Max Lucado Daily: ENTER…ELIJAH - August 4, 2026
Ancient Israel had the scruffy hills of Gilead, and somewhere in this rugged land Elijah came to believe in a mighty Yahweh who refused to share his glory with others. He confronted Ahab and Jezebel with a surgical strike. Baal was regarded as the god of fertility, yet Baal’s veil was about to be yanked back. Jehovah has declared a drought.
Does Elijah have some encouragement for our generation? Absolutely! The story of Elijah offers us hope. Elijah shows us that one person following a living God is greater than hundreds of people praying to a lifeless one.
Unbreakable Courage
John 18:19-40
The Interrogation
19–21 Annas interrogated Jesus regarding his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, “I’ve spoken openly in public. I’ve taught regularly in meeting places and the Temple, where the Jews all come together. Everything has been out in the open. I’ve said nothing in secret. So why are you treating me like a conspirator? Question those who have been listening to me. They know well what I have said. My teachings have all been aboveboard.”
22 When he said this, one of the policemen standing there slapped Jesus across the face, saying, “How dare you speak to the Chief Priest like that!”
23 Jesus replied, “If I’ve said something wrong, prove it. But if I’ve spoken the plain truth, why this slapping around?”
24 Then Annas sent him, still tied up, to the Chief Priest Caiaphas.
25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was back at the fire, still trying to get warm. The others there said to him, “Aren’t you one of his disciples?”
He denied it, “Not me.”
26 One of the Chief Priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
27 Again, Peter denied it. Just then a rooster crowed.
The King of the Jews
28–29 They led Jesus then from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s palace. It was early morning. They themselves didn’t enter the palace because they didn’t want to be disqualified from eating the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and spoke. “What charge do you bring against this man?”
30 They said, “If he hadn’t been doing something evil, do you think we’d be here bothering you?”
31–32 Pilate said, “You take him. Judge him by your law.”
The Jews said, “We’re not allowed to kill anyone.” (This would confirm Jesus’ word indicating the way he would die.)
33 Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”
34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?”
35 Pilate said, “Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?”
36 “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”
37 Then Pilate said, “So, are you a king or not?”
Jesus answered, “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”
38–39 Pilate said, “What is truth?”
Then he went back out to the Jews and told them, “I find nothing wrong in this man. It’s your custom that I pardon one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to pardon the ‘King of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “Not this one, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a Jewish freedom fighter.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 04, 2026
By James Banks
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 1:7-14
Regarding angels he says,
The messengers are winds,
the servants are tongues of fire.
8–9 But he says to the Son,
You’re God, and on the throne for good;
your rule makes everything right.
You love it when things are right;
you hate it when things are wrong.
That is why God, your God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king,
far above your dear companions.
10–12 And again to the Son,
You, Master, started it all, laid earth’s foundations,
then crafted the stars in the sky.
Earth and sky will wear out, but not you;
they become threadbare like an old coat;
You’ll fold them up like a worn-out cloak,
and lay them away on the shelf.
But you’ll stay the same, year after year;
you’ll never fade, you’ll never wear out.
13 And did he ever say anything like this to an angel?
Sit alongside me here on my throne
Until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.
14 Isn’t it obvious that all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation?
Today's Insights
Hebrews says that angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (1:14). They were created by God to worship and praise Him (v. 6), to serve as messengers (Revelation 1:1), and to protect His people (Psalm 68:17). In 2 Kings 6, when the Arameans surrounded the Israelites, the prophet Elisha reassured his frightened servant, “Don’t be afraid . . . . Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). The servant’s eyes were opened, and he “saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17)—a vast army of angels.
Psalm 91:11-12 says, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Today, no matter what we’re going through, we can be assured that God loves and cares for us and will provide the help we need.
The Help God Provides
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14
When commercial fisherman Scott Thompson fell out of his boat one moonless night in the Santa Barbara Channel off the California coast, he didn’t know if he’d survive. He swam hard after the boat, but the motor was running and he couldn’t reach it. So he attempted to swim to a distant oil platform in the darkness. Beginning to lose hope, Thompson heard a splash in the cold water near him. A harbor seal swam with him for a while, nudging him along toward the platform. Five hours later, Thompson completed the long swim and described the seal as “an angel” sent to help him.
The writer of the book of Hebrews describes angels as “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). The passage highlights the greatness of Jesus and emphasizes that angels—wonderful and glorious beings that they are—exist to further His purposes in saving us. Jesus sustains “all things by his powerful word” (v. 3).
