Max Lucado Daily: NOT GOOD ENOUGH - February 5, 2025
Simply put, we are not good enough to go to heaven. So what can we do? We could start doing good deeds. Perhaps if we do enough good deeds, they’ll offset our bad deeds.
The question then becomes how many good deeds? If I spend one year being greedy, how many years should I be generous? No one knows the answer to that question. A rule sheet can’t be found. A code has not been discovered. Why? Because God doesn’t operate this way.
God has been so kind to us. We have no way of balancing the scales. All we can do is ask for mercy. And God, because of his kindness, gives it. God turned over our sins to his Son. Jesus Christ died for us. He did what we could not do so that we might become what we dare not dream—citizens of heaven!
Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions
Genesis 14
Then this: Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim went off to war to fight Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar.
3–4 This second group of kings, the attacked, came together at the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Salt Sea. They had been under the thumb of Kedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, they revolted.
5–7 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him set out and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El Paran on the far edge of the desert. On their way back they stopped at En Mishpat, that is, Kadesh, and conquered the whole region of the Amalekites as well as that of the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8–9 That’s when the king of Sodom marched out with the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar. They drew up in battle formation against their enemies in the Valley of Siddim—against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.
10–12 The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.
13–16 A fugitive came and reported to Abram the Hebrew. Abram was living at the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner. They were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he lined up his servants, all of them born in his household—there were 318 of them—and chased after the captors all the way to Dan. Abram and his men split into small groups and attacked by night. They chased them as far as Hobah, just north of Damascus. They recovered all the plunder along with nephew Lot and his possessions, including the women and the people.
17–20 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and his allied kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the King’s Valley. Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was priest of The High God—and blessed him:
Blessed be Abram by The High God,
Creator of Heaven and Earth.
And blessed be The High God,
who handed your enemies over to you.
Abram gave him a tenth of all the recovered plunder.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me back the people but keep all the plunder for yourself.”
22–24 But Abram told the king of Sodom, “I swear to God, The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, this solemn oath, that I’ll take nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I’m not going to have you go around saying, ‘I made Abram rich.’ Nothing for me other than what the young men ate and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; they’re to get their share of the plunder.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, February 05, 2025
by Jasmine Goh
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
John 5:36-40
But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John’s witness. It’s the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.
39–40 “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.
Today's Insights
In John 5:39-40, Jesus acknowledges the importance of studying the Scriptures yet asserts that they ultimately point to Him. Both the Old and New Testaments declare Scripture’s impact. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul encourages Timothy to continue in the Scriptures, and he notes that “all Scripture is God-breathed” and trains and equips us for personal growth in holiness and to serve others (vv. 16-17). Before installing Joshua as the new Israelite leader, God urged him to “meditate on [the Law] day and night” so that he’d be “prosperous and successful” in leading the Israelites into Canaan (Joshua 1:8). In Psalm 19, David declares that the words of God refresh the soul, make wise the simple, and give joy to the heart and light to the eyes. By them we’re warned and find great reward (vv. 7-11). Through keeping and treasuring Scripture, God makes our way clear (Psalm 119:1-3, 105; Proverbs 2:1-5).
Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
[Jesus said], “These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.” John 5:39
June’s eyes were fixed on the gray car beside her. She had to change lanes to exit the highway, but each time she tried to overtake the vehicle, the other driver seemed to speed up too. Finally, she managed to cut in front. Smug in her moment of triumph, June looked in the rearview mirror and smirked. At the same time, she noticed her destination exit passing her by.
With a rueful smile, she recounted: “I was so fixated on overtaking that I missed my exit.”
Such a slip can also happen in our desire to walk in God’s ways. When the religious leaders persecuted Jesus for not keeping the Jewish law (John 5:16), He warned that they’d become so fixated on studying and enforcing the law that they were missing the person the law pointed to: “These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (vv. 39-40).
In trying to be right before God, the religious leaders focused on following the Jewish law and making sure everyone else did too. Likewise, in our zeal for God, we may keep up with good things—church attendance, Bible study, charity work—and even get others to join us. But we can become so focused on them that we miss the person we’re doing them for—Jesus.
