Max Lucado Daily: LOVE IS A DECISION - February 21, 2025
When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery: love is more a decision than an emotion.
Christ-like love applauds good behavior. At the same time, Christ-like love refuses to endorse misbehavior. Jesus loved his apostles, but he wasn’t silent when they were faithless. Jesus loved the people in the temple, but he didn’t sit still when they were hypocritical. Love does whatever is in the best interest of a person. The cheating husband says to his wife, “If you loved me, you’d forget what has happened and let me come home.” That may not be true. Love does what’s in the best interest of a person. Love sets boundaries. Love seeks counsel.
The love of Christ is no sweet sentiment, but rather a heartfelt resolve to do what’s in the best interest of another person. And sometimes that means dying on a cross.
Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions
Job 3
JOB CRIES OUT
What’s the Point of Life?
1–2 3 Then Job broke the silence. He spoke up and cursed his fate:
3–10 “Obliterate the day I was born.
Blank out the night I was conceived!
Let it be a black hole in space.
May God above forget it ever happened.
Erase it from the books!
May the day of my birth be buried in deep darkness,
shrouded by the fog,
swallowed by the night.
And the night of my conception—the devil take it!
Rip the date off the calendar,
delete it from the almanac.
Oh, turn that night into pure nothingness—
no sounds of pleasure from that night, ever!
May those who are good at cursing curse that day.
Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it.
May its morning stars turn to black cinders,
waiting for a daylight that never comes,
never once seeing the first light of dawn.
And why? Because it released me from my mother’s womb
into a life with so much trouble.
11–19 “Why didn’t I die at birth,
my first breath out of the womb my last?
Why were there arms to rock me,
and breasts for me to drink from?
I could be resting in peace right now,
asleep forever, feeling no pain,
In the company of kings and statesmen
in their royal ruins,
Or with princes resplendent
in their gold and silver tombs.
Why wasn’t I stillborn and buried
with all the babies who never saw light,
Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone
and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest?
Prisoners sleep undisturbed,
never again to wake up to the bark of the guards.
The small and the great are equals in that place,
and slaves are free from their masters.
20–23 “Why does God bother giving light to the miserable,
why bother keeping bitter people alive,
Those who want in the worst way to die, and can’t,
who can’t imagine anything better than death,
Who count the day of their death and burial
the happiest day of their life?
What’s the point of life when it doesn’t make sense,
when God blocks all the roads to meaning?
24–26 “Instead of bread I get groans for my supper,
then leave the table and vomit my anguish.
The worst of my fears has come true,
what I’ve dreaded most has happened.
My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed.
No rest for me, ever—death has invaded life.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 21, 2025
by Nancy Gavilanes
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Proverbs 24:15-22
Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;
don’t try to get the best of them.
No matter how many times you trip them up,
God-loyal people don’t stay down long;
Soon they’re up on their feet,
while the wicked end up flat on their faces.
28
17–18 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;
don’t crow over his collapse.
God might see, and become very provoked,
and then take pity on his plight.
29
19–20 Don’t bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
Those people have no future at all;
they’re headed down a dead-end street.
30
21–22 Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders;
don’t be defiant or mutinous.
Without warning your life can turn upside down,
and who knows how or when it might happen?
Today's Insights
Proverbs 22:17–24:22 includes the heading “Thirty Sayings of the Wise.” This section is a collection of wise words “of counsel and knowledge” (22:20) to encourage the reader to trust in God and live honest and God-honoring lives (vv. 19-21).
Each saying in this section of Proverbs encourages the reader to adopt or avoid certain behaviors and uses the characteristic injunction “Do not . . .” followed by the reason or consequence of obedience or disobedience (see 22:22-23; 23:3, 4-5; 24:1-2). Proverbs 24:15-22 focuses primarily on our attitude toward evildoers. We’re not to imitate their evil deeds, gloat over their downfall (vv. 17-18), or envy their successes (vv. 19-20). Instead, we’re to fear both God and his agent, the governing authorities, for they will punish evildoers (vv. 21-22).
Getting Back Up
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Proverbs 24:16
As a teen, I was enthralled with the sport of figure skating. I loved the blend of artistry and athleticism on ice, with the fast spins, high jumps, and perfect poses. After watching many professional skaters perform, I finally got the opportunity to go ice skating and be part of a group lesson. Along with learning how to glide and stop, we learned some of the most important skills for a skater at any level—how to fall and get back up quickly. Later, I learned many spins and jumps in private lessons, but always had to rely on the basics of how to get up after a fall.
We don’t have to be athletes to know that “falling” is part of life. Perhaps we fall because we’ve sinned, we stumble due to a mistake, or we get knocked down by an overwhelming circumstance. Maybe we find ourselves being attacked by the devil one way or another. “We are . . . persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). No matter the reason, we all fall and experience failure in life.
