Max Lucado Daily: COURAGEOUS JOY - October 10, 2025
Jesus said: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11 NIV).
The joy Jesus offers is unlike the one promised at the car dealership or shopping mall. It is not a joy that depends upon circumstance. Peter spoke of this joy. “Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8 NKJV). Peter was writing to persecuted Christians. Adversaries took their rights, property, and possessions. But no one could take their Jesus. No one could take their joy.
Courageously joyful people have tethered their hearts to the foundation of God. Is that to say your life will be storm-free? Is that to say no sorrow will come your way? No. But that is to say your sorrow will not last forever.
Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life
Numbers 16
The Rebels
1–3 16 Getting on his high horse one day, Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with a few Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—rebelled against Moses. He had with him 250 leaders of the congregation of Israel, prominent men with positions in the Council. They came as a group and confronted Moses and Aaron, saying, “You’ve overstepped yourself. This entire community is holy and God is in their midst. So why do you act like you’re running the whole show?”
4 On hearing this, Moses threw himself facedown on the ground.
5 Then he addressed Korah and his gang: “In the morning God will make clear who is on his side, who is holy. God will take his stand with the one he chooses.
6–7 “Now, Korah, here’s what I want you, you and your gang, to do: Tomorrow, take censers. In the presence of God, put fire in them and then incense. Then we’ll see who is holy, see whom God chooses. Sons of Levi, you’ve overstepped yourselves!”
8–11 Moses continued with Korah, “Listen well now, sons of Levi. Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has selected you out of the congregation of Israel to bring you near him to serve in the ministries of The Dwelling of God, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? He has brought you and all your brother Levites into his inner circle, and now you’re grasping for the priesthood, too. It’s God you’ve ganged up against, not us. What do you have against Aaron that you’re bad-mouthing him?”
12–14 Moses then ordered Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, to appear, but they said, “We’re not coming. Isn’t it enough that you yanked us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you keep trying to boss us around! Face it, you haven’t produced: You haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, you haven’t given us the promised inheritance of fields and vineyards. You’d have to poke our eyes out to keep us from seeing what’s going on. Forget it, we’re not coming.”
15 Moses’ temper blazed white-hot. He said to God, “Don’t accept their Grain-Offering. I haven’t taken so much as a single donkey from them; I haven’t hurt a single hair of their heads.”
16–17 Moses said to Korah, “Bring your people before God tomorrow. Appear there with them and Aaron. Have each man bring his censer filled with incense and present it to God—all 250 censers. And you and Aaron do the same, bring your censers.”
18 So they all did it. They brought their censers filled with fire and incense and stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron did the same.
19 It was Korah and his gang against Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The entire community could see the Glory of God.
20–21 God said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I can finish them off and be done with them.”
22 They threw themselves on their faces and said, “O God, God of everything living, when one man sins are you going to take it out on the whole community?”
23–24 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the community. Tell them, Back off from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25–26 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The leaders of Israel followed him. He then spoke to the community: “Back off from the tents of these bad men; don’t touch a thing that belongs to them lest you be carried off on the flood of their sins.”
27 So they all backed away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram by now had come out and were standing at the entrance to their tents with their wives, children, and babies.
28–30 Moses continued to address the community: “This is how you’ll know that it was God who sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t anything I cooked up on my own. If these men die a natural death like all the rest of us, you’ll know that it wasn’t God who sent me. But if God does something unprecedented—if the ground opens up and swallows the lot of them and they are pitched alive into Sheol—then you’ll know that these men have been insolent with God.”
31–33 The words were hardly out of his mouth when the Earth split open. Earth opened its mouth and in one gulp swallowed them down, the men and their families, all the human beings connected with Korah, along with everything they owned. And that was the end of them, pitched alive into Sheol. The Earth closed up over them and that was the last the community heard of them.
34 At the sound of their cries everyone around ran for dear life, shouting, “We’re about to be swallowed up alive!”
35 Then God sent lightning. The fire cremated the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36–38 God spoke to Moses: “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, Gather up the censers from the smoldering cinders and scatter the coals a distance away for these censers have become holy. Take the censers of the men who have sinned and are now dead and hammer them into thin sheets for covering the Altar. They have been offered to God and are holy to God. Let them serve as a sign to Israel, evidence of what happened this day.”
