Bible in One Year: Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Holiness or Hardness Toward God? / Oswald Chambers
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Life’s Great Liberator / Charles Stanley
Life’s Great Liberator
From some people’s countenance, we judge them to be happy. Smiles, makeup, and stylish clothing can create an appearance of inner peace. Internally, though, many are in bondage.
In today’s passage, Jesus clarifies His purpose: He has come to set free those in captivity. Christ was referring to several types of bonds that can imprison our souls.
First, Jesus breaks the chains of sin. All people have broken God’s law and consequently live apart from Him (Rom. 3:23). But Christ’s death and resurrection free us when we accept His gift of forgiveness and place our trust in Him. Then we can have a relationship with the Lord.
Secondly, He liberates us from persistent sins like jealousy, bitterness, and gluttony. His Spirit resides within each believer and provides the power to overcome wrong choices that seemed to “own” us. He enables us to do what He desires—by bringing immediate healing or by giving guidance and strength in the ongoing battle.
The Creator of mankind made us with a void in our hearts for Jesus to fill. Everything we put there—whether it seems like a good thing at the time or an obvious bad choice—will ultimately leave us empty. And we will remain in bondage until God frees us and then provides the only true satisfaction.
Are you one of those people who appear happy and seem to have life figured out, and yet inside feel uneasy and empty? Jesus Christ is the only One who can redeem you, forgive your sins, and fill the vacant place in your soul. Allow Him to liberate you today.
Do You Dwell on the Cross? / Adrian Rogers
Do You Dwell on the Cross?
Sermon: 1644 – An Old Testament Calvary
Pray Over This
“When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luke 22:53 Ponder This In this verse, Jesus referred to the power of Satan. Hell had a holiday and demons taunted and tormented the Lord Jesus when He was on the cross. God-forsaken, attacked by Satan, and abused by men, Jesus suffered, bled, and died for you at the holy hand of God, the hateful hand of man, and the hellish hand of Satan.
That’s the agony of the cross. How can we be unmoved? How can we ignore such love? How can we go idly on our way when Jesus Christ paid that price for us? You may wonder, “Did He really take my hell? He was only there for six hours on the cross.” But in six hours, Jesus suffered everything you’d suffer for eternity. He, being infinite, suffered in a finite period, what you as a finite being would suffer in an infinite period. The sins of the world were distilled upon Jesus and eternities were compressed upon the Lord Jesus. No one ever suffered like Jesus, and it was for your sake.
- What stands out to you about the fact that Jesus suffered for your sake?
- How does it change your perspective of God to remember He willingly sent Jesus to suffer so you would be restored to Him?
Practice This
Make a list of ways you know Jesus suffered. Prayerfully reflect over this list and thank God that this was done for your sake.
He is the Light / Billy Graham
He is the Light
Under the picture of Peter Milne, hanging in the church he founded on the little New Hebrides Island of Nguna, these words are found: “When he came, there was no light. When he died, there was no darkness.” When Christ came into the world, there was no light. Matthew (quoting Isaiah) said of Him, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matthew 4:16). Harry Lauder once said that during his boyhood, he could tell where the lamplighter was “by the trail of light he left behind him.” Christ was the heavenly Lamplighter. Everywhere He went, the midnight gloom of sin and despair disappeared before Him.
Daily Prayer
My heart and soul praise You, my risen Redeemer, for the light that pervades the deepest gloom and transforms our lives with Your love.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
God Cleans the Stains / ODB
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Owner’s Manual / David Jeremiah
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March 30 / Wisdom from the Psalms
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
Remember the prodigal son? He thought he was ready to set out on his own, and it almost led to his ruin. He squandered all his wealth and found he really couldn't make it by himself. He had to humble himself and return home, where his father awaited him with open arms.
We need to learn that being mature and independent does not mean breaking our ties with other people. God did not create us to live apart from others. He gave us each other in order to make our lives more enjoyable. We never need lack for anything, because we are to take care of one another. The Lord provides for us through the love of sons and daughters. Growing up doesn't mean learning to do everything by yourself, but realizing how wonderful it is to need other people.
