “the friend of sinners” ... who sought out the lostest of the lost, and He sought out those the religious people rejected. That’s a welcoming Savior! We’ve got to be His welcoming representatives, providing one place where anyone and everyone can feel safe in this storm-ravaged world. We are the open door through which people can find the sanctuary of the love of Jesus Christ.

July 7th

THE PRESENCE OF A SOVEREIGN LORD - July 7, 2026 by Max Lucado

Control freaks are easily frustrated. We can’t take control, because control is not ours to take. The Bible has a better idea. Rather than seeking control, relinquish it. Peace is within reach, not for lack of problems, but because of the presence of a sovereign Lord.

Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty, as the Apostle Paul did. From prison he wrote, “The things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to the rest, that my chains are in Christ” (Philippians 1:12-13).

In the innermost of his being, Paul was a man who believed in the steady hand of a good God, protected and preserved by God’s love. He lived beneath the shadow of God’s wings. Do you?

 Read: Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado

Psalm 19

The Message

19 1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,

    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

Madame Day holds classes every morning,

    Professor Night lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren’t heard,

    their voices aren’t recorded,

But their silence fills the earth:

    unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome

    for the sun—a superdome!

The morning sun’s a new husband

    leaping from his honeymoon bed,

The daybreaking sun an athlete

    racing to the tape.

6 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies

    from sunrise to sunset,

Melting ice, scorching deserts,

    warming hearts to faith.

7-9 The revelation of God is whole

    and pulls our lives together.

The signposts of God are clear

    and point out the right road.

The life-maps of God are right,

    showing the way to joy.

The directions of God are plain

    and easy on the eyes.

God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,

    with a lifetime guarantee.

The decisions of God are accurate

    down to the nth degree.

10 God’s Word is better than a diamond,

    better than a diamond set between emeralds.

You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,

    better than red, ripe strawberries.

11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger

    and directs us to hidden treasure.

Otherwise how will we find our way?

    Or know when we play the fool?

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!

    Keep me from stupid sins,

    from thinking I can take over your work;

Then I can start this day sun-washed,

    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

These are the words in my mouth;

    these are what I chew on and pray.

Accept them when I place them

    on the morning altar,

O God, my Altar-Rock,

    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

Our daily bread:

Today's Scripture & Insight :

1 Kings 3:16-21, 24-28

The Message

16-21 The very next thing, two prostitutes showed up before the king. The one woman said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. While we were living together, I had a baby. Three days after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone—there wasn’t anyone else in the house except for the two of us. The infant son of this woman died one night when she rolled over on him in her sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son—I was sound asleep, mind you!—and put him at her breast and put her dead son at my breast. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, here was this dead baby! But when I looked at him in the morning light, I saw immediately that he wasn’t my baby.”

24 After a moment the king said, “Bring me a sword.” They brought the sword to the king.

25 Then he said, “Cut the living baby in two—give half to one and half to the other.”

26 The real mother of the living baby was overcome with emotion for her son and said, “Oh no, master! Give her the whole baby alive; don’t kill him!”

But the other one said, “If I can’t have him, you can’t have him—cut away!”

27 The king gave his decision: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Nobody is going to kill this baby. She is the real mother.”

28 The word got around—everyone in Israel heard of the king’s judgment. They were all in awe of the king, realizing that it was God’s wisdom that enabled him to judge truly.

Insight

As King Solomon began his reign, “The Lord appeared to [him] during the night in a dream” and told him, “Ask for whatever you want” (1 Kings 3:5). He asked for “a discerning heart to govern [God’s] people” (v. 9). God granted his request (3:10-14; 4:29-34), and he began well (3:28). Yet his personal life became a shambles due to his habit of marrying women who practiced other religions (11:2). He “loved many foreign women” (v. 1) and “as [he] grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods” (v. 4). Despite what God had given him, he disregarded his own wisdom. Today, we can ask God to direct our paths and help us walk in the way of wisdom.

By: Tim Gustafson

The Way Wisdom Works

They held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. 1 Kings 3:28

As a child, I brought home a report card with all S’s, which stood for Satisfactory. My sister, who was five years older than me, had a mixture of A’s and B’s. I thought our report cards proved I was smarter because I had what I thought was the equivalent of all A’s. My older brother then proceeded to offer us a test. He went to my parents’ bookshelf and pulled out a book. He asked me to read a passage. I stumbled, only recognizing a few words. My sister read the passage flawlessly. My brother declared her the smartest.

Lesson learned. His test proved to be wise.

The people in Israel learned a lesson on wisdom from King Solomon. Two women had delivered babies. One baby died when his mother accidentally “lay on him” (1 Kings 3:19). This mother then tried to claim the living baby as her own. The women went to Solomon to ask who should keep the baby. When he heard the complaint, he ordered that the living baby be cut in two so both women could have a half of the child (v. 25).