In all we do, let’s ask God to help us fix our eyes on Christ (Hebrews 12:2). He alone is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Reflect & Pray
What are you focused on today? What does it mean for you to fix your eyes on Jesus?
Dear God, thank You for giving me life through Christ. Please help me to keep Him at the center of all I do.
Learn to find God when you read Scripture by checking out Don't Miss the Point.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 05, 2025
Are You Ready to Be Offered?
I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith. — Philippians 2:17
Are you ready to be offered, to become broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of the Lord? Or are you full of hesitation, saying to yourself, “I’m not going to be offered up just yet. I’m not going to let God choose my work or the setting of my sacrifice. I’ll only offer myself when the ‘right’ kind of people are watching, so they can congratulate me and say, ‘Well done’”?
It’s one thing to go about God’s business unnoticed, walking a lonely path and filled with dignified heroism; it’s quite another to become a doormat under other people’s feet. Sometimes, the role God wants you to play is the lowly role. He wants to teach you to say, “I know how to be humbled.”
Are you ready to be offered up like this? To be just a drop in the bucket, so hopelessly insignificant that no one even thinks of you in connection to the deeds you’ve done? Are you willing to spend and be spent, not seeking to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28)?
Some saints are too holy for menial work. Are you one of them? Or will you decide that nothing God gives you to do is beneath you?
Exodus 36-38; Matthew 23:1-22
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6).
The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 05, 2025
Why Together is Better Than Turf - #9933
Marty and his Great Puppy Adventure. That was the lunch time talk around our office when one of our team members became the proud owner of eight new puppies - thanks to his trusty dog, Sister. Each day seemed to bring a new episode; especially as Marty would compare the way of the puppy with the ways of people. He told us one day about trying to replenish their food. His intention was to load up their container with a lot of good things. But they really made it very difficult. See, the puppies were too busy fighting over two little pieces that were left in the corner.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Together is Better Than Turf."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 133:1, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity...it is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore."
Do you get what God's saying here? "I've got so many good things I want to give you." Notice when He gives it, when we "live together in unity." I wonder how often God feels a little like my friend Marty did. He wanted to pour out good things for the puppies, "I want to, but they're all getting in the way. You're too busy fighting over a little piece for yourself."
It happens in marriages. God wants to do some wonderful things in a couple, for a couple, but they're just focused on each defending their territory, getting their way in their marriage. God wants to bless some parents and children, but they're too busy staking out their ground, trying to again get their way. When people are just fighting for what they think are their rights, their way, the Lord just can't give them all He wants them to have. He responds to people working together, not working separately. He blesses peace and unity. He likes people looking out for each other, not looking out for themselves.
This same preoccupation with "my stuff" limits God's blessing on ministries and on churches. Where Christian leaders are only concerned with their turf, their work, their needs, then the atmosphere there is stressful, self-centered, and even cold. If they only knew the power and the joy they could have with God's unhindered blessing on them.
But they're living way below what could be because there isn't that unselfishness and unity where God says He'll pour out His blessing.
Even whole communities are missing God's outpouring because churches, ministries and leaders are not working together. Again, each one is fighting for their program, their budget, their territory, and God just turns away and says, "If you only knew what could happen in your town if you could ever get together."
You know if you take five fingers and slap yourself in the face with that, you're going to find out it might have a little sting. Now, pull those same separate fingers together and make it a fist. Now hit yourself...that's going to hurt! Of course we know that fingers together are far more powerful than fingers apart. Why can't we get that spiritually? We're operating so often like separate fingers in the Kingdom of God. How about if we pulled those together and made a fist in Satan's face and said, "You've taken enough lives, we're coming together to take them back."
Those crazy puppies - they missed so much because they were so busy only caring about their own little piece. Just like us. Would you be willing to lay down your sense of entitlement, to release your rights, your interests, your little piece and let God pour out all those good things that He's been wanting to give you? He can now, because you're working together.
