Max Lucado Daily: GRACE RESTORES YOUR SOUL - July 14, 2026
Guilt sucks the life out of our souls. Grace restores it.
No one had more reason to feel the burden of guilt than did the apostle Paul. He had orchestrated the deaths of Christians, an ancient version of a terrorist. Yet, Paul gave his guilt to Jesus. Period. He surrendered it to Jesus. As a result he could write, “I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (Philippians 3:13-14 TLB).
What would the apostle say to the guilt-ridden? Simply this: Rejoice in the Lord’s mercy. Trust in his ability to forgive. Cast yourself upon the grace of Christ and Christ alone!
Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World
Psalm 25
My head is high, God, held high;
I’m looking to you, God;
No hangdog skulking for me.
3 I’ve thrown in my lot with you;
You won’t embarrass me, will you?
Or let my enemies get the best of me?
Don’t embarrass any of us
Who went out on a limb for you.
It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.
4 Show me how you work, God;
School me in your ways.
5 Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?
6 Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God;
Rebuild the ancient landmarks!
7 Forget that I sowed wild oats;
Mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, God!
8 God is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.
9 He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.
10 From now on every road you travel
Will take you to God.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.
11 Keep up your reputation, God;
Forgive my bad life;
It’s been a very bad life.
12 My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.
13 They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.
14 God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
15 If I keep my eyes on God,
I won’t trip over my own feet.
16 Look at me and help me!
I’m all alone and in big trouble.
17 My heart and kidneys are fighting each other;
Call a truce to this civil war.
18 Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,
Then lift this ton of sin.
19 Do you see how many people
Have it in for me?
How viciously they hate me?
20 Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;
Don’t let me down when I run to you.
21 Use all your skill to put me together;
I wait to see your finished product.
22 God, give your people a break
From this run of bad luck.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Tim Gustafson
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Judges 6:36-40
Gideon said to God, “If this is right, if you are using me to save Israel as you’ve said, then look: I’m placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew is on the fleece only, but the floor is dry, then I know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said.”
38 That’s what happened. When he got up early the next morning, he wrung out the fleece—enough dew to fill a bowl with water!
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be impatient with me, but let me say one more thing. I want to try another time with the fleece. But this time let the fleece stay dry, while the dew drenches the ground.”
40 God made it happen that very night. Only the fleece was dry while the ground was wet with dew.
Today's Insights
God’s power at work amid human frailty is showcased in Gideon’s life. Though he doubted that God could use him (Judges 6:11-18), He had assignments for Gideon as well as the divine and human resources needed to fulfill them. When Gideon highlighted the frailty of his family (v. 15), God answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive” (v. 16). He also made sure He Himself would get the credit for victory by reducing an army of more than thirty thousand to just three hundred. When Gideon took the men “down to the water” to drink, He instructed him to “separate those who lap . . . with their tongues . . . from those who kneel down to drink” (7:5). He defeated the Midianites “with the three hundred men that lapped” (v. 7). Today, God still watches over us and is at work in our lives in ways we often can’t explain.
God at Work
Gideon replied, . . . “Give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” Judges 6:17
Jay owned a Gideon Bible, yet his analytical mind didn’t permit him to accept its miracles. One thing haunted him, though: the genuine faith of his friend. So Jay offered a strange prayer. He told God, “If you want me to believe in You, then do something I can’t explain.”
One day, something drew Jay to look for his Bible. It was gone. How could that be? He never lost track of things.
He drove in the rain to his teaching job at the University of Zurich. Stepping out of his car, he spotted a Gideon Bible on the wet pavement. That’s strange, he thought. Picking it up, he noticed the Bible was totally dry despite the rain. Something he couldn’t explain!
Gideon Bibles are named for an Old Testament hero of Israel. When God chose Gideon to lead Israel into battle against a vast army, Gideon had huge doubts. He told God, “I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece . . . , then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand” (Judges 6:37). God answered Gideon’s challenge not once but twice (vv. 39-40).
Doubt-filled prayers aren’t a pattern for us to follow. They can, however, reveal God’s character. Gideon led a tiny army to a smashing victory (ch. 7). Jay put his faith in Jesus, recognizing that his prayer had been answered by a loving God who does things we can’t explain.
Reflect & Pray
What experiences have you had that seem beyond explanation? How do they help you see God at work?
Thank You, dear Father, that You hear my honest prayers and meet me where I am.