The woman who was not the mother agreed to this order, but the true mother said, “Give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” (v. 26). When she spoke up to save the child, Solomon ruled that she was the mother and said to give her the baby (v. 27). Solomon’s God-given wisdom was on full display.

As God helps us, our actions can show others the true wisdom that comes from Him too (Proverbs 2:6).

By:  Katara Patton

Reflect & Pray

What decisions do you need wisdom for today? How can you find wisdom?

All-wise God, please give me the wisdom I need to know which way to go.

All Noble Things Are Difficult

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. —Matthew 7:14

If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty does not make us faint and cave in; it rallies us to overcome. Do I so appreciate the salvation of Jesus Christ that I give my utmost for his highest?

God saves humanity by his sovereign grace through the atonement. He works in us “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). Our responsibility is to work out our salvation in practical living. If we begin to do what God commands, and to do it on the basis of the redemption, we will discover that we have all the strength and resources we need to succeed. If we fail, it’s because we haven’t practiced; we haven’t developed the habit of obeying God. When a crisis comes along, it reveals our level of preparedness. If we’ve been practicing in our daily life what God has put into us by his Spirit, then in a crisis our own nature will stand alongside the grace of God to support us.

Thank God he does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also heroic and holy. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of a son or a daughter. God’s grace never produces cowards or weaklings; it produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the noble life of a disciple of Jesus. It is always necessary to make an effort to be noble.

Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

The "I Love You" At the Finish Line - #10302

By :

Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Titus 2:4-5

My regular routine doesn’t allow me as much time for exercise as I’d like. In the past, when I had a few days away and my schedule permitted, I would enjoy doing some biking or hiking, or running. Of course, my body always told me that I hadn't been doing it enough. I ended up hurting in places I didn’t even know I had places! But it’s good to get some extra exercise when you can.

One of those times, my wife and I were away, and I had a chance to do some jogging on the beach at sunrise. I was chugging along trying to cover those last few hundred yards, which seemed like the longest and pounding back down the beach all tired and sweaty and disgusting. My muscles were saying, “Stop this, will you!” And then I saw my wife in the distance. Well, that was a great motivation to finish, and to finish strong. So I kind of picked up the pace a little bit, and had almost reached her when I saw what she had written in huge letters in the sand, “I love you, Ron.” Oh boy, there it was! What a happy ending to my run…or for any man on any day.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The ‘I Love You’ At the Finish Line.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is about "wife-ing" actually, and it’s in Titus 2:4-5. It’s actually instructions to the older women in the church as to what they should, from their well of experience, train the younger women to be like. He says, “Then they can train the younger women…” First and foremost notice now, “…to love their husbands and children. To be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the Word of God.”

Actually, this passage is referring to two generations of loving wives, because obviously the older women had to do it in order to be able to teach it to the younger women. So, in both generations, the very first word to the women is, “Love your husband.” Proverbs 31, that great description of the woman every godly woman wants to be, the Proverbs 31 Woman, well here’s what it says about her in verse 12. “She brings her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life.” Notice, each 24-hour period. In other words, she brings daily goodies into his life. Now, there’s that picture of me running on the beach, coming toward the finish line, tired, feeling like quitting. And suddenly I see these words, “I love you, Ron.” It gave me incentive to cross the finish line.

I’ll tell you, that’s a picture of many days in the life of a man close to you - a husband, a son, a brother. He comes home tired from today’s run. Few things mean more to a man than to know that he will find an “I love you” at the finish line. I think a man can handle almost anything if he’s sure that he will be safe and appreciated and loved when he gets home. You know, “All’s well that ends well.” Lots of pressure, lots of stress, but I can handle it if I know there’s going to be security at the finish line.

There are a lot of ways to say it to him. First, just verbally express it. Don’t just say, “I love you until further notice.” No, tell him often. Touch him affectionately. Provide peace in the house as much as possible when he arrives home; maybe that special meal or special card or special note. Now, it’s hard, because you’ve had a long run too. But God will give you strength to put your husband first when you feel like being first yourself.

By the way, what a tremendous surprise it is if that wife is greeted by a man who’s more concerned about her needs than his own. If you’re a woman, say “I love you” in his language; not just on Valentine’s Day or anniversary, but remember “I love you” never means more than after that finish line that he crosses after a long day’s run.

July 6th

ENTRUST THE WORLD TO GOD - July 6, 2026

By Max Lucado

If anyone had a reason to be anxious it was the apostle Paul. Envision an old man as he gazes out the window of a Roman prison. Half-blind, squinting just to read. Awaiting trial before the Roman emperor. His future is as gloomy as his jail cell.

