Max Lucado Daily: THE PANDEMIC OF LUST - October 17, 2025
There is a difference between healthy romance and lurid lust. Lust is a longing for sexual satisfaction outside of a covenant relationship. What is the epicenter for the pandemic of lust? Pornography. Never in the history of the world has it been so easy to look twice where a person has no business looking once. Anyone with unfiltered internet is a click away from images that were inaccessible and unimaginable a few years ago.
Solomon asked, “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27 ESV). Or in our day: can a person view click after click, page after page, image after image of violent, deviant, degrading immorality and not be infected? The answer is no.
Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life
Numbers 21
Hormah
1 21 The Canaanite king of Arad, ruling in the Negev, heard that Israel was advancing up the road to Atharim. He attacked Israel and took prisoners of war.
2 Israel vowed a vow to God: “If you will give this people into our power, we’ll destroy their towns and present the ruins to you as a holy destruction.”
3 God listened to Israel’s prayer and gave them the Canaanites. They destroyed both them and their towns, a holy destruction. They named the place Hormah (Holy Destruction).
The Snake of Fiery Copper
4–5 They set out from Mount Hor along the Red Sea Road, a detour around the land of Edom. The people became irritable and cross as they traveled. They spoke out against God and Moses: “Why did you drag us out of Egypt to die in this godforsaken country? No decent food; no water—we can’t stomach this stuff any longer.”
6–7 So God sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit them and many in Israel died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke out against God and you. Pray to God; ask him to take these snakes from us.”
Moses prayed for the people.
8 God said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live.”
9 So Moses made a snake of fiery copper and put it on top of a flagpole. Anyone bitten by a snake who then looked at the copper snake lived.
Camping on the Way to Moab
10–15 The People of Israel set out and camped at Oboth. They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim in the wilderness that faces Moab on the east. They went from there and pitched camp in the Zered Valley. Their next camp was alongside the Arnon River, which marks the border between Amorite country and Moab. The Book of the Wars of God refers to this place:
Waheb in Suphah,
the canyons of Arnon;
Along the canyon ravines
that lead to the village Ar
And lean hard against
the border of Moab.
16–18 They went on to Beer (The Well), where God said to Moses, “Gather the people; I’ll give them water.” That’s where Israel sang this song:
Erupt, Well!
Sing the Song of the Well,
the well sunk by princes,
Dug out by the peoples’ leaders
digging with their scepters and staffs.
19–20 From the wilderness their route went from Mattanah to Nahaliel to Bamoth (The Heights) to the valley that opens into the fields of Moab from where Pisgah (The Summit) rises and overlooks Jeshimon (Wasteland).
21–22 Israel sent emissaries to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, “Let us cross your land. We won’t trespass into your fields or drink water in your vineyards. We’ll keep to the main road, the King’s Road, until we’re through your land.”
23–27 But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel go through. Instead he got his army together and marched into the wilderness to fight Israel. At Jahaz he attacked Israel. But Israel fought hard, beat him soundly, and took possession of his land from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok right up to the Ammonite border. They stopped there because the Ammonite border was fortified. Israel took and occupied all the Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its surrounding villages. Heshbon was the capital city of Sihon king of the Amorites. He had attacked the former king of Moab and captured all his land as far north as the river Arnon. That is why the folk singers sing,
Come to Heshbon to rebuild the city,
restore Sihon’s town.
28–29 Fire once poured out of Heshbon,
flames from the city of Sihon;
Burning up Ar of Moab,
the natives of Arnon’s heights.
Doom, Moab!
The people of Chemosh, done for!
Sons turned out as fugitives, daughters abandoned as captives
to the king of the Amorites, to Sihon.
30 Oh, but we finished them off:
Nothing left of Heshbon as far as Dibon;
Devastation as far off as Nophah,
scorched earth all the way to Medeba.
31–32 Israel moved in and lived in Amorite country. Moses sent men to scout out Jazer. They captured its villages and drove away the Amorites who lived there.
33 Then they turned north on the road to Bashan. Og king of Bashan marched out with his entire army to meet Moses in battle at Edrei.
34 God said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I’m making a present of him to you, him and all his people and his land. Treat him the same as Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon.”
35 So they attacked him, his sons, and all the people—there was not a single survivor. Israel took the land.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 17, 2025
by Anne Cetas
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Romans 12:9-16
Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11–13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14–16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
Today's Insights
A pattern found in several of Paul’s church letters (see Ephesians and Colossians) is that he teaches a section of doctrine followed by a section of practical application and response. In Romans, the doctrinal teaching is found in chapters 1-11, with practical response dominating chapters 12-16. The key transition point is the word therefore in 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Paul is saying that because of the love and grace God has demonstrated for us as described in chapters 1-11, we can have the heart response described in chapters 12-16. As one pastor said, “What we believe must influence and impact how we behave as God’s ambassadors.” God’s love for us enables us to pour out His love on others.
