Max Lucado Daily: SPIRITUAL REMEMBRANCE - August 17, 2026
Zarephath was a Gentile city occupied by Baal worshippers. The chief of the city had a daughter named Jezebel, Elijah’s archenemy. Elijah arrives with nothing. His purse and tummy are empty. Elijah spots a woman. Emaciated. Destitute. I envision Elijah stepping in her direction, and beneath his beard a smile is taking shape as he reviews God’s blessings. Protection in the court of Ahab, provision in the paucity of Kerith, and a shield of safety during the trek to Zarephath.
In your case would the God who gave you grace last week not give you grace again? Unbreakable courage requires good recall. Spiritual amnesia makes spiritual wimps. Spiritual remembrance makes spiritual giants.
Unbreakable Courage
A David Prayer
1–5 109 My God, don’t turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer.
Liars are pouring out invective on me;
Their lying tongues are like a pack of dogs out to get me,
barking their hate, nipping my heels—and for no reason!
I loved them and now they slander me—yes, me!—
and treat my prayer like a crime;
They return my good with evil,
they return my love with hate.
6–20 Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge;
dispatch Satan to prosecute him.
When he’s judged, let the verdict be “Guilty,”
and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin.
Give him a short life,
and give his job to somebody else.
Make orphans of his children,
dress his wife in widow’s weeds;
Turn his children into begging street urchins,
evicted from their homes—homeless.
May the bank foreclose and wipe him out,
and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean.
May there be no one around to help him out,
no one willing to give his orphans a break.
Chop down his family tree
so that nobody even remembers his name.
But erect a memorial to the sin of his father,
and make sure his mother’s name is there, too—
Their sins recorded forever before God,
but they themselves sunk in oblivion.
That’s all he deserves since he was never once kind,
hounded the afflicted and heartbroken to their graves.
Since he loved cursing so much,
let curses rain down;
Since he had no taste for blessing,
let blessings flee far from him.
He dressed up in curses like a fine suit of clothes;
he drank curses, took his baths in curses.
So give him a gift—a costume of curses;
he can wear curses every day of the week!
That’s what they’ll get, those out to get me—
an avalanche of just deserts from God.
21–25 Oh, God, my Lord, step in;
work a miracle for me—you can do it!
Get me out of here—your love is so great!—
I’m at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.
I’m fading away to nothing, passing away,
my youth gone, old before my time.
I’m weak from hunger and can hardly stand up,
my body a rack of skin and bones.
I’m a joke in poor taste to those who see me;
they take one look and shake their heads.
26–29 Help me, oh help me, God, my God,
save me through your wonderful love;
Then they’ll know that your hand is in this,
that you, God, have been at work.
Let them curse all they want;
you do the blessing.
Let them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up,
followed by cheers for me, your servant.
Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame,
discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.
30–31 My mouth’s full of great praise for God,
I’m singing his hallelujahs surrounded by crowds,
For he’s always at hand to take the side of the needy,
to rescue a life from the unjust judge.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 17, 2026
By Monica La Rose
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Colossians 3:9-15
Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
12–14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15–17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness.
Today's Insights
Paul instructed believers in Jesus to live a faithful and fruitful “life worthy of the Lord and [to] please him in every way” (Colossians 1:10). Using a metaphor of replacing old clothes with new, he commands us to “put to death” our worldly, sinful habits (3:5-9) and adorn Christlike virtues (vv. 10-15). Paul singled out the importance of not engaging in harmful speech—“slander,” “filthy language,” and “lie[s]” (vv. 8-9). Truthfulness is essential for believers, for Christ is “the truth” (John 14:6). Elaborating in another letter, the apostle tells us to “stop telling lies [and] tell our neighbors the truth . . . . Let everything [we] say be good and helpful, so that [our] words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:25, 29 nlt). When we “[speak] the truth in love” (v. 15), we bless others. And we’ll “[grow] in every way more and more like Christ” (v. 15 nlt).
Plague of Lies
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices. Colossians 3:9
“What a cruel act to be untruthful,” Daniel Ladinsky once wrote in a poem that contrasts relationships built on trust with those damaged by lies. Inspired by German theologian and monk Meister Eckhart, he described truthful, loving words as “wonderful spices mixed into the days.” But lies are like earthquakes in the mind and poison to the soul: “Havoc is created in the mind that can no longer trust someone once loved . . . . a plague is spread by one who cannot tell the truth.”