Yet to read his words, you’d think he’d just arrived at a Jamaican beach hotel. His letter to the Philippians bears not a word of fear or complaint. Not one! Instead, he lifts his thanks to God and calls on his readers to do the same. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4)

Paul’s challenge is a decision deeply rooted in the confidence that God exists, that he is in control, and that he is good. Rejoice in the Lord always. You can’t run the world, but you can entrust it to God.

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

Psalm 17

The Message

17 1-2 Listen while I build my case, God,

    the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.

Show the world I’m innocent—

    in your heart you know I am.

3 Go ahead, examine me from inside out,

    surprise me in the middle of the night—

You’ll find I’m just what I say I am.

    My words don’t run loose.

4-5 I’m not trying to get my way

    in the world’s way.

I’m trying to get your way,

    your Word’s way.

I’m staying on your trail;

    I’m putting one foot

In front of the other.

    I’m not giving up.

6-7 I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.

    So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!

Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;

    take in your frightened children who

Are running from the neighborhood bullies

    straight to you.

8-9 Keep your eye on me;

    hide me under your cool wing feathers

From the wicked who are out to get me,

    from mortal enemies closing in.

10-14 Their hearts are hard as nails,

    their mouths blast hot air.

They are after me, nipping my heels,

    determined to bring me down,

Lions ready to rip me apart,

    young lions poised to pounce.

Up, God: beard them! break them!

    By your sword, free me from their clutches;

Barehanded, God, break these mortals,

    these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.

I’d like to see their bellies

    swollen with famine food,

The weeds they’ve sown

    harvested and baked into famine bread,

With second helpings for their children

    and crusts for their babies to chew on.

15 And me? I plan on looking

    you full in the face. When I get up,

I’ll see your full stature

    and live heaven on earth.

Our Daily Bread:

Today's Scripture:

2 Samuel 6:9-15

Then David got angry because of God’s deadly outburst against Uzzah. That place is still called Perez Uzzah (The-Explosion-Against-Uzzah). David became fearful of God that day and said, “This Chest is too dangerous to handle. How can I ever get it back to the City of David?” He refused to take the Chest of God a step farther. Instead, David removed it off the road and to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Chest of God stayed at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. And God prospered Obed-Edom and his entire household.

12-16 It was reported to King David that God had prospered Obed-Edom and his entire household because of the Chest of God. So David thought, “I’ll get that blessing for myself,” and went and brought up the Chest of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David, celebrating extravagantly all the way, with frequent sacrifices of choice bulls. David, ceremonially dressed in priest’s linen, danced with great abandon before God. The whole country was with him as he accompanied the Chest of God with shouts and trumpet blasts. But as the Chest of God came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, happened to be looking out a window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before God, her heart filled with scorn.

By K.T. Sim

Insight

The Bible records several occasions when David lost the joy described in 2 Samuel 6:12-15 and instead found himself estranged from God because of his sin (see Psalm 32; 38:1-4; 40:12). After he committed the double sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah, he was unrepentant for close to a year until the prophet Nathan confronted him (2 Samuel 11-12). Psalm 51 describes how David confessed his sin (vv. 1-7) and longed for renewed intimacy with God. He prayed, “Oh, give me back my joy again; . . . Create in me a clean heart . . . . Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (vv. 8-12 nlt). Like David, when we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can ask Him to “unseal [our] lips” (v. 15 nlt) so we may praise Him again and “joyfully sing of [His] forgiveness” (v. 14 nlt).

Thriving in God’s Presence

David was dancing before the Lord with all his might.

2 Samuel 6:9-15

Zoologists describe what they call “turtle dancing”—the charming behavior of loggerhead turtles when they are in the presence of food. The turtles tilt their bodies vertically, open their mouths, clap their front flippers, and spin around in the water. But research has shown that radio-wave interference can disrupt the turtle’s internal “GPS.” It confuses their navigation, distracts them from their food source, and, sadly, stops their dancing.

The Bible tells of a time when David danced. The ark of the covenant conveyed the very presence of God. At a certain time, the ark was brought to Jerusalem and “David was dancing before the Lord with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14). But years later, the king became distracted. He sinned with Bathsheba, sending her husband to death in war (11:4, 14-15). Now the child he’d borne with her was dying. In remorse and anguish, David “fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground” (12:16). 

Like David, we thrive in the presence of God, but our sin distracts us from Him, and we stop “dancing.” How can we find our joy again? By turning from the sin that confuses our connection to God. When we repent, we find hope in Him. David himself writes of God’s mercy: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11). God, after all, is the true Lord of the dance.

By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

When have you “danced” for God? What has led you away from that?

Dear God, I’ve gone so long in this dark time. There is no joy. Please help me to dance again.

Vision and Reality

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

The burning sand will become a pool. —Isaiah 35:7

When God gives us a vision of what he wants us to be, there is always a time of preparation before the vision becomes a reality. During this time, God takes us down into the valley of humiliation and begins to batter us into shape.