39–40 So Eleazar gathered all the bronze censers that belonged to those who had been burned up and had them hammered flat and used to overlay the Altar, just as God had instructed him by Moses. This was to serve as a sign to Israel that only descendants of Aaron were allowed to burn incense before God; anyone else trying it would end up like Korah and his gang.
41 Grumbling broke out the next day in the community of Israel, grumbling against Moses and Aaron: “You have killed God’s people!”
42 But it so happened that when the community got together against Moses and Aaron, they looked over at the Tent of Meeting and there was the Cloud—the Glory of God for all to see.
43–45 Moses and Aaron stood at the front of the Tent of Meeting. God spoke to Moses: “Back away from this congregation so that I can do away with them this very minute.”
They threw themselves facedown on the ground.
46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and fill it with incense, along with fire from the Altar. Get to the congregation as fast as you can: make atonement for them. Anger is pouring out from God—the plague has started!”
47–48 Aaron grabbed the censer, as directed by Moses, and ran into the midst of the congregation. The plague had already begun. He put burning incense into the censer and atoned for the people. He stood there between the living and the dead and stopped the plague.
49–50 Fourteen thousand seven hundred people died from the plague, not counting those who died in the affair of Korah. Aaron then went back to join Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The plague was stopped.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 10, 2025
by Tim Gustafson
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Psalm 88:1, 6-18
God, you’re my last chance of the day.
I spend the night on my knees before you.
You’ve dropped me into a bottomless pit,
sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.
I’m battered senseless by your rage,
relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.
You turned my friends against me,
made me horrible to them.
I’m caught in a maze and can’t find my way out,
blinded by tears of pain and frustration.
9–12 I call to you, God; all day I call.
I wring my hands, I plead for help.
Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?
Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?
Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?
13–18 I’m standing my ground, God, shouting for help,
at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.
Why, God, do you turn a deaf ear?
Why do you make yourself scarce?
For as long as I remember I’ve been hurting;
I’ve taken the worst you can hand out, and I’ve had it.
Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
I’m bleeding, black-and-blue.
You’ve attacked me fiercely from every side,
raining down blows till I’m nearly dead.
You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
the only friend I have left is Darkness.
Today's Insights
Psalm 88 is an unusual song of lament. Lament psalms typically include a call for God’s help, a specific complaint or reason for lamenting, and an expression of trust in God. Some also offer thanksgiving after He responds. (Psalm 44 is a lament psalm that contains all these elements.) Psalm 88 includes the call for God’s aid (vv. 1-2) and reasons for lament (vv. 3-9, 15-18) but omits any expressions of trust in God. Instead, the psalmist asks accusatory questions (vv. 10-12, 14) and describes being completely alone and in excruciating pain (v. 18). That this psalm is part of inspired Scripture demonstrates that God welcomes complete honesty before Him when we’re struggling. In our pain, we can be assured that He’s there and He’s listening.
Prayer of the Desperate
You have taken from me friend and neighbor—darkness is my closest friend. Psalm 88:18
Charles had sunk into depression. Despite having a loving family, he felt all alone. “The overwhelming pressure of supporting them was continuing to build,” he said, “and I felt like taking my own life.” Surprisingly—or perhaps not—Charles Morris also led a Christian ministry.
A wise friend told him that when faced with depression, “We should soak in the Psalms.” Charles got through his deep despondency by reading relatable Bible passages, accepting prudent medical care, and pouring his heart out to God.
The Psalms are often brutally honest. Heman the Ezrahite wrote one of the most bitter. Hope is found only in the opening lines: “Lord, you are the God who saves me” (88:1). Heman seems to accuse God: “You have put me in the lowest pit” (v. 6). “You have overwhelmed me” (v. 7). And he had questions: “Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?” (v. 14). Most psalms end with a message of hope. Not this one. Heman concludes, “Darkness is my closest friend” (v. 18). This is the prayer of a truly desperate man. Yet Heman directed all his pain to God.
When we read psalms such as this one, we realize we’re not alone. Others have experienced desperate feelings and have dared to put voice to them. God could take such honesty from Heman. He can take it from you too. He’s there, and He’s listening.
Reflect & Pray
What part of Psalm 88 do you most relate to? What will you ask God today?
Heavenly Father, sometimes I hurt too much even to pray. Thank You that You’re big enough to take all my pain and honesty.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 10, 2025
How Will I Know?
