Max Lucado Daily: THIS IS OUR HOPE - May 23, 2025
Goodbye. No one wants to say it. And death is the most difficult goodbye of all.
After our church had five funerals in seven days, the sorrow took its toll on me. I chided myself, “Come on, Max, get over it. Death is a natural part of living.” Then I self-corrected. No it isn’t. Birth is. Breathing is. Belly laughs, big hugs and bedtime kisses are. But death? We weren’t made to say goodbye.
God’s original plan had no farewell, no final breath, day, or heartbeat. No matter how you frame it, goodbye doesn’t feel right. But God has served notice. All farewells are on the clock. He has decreed a family reunion, and what a reunion it will be! Revelation 21:4 says on that day, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” This long journey will come to an end. You’ll see him—and you’ll see them. Isn’t this our hope?
You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times
Genesis 46
So Israel set out on the journey with everything he owned. He arrived at Beer-sheba and worshiped, offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2 God spoke to Israel in a vision that night: “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Yes?” he said. “I’m listening.”
3–4 God said, “I am the God of your father. Don’t be afraid of going down to Egypt. I’m going to make you a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt; I’ll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he’ll close your eyes.”
5–7 Then Jacob left Beer-sheba. Israel’s sons loaded their father and their little ones and their wives on the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They arrived in Egypt with the livestock and the wealth they had accumulated in Canaan. Jacob brought everyone in his family with him—sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters. Everyone.
8 These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who went to Egypt:
Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
9 Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
11 Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (Er and Onan had already died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
14 Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These are the sons that Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram. There was also his daughter Dinah. Altogether, sons and daughters, they numbered thirty-three.
16 Gad’s sons: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Also their sister Serah, and Beriah’s sons, Heber and Malkiel.
18 These are the children that Zilpah, the maid that Laban gave to his daughter Leah, bore to Jacob—sixteen of them.
19–21 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Ben-jamin. Joseph was the father of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, from his marriage to Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. They were born to him in Egypt. Ben-jamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22 These are the children born to Jacob through Rachel—fourteen.
23 Dan’s son: Hushim.
24 Naphtali’s sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These are the children born to Jacob through Bilhah, the maid Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven.
26–27 Summing up, all those who went down to Egypt with Jacob—his own children, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six. Counting in the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who ended up in Egypt numbered seventy.
28–29 Jacob sent Judah on ahead to get directions to Goshen from Joseph. When they got to Goshen, Joseph gave orders for his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. The moment Joseph saw him, he threw himself on his neck and wept. He wept a long time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die. I’ve looked into your face—you are indeed alive.”
31–34 Joseph then spoke to his brothers and his father’s family. “I’ll go and tell Pharaoh, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, all of whom lived in Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they’ve always made their living by raising livestock. And they’ve brought their flocks and herds with them, along with everything else they own.’ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks what kind of work you do, tell him, ‘Your servants have always kept livestock for as long as we can remember—we and our parents also.’ That way he’ll let you stay apart in the area of Goshen—for Egyptians look down on anyone who is a shepherd.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, May 23, 2025
by Mike Wittmer
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
2 Thessalonians 2:7-12
That doesn’t mean that the spirit of anarchy is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and—puff!—the Anarchist is out of there.
9–12 The Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them. And since they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it—gives them what they want. Since they refuse to trust truth, they’re banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.
Today's Insights
Embracing the truth is essential for believers in Jesus, for He’s the one who is the truth (see John 14:6). Judas Iscariot is a classic example of one who had the opportunity to fully follow Christ but didn’t. The life of Judas and the teaching of 2 Thessalonians have several things in common. First, Satan is at work in both. Luke 22:3 says that “Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot,” and 2 Thessalonians 2:9 notes that “the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works.” Furthermore, John 17:12 refers to Judas as “the son of destruction” (esv), a term also found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (esv). Satan’s agenda is deception that leads to destruction. We can avoid his deceiving ways by loving Jesus and embracing His truth.
Love the Truth
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:10
Jack hates school. The lectures on algebra, grammar, and the periodic table bore him. But he loves building houses. His father takes him to work in the summer, and Jack can’t get enough. He’s only sixteen, but he knows about cement, shingles, and how to frame a wall. What’s the difference between school and construction? Love. Jack loves one and not the other. His love fuels knowledge.
As believers in Jesus, we’re to “love the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Paul says a satanic figure will use “signs and wonders” (v. 9) to deceive “those who are perishing” (v. 10). Why are they perishing? “They refused to love the truth and so be saved” (v. 10). Their failure to love the truth blinds them from knowing it. They’ll be duped (v. 11).