Life is not as idle ore,

But iron dug from central gloom, . . .

And batter’d with the shocks of doom

To shape and use.

—Alfred Tennyson

It is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Satan comes in with his temptations, and we wonder if there’s any point in going on. But every vision will be made real if we have patience. Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry. We are always in a hurry. Inspired by the vision God has given us, we rush out to try to accomplish it, then meet with failure because we aren’t yet in proper shape. We have to stay in the valley with God until we get to the place where he can trust us with the reality. Ever since we first glimpsed the vision, God has been at work, battering us into the shape of the ideal. Over and over again, we escape from his hand, trying to shape ourselves.

The vision isn’t a castle in the air. It’s a vision God fully intends to make real. Trust yourself in the potter’s hands. Let God put you on his wheel and whirl you as he likes. As sure as God is God and you are you, you will turn out exactly in accordance with the vision. Don’t lose heart in the process. Once you’ve had a vision from God, you can try to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you.

Job 32-33; Acts 14

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Conformed to His Image, 354 L

Star Wars - And Our Wars - #10301

Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Romans 7:15

It's been a long time since the "Star Wars" trilogy of movies exploded into our popular culture like, well, like Darth Vader's Death Star. Millions of people developed a fascination for the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and, of course, the infamous Darth Vader. Hero Luke Skywalker became a Jedi knight and he learned the power of what was called The Force. Darth Vader, who was the villain, had mastered the power of the "dark side" of The Force. And then, decades later, a new "Star Wars" trilogy began, telling the story of the events that preceded the original episodes. So there's not Luke or Han or Princess Leia for a while, but guess what was still there? Yeah, The Force. And in subsequent movies, of course, still there. And what is The Force? No one's really sure, but it seems to be the spiritual power you can tap into to help you win your battles.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “Star Wars - And Our Wars.”

Spiritual power you can harness to help you win battles that you can't win with your own resources - that's actually a pretty interesting idea. Of course, our battles aren't about storm troopers or villains with light sabers.

No, we're trying to make a marriage work, to beat the monsters of anger, depression, addiction, selfishness, or loneliness. We battle real challenges, not computer-animated fantasy foes. And as you face the battles raging around you right now - maybe even in you right now - you're having to admit that they are bigger than you are. Actually, there is inside us a deep desire for some power - some spiritual power really - beyond our own to enable us to be the man or woman we desperately want and need to be.

But we need something better than The Force. That's a fictional, impersonal spiritual energy that only the spiritually elite can tap into. Our biggest struggles are actually against the "dark side" that’s inside us. In our word for today from the Word of God, one of the writers of the Bible spoke about our dark side when he said, "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do...I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out...it is sin living in me that does it." And then he speaks for all of us who battle our dark side when he says, "Who will rescue me?" (Romans 7:15, 20, 24)

Thankfully, the Bible doesn't leave us there. The answer follows. "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" The "force" that we need to conquer the dark side is actually a Person - Jesus Christ, the One who gave His life on a cross to pay the death penalty for all the sinning we've ever done. His act of deep love for you and me broke the power that sin has had over the human race since the first man and woman took their lives into their own hands.

We don't need some impersonal force or spirituality that doesn't really help us. We need a living Savior! That's what we need. The power of Jesus is demonstrated, above all else, by His empty grave there on Easter morning. He walked out of His grave under His own power! Now, look, if He can conquer death, the darkness that has stopped every person who has ever lived, He can sure conquer the darkness inside you!

Jesus says to those who belong to Him, "All power is given to Me in heaven and earth...and I am with you always" (Matthew 28:18, 20). Man! Wow! He’s the spiritual power you need to win your battles. He is the love you've been looking for all your life, and Jesus becomes your Savior from your sin when you tell Him you're putting your life into His nail-scarred hands.

You can do that today when you tell Him, “Jesus, I’m Yours.” Then check out our website because the information you’ll need to understand and confirm this is right there. It’s ANewStory,com.

Look, your battles have probably left you pretty wounded and pretty tired. The dark side has won long enough; it’s hurt enough people. You don't ever have to fight those battles alone again, my friend. Jesus Christ - the Creator of every faraway galaxy - stands ready to fight for you from that moment that you open up to His amazing love.

July 5th

 Max Lucado Daily: He Cares About You

Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts.  After all, “He’s got famines and pestilence and wars. He won’t care about my little struggles,” you think.  Why don’t you let Him decide that?

Jesus cared enough about a wedding to provide the wine. He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers.  1 Peter 5:7 says, “He cares about you.”

