Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Settle for Anything Less
God rewards those who seek Him. Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus himself!
And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 3:18, “And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.”
Can you think of a greater gift than to be like Jesus? Christ felt no guilt; God wants to banish yours. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to remove yours. Jesus had no fear of death; God wants you to be fearless. Jesus had kindness for the diseased and mercy for the rebellious and courage for the challenges.
God wants you to have the same!
From Just Like Jesus
Genesis 42
When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you sit around here and look at one another? I’ve heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not starve to death.”
3–5 Ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to Egypt to get food. Jacob didn’t send Joseph’s brother Ben-jamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him. So Israel’s sons joined everyone else that was going to Egypt to buy food, for Canaan, too, was hit hard by the famine.
6–7 Joseph was running the country; he was the one who gave out rations to all the people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they treated him with honor, bowing to him. Joseph recognized them immediately, but treated them as strangers and spoke roughly to them.
He said, “Where do you come from?”
“From Canaan,” they said. “We’ve come to buy food.”
8 Joseph knew who they were, but they didn’t know who he was.
9 Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them, said, “You’re spies. You’ve come to look for our weak spots.”
10–11 “No, master,” they said. “We’ve only come to buy food. We’re all the sons of the same man; we’re honest men; we’d never think of spying.”
12 He said, “No. You’re spies. You’ve come to look for our weak spots.”
13 They said, “There were twelve of us brothers—sons of the same father in the country of Canaan. The youngest is with our father, and one is no more.”
14–16 But Joseph said, “It’s just as I said, you’re spies. This is how I’ll test you. As Pharaoh lives, you’re not going to leave this place until your younger brother comes here. Send one of you to get your brother while the rest of you stay here in jail. We’ll see if you’re telling the truth or not. As Pharaoh lives, I say you’re spies.”
17 Then he threw them into jail for three days.
18–20 On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. “Do this and you’ll live. I’m a God-fearing man. If you’re as honest as you say you are, one of your brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to your hungry families. But you have to bring your youngest brother back to me, confirming the truth of your speech—and not one of you will die.” They agreed.
21 Then they started talking among themselves. “Now we’re paying for what we did to our brother—we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for mercy. We wouldn’t listen to him and now we’re the ones in trouble.”
22 Reuben broke in. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t hurt the boy’? But no, you wouldn’t listen. And now we’re paying for his murder.”
23–24 Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn’t know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
25 Then Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain, that their money be put back in each sack, and that they be given rations for the road. That was all done for them.
26 They loaded their food supplies on their donkeys and set off.
27–28 When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money. He called out to his brothers, “My money has been returned; it’s right here in my bag!” They were puzzled—and frightened. “What’s God doing to us?”
29–32 When they got back to their father Jacob, back in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened, saying, “The man who runs the country spoke to us roughly and accused us of being spies. We told him, ‘We are honest men and in no way spies. There were twelve of us brothers, sons of one father; one is gone and the youngest is with our father in Canaan.’
33–34 “But the master of the country said, ‘Leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving families, and go. Bring your youngest brother back to me, proving that you’re honest men and not spies. And then I’ll give your brother back to you and you’ll be free to come and go in this country.’ ”
35 As they were emptying their food sacks, each man came on his purse of money. On seeing their money, they and their father were upset.
36 Their father said to them, “You’re taking everything I’ve got! Joseph’s gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want to take Ben-jamin. If you have your way, I’ll be left with nothing.”
37 Reuben spoke up: “I’ll put my two sons in your hands as hostages. If I don’t bring Ben-jamin back, you can kill them. Trust me with Ben-jamin; I’ll bring him back.”
38 But Jacob refused. “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead and he is all I have left. If something bad happens to him on the road, you’ll put my gray, sorrowing head in the grave.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, May 17, 2025
by Nancy Gavilanes
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Proverbs 3:1-8
Don’t Assume You Know It All
1–2 3 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you;
take to heart my commands.
They’ll help you live a long, long time,
a long life lived full and well.
3–4 Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
5–12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Today's Insights
The book of Proverbs is presented as a life manual from a father to his sons (see 1:8; 3:1; 4:1; 23:15; 31:2) to teach them how to live a life that honors God. He instructs them to trust (3:5; see 22:19), obey (3:6; see 8:32-33), and fear Him (3:7; see 1:7; 14:16). Living a God-honoring life means seeking His ways and doing His will. There will be times when we won’t understand His ways (Isaiah 55:6, 8-9), but we’re to trust Him because He’s God and therefore trustworthy (Deuteronomy 7:9). Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, warns that our human intelligence is never enough: “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil” (Proverbs 3:7 nlt). We’re not to trust in our own wisdom because “those who trust in themselves are fools” (28:26).
Visit ODBU.org/OT021 for further study on wisdom in this course on Proverbs.
Following God
In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6
On my free day in Paris during a visit a few years ago, I had some time to roam around the famed city by myself before meeting a friend by the Eiffel Tower for dinner. All was fine until my phone’s battery died. I didn’t have a map, so I wasn’t sure where I was going, but this city girl didn’t panic. I just continued to walk along the Seine River and kept my eyes on the towering Eiffel Tower. My plan worked until I got closer to the landmark, which somehow disappeared behind the surrounding buildings.
I was astonished that such a large structure could be hidden in plain sight! I finally realized I needed help, so I asked for directions and found my friend.
Life can be so unpredictable. As we face obstacles and challenges in life, we can ask God for help and direction. Asking Him helps us not get lost along our journey or be tempted to take detours or to quit. Especially when life seems hard or confusing, we can turn to God for guidance.
In Proverbs 3:5-6, Solomon encourages his readers by telling them to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
As we seek God’s wisdom through prayer and reading the Bible, He’ll guide us. Let’s continue to trust Him and follow His lead.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it sometimes hard to follow God? How can you stay better connected to Him?
Dear God, thank You for leading and guiding me.
Are you walking in the Spirit? Learn more by reading this excerpt from Guided by the Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 17, 2025
His Ascension and Our Union
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.— Luke 24:51
We cannot relate to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. Until that moment, Jesus led a life we can recognize: the normal, if perfect, life of a man. From the transfiguration onward— Gethsemane, the cross, the resurrection, and the ascension—everything in our Lord’s life is unfamiliar to us. The cross is the doorway through which every member of humanity can enter into the life of God. Through the resurrection, our Lord has the right to give eternal life to all. By the ascension, our Lord enters heaven and keeps the door open for humanity.
“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John . . . and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1–2). After the transfiguration, Jesus remained on earth. If he’d gone to heaven immediately, he would have gone alone as a glorious figure, but not as a savior. Instead, he turned his back on glory and came down from the mountain to identify himself with fallen humanity.
“He left them and was taken up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). The ascension completed the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to his original place of glory, but he didn’t return simply as the Son of God. He returned also as the Son of Man. Because he did, all of humanity now has free access to the throne of God. As Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited his divine omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Now, in his glory, they are his in absolute power. Sitting at the throne of God, Jesus Christ, as Son of Man, has all power. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords from the day of his ascension until now.
1 Chronicles 1-3; John 5:25-47
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from.
The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
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