THE CALL TO COURAGE

The Call to Courage

Be strong and courageous.

1 Chronicles 28:20

READ 1 CHRONICLES 28:8–10, 19–21

Among a display of male statues (Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, and others) in London’s Parliament Square, stands a lone statue of a woman. The solitary woman is Millicent Fawcett, who fought for the right of women to vote. She’s immortalized in bronze—holding a banner displaying words she offered in a tribute to a fellow suffragist: “Courage calls to courage everywhere.” Fawcett insisted that one person’s courage emboldens others—calling timid souls into action.

As David prepared to hand his throne over to his son Solomon, he explained the responsibilities that would soon rest heavy on his shoulders. It’s likely Solomon quivered under the weight of what he faced: leading Israel to follow all God’s instructions, guarding the land God had entrusted to them, and overseeing the monumental task of building the temple (1 Chronicles 28:8-10).

Knowing Solomon’s trembling heart, David offered his son powerful words: “Be strong and courageous . . . . Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you” (v. 20). Real courage would never arise from Solomon’s own skill or confidence but rather from relying on God’s presence and strength. God provided the courage Solomon needed.

When we face hardship, we often try to drum up boldness or talk ourselves into bravery. God, however, is the one who renews our faith. He will be with us. And His presence calls us to courage.

By Winn Collier

REFLECT & PRAY

God, I’m often so afraid. And when I am, I’m tempted to rely on my own wits or courage—and that’s never enough. Be with me. Give me Your courage.

  

What causes your heart to tremble in fear? How can you seek God’s presence and power in moving toward courage?

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

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Because David was a warrior who had shed much blood, he wasn’t permitted to build God’s temple (1 Chronicles 28:3). Instead, the task was to be carried out by his son Solomon who was “a man of peace” (22:8-10). Knowing that Solomon had two difficult tasks ahead—to be as good a king as David was and to build a house for God to dwell in—David reminded Solomon that God would give him success only if Solomon was “unswerving in carrying out [God’s] commands and laws” (28:7). Four hundred years earlier, Moses told his successor Joshua the same truth (Joshua 1:7-8). Their obedience didn’t indicate perfection but was evidence of their devotion to and trust in God. K. T. Sim

TOUGH TREES

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

TOUGH TREES

READ:  ROMANS 5:1-5

Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance,

character; and character, hope.  Romans 5:3-4

Bristlecone pines are the world’s oldest living trees.  Several are estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old.  In 1957, scientists Edmund Schulman found one he named “Methuselah.”  This ancient, gnarled pine is nearly 5,000 years old!  It was an old tree when the Egyptians were building the pyramids.

Bristlecones grow atop the mountains of the western United States at elevations of 10,000 to 11,000 feet.  They’ve been able to survive some of the harshest living conditions on earth:  arctic temperatures, fierce winds, thin air, and little rainfall.

Their brutal environment is actually one of the reasons they’ve survived for millennia.  Hardship has produced extraordinary strength and staying power.

Paul taught that “tribulation produces…character” (Romans 5:3-4).  Adversity is part of the process that God uses to produce good results in our lives.  Trouble, if it turns us to the Lord, could actually be the best thing for us.  It leaves us wholly dependent on Him.

So we should pray not just for relief from our affliction, but for the grace to turn it into greater openness to God and to His will for us.  Then we can be strong in calamity, and at peace in the place where God has planted us.                      DHR

THINKING IT OVER

What trial in your life is making you wonder 

why God is allowing it?

God uses our difficulties to develop our character.

THE HEART OF FASTING

The Heart of Fasting

The fasts . . . will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.

Zechariah 8:19

READ ZECHARIAH 7:1–10

Hunger pangs gnawed at my nerves. My mentor had recommended fasting as a way to focus on God. But as the day wore on, I wondered: How did Jesus do this for forty days? I struggled to rely on the Holy Spirit for peace, strength, and patience. Especially patience.

If we’re physically able, fasting can teach us the importance of our spiritual food. As Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Yet, as I learned firsthand, fasting on its own doesn’t necessarily draw us closer to God!