Your first step is to go to the right person.  Go to God.  Your second step is to assume the right posture.  Bow before God.  Luke 18:7 reminds us, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”

Listen to the prayer in Psalm 25:1-2: “Lord, I give myself to You, my God.  I trust You.”  So, go…bow…and trust.  It’s worth a try, don’t you think?

from Traveling Light

John 16:1-18

The Message

16 1-4 “I’ve told you these things to prepare you for rough times ahead. They are going to throw you out of the meeting places. There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father. I’ve told you these things so that when the time comes and they start in on you, you’ll be well-warned and ready for them.

The Friend Will Come

4-7 “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I was with you every day. But now I am on my way to the One who sent me. Not one of you has asked, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead, the longer I’ve talked, the sadder you’ve become. So let me say it again, this truth: It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.

8-11 “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.

12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’

16 “In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me.”

Joy Like a River Overflowing

17-18 That stirred up a hornet’s nest of questions among the disciples: “What’s he talking about: ‘In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me’? And, ‘Because I’m on my way to the Father’? What is this ‘day or so’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Our Daily Bread:

Today's Scripture & Insight :

1 John 3:1-3, 16-18

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

2-3 But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.16-17 This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

When We Practice Real Love

18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

Insight

In his first letter, John carries forward many of the same themes that frequently appear in his gospel account. These include love (1 John 3:1-3, 11-18; 4:7-12; see John 3:16; 15:9-13) and light (1 John 1:5-7; 2:8-11; see John 1:9-13; 8:12; 9:5), both of which have been perfectly represented in the person of the Savior, Jesus Christ. John also mirrors his gospel by opening his letter with a statement of the incarnation of Jesus—the Son of God, who has come in the flesh (1 John 1:1-4; see John 1:1-5). While John’s writings contain many eternally important ideas, the concepts of love and light continually bubble to the surface as he seeks to describe both who Christ is and what He came to bring. He’s the Son of God, who came to penetrate the world’s darkness with His perfect light and to heal the brokenhearted with His perfect love. As we experience this lavish love, He helps us extend it to others.

By: Bill Crowder

Lavish Love

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

It was my grandson’s eleventh birthday, and a group of family members gathered at a Mediterranean restaurant to celebrate. Before ordering, my son asked the birthday boy what he wanted. He reluctantly told his dad he’d like the salmon but knew it was too expensive. My son told him, “It’s your birthday. If that’s what you’d like, you can have it.” My grandson was thrilled, and his broad smile showed it.

My son’s love for his son reminds me in small part of God’s lavish love. First John 3 describes the “great love” God showers on us: He calls all who believe in Him His children (v. 1), the benefactors of His lavish love. This love is exemplified in Christ’s sacrifice, the greatest gift of all. Jesus “laid down his life for us” on the cross (v. 16). “We’re saved ‘by grace through faith’ in Christ” (Ephesians 2:8). This is God’s gracious gift to everyone who believes.

In response to God’s lavish love, let’s “lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). We’re called to put our faith into action: to love and obey Him and to spread that love to others. Through the Holy Spirit, God enables us to extend lavish love to our family and beyond.

By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When have you been the recipient of lavish love? How can you extend God’s lavish love to another?

Dear loving Savior, none of my gifts or sacrifices could ever compare to Your lavish love for me. Please help me find ways to live out that love to others.

Don’t Calculate without God

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn. —Psalm 37:5-6

Don’t calculate without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we’ve made without taking him into account. When we get ourselves into circumstances that God didn’t choose for us, sooner or later we realize our mistake and are filled with worry. The only thing that keeps us from the possibility of worrying is bringing God in as the greatest factor in all our calculations.

We think it’s normal to put God first in matters of religion, but we hesitate when it comes to the practical issues of life. We worry that running to God with every little detail is burdensome or disrespectful. If we imagine that we have to put on our best Sunday mood before we draw near to God, we will never come near him. We must come as we are.

Don’t calculate with evil in view. “Love . . . keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5). Does God really mean for us to take no account of evil and wrong? Love isn’t ignorant of the existence of evil, but it doesn’t treat evil as a relevant factor in making plans. When we calculate without God, all our reasoning starts from the premise that evil must be considered first. God wants us to start from a place of confidence and love.

Don’t calculate with the rainy day in view. If you are trusting Jesus Christ, you can’t set a little aside for a rainy day; you can’t be anxious about tomorrow. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:27). God won’t prevent your heart from being troubled. It’s a command he has given to you: “Do not . . .” Pick yourself up a hundred and one times a day in order to obey. Do this until you get into the habit of putting God first and calculating with him in view.

Job 30-31; Acts 13:26-52

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment.

The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption

July 4th Happy 250th birthday America

 Max Lucado Daily: Doesn’t Look Like a Hero

The apostle Paul shaped history.  Yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot.  No headlines announced his execution.  No observer recorded the events.  Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero.  Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know….  Doesn’t fit our image of a hero.