But we’re not meant to live in defeat, shame, or regret. When the enemy is lurking nearby and trying to plunder from us (Proverbs 24:15), we need to remember that God is fighting for us and will help us get back up, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again” (v. 16).
When we fall, let’s quickly turn to God and fix our eyes on Him who gives us the strength to get back up.
Reflect & Pray
How do you handle the falls in life? How has God helped you get back up?
Dear God, thank You for helping me get up after a fall.
For further study read, Do Not Rejoice.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 21, 2025
Have You Ever Been Carried Away for Him?
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” — Mark 14:6
If love does not carry us beyond ourselves, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, it is not love. It may be affection or warmth of feeling, but it does not have the true nature of love in it.
In Mark 14, Mary of Bethany is so carried away by her love for Jesus that she breaks a bottle of precious perfume and pours the fragrance over his head. Have I ever done something like this for God, not because it is my duty or there is some reward in it for me but just because I love him? If you are spending all your time marveling about the magnificence of the redemption, remember that there are valuable things you could be doing for the Redeemer. Not colossal, divine things: simple, human things that show God you genuinely love him.
There are times when it seems as though God is watching just to see if we will abandon ourselves to him. It’s as though he wants to catch us in a natural, spontaneous, affectionate action. Abandonment is of more value to God than personal holiness. Personal holiness fixes the eye on its own spotlessness. When we fixate on our own holiness, we obsess over how we walk and talk and look. We become fearful of offending God, anxiously wondering if we’re useful. If we come to the conclusion that no, we aren’t, we are near the truth. It is never a question of being useful but of being of value to God himself. When we are abandoned to God, he works through us all the time.
Numbers 1-3; Mark 3
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 21, 2025
MOUNTAIN SHRINKING - #9945
I always ask for a window seat on the airplane. Usually aisle seats are more popular because you can stretch your legs a little more. Mine are so short they have plenty of room, no matter where I am. And you can get up when you want to, and when you don't want to, because the two guys on the inside want to get out. Actually, I always have so much to get done during a flight that I like to just set up a little nest there by the window where I can work without getting up or passing food. Unfortunately, I'm so busy sometimes I miss some things that are worth looking at out my window, which is right there. I was flying recently with one of our team members and I was really missing the beautiful scenery of the rocky mountains below me; I didn't even think about them being there. My colleague got my attention, not by reaching over and pointing and shouting, "Hey, look at those mountains, man!" No, he did it with a simple little observation. He said, "You know, mountains sure look a lot smaller from this perspective, don't they?" And I took a good look.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Mountain Shrinking."
Growing up in flat old Illinois, the Rocky Mountains looked pretty impressive - pretty huge to me. Some of them are over 14,000 feet high! But, even the biggest ones don't look all that big when you're able to look at them from above. It can be that way with other mountains, too. Like the mountain you're facing right now. Maybe the finances look huge, or the obstacles, or the opposition, that medical situation, or maybe what's happening at work, or at school, or at home, or in a relationship. Looking up at it, it's enough to overwhelm you! You need to look at that mountain from above.
That's what they did in our word for today from the Word of God. In Acts 4, the early Christians have been told not to preach anymore about Jesus. The people telling them that are not lightweights. These are the leaders of their nation - the people who arranged for the execution of Jesus. In a sense they have the power of life or death. So, when they say, "or else!" they mean it! They can do some serious damage.
Our word for today from the Word of God begins in Acts 4:24, speaking of the first Christians. It says, "When they heard this they raised their voices together in prayer to God. 'Sovereign Lord,' they said, 'you made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and everything in them...they did what your power and your will had decided beforehand.'" They're speaking now of the people who executed Jesus. And then they go on, "Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your Word with great boldness." Boy, they are going totally against the opposition. When they started praying, they were looking up at a mountain that looked huge. By the time they finished praying they were looking down on their mountain and it looked a whole lot smaller. Why? Because they chose to focus on the size of their God, rather than the size of their problem.
You may say, "Well, I pray about it but it doesn't help." That might be because you don't remember who it is you are praying to - who you're with when you pray! This is the Sovereign Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. He's the Creator of everything and everyone in your situation. He's the One whose power and will cannot be thwarted - even in the crucifixion of Jesus. In other words, when you pray, you are standing in the throne room from which those 100 billion galaxies are governed. And when you look at a mountain from the throne room of God, it looks like an ant hill!
The Bible says what happened after this prayer time. It tells us the early Christians "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." They went out and they rocked their world! The mountains shrank when they prayed and they were intimidated no more! You've been looking at your mountain from down below long enough haven't you? In prayer, in the throne room of God, get above that mountain and see how small it is compared to the Lord who you have fighting for you.
