VERSE OF THE DAY:
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure
IT'S HIM IN US
Think about it: God made you. God put you here, at this specific time in history. God has a plan and purpose for your life. Not only that, but He gave you a brain that thinks, a heart that beats, and lungs that breathe. He gave you talents and abilities, hopes and desires. He gave you ears and eyes, muscles and ligaments. And He positioned you on this planet that happens to be in the ideal position in our solar system for life to thrive.
You are a part of God's plan.
A mysteriously beautiful part of God’s plan is that He chooses to work through His people…
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 NLT
Everything starts with God and comes from God. But we get to choose if we’ll listen to His Spirit and follow where He leads, or ignore Him. We get to decide if we’ll submit to His nudges and act on His promptings, or try to do it on our own. It’s all God, but it’s also Him working in and through His people—just as He intended.
For those of us who belong to Christ, we are filled with His Spirit. We’re no longer slaves to sin or to this world. We’re no longer incapable of following God. Instead, He gives us new dreams and desires, thoughts and power, and a heart of compassion instead of selfishness.
So if an idea pops into your mind about blessing or encouraging someone else, don’t dismiss it. If you suddenly have a burning desire to share His message, to serve others, to give generously, or to shine His love, pay attention.
It’s likely the Spirit of God, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him.
God, thank You for being faithful. Thank You for making a way for me to know You. You are enough for me, and You make me enough. Please show me how You are at work in my life. I will choose to patiently wait on You, because I know that You will finish the work You started in me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
REFLECT
WHAT IS GOD WORKING IN YOU TO DO TODAY?
He's calling me to share my testimony with someone.
He's inviting me to serve in my church, family or community.
He's leading me to give generously.
JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Take a moment and think about what this verse says about God's heart. Don't rush. Simply express whatever comes to mind to Him.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Inhale, and pay attention to where you feel anxious. As you exhale, imagine letting that anxiety go and releasing any tension. Repeat this as needed, and bring your requests to God.
God, when I think about all that You've done for me, I am overwhelmed with thanks. You are so good and kind to me! Thank You for being my steady source of hope and joy. You are worthy to be praised at all times, In every situation! In Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
JUDGES 11-12
LUKE 6:1-26
JEPHTHAH DELIVERS ISRAEL
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. He was drove out of the inheritance so he fled. His brothers called him to lead them to fight against the Ammonites. He said: “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” He said to the king of Ammonites : "The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” But the king of the Ammonites did not listen.
JEPHTHAH'S TRAGIC VOW
“If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. Her daughter said: “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
JEPHTHAH'S CONFLICT WITH EPHRAIM
"“Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.” Jephthah replied: "when I called you, you did not save me from their hand."
At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
7Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.
IBZAN, ELON, ABDOM
Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel seven years Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem. Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel,ten years then died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel eight years and died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
JESUS IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH
“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
A MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND
the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
THE 12 APOSTLES
he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
JESUS MINISTERS TO A GREAT MULTITUDE
a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
THE BEATITUDES
JESUS PRONOUNCES WOES
1 TIMOTHY 1:12-17
CHRIST JESUS CAME TO SAVE SINNERS
12I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Insight
The apostle Paul (Saul) was there at the very beginning of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-4), but at the time, he held no love or loyalty for Jesus and His people. Instead, he approved of the murder of Stephen, a leader in the new church (6:1-6; 7:57–8:1) and then actively hunted down believers in Christ in Jerusalem and “put them in prison” (8:3). He requested letters to travel around the area with the full intention of murdering any believer he could get his hands on or—at the very least—imprisoning them (9:1-2). It’s that very violence—something Paul thought he was doing in the name of God—that the apostle said made him the “worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:16). Jesus took a violent, angry man and turned him into someone who would lay down his own life for the salvation of the very people he once sought to murder (Romans 9:3).
By: Jed Ostoich
JUST RIGHT FOR JESUS
Eric’s childhood challenges included a severe skin rash, difficulties in school, and getting high on alcohol or drugs daily from a very early age. Yet the one who dubbed himself as the “king of bad” found that he excelled on the baseball field—until he abandoned baseball after becoming discouraged by discrimination. This allowed him even more time for using and dealing drugs.
Things changed for Eric, however, when he had a life-altering encounter with Jesus while attending a church service. At his job the next day, a dedicated believer in Jesus invited Eric to attend yet another church service, where he heard these words that encouraged him in his newfound faith: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 kjv). Eric’s life has never been the same.
Like Eric, Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) would’ve been classified as a “tough case.” He said, “I am the worst” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He was “once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (v. 13). Like Saul, Eric was just right for Jesus. And so are we, even if we don’t view ourselves in the same league as Saul or Eric, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We’re all just right for Jesus.
By: Arthur Jackson
REFLECT AND PRAY
How do Eric and Saul’s stories help you to see God as a forgiving God? What does it mean for you to be just right for Jesus?
Dear God in heaven, please help me to see that the blood of Jesus cleanses from “big” and “little” sins. In Jesus' name, Amen.
AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART
When you were a kid, you probably joined your parents on trips to the grocery store and watched them pick through the fruit, selecting those with the highest quality. I remember my dad grabbing a watermelon and testing it by giving it a couple slaps. When he heard the perfect hollow thud, he would say, “That’s a good one!” As I got older I began to buy my own groceries, and I began to continue this practice of slapping watermelons. However, I realized that these external observations weren’t able to fully reveal the internal quality of the watermelon. In the same way, making external observations about another person shows you little of their character. It is their heart that reveals the deep truth of their inner qualities.
God knows and understands the depths of our hearts and this is made evident in the life of David, a man who was “after the Lord’s own heart.” In today’s culture, we are often valued by where we live, how we look, and what we are able to provide. At times it can feel easier to make a judgment about a person rather than go through the process of getting to know them. As we read 1 Samuel 16, we see David’s father Jesse bring all of his strong grown sons before Samuel in order to be anointed as the future king of Israel. Even Samuel, the priest of the Lord, first chooses based on appearance, guessing that God wanted to anoint a strong, handsome man. But the Lord corrects Samuel, reminding him that he chooses based on the heart not appearance. He picks David as the future ruler.
We are reminded that the Lord chooses his sons and daughters not based on how they look, how strong they are, how many people they know, or even how much money they make. The Lord chooses us because he loves us and longs for us to understand his heart. His love gives us a salvation that is not earned but given freely having been paid for by the blood of Christ. But often we seek to earn either the Lord’s love or the World’s love through how we live our lives. Our hearts, time, and energy show what we truly love and pursue.
So as we read the story of David and learn of how Christ loves us, we begin to understand how we should live our lives in a way that shows the love of Christ to others not because of what they look like, but because they are made in the Lord’s image.
ASK YOURSELF: Do you recognize that you are loved by God no matter what? What steps will you take to model your heart more after God’s heart?
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