The imagery of a plague spread by falsehoods might seem stark. But to take speech seriously resonates with how our words and their impact are described throughout Scripture. When Paul explains to new believers the difference between life before and after their union with Jesus, words take center stage. “Do not lie to each other,” the apostle emphasizes, “since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self” (Colossians 3:9-10).
There are many reasons to be tempted to lie or distort the truth. Sometimes we might think it’s the best way to protect ourselves or others. But through Christ’s love, through His Spirit at work in our hearts, we learn a different way—one transformed by “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (3:12). And we learn how forgiveness and love can create the kind of trust and peace that brings rest to our souls (v. 15).
Reflect & Pray
How have you seen damage caused by a lie? How does forgiveness and love help you live with honesty?
Loving Savior, please help me bless others with words that can be trusted.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 17, 2026
Are You Discouraged in Devotion?
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” — Luke 18:18
When the rich young ruler asked Jesus how to win eternal life, Jesus didn’t respond with anxiousness or concern; he made no attempt to keep the ruler there with him. He simply stated what the ruler had to do: “Sell everything you have. . . . Then come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Our Lord never pleaded. He never cajoled or entrapped. He simply spoke the sternest words mortal ears ever heard, then left it alone.
Have you ever heard the Lord say something stern to you? If you haven’t, I question if you’ve ever heard him say anything at all. Jesus Christ says a great deal that we listen to but do not hear. When we do hear, we find that his words are amazingly hard.
If I have listened deliberately to Jesus when he’s said something difficult to me, I know that I can’t just explain it away. It’s something meant specifically for me, something which demands I make a choice. The ruler understood the choice Jesus was giving him. He heard Jesus’s words, thought about what obeying them would mean, and decided he couldn’t do it. He didn’t go away from Jesus defiantly; he went sadly, with a broken heart. The ruler had come to Jesus full of the fire of earnest desire, and Jesus’s words froze him. Instead of producing enthusiastic devotion, they produced heartbreaking discouragement.
There was a reason Jesus let the ruler leave in this dejected state: our Lord knows perfectly well that once his word is heard, sooner or later it will bear fruit. The terrible thing is that some of us prevent it from bearing fruit in our present lives. I wonder what we will say when we do make up our minds to be devoted to him. One thing is certain: he will never shame us for our past refusals to hear him.
Psalms 97-99; Romans 16
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham.
The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 17, 2026
Guaranteed Disclosure - #10331
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:4
Every once in a while the monotony of driving the Interstate is broken by some interesting signs. Sometimes I'll see one and my mind will get going, and it will process what I saw and I'll think about it for several minutes. I remember one in particular. There was a big, old truck speeding down the Interstate and it had in bold letters this sign: "Guaranteed Destruction of Confidential Files and Records." Well, that got me going! There was also a phone number. I didn't write it down; I didn't actually have any need for their services. But there was a number to call if you wanted all your confidential things destroyed. I thought about who might want a service such as that. I brainstormed some intriguing reasons and some intriguing people who might want to call that number. Guaranteed destruction! Actually, there's another sign that interests us even more.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Guaranteed Disclosure."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 4, and I'll begin reading at verse 4. Paul says, "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness, and He will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time, each will receive his praise from God."
This phrase that brings to light the hidden things and exposing the motive of men's hearts in the original Greek has the thought of turning something inside out; opening all the closets, showing what no one else has seen before. In other words, God is going to expose every secret. Now, there might be some who think they've destroyed all the evidence. The fellow driving that truck, he had that sign that said, "Will destroy your confidential files and records."
Did you know that no matter who destroys them on earth, God still has His copy? He knows every detail of every one of your financial dealings, every financial transaction, and every business transaction. He knows the letters you have written that you want no one else to see. He knows your motives, your websites. He's recorded every idle word, every angry word, and every dirty word. We think we got away with it because no one else knew. If God knows, you're caught, and He does. And so will everyone else one day.
That's why the Apostle John says, "Walk in the light as He is in the light." It's so freeing to be able to live saying, "I've got nothing to hide." Live without sinful secrets. You don't have to worry then if the closets come open. There's nothing there to hide. Live lives that are relaxed and confident, because you've got no fear of discovery; you don't have to keep looking over your shoulder. When you're living within the limits, you don't have to keep looking in the rearview mirror to see if the law enforcement is coming over the hill.
Again, some of the most liberating words in the world; look in the mirror, "Nothing to hide." Isn't that awesome?
God's sign says: "Guaranteed Disclosure of Confidential Files and Records." So, live the kind of life that isn't afraid of everybody knowing, because they will.