Prayer: I think I am strong and self-sufficient when I am not. I sometimes act as if I don't need anyone else, but deep inside, I know that I do. Put me in community with others who love You, Lord. Make me stronger through the relationships I develop. Amen.
Make disciples today / Senior Living
Make disciples today
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
We’re all involved in the work of making disciples. The question is, whose disciples are we making? Every single day, through your words, actions, or even inaction, you draw someone near to Christ or push them away. As Paul Gilbert wrote…
You are writing a Gospel, a chapter each day,
By deeds that you do, by words that you say.
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true.
Say, what is the Gospel according to you?
It’s a heavy responsibility to know that you’re a disciple-maker. But the good news is that you’re not alone. Christ assures you in today’s passage, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So who’s reading the Gospel you’re writing today? Is it a family member or maybe your neighbor? It could even be the young man who brings you your pizza or bags your groceries. The point is that the world is watching, and what they think of Jesus may come down to what they think of you.
Prayer Challenge:
Ask God to make you attentive to disciple-making opportunities. Pray for His grace, wisdom, and strength to show others the love of Christ.
Questions for Thought:
Who are some people in your life that you could point toward Christ through your words and actions?
What are some things you could do today that would show others the love of Christ?
The Day My Mom Went Crazy By: John UpChurch
The Day My Mom Went Crazy
By: John UpChurch
I don’t remember the day of the week—so, let’s say Wednesday. I’d just returned from work and was making the walk from the parking lot to my apartment.
Before I could get to the door, the call came. My cell phone cracked and spluttered as my brother spoke on the other end. His words tumbled into the hundreds of miles between us. But I understood enough. My mother had stopped her meds again; she’d lied about it; and now she didn’t know her youngest son existed. My family wanted me to talk to her to prove I was, in fact, real. The idea sickened me, but I didn’t have time to object before the phone went to her. Really, it took that long for me to recover.
They didn’t tell her who I was, just that someone wanted to talk to her. My mind whirled around a prayer—a very inadequate bottle rocket—as I waited through the rustling and murmurs and silence. Mostly, I just hoped she wouldn’t take the phone.
She did.
If you’ve never been told you don’t exist, it’s not something I recommend. You hurt for the person who doesn’t want to remember, and you hurt for the lost connection. But that’s what happened when I said hello and told her who I was. She screamed into the phone that I had died as a baby, that I didn’t really exist, that I was lying to her. The whole moment will never really fade away.
When I visited my mom later in the hospital, a shell sat across the table from me. Her eyes dulled under the fluorescence. There was no recognition, no love in the hazel. She only resembled the woman who’d once wept when I moved out.
Loving her then gave me the smallest glimpse of what it was like for God to love me—even when I ran away, even when I denied He existed. I couldn’t see back then. My eyes couldn’t recognize His goodness because I convinced myself that the lies of this world are more satisfying. I denied Him and raged against Him in turn. I hated that He loved me.
Slowly, over months, my mother began to remember. She got back the names and faces that had vanished from her mind. She saw us again.
And how slow my own journey has been. First, I came face to face with a very real Maker of the universe. Then, I fell down before His ridiculous love for me. Since then, I’ve been slowly regaining my sight, seeing the world through His eyes. I once blinded myself, but now I’ve been granted new eyes. I couldn’t see until God’s preceding grace tore away the haze, and, suddenly, I remembered what love is.
Intersecting Faith and Life: My mom’s lapse opened the cosmic door just a crack—at least, I like to think so. The whole situation hit me with the truth of what John 3:16 really means. God longs for us to recognize His love. But we have selective amnesia; we forget the one who created us.
Even that doesn’t stop Him, though. He pursues us in Christ Jesus, who went through the pain of being rejected to heal our forgetful hearts. Nothing could stop him from that.
Further Reading
Endless Profit / Alistair Begg
Endless Profit
Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?