In fact, God once told His people through the prophet Zechariah that their practice of fasting was useless since it wasn’t leading to service for the poor. “Was it really for me that you fasted?” God asked pointedly (Zechariah 7:5).

God’s question revealed that the primary problem wasn’t their stomachs; it was their cold hearts. By continuing to serve themselves, they were failing to draw closer to God’s heart. So He urged them, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor” (vv. 9-10).

Our goal in any spiritual discipline is to draw closer to Jesus. As we grow in likeness to Him, we’ll gain a heart for those He loves.

By Tim Gustafson

REFLECT & PRAY

God, I am so prone to seek my own pleasure and the approval of others. Help my life please You as I serve others.

How can God use spiritual disciplines as tools to break up the rocky soil of our hearts? What’s helped you draw closer to Jesus recently?

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

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Time references in the book of Zechariah (1:1, 7; 7:1) indicate that Zechariah lived during the reign of Darius, the Persian king who ruled from 522-486 BC. This time period in Israel’s history followed seventy years of captivity in Babylon (7:5). The message to prioritize faithfulness to God over fasting (a form of worship) had also been proclaimed centuries earlier by the prophet Isaiah. Using similar words, Isaiah had called God’s people to honor the Lord by not ignoring those in need: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6). Arthur Jackson

"GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES"

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

“GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES”

READ:  Romans 12:14-21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome

evil with good.  Romans 12:21

A few days after arriving on the campus of Texas A&M University in 1984, Bruce Goodrich was awakened at 2:00 a.m.   Upperclassmen roused him out of bed to initiate him into the Corps of Cadets, a military-style training program.

Bruce was forced to exercise and run several miles in hot and humid conditions.  When he eventually collapsed, he we told to get up and keep going.  He collapsed again, went into a coma, and died later that same day.  The students who mistreated Bruce were put on trial and charged with causing his death.

Bruce’s father wrote a letter to the administration, faculty, and student body.  He didn’t excuse the cruel injustice of what happened to his son, but he said:  “I would like to take this opportunity to express the appreciation of my family for the great outpouring of concern and sympathy from Texas A&M University and the community over the loss of our son Bruce…We harbor no ill will..We know our God makes no mistakes…Bruce is now secure in his celestial home.  When the question is asked, ‘Why did this happen?’ perhaps one answer will be, ‘So that many will consider where they will spend eternity.’”

Trusting in the sovereignty of God can turn outrage into compassion and hatred into concern.    HWR

The Lord can turn a tragedy

Into an opportunity

To show us that eternity

Must never be ignored. -Sper

No tragedy is beyond God’s sovereignty.

MARVELOUSLY UNIQUE

Marvelously Unique

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:14

READ PSALM 139:1–14

Human beings are not special—at least according to the London Zoo. In 2005, the zoo introduced a four-day exhibit: “Humans in Their Natural Environment.” The human “captives” were chosen through an online contest. To help visitors understand the humans, the zoo workers created a sign detailing their diet, habitat, and threats.

According to the zoo’s spokesperson, the goal of the exhibit was to downplay the uniqueness of human beings. One participant in the exhibit seemed to agree. “When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds them that we’re not that special.”

What a stark contrast to what the Bible says about human beings: God “fearfully and wonderfully” made us in “his image” (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 1:26-27).

David began Psalm 139 by celebrating God’s intimate knowledge of him (vv. 1-6) and His all-encompassing presence (vv. 7-12). Like a master weaver, God not only formed the intricacies of David’s internal and external features (vv. 13-14), but He also made him a living soul, giving spiritual life and the ability to intimately relate to God. Meditating on God’s handiwork, David responded in awe, wonder, and praise (v. 14).

Human beings are special. God created us with marvelous uniqueness and the awesome ability to have an intimate relationship with Him. Like David, we can praise Him because we’re the workmanship of His loving hands.

By Marvin Williams

REFLECT & PRAY

God created human beings to be like Him.