All around us is an unseen reality in which God sends angels to aid those who have gladly received the good news of Jesus. Sometimes our nights may be long, and we may wonder if we can keep going. But He’ll always give us the help we need—help that will nudge us on in Him.
Reflect & Pray
In what ways has God sent you unexpected help? How might He use you to help others today?
I praise You today, loving God, knowing that because You sustain all things, I’ll one day be able to praise You forever!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 04, 2026
The Brave Comradeship of God
Jesus took the Twelve aside. — Luke 18:31
How brave is God in trusting us! You say, “God has been unwise to choose me. There’s nothing of value in me.” That is exactly why he chose you! As long as you believe that there’s something of value in you, God cannot choose you, because you have goals of your own to pursue. Only those who let God bring them to the end of their self-sufficiency are able to be chosen. These are the ones God will select to go with him to Jerusalem to fulfill his purpose.
“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (1 Corinthians 1:26). We tend to believe that people with natural abilities will make good Christians. But it isn’t a question of our abilities; it’s a question of our poverty. The question isn’t what we bring with us; it’s what God puts into us. Our natural virtues, knowledge, experience, and strength of character are of no importance. The only thing that matters is that we are taken up into the compelling purpose of God.
When we are taken up by God, we become his comrades. The comradeship of God is made up of people who know their own poverty. He can do nothing with those who think themselves useful. As Christians, we are to have no cause of our own to serve. We are dedicated to serving God’s cause, which can never be our cause. We don’t know what God’s cause is; we only know that, no matter what, we have to maintain our relationship with him. We must never allow anything to injure this relationship. If it does get injured, we must take time to put it right. The main thing about Christianity isn’t the work we do but the relationship we maintain. That is all God asks us to look after, and it’s the one thing that is constantly under threat.
Psalms 66-67; Romans 7
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….”
So Send I You, 1325 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 04, 2026
Lost But Proud - #10322
Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1
It's a familiar scenario. A man is driving his family on vacation; let's say they're going from Chicago to California. His wife gently points out to him that she just saw a sign saying, "Welcome to Kentucky." OK, Kentucky is definitely not between Chicago and California. Repeatedly, the Mrs. suggests that Mr. stop and ask directions. Then she says that four-letter word, "I think we're lost." Oh, will he stop and ask for directions? No! Maybe it's something in the male chromosome. Like most men, he's too proud to admit he's lost, and he's probably not going to be getting to California.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Lost But Proud."
When it comes to our eternal destination, I think most of us hope to end up in heaven. But do you know what will keep a lot of people from ending up where they hope to? Pride. The kind that's just too proud to admit you're lost - that you can't get there on your own.
There's a powerful picture of this in our word for today from the Word of God. It's a story I love. It's in 2 Kings 5:1. It's the story about a Syrian general named Naaman who discovers that he has the incurable disease of leprosy. None of his victories, none of his fame can help him. So he accepts advice to go to the prophet Elisha in Israel who prescribes something that is not Naaman's idea of how you get well. The prophet says, "Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
Naaman is furious! He says, "I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy." The general had brought money to pay for a cure, but the prophet wouldn't take the money. See, Naaman had his own idea of how he could get cured. It just wasn't God's idea. It wouldn't work. Finally, "he went down" the Bible says "and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young man."
Naaman would go on dying until he swallowed his pride and did it God's way. You and I go on carrying the death penalty for our sin until we swallow our pride and come to God His way. Which is to lay aside all of our attempts to get to Him through our own goodness, through our religion, through our spiritual connections, and we just go to the cross of Jesus and let Him wash away our sins.
And let me tell you, only Jesus can. He said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). That's because there was only one way to pay your death penalty. Somebody had to die, and Jesus did. We're drowning and we can't possibly swim to God. Our only hope is Jesus, the Rescuer. It's in abandoning every other hope of heaven and grabbing Him like He's your only hope, because He is your only hope.
Don't let your pride make you miss heaven; being too proud to admit you've never really given yourself to Jesus even though everyone thinks you have, too proud to come to your spouse's faith, too proud to lay aside depending on your religion. Please, let this be your Jesus-day.
If you're ready to finally put your total trust in Jesus to forgive you, to rescue you, tell Him that now where you are. Tell Him, "Jesus, you are my only hope. Only You died for my sin. I admit I am lost. You came back from the dead, you can come into my life. You came to find me, and I am Yours from this day on."
If that's where your heart is at, then our website ought to be your next stop online. That's what it's all about is making sure your sins are forgiven and you're ready to live and ready to die, and you've got Jesus. It's ANewStory.com, will you check that out?
If you're too proud to admit that you need Him, you will never end up in heaven. Pride can literally cost you your soul.