Jesus was an expert at asking questions—especially the sort of questions that made people stop in their tracks and pay attention. When we are confronted with Jesus’ questions, as the disciples were here, we must be careful not to sidestep their intended effect.
At first glance, Jesus’ question regarding material gain at the expense of our souls might be understood primarily as a warning of impending punishment on the selfish individual. We’re tempted to read Jesus’ question in a way that likens Him to a mother who says to her child, “Now, if you don’t share with your sister, you know what’ll happen!” But this particular question is more along the lines of an observation. Jesus is pointing out what happens when we orient our lives and decisions around our own sinful longings—around our possessions, our accomplishments, our desired identity. To live in such a way, He says, is to forfeit your very life.
The loss of life of which Jesus is speaking here is therefore both immediate and eternal. If we regard life as nothing more than what we can get out of it for ourselves, we actually miss out on its greatest joys; we end up merely existing, not actually living. Furthermore, when we place ourselves on the throne of our life, we remove Jesus from His rightful place and affirm the reality that by nature we prefer to pursue the world rather than to forsake our desires in pursuit of Christ. If we continue in this way, we will forfeit the gift of eternal life that He loves to give to His subjects.
So how are we to combat worldly desires in the here and now? First, we must recognize that, as the 17th-century mathematician and theologian Blaise Pascal put it, we have a God-shaped hole at the deepest level of our being, and nothing can fill this void save God Himself. We exist not to pursue fleeting pleasures but to enjoy relationship with the living God. Then second, we must continually reflect on the value of our souls as evidenced in the cruel scene outside Jerusalem where the sinless Christ hung on a cross—despised, rejected, pierced, scarred, and scorned—so that we might be brought into right relationship with God and freely receive eternal life. Jesus’ sacrifice reveals how much the eternal destiny of our souls matters to God.
Following Jesus as your rescuer and your King and acknowledging His worth above any earthly treasure is not a momentary decision; it is a lifetime commitment that is lived out each day. If you are prepared to come to His cross daily, humbly confess who He is, and give up your life—your preferences, your comfort, your wealth—then your profit will know no end, now and for all of eternity. We could do far worse than asking ourselves the question at the start of each day that Jesus asked His disciples on the road that day: What will it profit me if I gain the whole world and forfeit my soul?
Matthew 16:13-27
Look To the Cross / Spurgeon
Look To the Cross
Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!
The wife who fondly loves her absent husband longs for his return; a long protracted separation from him is a semi-death to her spirit. And so it is with souls who love the Savior much; they need to see His face; they cannot bear that He should be away, thus depriving them of communion with Him. A reproaching glance, an uplifted finger will be grievous to loving children who fear to offend their tender father and are only happy in his smile.
Beloved, it was so once this way with you. A text of Scripture, a threatening, a touch of the rod of affliction, and you went to your Father’s feet, crying, “Let me know why you contend against me.” Is that still the case? Or are you content to follow Jesus from a distance? Can you contemplate broken communion with Christ without being alarmed? Can you bear to have your Beloved walking contrary to you, because you walk contrary to Him? Have your sins separated between you and your God, and is your heart at rest?
Let me affectionately warn you, for it is a grievous thing when we can live contentedly without the present enjoyment of the Savior’s face. Let us work to feel what an evil thing this is—little love to our own dying Savior, little joy in His company, little time with the Beloved! Hold a true Lent in your souls, while you sorrow over your hardness of heart. Do not stop at sorrow! Remember where you first received salvation. Go at once to the cross. There, and there only, can you get your spirit quickened. No matter how hard, how insensible, how dead we may have become, let us go again in all the rags and poverty and defilement of our natural condition. Let us clasp that cross, let us look into those languid eyes, let us bathe in that fountain filled with blood—this will bring back to us our first love; this will restore the simplicity of our faith and the tenderness of our heart.
On the Right Path / Greg Laurie
On the Right Path
“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it” (Proverbs 22:6 NLT).
A father and his son were hiking up a mountain when they came to a difficult place on the trail. While the father was contemplating which way he should go, he heard his son say, “Choose the right path, Dad. I’m coming right behind you.”
