EVERY STORY

Every Story

Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Luke 24:27

READ LUKE 24:17–27

I opened the whimsically illustrated children’s Bible and began to read to my grandson. Immediately we were enthralled as the story of God’s love and provision unfurled in prose. Marking our place, I turned the book over and read the title once again: The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name.

Every story whispers His name.

To be honest, sometimes the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is hard to understand. Why do those who don’t know God seem to triumph over God’s own? How can God permit such cruelty when we know that His character is pure and that His purposes are for our good?

After His resurrection, Jesus met two followers on the road to Emmaus who didn’t recognize Him and were struggling with disappointment over the death of their hoped-for Messiah (Luke 24:19-24). They had “hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (v. 21). Luke then records how Jesus reassured them: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (v. 27).

Every story whispers His name, even the hard stories, because they reveal the comprehensive brokenness of our world and our need for a Rescuer. Every act, every event, every intervention points to the redemption God designed for His wayward loved ones: to bring us back to Himself.

By Elisa Morgan

REFLECT & PRAY

Dear God, help me listen as You whisper Your name through the stories of Scripture. Every story.

How is God’s rescue at work in your life? What stories trouble you today? In what ways (however small) can you see God at work in them?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Christ’s teaching in Luke 24 gives us insight as to how we should read the Old Testament—with Him at the center. In verse 27 Jesus referred to the Old Testament using the terms “Moses and all the Prophets.” Speaking of the same sacred writings in verse 44, He used the threefold division “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” and stated that these writings spoke of Him. John 5:39 essentially says the same thing, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.” Arthur Jackson

I WLL NEVER LEAVE YOU

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU

READ:  Deuteronomy 31:1-8

I am with you always, even to the end of the age,

Matthew 28:20

One of my earliest memories of hearing good music was when a male quartet rehearsed at our home.  I was about ten years old, and I was especially attentive to my dad, who sang first tenor.  One of the quartet’s favorites was titled “I Am with You.”  Even at that tender age, I not only appreciated the music but I “got the message.”

Those words of Jesus to His disciples just before He ascended-“I am with you always” -became precious to me as the quartet sang, “In the sunlight, in the shadow, I am with you where you go.”

One of the first references to God’s unfailing presence was spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6-8, when he instructed his successor about leading God’s people into the “land of promise.”  And Joshua himself heard the same word from the Lord, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).

That promise is repeated in the New Testament, where the writer of Hebrews gave this assurance:  “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (13:5).

Wherever you may be today, you are not alone.  If you’ve placed your trust in Jesus for your eternal salvation you can be certain that He will never leave you.    ODB

Jesus whispers “I am with you”

In the hour of deepest need;

When the way is dark and lonesome,

“I am with you I will lead.” -Morris

First make sure you are with Him, then you can be sure

He’ll be with you.

HONEST TO GOD

Honest to God

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

Psalm 32:5

READ ISAIAH 1:12–18

My three-year-old grandson’s day was off to a rotten start. He couldn’t find his favorite shirt. The shoes he wanted to wear were too hot. He fussed and fumed at his grandmother and then sat down to cry.

“Why are you so upset?” I asked. We talked for a while and after he calmed down, I gently inquired, “Have you been good for Grandma?” He looked thoughtfully at his shoes and responded, “No, I was bad. I’m sorry.”

My heart went out to him. Instead of denying what he had done, he was honest. In the following moments we asked Jesus to forgive us when we do wrong and to help us do better.

In Isaiah 1, God confronts His people about wrongs they’d committed. Bribes and injustice were rampant in the courts, and orphans and widows were taken advantage of for material gain. Yet even then God responded mercifully, asking the people of Judah to confess what they’d done and turn from it: “Come now, let us settle the matter . . . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

God longs for us to be open with Him about our sins. He meets honesty and repentance with loving forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Because our God is merciful, new beginnings await!

By James Banks

REFLECT & PRAY

Abba, Father, help me to turn away from the sin in my life and make a new beginning with You today.

What sins have you not been honest with God about? What’s holding you back from confessing them to Him?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

The prophet Isaiah, whose name means “the Lord saves,” warned an unrepentant Judah of God’s impending judgment (Isaiah 1-12) through the Babylonian exile (39:6-7). He spoke of God’s grace (chs. 40-55) and a future glorious restoration for all who would repent (chs. 11; 56-66). Here in Isaiah 1, God calls His people to consider carefully their sinfulness (vv. 2-15). But He assures them that no matter how tainted and sinful they are (v. 18), God will cleanse, forgive, and bless them if they “are willing and obedient” (v. 19). He also warns of severe punishment if they fail to repent (v. 20). K. T. Sim

THE FATHER'S FAITHFULNESS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

THE FATHER’S FAITHFULNESS

READ:  Psalm 107:1-16

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions

fail not…Great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23

Hudson Taylor, the humble servant of God to China, demonstrated extraordinary trust in God’s faithfulness.  In his journal he wrote:

“Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One.  He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning…He sustained three million Israelites in the wilderness for forty years.  We do not expect He will send three million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all…Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

We may be faint and weary, but our heavenly Father is all-powerful.  Our feelings may fluctuate but He is unchangeable.  Even creation itself is a record of His steadfastness.  That’s why we can sing these words from the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chisholm:  “All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.”

