Max Lucado Daily: JESUS CAME FOR THE OUTCAST - April 29, 2025
The woman at the well. Decades of loose living had left her tattooed and tabooed and living with a boyfriend who thought a wedding was a waste of time. Gossipers wagged their tongues about her and her 5 ex-husbands. How else can we explain her midday appearance at the water well? Other women filled their buckets at sunrise, but this woman preferred the heat of the sun over the heat of their scorn.
Jesus wasn’t put off by her past. He offered to make music out of her garbage, and she accepted his offer. The woman on the margin became the woman with the message. No one else gave her a chance, but Jesus gave her the chance of a lifetime. He came for people like her.
Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name
Genesis 30
When Rachel realized that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She told Jacob, “Give me sons or I’ll die!”
2 Jacob got angry with Rachel and said, “Am I God? Am I the one who refused you babies?”
3–5 Rachel said, “Here’s my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her. Let her substitute for me so I can have a child through her and build a family.” So she gave him her maid Bilhah for a wife and Jacob slept with her. Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son.
6–8 Rachel said, “God took my side and vindicated me. He listened to me and gave me a son.” She named him Dan (Vindication). Rachel’s maid Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “I’ve been in an all-out fight with my sister—and I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali (Fight).
9–13 When Leah saw that she wasn’t having any more children, she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob for a wife. Zilpah had a son for Jacob. Leah said, “How fortunate!” and she named him Gad (Lucky). When Leah’s maid Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, Leah said, “A happy day! The women will congratulate me in my happiness.” So she named him Asher (Happy).
14 One day during the wheat harvest Reuben found some mandrakes in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, “Could I please have some of your son’s mandrakes?”
15 Leah said, “Wasn’t it enough that you got my husband away from me? And now you also want my son’s mandrakes?”
Rachel said, “All right. I’ll let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s love-apples.”
16–21 When Jacob came home that evening from the fields, Leah was there to meet him: “Sleep with me tonight; I’ve bartered my son’s mandrakes for a night with you.” So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a fifth son. She said, “God rewarded me for giving my maid to my husband.” She named him Issachar (Bartered). Leah became pregnant yet again and gave Jacob a sixth son, saying, “God has given me a great gift. This time my husband will honor me with gifts—I’ve given him six sons!” She named him Zebulun (Honor). Last of all she had a daughter and named her Dinah.
22–24 And then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and had a son. She said, “God has taken away my humiliation.” She named him Joseph (Add), praying, “May God add yet another son to me.”
25–26 After Rachel had had Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban, “Let me go back home. Give me my wives and children for whom I’ve served you. You know how hard I’ve worked for you.”
27–28 Laban said, “If you please, I have learned through divine inquiry that God has blessed me because of you.” He went on, “So name your wages. I’ll pay you.”
29–30 Jacob replied, “You know well what my work has meant to you and how your livestock has flourished under my care. The little you had when I arrived has increased greatly; everything I did resulted in blessings for you. Isn’t it about time that I do something for my own family?”
31–33 “So, what should I pay you?”
Jacob said, “You don’t have to pay me a thing. But how about this? I will go back to pasture and care for your flocks. Go through your entire flock today and take out every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. That way you can check on my honesty when you assess my wages. If you find any goat that’s not speckled or spotted or a sheep that’s not black, you will know that I stole it.”
34 “Fair enough,” said Laban. “It’s a deal.”
35–36 But that very day Laban removed all the mottled and spotted billy goats and all the speckled and spotted nanny goats, every animal that had even a touch of white on it plus all the black sheep and placed them under the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob went on tending what was left of Laban’s flock.
37–42 But Jacob got fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark, leaving white stripes on them. He stuck the peeled branches in front of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. When the flocks were in heat, they came to drink and mated in front of the streaked branches. Then they gave birth to young that were streaked or spotted or speckled. Jacob placed the ewes before the dark-colored animals of Laban. That way he got distinctive flocks for himself which he didn’t mix with Laban’s flocks. And when the sturdier animals were mating, Jacob placed branches at the troughs in view of the animals so that they mated in front of the branches. But he wouldn’t set up the branches before the feebler animals. That way the feeble animals went to Laban and the sturdy ones to Jacob.
43 The man got richer and richer, acquiring huge flocks, lots and lots of servants, not to mention camels and donkeys.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Numbers 13:26-33
They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:
27–29 “We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”
31–33 But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”
Today's Insights
The negative report of the ten faithless spies must have created quite a commotion within the Israelite camp. We read that Caleb “silenced the people before Moses” (Numbers 13:30). The silence didn’t last. A mass protest soon broke out. “That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud” (14:1). There was serious talk of returning to the land of their enslavement (v. 4). God’s response was stern. None of the adults, save for the two faithful spies—Caleb and Joshua—would enter the promised land. Why? Because the people had disbelieved God by thinking He couldn’t bring them into the land He’d promised to give them. Caleb and Joshua, however, placed their hope and trust in Him.