John Egglen, a deacon, stepped in and gave the sermon for a few folks who had arrived before a snowstorm that prevented the pastor from getting there.  In a moment of courage, he looked straight at a young boy in the service and said, “Look to Jesus. Look!” The boy’s name?  Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England’s “prince of preachers.” You never know… tomorrow’s Spurgeon may be in your church or be your neighbor. And the hero who inspires him might be in your mirror!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Psalm 14

The Message

14 Bilious and bloated, they gas,

    “God is gone.”

Their words are poison gas,

    fouling the air; they poison

Rivers and skies;

    thistles are their cash crop.

2 God sticks his head out of heaven.

    He looks around.

He’s looking for someone not stupid—

    one man, even, God-expectant,

    just one God-ready woman.

3 He comes up empty. A string

    of zeros. Useless, unshepherded

Sheep, taking turns pretending

    to be Shepherd.

The ninety and nine

    follow their fellow.

4 Don’t they know anything,

    all these predators?

Don’t they know

    they can’t get away with this—

Treating people like a fast-food meal

    over which they’re too busy to pray?

5-6 Night is coming for them, and nightmares,

    for God takes the side of victims.

Do you think you can mess

    with the dreams of the poor?

You can’t, for God

    makes their dreams come true.

7 Is there anyone around to save Israel?

    Yes. God is around; God turns life around.

Turned-around Jacob skips rope,

    turned-around Israel sings laughter.

Our daily bread reading and devotion :

Today's Scripture:

Ezekiel 34:1-2, 11-16

When the Sheep Get Scattered

34 1-6 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherd-leaders of Israel. Yes, prophesy! Tell those shepherds, ‘God, the Master, says: Doom to you shepherds of Israel, feeding your own mouths! Aren’t shepherds supposed to feed sheep? You drink the milk, you make clothes from the wool, you roast the lambs, but you don’t feed the sheep. You don’t build up the weak ones, don’t heal the sick, don’t doctor the injured, don’t go after the strays, don’t look for the lost. You bully and badger them. And now they’re scattered every which way because there was no shepherd—scattered and easy pickings for wolves and coyotes. Scattered—my sheep!—exposed and vulnerable across mountains and hills. My sheep scattered all over the world, and no one out looking for them!

11-16 “‘God, the Master, says: From now on, I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms. I’ll bring them back from foreign peoples, gather them from foreign countries, and bring them back to their home country. I’ll feed them on the mountains of Israel, along the streams, among their own people. I’ll lead them into lush pasture so they can roam the mountain pastures of Israel, graze at leisure, feed in the rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest. I’ll go after the lost, I’ll collect the strays, I’ll doctor the injured, I’ll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong ones so they’re not exploited.

Insight

Like the prophet Ezekiel, Isaiah also depicts God as a shepherd: “He tends his flock like a shepherd” (Isaiah 40:11). In Jesus, God appeared in the flesh as both a shepherd and a lamb. John says, He’s “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) and “the good shepherd” (10:14) who laid down His life for us. Revelation 7:17 beautifully pictures Him as both a lamb and a shepherd: “The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ” Today, Jesus, as our Great Shepherd, offers us salvation and living water that will last.

Visit go.odb.org/070426 to learn more about the Good Shepherd. 

By: Arthur Jackson

A Shepherd’s Heart

I myself will tend my sheep.Ezekiel 34:15

“A baby deer is caught in our fence!” Heather called to her husband, Tim. He gently set it free, but its mother was nowhere to be seen.

That afternoon Tim saw a herd of deer emerge from the woods and graze nearby. One doe seemed especially alert. Wondering if she was the fawn’s mother, Tim looked up a recording of a fawn’s distress cry on his mobile phone and played it loudly over the speaker. The doe began to follow him, and he led her to where the fawn was nestled away. The fawn immediately began to nurse; freedom had been obtained, mother and baby were reunited—all thanks to Tim’s gentle shepherding.

God is even more intentional in caring for His people and providing the freedom we need. The people of Israel had stumbled in their sin and were trapped in exile in Babylon. Yet God promised, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them” (Ezekiel 34:11). Because Israel’s leaders had allowed them to be “scattered” (v. 12), God said, “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays” (v. 16).

Believers in Jesus see God’s ultimate care in His search and rescue mission for us. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,” Jesus said (John 10:11). When we were lost in our sins and captive to them, He chose to rescue us at great cost. On this day and all days, freedom is precious. Let’s celebrate the Good Shepherd, who has set us free!

By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

What does God’s shepherding heart mean to you? How might you thank Him for His care today?

Good Shepherd, thank You for loving me and setting me free.

One of God’s Great Don’ts

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

Do not fret—it leads only to evil. —Psalm 37:8

Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God. When you fret, you place concern for yourself at the center of your life. It’s one thing to tell yourself not to worry, and a very different thing to be unable to worry because your disposition won’t allow it. A disposition founded on Jesus Christ doesn’t worry because it rests in perfect confidence in the Father.