I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. — Matthew 11:25
In our spiritual relationship with God, we do not grow step-by-step; we’re either there or we’re not. The same is true when it comes to sin. God doesn’t cleanse us more and more from sin; either we are free of sin or we’re not. It’s a question of obedience, of keeping ourselves in the light. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus . . . purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The instant we obey, our relationship with God is perfected. But if we disobey, even for a second, darkness and death are immediately at work.
All of God’s revelations are closed to us until we obey; only through obedience are they opened. Beware of becoming wise and learned; you will never get his revelations open by thinking about them. But when you obey, a flash of light comes. You have to let God’s truth work its way in by soaking yourself in it, not by worrying about it. The only way you can get to know the great truths of God is to stop trying to know and to be born again.
Obey God in the thing he places before you, whatever it may be, and the next thing will open up to you instantly. We read book upon book about the work of the Holy Spirit, when five minutes of total obedience would make things clear as a sunbeam.
“I guess I’ll understand one day,” you say. You can understand now. It isn’t studying that will get you there; it’s obedience. God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you already know. The tiniest fragment of obedience on your part will cause heaven to open and the profoundest truths of God to become yours.
Isaiah 34-36; Colossians 2
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold.
Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 10, 2025
YOUR TITANIC MISTAKE - #10110
It happened over 100 years ago, but we still seem to be fascinated with it - the Titanic. I mean, the Titanic has sailed into the Internet! You can find all kinds of information about the sinking of that "unsinkable" ship back in 1912. And then, there was the Academy Award-winning movie, endless TV shows, articles, and there was even a Broadway musical about it. It seems like fascination with the Titanic just never goes away.
A lot of this information has been known for decades, but now there's a tremendous appetite for that information. Like the tragic mistake that fatal night by the radioman on the Titanic. The ship had received a number of warnings about ice ahead and had adjusted her course southward as a result. But two hours before the Titanic hit the iceberg, the radioman received a warning from another ship about a major iceberg, along with longitude and latitude coordinates. They put that iceberg right in Titanic's path. It's the one that sank the ship. But the radioman didn't know it was in their path. He was busy that night, so he stuck that message on a spindle to be dealt with later. That one choice doomed him and 1500 other passengers who died that night.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Titanic Mistake."
That just makes the tragedy even more tragic, doesn't it? The warning of what was coming was sent, it was received, but a man decided he'd deal with it later. And later was too late. When the warning is life-or-death, you don't wait to deal with it, especially if the warning is from God, especially if the warning is about what's ahead for you. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 2:3. "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" Ignoring God's warning - fatal results.
What's the warning about our future? Here are God's words, "Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's only Son" (John 3:18). Like the Titanic on her last night, steaming headlong for a deadly rendezvous. Again, God in His own words, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36).
God says there are people who are forever safe and people who are headed for eternal destruction. The difference is what they do with His Son, Jesus. You can do a lot of things with Jesus: you can reject Him, or ignore Him, or postpone Him, or you can even agree with Him. But all of those responses lead to the same place - eternity without God. You might say, "You mean agreeing with Jesus, isn't that enough?" Well, you see, I wasn't married to my wife based on my agreeing with her views. I was married to my wife for one reason - there was a time I committed my life to her.
That's what you have to do with Jesus. Has there been a time when you did that? If not, you're still ignoring God's warning about eternity. He says we can't possibly escape if we neglect this great salvation. He calls it salvation because it's a rescue from a death sentence. Jesus dying on that awful cross - that was God's Son paying the death penalty for the sinning you and I have done. And our only hope is to put our total trust in Him - the only One who can rescue you from sin and its penalty.
So you have the warning. Maybe you've been saying, like a radioman on the Titanic that night, I'll deal with it later. Don't do that. When a warning is life-or-death, the only time to deal with it is now while there's time.
If there has never been a time when you have committed yourself to Jesus to be your Savior, tell Him right now you're putting your trust in Him and what He did on the cross for you. "Jesus, I'm yours."
I hope you'll go to our website as soon as you can today, because you will find the information you need to secure and be sure you belong to Jesus. It's ANewStory.com.
Without Jesus, you are steaming full speed into an eternity without hope. Deal with God's warning now. And you'll be on the course for a guaranteed arrival in heaven when your journey's done.
No comments:
Post a Comment