What an encouragement to live for Him!  Our strength for the present and hope for the future are not based on the stability of our own perseverance but on the fidelity of God.  No matter what our need, we can count on the Father’s faithfulness.  PVG

He who abandons himself to God will never be abandon by God.

HOW TO FIND PEACE

How to Find Peace

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

Colossians 3:15

READ COLOSSIANS 3:12–17

“What do you think about peace?” my friend asked as we ate lunch together. “Peace?” I said, puzzled. “I’m not sure—why do you ask?” He answered, “Well, as you jiggled your foot during the church service I wondered if you’re agitated about something. Have you considered the peace God gives to those who love Him?”

That day some years ago, I was a bit hurt by my friend’s question, but it started me on a journey. I began exploring the Bible to see how God’s people embraced this gift of well-being, of peace, even in the midst of hardship. As I read Paul’s letter to the Colossians, I chewed over the apostle’s command to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts (Colossians 3:15).

Paul was writing to a church he’d never visited but had heard about from his friend Epaphras. He was concerned that as they encountered false teaching, they were losing the peace of Christ. But instead of admonishing them, Paul encouraged them to trust Jesus, who would give them assurance and hope (v. 15).

We all will encounter times when we can choose to embrace or refuse the rule of Christ’s peace in our hearts. As we turn to Him, asking Jesus to dwell in us, He will gently release us from the anxiety and cares that weigh us down. As we seek His peace, we trust that He will meet us with His love.

By Amy Boucher Pye

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, You give peace that passes all understanding. Help me embrace Your peace in every area of my life.

What situations or relationships weigh on your mind and heart? How can you ask Jesus to bring you His peace?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Paul’s letter to the Colossians was one of four letters he wrote while being held as a prisoner in Rome. These four letters, commonly called the “Prison Epistles,” consist of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The church letters went to three different destinations in two different regions of the ancient world. Philippians was directed to the church at Philippi, a city in Macedonia (ancient northern Greece), while Ephesians and Colossians were written to two cities (Ephesus, Colossae) in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The personal letter to Philemon was also delivered to Colossae, where Philemon is believed to have lived, being actively involved in the church there. These letters were probably intended to be circular letters that were read and passed along to other churches. K. T. Sim

THE BEST ERASER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

THE BEST ERASER

READ:  Luke 16:19-31

I have blotted out, like a thick cloud,

your transgressions.  Isaiah 44:22

What is memory?  What is this faculty that enables us to recall past feelings, sights, sounds, and experiences.  By what process are events recorded, stored,and preserved in our brain to be brought back again and again?  Much is still mystery.

We do know that memories can be blessings-full of comfort, assurance, and joy.  Old age can be happy and satisfying if we have stored up memories of purity, faith, fellowship, and love.  If a saint looks back on a life of Christian service and remembers that faithfulness of Him who promised:  “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5), his or her sunset years can be the sweetest of all.

But memory can also be a curse and a tormentor.  Many people as they approach the end of life would give all they possess to erase from their minds the past sins that haunt them.  What can a person do who is plagued by such remembrances?  Just one thing.  He can take them to the One who is able to forgive them and blot them out forever.  He’s the One who said, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more? (Hebrews 10:17).

You may not be able to forget your past.  But the Lord offers to blot out, “like a thick cloud, your transgressions” (Isaiah 44:22).  MRD

The deep remorse that’s in the soul

No human eye may trace;

But Jesus sees the broken heart,

And can its woe erase. -Bosch

The best eraser is honest confession to God.

ARE YOU HUNGRY NOW?

Are You Hungry Now?

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?

James 2:14

READ JAMES 2:14–18

Thomas knew what he needed to do. Having been born to a poor family in India and adopted by Americans, upon a return trip to India he witnessed the dire needs of the children in his hometown. So he knew he had to help. He began making plans to return to the US, finish his education, save a lot of money, and come back in the future.

Then, after reading James 2:14-18 in which James asks, “What good is it . . . if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?” Thomas heard a little girl in his native country cry out to her mother: “But Mommy, I’m hungry now!” He was reminded of the times he had been intensely hungry as a child—searching through trash cans for food. Thomas knew he couldn’t wait years to help. He decided, “I’ll start now!”

Today the orphanage he began houses fifty well-fed and cared-for children who are learning about Jesus and getting an education—all because one man didn’t put off what he knew God was asking him to do.

James’s message applies to us as well. Our faith in Jesus Christ provides us with great advantages—a relationship with Him, an abundant life, and a future hope. But what good is it doing anyone else if we don’t reach out and help those in need? Can you hear the cry: “I’m hungry now”?

By Dave Branon

REFLECT & PRAY

Direct my steps, O God, toward the actions You want me to take to help someone in need. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your work on earth.

What needs around you touch your heart? What’s one thing you can do to help others—even if it seems insignificant?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

James’s letter begins, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (1:1). So who was James? Evangelical scholars are largely convinced that he was the half-brother of Jesus. In Mark 6:3, Jesus’s siblings are listed, and James is among them. While those siblings were slow in coming to faith, Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19). As a result, James and his brothers are listed among the believers in Christ in the upper room in Acts 1:14. Following the execution of James the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (Acts 12:2), Christ’s brother James would become a leader in the church (v. 17), arbitrating the first church council in Jerusalem (15:13-29). Sometimes called “James the Just,” he was martyred for his faith around ad 60. Bill Crowder