God’s Way Is Love
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Romans 12:13
With extra time on my hands, my plan for the coming months centered on serving people as much as I could. But while helping a new friend, I tripped and fell and broke my arm in three places. Suddenly I was the one in need. God’s people cared for me with visits, gift cards, flowers, phone calls, texts, prayers, meals (and even a box of chocolates), and by running errands. I couldn’t believe how kind my family, friends, and fellow church members were! It was as if God were saying, “Sit down. You need help. You’ll see what caring looks like.” Because of them, I know more about serving from the heart and feeling grateful to God for others.
Fellow believers eagerly helped me in the ways Paul instructed the church members living in Rome to follow (Romans 12). He encouraged them in many ways, including to love sincerely, to be devoted to one another in love, to honor others, and to share with those in need (vv. 9-13). Paul taught them doctrine throughout his letter. But he also shared that life in Christ isn’t abstract theology—it’s shown in our practical daily living (chs. 12-16). God’s way is love. Receiving and then pouring out His love on others is one of many ways to express His love for us.
As we look for and find everyday ways to serve people in our churches or communities, they’ll be encouraged, we’ll be blessed, and God will be praised.
Reflect & Pray
Who needs your help this week? What will you do?
You’re kind beyond measure, God. Please help me to receive and give Your love to those around me.
For further study, read A Family Dedicated to Serving.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 17, 2025
Greater Works
They will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. — John 14:12
Prayer doesn’t prepare us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work. We think of prayer as a commonsense exercise of our higher powers, as something that gets us ready to do God’s work. In the teaching of Jesus Christ, prayer is the miracle of the redemption at work in me—a miracle which, by the power of God, produces the miracle of the redemption in others: “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (John 15:16). It’s true that my prayer produces lasting fruit, but I must remember that it is prayer based on the agony of the redemption, not on my agony.
Prayer doesn’t prepare us for battle; prayer is the battle. It doesn’t matter where we are nor how God has engineered our circumstances; our duty is to pray. Never allow the thought, “I’m of no use where I am.” You certainly can be of no use where you’re not. Wherever God has dumped you down, pray to him—pray all the time. Most of us won’t pray unless it gives us a thrill, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We have to work according to God’s direction; and he says, simply, pray.
“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:38 kjv). There’s nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the conceptions of the genius possible. In the same way, the laboring disciple makes the conceptions of the Master possible. You may not see the fruits of your prayer immediately, but from God’s viewpoint there are results all the time. What an astonishment it will be to find, when the veil is lifted, how many souls have been reaped by you simply because you were in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 50-52; 1 Thessalonians 5
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me.
The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 17, 2025
WHEN YOU'RE MOVING FROM REST TO RISK - #10115
Did you ever notice this little law of life? Just about the time you get comfortable in a place, the scenery changes. You're all comfy at home as a little child, and you think this is a world you can handle. You just figured out your house and the yard, and suddenly somebody plunges you into this unfamiliar jungle of kindergarten with all these crazy kids in this classroom. And then you get pretty comfortable in elementary school. You say, "Hey, I've got this figured out. I know how to handle this place." And no sooner do you get on top of that, and they plunge you into the middle school or junior high.
Then there's high school. Just about the time you're really confident in junior high, boom, you're in the huge world of high school. And then after that you're plunged into college or the working world, and you think, "Well, I think I've got college figured out." Hello? Now you are plunged into life! Of course, parents get to go through all those new beginnings with their kids. Being grown up doesn't mean you're beyond those "shake ups" that are caused by new beginnings. No, you might be staring at a new beginning right now. Well, I've got news for you!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You're Moving From Rest to Risk."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 33. Let me set the stage for you a little bit. Moses and his people are at Sinai. At one point, this very imposing mountain out in the wilderness had been a new beginning place for them. They left Egypt, and this is where God asks them to park for a while. They've met the Lord there. But by now Sinai, which maybe once looked new and dangerous, has become the easy, familiar, comfortable place. It's the place where they've had a lot of encounters with the Lord actually.
In chapter 33 verse 1, it comes as a shock perhaps when the Lord says to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go to the land I promised you." Leave this place, this safe place, this familiar place? To something better, but it's something different, something unknown, something risky. Can you relate at all? Maybe God seems to be saying to you, "It's time to move on. You're on the edge of change right now in your life."
A new beginning can be triggered by a lot of things - maybe a change at work, a change in your family, maybe in your health, a graduation, retirement, an accident. Well, here's Moses on the edge of something new. He's nervous...and maybe so are you. And God has a word for him. In fact when Moses says, "Teach me Your ways" in Exodus 33:13, we then get God's answer to him. And our word for today from the Word of God, Exodus 33:14 - "The Lord replied, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"
The scenery changes, the cast changes, the location changes, the script changes, but the Director is the same. The presence is what makes the risk not really risky. His presence is what made this place bearable and beautiful. It's the same in the next place. He's the same in the next stage of your life - in the next season. That's the important thing. He will not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
I want you to imagine Jesus now, standing in front of you, looking you in the eye, and you're standing together in front of that new thing. He puts a hand on your shoulders, grips you tightly and He says these words, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
No matter what the risk, no matter what the change you're facing, isn't that enough to go on?
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