What do we know? That important question depends on a more basic one: What do we love? Our passions incline our heart and direct our mind. We cherish what we love. We protect it and seek more of it. If we love truth and wisdom, we’ll search for them as precious gold (Proverbs 3:13-14; 4:7-9). They’ll guard us. “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you” (4:6).
What is true wisdom? Jesus says it’s Him. “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Our most important question is who do we love? Love Jesus and you’ll learn His way. He’ll guard your life by guiding you into His truth.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it important to love the truth? Why does Jesus say He is the truth?
Dear Father, please fill my heart with love for You and what’s true.
Learn more about the astonishing claims Jesus makes about himself by reading I Am the Way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 23, 2025
Careful Infidelity
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.— Matthew 6:25
Jesus speaks of commonsense carefulness in a disciple as infidelity—a
failure to have faith in him. If we’ve received the Spirit of God, he
will press us on certain points, asking us to examine our commonsense
decisions and plans. “Where is God in this relationship?” the Spirit will
ask. “Where is God in this carefully mapped-out vacation? In these new
books?” God always presses a point until we learn to put him first in our
thoughts. Whenever we put something else first, the result is confusion.
“Do not worry . . .” Refusing to worry means refusing to put pres-
sure on ourselves about the future. Not only is it wrong to worry but
it’s also a lack of faith. Worry implies that we don’t believe God can
look after the practical details of our lives.
Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the word of
God in us? The devil? No, the cares of the world—“the little foxes that
ruin the vineyards” (Song of Songs 2:15). It is always the little wor-
ries that threaten to derail us. Yet worry becomes impossible once we
accept Jesus Christ’s revelation that God is our Father and that we can
never think of anything he will forget. People who trust Jesus Christ
in a definite, practical way are freer than anyone else to do their work
in the world. Free from fretting and worry, they are able to go about
their days with absolute certainty because the responsibility for their
lives rests not with them but with God.
Infidelity to God begins when we say, “I will not trust where I can-
not see.” The only cure is obedience to the Spirit and abandonment
to Jesus Christ. “Abandon to me” is the great message of Jesus to his
disciples.
1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart.
Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 23, 2025
RESTLESS FOR MORE - #10010
If someone is a champion in sports, we tend to make them an automatic hero. Now, not every champion lives like a hero or necessarily deserves to be one. But Wilma Rudolph? Oh, she was more than a champion. She really belonged in the hero category. See, she began her life with a bout of polio.
As a little girl, she grew up in braces. And then she battled her way to be able to walk again, and she finally begged the basketball coach to give her one chance to play basketball. She did, and she got better and better. Then she started to run competitively. What an accomplishment! One day she qualified for the Olympics! She went to the Olympics in Rome and became the first woman ever to win three gold medals in track and field.
Wilma Rudolph's philosophy rings a bell with me. Here's what she said: "When you're running, you're always in the process of trying to master something, and you're never quite there." I guess that's what makes the champion," she said, "the willingness to continue to work and strive to improve your excellence every day." Well, are you tired of just jogging along with that herd of mediocre runners? Maybe you're ready for the gold.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Restless for More."
Revival - that's the spiritual gold that every healthy Christian is hungry for. It's that extraordinary, powerful, transforming visit of the Holy Spirit above and beyond our normal relationship with Him. That extra visit that gives a generation a taste of all God can do. I want revival. I'm not sure I understand all its implications, but I am finding everywhere I travel that God's people are hungry for something more. I think that's what they want. As we run our race, we have to share that Olympians restlessness. "We're never quite there," she said.
Are you tired of the ordinary? I hope you are. Is spiritual business as usual just not enough for you any more? Oh, I hope it's not. Return with me to that first spirit invasion of the book of Acts. While Pentecost is not a repeatable event, because the Holy Spirit's unique birthing of the church at that time won't happen quite that way again, there is here a pattern for being ready for revival.
Acts 1:1 talks about the fact that this is about all that Jesus began to do and to teach. Well, going back to what Jesus began - chapter 1, verse 4 Jesus says, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised." "Go back there and wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, guys." And then in chapter 1, verse 14, you find out what to do in the waiting room while you're waiting for a visit from the Holy Spirit. "They all joined together constantly in prayer."
Now, how can we get the power and reality that we all want; are restless for and hungry for? Well, you find a group of restless runners who are restless like you; a group you can pray with, who together can say, "Lord, we're not there yet. We want your best. We want the rest of You. We want all of You." Realize that this unusual, reviving work of the Holy Spirit comes when Christians wait for it together, ask for it together, prepare for it by finally dealing with their sin.
Open up the book of Acts; read it again. Let God warm your heart with how it can be, how it ought to be. So much more powerful; so much more supernatural than what we're experiencing right now. And then go into the waiting room with some other folks who know there's more and who must have that more.
Then together let's tell our Lord, "We are restless for Your gold."