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7 kjv). We think of resting in the Lord as easy. It is easy—that is, until the nest is upset, until we find ourselves living, as so many are today, in tumult and anguish. Can we hear God telling us “Don’t fret” then? If this “don’t” doesn’t work then, it will never work. This “don’t” must work in days of perplexity as well as in days of peace. It must work in your particular case, or it will work in no one’s case. Resting in the Lord doesn’t depend on external circumstances at all but on your relationship to him.

Fretting always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how wise we are; they are really an indication of how wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and he was never anxious, because he wasn’t out to realize his own ideas. He was out to realize his Father’s ideas: “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38).

All our worry is caused by calculating without God. Have you been propping up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God? Put your anxiousness away, and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Deliberately tell God that you will not worry. Pray to him, “Lord, I take you into my calculations as the biggest factor now.”

Job 28-29; Acts 13:1-25

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. 

Not Knowing Whither, 867 L

July 3rd

THE OVERSEER OF YOUR WORLD - July 3, 2026

By Max Lucado

It is not God’s will that you face every day with dread and trepidation.

I have a childhood memory that I cherish. My father loved corn bread and buttermilk. About ten o’clock each night he would meander into the kitchen and crumble a piece of corn bread into a glass of buttermilk, stand at the counter and drink it. Then he’d make the rounds to the front and back doors, checking the locks. Once everything was secure, he would step into the bedroom I shared with my brother and say something like, “Everything is secure, boys. You can go to sleep now.”

I have no inclination to believe that God loves corn bread and buttermilk, but I do believe he loves his children. He keeps everything secure. He oversees your world. And by his power you will “be anxious for nothing” and discover the “peace…that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:4-8 RSV).

 Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

Read more Anxious for Nothing:

Your Goal or Your People? - #10300

Psalm 13

The Message

13 1-2 Long enough, God—

    you’ve ignored me long enough.

I’ve looked at the back of your head

    long enough. Long enough

I’ve carried this ton of trouble,

    lived with a stomach full of pain.

Long enough my arrogant enemies

    have looked down their noses at me.

3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God;

    I want to look life in the eye,

So no enemy can get the best of me

    or laugh when I fall on my face.

5-6 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—

    I’m celebrating your rescue.

I’m singing at the top of my lungs,

    I’m so full of answered prayers.

Our daily bread:

Today's Scripture:

Isaiah 40:25-31

The Message

25-26 “So—who is like me?

    Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy.

Look at the night skies:

    Who do you think made all this?

Who marches this army of stars out each night,

    counts them off, calls each by name

—so magnificent! so powerful!—

    and never overlooks a single one?

27-31 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

    or, whine, Israel, saying,

“God has lost track of me.

    He doesn’t care what happens to me”?

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.

    He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.

He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.

    And he knows everything, inside and out.

He energizes those who get tired,

    gives fresh strength to dropouts.

For even young people tire and drop out,

    young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

    They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don’t get tired,

    they walk and don’t lag behind.

Insight

Isaiah warned the unrepentant people of Judah that God would exile them to Babylon because of their covenantal unfaithfulness (Isaiah 1-39). But after disciplining them, God would bring them back to the promised land and bless them (chs. 40-66). Comforting a discouraged Judah (40:1-2), Isaiah assured them that God wouldn’t abandon them and that He had the power to bless them. He reminded them that Yahweh alone, “the Holy One” (v. 25), is their everlasting, omnipotent, sovereign “Creator” (v. 28). Speaking tenderly of God as a loving and caring shepherd, Isaiah said that God “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (v. 11) to bring them home. The tired, weary, and weak would find new strength (vv. 28-31) as they journeyed back to the promised land with God. In our journey of faith, God will provide strength as well. We affirm with the psalmist, “Blessed are those whose hope . . . is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146:5).

Walk by Faith

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

Isaiah 40:31

The woman walked gingerly up each step to the church’s sanctuary for that night’s prayer service. As she paused because of her pain or breathlessness, a man passing by said, “One step at a time. That’s the only way you’re going to make it. Take it easy.” His words were meant to encourage the woman and may have given her the boost she needed to reach the top. They certainly encouraged my weary soul during my visit that evening.

In our faith journey, we may feel tempted to quit when the path seems too long or difficult. Yet in these moments, we can find solace in the words the prophet Isaiah spoke to comfort the Israelites. He told them God would eventually redeem them from their decades of captivity in Babylon, and He reminded them that God wasn’t like powerless idols (Isaiah 40:18-20).  Almighty God, who created the heavens and earth, “will not grow tired or weary,” and He strengthens the weak (vv. 28-29). “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (v. 31).