What are some practical implications of knowing and believing you’re fearfully and wonderfully made? What are some negative consequences of not believing this?

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

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

As inspired Scripture, the Psalms require us to discern between expressions of human perspective and the God who speaks to us. For example, in the first eighteen verses of Psalm 139, the songwriter clearly reflects the wonder of our Creator. But he makes a sudden shift in verses 19-22 with his expression of violent hatred for the enemies of God. We might wonder how his hateful words compare to the words of Jesus to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:32-36). Perhaps the songwriter’s conclusion indicates he had second thoughts and asked the Spirit of God to help him understand what was happening in his own spirit (vv. 23-24). Mart DeHaan

PRAYER'S EFFECTS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

PRAYER’S EFFECTS

READ:  JAMES 5:13-20

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous

man avails much.  James 5:16

For many years, researchers have tried to determine if prayer has any effect on physical healing.  An assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine says that “trying to scientifically determine prayer’s effect on health is nearly impossible.”

Even Christians who agree that God heals may differ widely on how, when, and why He does.  We struggle to understand why the Lord restores some to health while others suffer and die.

James addressed the matter in a way that is worthy of careful study and attention.  He discussed healing in the context of a fellowship of believers and said:  “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

James’s purpose was not to stir up controversy or to prove a scientific point.  Instead, he focused on the privilege and power of prayer.  While speaking of physical healing, he also included a call for restoration to spiritual health through repentance and confession (v.15).

Science tries to prove cause and effect.  Faith directs us to call on the power of our loving God, whose ways we can rarely understand but can always trust.   DCM

My prayer is a simple one, Lord:

Whatever is best for me, do;

In sickness, in health I desire

What brings the most glory to You. -Fasick

Prayer is the soil in which hope and healing grow best.

DIVINE ESCAPE

Divine Escape

So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

John 11:53

READ JOHN 11:45–53

Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mystery The Clocks features antagonists who commit a series of murders. Although their initial plot targeted a single victim, they began taking more lives in order to cover up the original crime. When confronted by Poirot, a conspirator confessed, “It was only supposed to be the one murder.”

Like the schemers in the story, the religious authorities formed a conspiracy of their own. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44), they called an emergency meeting and plotted to kill Him (vv. 45-53). But they didn’t stop there. After Jesus rose from the dead, the religious leaders spread lies about what happened at the grave (Matthew 28:12-15). Then they began a campaign to silence Jesus’s followers (Acts 7:57-8:3). What started as a religious plot against one man for the “greater good” of the nation became a web of lies, deceit, and multiple casualties.

Sin plunges us down a road that often has no end in sight, but God always provides a way of escape. When Caiaphas the high priest said, “It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50), he didn’t understand the profound truth of his words. The conspiracy of the religious leaders would help bring about the redemption of mankind.

Jesus saves us from sin’s vicious grip. Have you received the freedom He offers?

By Remi Oyedele

REFLECT & PRAY

Give sin room, and it can take over a life. To learn more about the Gospels that record the life of Jesus, visit christianuniversity.org/NT331.

What road are you going down that could take you further away from God? He offers real freedom. What do you need to confess to Him today?

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

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

To halt Jesus’s increasing popularity, a meeting of the Sanhedrin was convened by “the chief priests and the Pharisees” (John 11:47). The Sanhedrin, modeled after Moses and the seventy elders (Exodus 24:1), consisted of seventy men plus the high priest. It functioned as the highest Jewish governing council and supreme court. The chief priests (mostly Sadducees, a political-religious party) comprised the nation’s priesthood and included the high priest. The Pharisees, mostly scribes, were scrupulous keepers of the Law, particularly the ceremonial purity laws.

The chief priests dominated the Sanhedrin and were political and religious opponents to the Pharisees (Acts 5:17). But the Pharisees were a powerful minority. Nicodemus (John 3) and Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43) were Pharisees. They were key members of the Sanhedrin and disciples of Jesus. They prepared His body for burial and placed Him in the tomb (John 19:38-42). K. T. Sim