As parents, we have a direct influence on our children. Our children are watching us. They listen to what we say, but more importantly, they watch what we do.
Let’s say, for instance, that you drink in front of your children. Then one day your children have a problem with alcohol, and you wonder why. Or perhaps you fight with your spouse in front of your children and maybe even ask them to take sides in the argument (which is always a horrible idea). Then you’re shocked when your adult children have the same issues in their marriages.
When the Bible talks about the sins of the parents being visited on the children, it isn’t describing a mystical curse that is passed on from generation to generation. Rather, it’s simply talking about the repeated behavior of sin that can be passed on.
For example, if parents are divorced, chances are far greater that their children will end up divorced. However, if both parents attend church regularly, chances are far greater that their children will attend regularly as well.
So, not only can we pass sins on to our children, but we can pass blessings on to them as well. And it’s a lot easier to build a child than to repair an adult. Be the godly example. Be the godly leader. Read the Bible to your children before they go to bed at night. Pray with them. As you do that, you’re modeling what it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Live a life with Christ that will make your children desire the same relationship with Him.
March 30 / C.S. Lewis
“We know not what we shall be”; but we may be sure we shall be more, not less, than we were on earth. Our natural experiences (sensory, emotional, imaginative) are only like the drawing, like pencilled lines on flat paper. If they vanish in the risen life, they will vanish only as pencil lines vanish from the real landscape, not as a candle flame that is put out but as a candle flame which becomes invisible because someone has pulled up the blind, thrown open the shutters, and let in the blaze of the risen sun.
From The Weight of Glory
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis
The Weight of Glory: And Other Addresses. Copyright © 1949, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1976, revised 1980 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Great Expectations / Chuck Swindoll
Great Expectations
Without taking away from the joys, rewards, and those extra-special moments of motherhood, I do want to acknowledge that the daily tasks of that assignment can be a grind! Washing mounds of laundry; ironing; folding; cleaning; shopping; cooking; carpooling; being a referee, coach, encourager, counselor, cop; remaining tactful, lovable, compassionate, cheerful, responsible, balanced, and sane (!)—every day, relentlessly repetitive realities like all of these (and there are more!) can make today’s mothers feel strung out and spent.
Besides, there is so much for moms to both know and learn. Being a good mother doesn’t “just happen” once you have a child. It’s as absurd to think that giving birth automatically makes you a good mother as it is to think that having a piano automatically makes you a good musician. An enormous amount of work goes into mothering, more than most people—including many husbands—will ever realize.
Among the eloquent sayings of Scripture is a most outstanding treatise on the mother’s role. It is both profound and practical, full of wise counsel and strong encouragement. Anyone who reads this section realizes that God values the woman who gives her home the priority it deserves. He also sees her as a person, distinct and different from her husband, who finds fulfillment in her varied responsibilities and roles.
This week, we will take a close look at someone the wise man Lemuel called “an excellent woman” (Proverbs 31:10).
March 30 / Daily Blessings
Daily Blessings
“The eternal God is your refuge.” - Deut 33:27
Who is this eternal God? He is the great and glorious Jehovah, eternal in his Trinity of Persons and in the Unity of his Essence. And what a depth of blessedness there is in this God being an eternal God; and that in and of this eternity, each Person of the Godhead has an equal share. Look at the LOVE of the eternal God. How eternal was that—not a thing of time, not fixed upon us when first brought into being, not issuing out of his bosom first when we were quickened into divine life; but a love from all eternity, as being the love of an eternal God. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you.”
And how eternal are the THOUGHTS of God; those thoughts which were of good, not of evil. They were eternal thoughts of peace to the Church; eternal thoughts of mercy to his beloved family; eternal thoughts of manifesting his grace in the Person and work of his dear Son; eternal flowings forth of goodness and love to those whom he had chosen in Christ, that they might be one with him, members of that glorious body of which his dear Son should be the Head. And eternal PURPOSES also that nothing could defeat, that all the waves of time could not break through; eternal WISDOM also to devise, and eternal POWER to accomplish.