Isaiah’s words encouraged the Israelites, and we can receive strength from the same “everlasting God” (vv. 28-29) they were trusting. Let’s walk by faith day by day and one step at a time. As we continue to hope in the one true God, He will help us walk, run, and soar for His glory.

By:  Nancy Gavilanes

Reflect & Pray

Why is it sometimes hard to take things one step at a time? How can you rely on God’s strength each day?

Dear God, thank You for strengthening me step by step.

The Concentration of Personal Sin

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” — Isaiah 6:5

When the Lord appeared to Isaiah in a vision, Isaiah was convicted by a sense of his sinfulness (Isaiah 6:1—5). This conviction wasn’t vague or indefinite; the Lord revealed to Isaiah the exact nature of his sin, showing him that he was “a man of unclean lips.”

A sure sign that I am in the presence of God is this lack of vagueness about sin. I realize I am a sinner not in a general sense but in a particular sense. I understand that there is a concentration of sin in a specific area of my life. It’s easy to say, “Oh, yes, I know I am a sinner.” But I can’t get away with a vague statement like this when I am with God.

Everyone, from the greatest and the least of saints to the greatest and the least of sinners, experiences this awareness of the concentration of sin when they come into God’s presence. When we are on the first rung of the ladder of spiritual experience, we may not know exactly where we’ve gone wrong. The Spirit of God will show us. He will point out a definite sin, fixing our minds upon it, as he fixed Isaiah’s mind upon his “unclean lips.” If we will yield to his conviction on this point, he will take us to a deeper level of conviction, leading us all the way down to the great disposition of sin that lies underneath.

Once we’ve been convicted of our sin, God will purify us of it, sending his cleansing fire to the precise place the sin is concentrated: “He touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for’” (v. 7). This is always the way God deals with us when we are consciously in his presence.

Job 25-27; Acts 12

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

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

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L

Ron Hutchcraft

Scripture:  Ecclesiastes 4:4

Chimney Mountain! I wanted our family to conquer it together. So, my wife and I, and our then three little Hutchcrafts started hiking up the trail. And my wife was a lovely tour guide as we went up that mountain trail. She pointed out for example, “Oh, look at the chipmunks over there! Hey, there goes a squirrel! Oh, look at those roots, they’re huge! Notice how they tangled around the tree. Wait, wait, stop, listen; can you hear the wind whispering to us in the pines?” We were having a great time together.

We were about half-way up the mountain and my wife said, “Oh, this has really been nice. Well, let’s go back.” I said, “What? Let’s go back? What is the purpose for getting on a mountain trail in the first place? The reason you climb a mountain is to get to the top of the mountain. We’ve got to conquer it! We have to achieve!” But my wife was saying, “Well, we’ve had a nice experience together. Isn’t that what was important?” Sounds kind of like a guy and a woman perspective, doesn’t it? Get to the top or get with each other? You have to decide what’s important on your mountain too.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Your Goal or Your People?”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ecclesiastes 4. Solomon says this in verse 4, “And I saw that all labor and all achievements spring from man’s envy for his neighbor.” He called it kind of a great chase! “This, too," he said, "is meaningless...” That’s his verdict on a lifetime of work. Listen to this: "a chasing after the wind.” Then he says, “Better one handful with tranquility than two hands full with toil and chasing after the wind.”

Now, this sounds like an indictment really of a lifestyle that’s considered normal by most of us. Work harder and harder to get more and more. The tendency is to live as if my worth is my work. I am what I do. Then one day people retire and they don’t know who they are because they don’t have their job any more.

One day after I spoke at a church, a well-dressed woman came up to me, probably in her 30s, she started to cry and she shook her head and she said, “I can’t believe I fell for it.”

I said, “What do you mean?” She said, “All these years we‘ve watched the price that our husbands paid to chase success: stress, heart attacks, pressure, broken relationships.” And she said, “I decided I would go after that too.” And she said, “Do you know what I have to show for it? Pressure at work and failure at home.”

Men have fallen for the lie that your worth is your work for a long time – getting up that mountain. And you know what? Now women are falling for it too. Now they’re getting the ulcers; they’re getting the heart attacks, and both are leaving a trail of neglected relationships as they push up the trail. There was a song some years ago that said, “Daddy, don’t you walk so fast. Won’t you slow down some, because you’re making me run? Daddy, don’t you walk so fast.”

People around us may be crying, “Slow down! I need time with you!” But we’re ruled by our work. God says, “People are more important than work or achievement.” Only you can be Mom or Dad to your kids. You’re the only husband or wife, brother or sister that they have. Are you busy chugging up Mount Work, Mount Accomplishment, Mount Goal? Are you so busy that the people you love are only getting your leftovers?

Being is more important than doing. Who you’re on the mountain with is more important than getting to the top.