Hopeless or Hopeful
We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. Numbers 13:30
Every fall, plants like ragweed irritate my son’s sinuses. One night, his symptoms became so severe I thought he should see a doctor. Our family had just recovered from months of serious health issues, and I was so discouraged I didn’t even want to pray. My husband, however, found hope in all that God had already helped us through. He prayed for direction. Shortly after, with the help of medicine, our son’s condition improved.
Though some of their companions were discouraged, Caleb and Joshua also showed hope and optimism after scouting out the land of Canaan (Numbers 14:6-9). God had promised the area to Israel, and Caleb said, “We should . . . take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (13:30). The others felt it was impossible, that the Canaanites were too powerful and their cities too well fortified (vv. 28, 31-33).
These were serious challenges, but Caleb’s faith rested on God’s past faithfulness to His people in their struggles. God’s people did eventually conquer Canaan, and Caleb received his share because he had followed Him “wholeheartedly” (Joshua 14:9).
Many situations feel hopeless, but for those who know God and believe in His faithfulness, there’s always a reason for hope as we trust His power and grace to carry us through.
Reflect & Pray
How do you think God responds to your prayers when you’re discouraged, overwhelmed, or fearful? How does it help to know that He’s for you?
Dear God, please let courage and hope flow from my relationship with You to inspire others to turn to You when life is hard.
Learn more about fear, faith, and the true cost of not trusting God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
The Graciousness of Uncertainty
What we will be has not yet been made known. — 1 John 3:2
Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some goal, but this isn’t the nature of the spiritual life.
The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain of the rest, never knowing what a day may bring. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be said with a burst of breathless expectation: we’re uncertain of the next step, but we’re certain of God.
The instant we abandon ourselves to God, he begins to fill our life with constant surprises. But when we become advocates of a creed, something within us dies. If we are clinging to a creed or a belief, we aren’t believing God himself; we are merely believing our beliefs about him.
Jesus said, “Unless you change and become like little children …” (Matthew 18:3). Spiritual life is the life of a child. A child isn’t uncertain of God, only of what God will do next. If we are sure of our beliefs, we are haughty and absolutely set in our opinions. Jesus said, “Believe also in me” (John 14:1). He didn’t say, “Believe your own ideas about me.” When we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy.
Leave everything to God. It is gloriously uncertain how he will come, but he will come.
1 Kings 6-7; Luke 20:27-47
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else.
Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
WALLS WHERE THERE SHOULD BE BRIDGES - #9992
Ok, question for the day. What's the difference between a melting pot and a stew? Oh, yeah, there is a difference! You see, a melting pot is where all the ingredients blend together and pretty soon you can't tell what is what. In other words, the ingredients lose their separate identity.
And how about a stew? Well, you've got the beef, the potatoes, the carrots, the onions, and whatever else might be in the refrigerator. They all pretty much stay what they are. The beef still is beef, the carrots stay carrots, the onions stay onions, the potatoes stay potatoes, and they'll make a pretty nice mixture.
Now, did you know that your church - your family - is probably more of a stew than a melting pot, and if you're not careful, the pot will boil over.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Walls Where There Should Be Bridges."
Our word for today from the Word of God is written to the saint's stew at the Church of Rome. Now, you've got to understand, this letter to the people of Rome - the Christians that we call the Romans in the book - are an interesting group of people. They're not all alike. In fact, in that church you have slaves and slave masters. You have probably the very rich of Rome and some of the very poor. You have very religious Jews from a scrupulous Jewish religious background. And then you've got people who've come from a totally pagan Gentile background who have come to Christ. It's really a saint's stew.
And guess what they're doing? They're arguing. The carrots are arguing with the beef, and the beef's arguing with the potatoes, and they are arguing over everything from what food it's Christian to eat, to what days it's Christian to take off and honor. And into the middle of this saint's stew Paul comes with his admonition in our word for today from the Word of God, Romans 14:19.
And since you live in a group of Christians who are very different, even in your family, you need this word too today. "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." Edification - that's a big old $100 theological word for making other people more important; for building them up, not tearing them down. Paul says you've got to work at it. He says you don't fall into this "make every effort." This is strain, this is really, you know, a lot of sweat and effort into this. Make every effort to do what leads to peace. Don't waste any energy on trying to get all of God's kids to be alike. He didn't make them to be alike; don't try to make them alike.
You know, God loves variety. That's why He created different fingerprints, different snowflakes, and that's why He makes His church a stew. The beef shouldn't become potatoes. The potatoes shouldn't become carrots. The carrots shouldn't become onions. Some of us pray loud, and some of us pray softly, and some of us are black, and brown, or white. We have different views on the 10% area of Christianity that Christians disagree on. But we're pretty much the same in the 90%. Why don't we emphasize the 90% we agree on? We worship at the same cross; we celebrate the same empty tomb. We're all family; we're going to be in heaven together forever.
Why do we let there be walls where there should be bridges? Now, you can be what God delights in - a bring-us-together person. Are you one of those? Emphasize what unites us as followers of Christ, not what divides us.
They'll know we are Christians by what? By our love. I'll tell you, there are enough people stirring up God's saint's stew. Why don't you keep it cool?