Oh, this eternal God! We look back into eternity; we see what a God he was from all eternity; and then we look forward to what he will be to all eternity. And we see him unchanging and unchangeable, resting in his love without variableness or the shadow of a turn, whether in eternity past, or in eternity to come. We think of the spirits of just men made perfect; we follow in faith and hope the souls of our dear departed friends; we view them drinking the pleasures which are at his right hand forever; and so they will be there to all eternity, ever basking in the smiles of an eternal God, ever living in his favor, ever conformed to the glorious image of his eternal Son, and ever drinking fresh draughts of love and bliss in his eternal presence.
Oh, this eternal Father in the depths of his fatherly love in the gift of his dear Son! Oh, the love, condescension, and tenderness of this eternal Son in the depths of his mercy and grace in suffering, bleeding, and dying for poor, guilty sinners! Oh, the wisdom, the power, the grace, and the blessedness of this eternal Spirit, in taking of the things of Christ, unfolding the Person of Jesus, bringing him near, revealing him to the soul, sprinkling the conscience with his blood, and making him known and precious! What a depth of gratitude is everlastingly due from the redeemed Church of God, to all the three sacred Persons of the glorious and undivided Trinity, and that both in his Trinity of Persons and his Unity of Essence the eternal God should be their refuge!
Rely on God, Not Self / Streams
Rely on God, Not Self
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow - Isa 50:11
What a solemn warning to those who walk in darkness and yet who try to help themselves out into the light. They are represented as kindling a fire, and compassing themselves with sparks. What does this mean?
Why, it means that when we are in darkness the temptation is to find a way without trusting in the Lord and relying upon Him. Instead of letting Him help us out, we try to help ourselves out. We seek the light of nature, and get the advice of our friends. We try the conclusions of our reason, and might almost be tempted to accept a way of deliverance which would not be of God at all.
All these are fires of our own kindling; rushlights that will surely lead us onto the shoals. And God will let us walk in the light of those sparks, but the end will be sorrow.
Beloved, do not try to get out of a dark place, except, in God’s time and in God’s way. The time of trouble is meant to teach you lessons that you sorely need.
Premature deliverance may frustrate God’s work of grace in your life. Just commit the whole situation to Him. Be willing to abide in darkness so long as you have His presence. Remember that it is better to walk in the dark with God than to walk alone in the light. —The Still Small Voice
Cease meddling with God’s plans and will. You touch anything of His, and you mar the work. You may move the hands of a clock to suit you, but you do not change the time; so you may hurry the unfolding of God’s will, but you harm and do not help the work. You can open a rosebud but you spoil the flower. Leave all to Him. Hands down. Thy will, not mine. —Stephen Merritt
HIS WAY
God bade me go when I would stay
(’Twas cool within the wood);
I did not know the reason why.
I heard a boulder crashing by
Across the path where I stood.
He bade me stay when I would go;
“Thy will be done,” I said.
They found one day at early dawn,
Across the way I would have gone,
A serpent with a mangled head.
No more I ask the reason why,
Although I may not see
The path ahead, His way I go;
For though I know not, He doth know,
And He will choose safe paths for me.
—The Sunday School Times
No Question Matters More / Max Lucado
No Question Matters More
Click below to listen to today's devotional
The story of Jesus reads a bit like a scrapbook. Headline clippings. Jesus’ favorite stories and lesson outlines. Luke’s snapshot of Jesus riding in Peter’s boat. Matthew took the group photo when the seventy followers met for a party after the first mission trip. John pasted a wedding napkin from Cana in the book as well as a funeral program from Bethany.
There are so many other things Jesus did. In fact, in his gospel John says, “If they were all written down, each of them…I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books” (John 21:25 MSG). Who was this man? Jesus Christ. No question matters more.
Consider reading the entire story, from the Bethlehem manger to the vacated tomb. And keep in mind that the final entries of the story are yet to come, including the snapshot of you and your Savior at heaven’s gateway.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Our Lord’s Surprise Visits / Oswald Chambers
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