God is closer than you think. Read more.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
The Account with Persecution
If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. —Matthew 5:39
The message Jesus delivers in this verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. When cowards don’t hit back, it’s because of fear; when Christians don’t hit back, it’s because they are manifesting the life of the Son of God. There is a vast difference between the two responses, yet in the eyes of the world they are the same.
Am I willing to be thought a coward for my Lord’s sake? The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount isn’t “Do your duty.” It’s “Do what isn’t your duty.” It isn’t my duty to go the second mile or to turn the other cheek. Yet Jesus says that if I am his disciple, I will always do these things. When I am insulted, not only must I not resent it, but I must use it as an opportunity for exhibiting the disposition of the Son of God. I cannot imitate the disposition of Jesus; either it’s inside me or it isn’t. If it is, every personal insult will become an occasion for revealing his incredible sweetness.
When I find myself being offended and saying things like, “Oh well, I can’t do anything more. I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood,” I hurt the Son of God. I’m insisting upon my own rights. But when I take the blow myself, I prevent Jesus from being hurt. This is what Paul means when he says, “I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24). As a disciple, I must realize that it is my Lord’s honor which is at stake in my life.
We are always looking for justice for ourselves. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is this: Never look for justice, but never cease to give it. The only right Christians have is the right not to insist upon their rights.
Psalms 10-12; Acts 19:1-20
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye.
Disciples Indeed, 385 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Hungry To Be Held - #10307
Scripture: Isaiah 49:15-16
People who know me know that I’m a very focused person when I’m working on something. Except when it comes to the most distracting people I know - my grandchildren. I remember when my granddaughter was pretty little. She was just one-plus-year-old, there was just no way to resist her when she came my way. She’d pull herself up by my pant leg, she’d stretch her arms my direction, and then she'd make these cute little noises and irresistible faces - virtually begging me to pick her up. I’m not the only one who’s gotten nothing done when she was around. No, she was that way with other family members too; reaching out to be held. And I’ll tell you this: our arms were always open.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Hungry To Be Held.”
Sadly, my granddaughter’s quest for someone to hold her is a picture of someone who’s listening today, except open arms have been hard to find. And when you do, it seems like sooner or later you lose even those who do give you some of the love and attention that you need. Sometimes, you pay a price that’s too high to get someone to be there for you; making you vulnerable to being used and being hurt - a mistake that might be all too familiar to you.
I can’t forget these children we met at a hospital in Haiti. They were hospitalized early in life because they had tuberculosis or AIDS. We played with them, we sang with them, and we read to them, knowing that they probably didn’t understand a word of our English. But as we got ready to leave, the children surrounded us and called out, over and over again, two words they did know in English - words I’ve never forgotten, “Hold me. Hold me.” We gave one last hug, but we couldn’t hold them. We had to move on.
The cry of those precious Haitian children is a fundamental cry of every human heart, “Hold me!” But there aren’t many hugs that last. Even for those of us who have had someone who really has loved us and made us feel secure, there is still this strange love deficit inside. There’s never enough love.
We need someone who will always hold us, who will never let us go, who will never go away. We were made for that kind of love, but we’ve reached the wrong direction to find the one hug that will always be there. We’ve been reaching around us to other people. But to find the one we were made to be held by, we need to look up.
Listen to God’s words, describing the kind of relationship He wants to have with you. “The Lord your God is with you…He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). That’s intimate love. That's infinite love. That's expensive love. God paid the price for that love.
In Isaiah 49:15-16, our word for today from the Word of God, He 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! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.”
For Jesus, that engraving is the nail prints in His hands from the day He died to pay for your sins so you could be forgiven; so you could belong to the one whose love you were made for. Because He walked out of His grave, He’s alive. He’s offering the greatest love in the universe. But one-way love doesn’t make a relationship. He’s waiting to hold you, but you have to reach for Him.
God says that means putting your total trust in Jesus to be your personal rescuer from the death penalty for your sins. The wall that’s between you and God comes down when you tell Him, “Jesus, I’m Yours.” Ultimately, your hunger to be held all this time it's been a hunger for Him. He's reaching your direction. It's time to reach back. He'll hold you and never let you go.
Do you want to experience that love for yourself? Would you check out our website? There's a lot of information there about how to belong to Him and how to begin with Him. It’s ANewStory.com.
You are very, very close to experiencing the love that you have been looking for so very long.
