Max Lucado Daily:Trust Him
In Mark 5:23, Jairus pleads with Jesus, “My daughter is dying. Please come, heal her so she will live.”
He doesn’t barter with Jesus. He doesn’t negotiate. He just pleads. He asks Jesus for His help. And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it. But before they get very far, they’re interrupted by emissaries who tell them, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no need to bother the Teacher anymore.”
Get ready. Hang on to your hat. Here’s where Jesus takes control. The Bible says: “But Jesus paid no attention to what they said.” I love that line! He ignored what the people said. Why don’t you do that? When falsehood, accusations, or negativism come, just ignore it. Close your ears. Walk away. Ignore the ones who say it’s too late to start over. Disregard those who say you’ll never amount to anything.
Jesus said to Jairus what He says to you: “Don’t be afraid—just believe!” “Trust Me,” Jesus is pleading. “Just trust Me.”
from He Still Moves Stones
Mark 3:1-19
Doing Good on the Sabbath
1–3 3 Then he went back in the meeting place where he found a man with a crippled hand. The Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath infraction. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand here where we can see you.”
4 Then he spoke to the people: “What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?” No one said a word.
5–6 He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out—it was as good as new! The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod’s followers and ruin him.
The Twelve Apostles
7–10 Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away. But a huge crowd from Galilee trailed after them—also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon—swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves. He told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn’t be trampled by the crowd. He had healed many people, and now everyone who had something wrong was pushing and shoving to get near and touch him.
11–12 Evil spirits, when they recognized him, fell down and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus would have none of it. He shut them up, forbidding them to identify him in public.
13–19 He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons. These are the Twelve:
Simon (Jesus later named him Peter, meaning “Rock”),
James, son of Zebedee,
John, brother of James (Jesus nicknamed the Zebedee brothers Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”),
Andrew,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
Simon the Canaanite,
Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 26, 2025
by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Proverbs 18:10-11
10 God’s name is a place of protection—
good people can run there and be safe.
11 The rich think their wealth protects them;
they imagine themselves safe behind it.
Today's Insights
The book of Proverbs is included in the portion of the Old Testament known as wisdom literature. It’s properly placed there because it’s a collection of wise sayings from sages in Israel’s past. Much of the counsel is from King Solomon, to whom God granted extraordinary wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-9). God told him there would be none before him and none after him who would be greater in wisdom (v. 12). With so much of the divinely inspired wisdom of the book of Proverbs rooted in the unique gift of wisdom entrusted to Solomon, it’s important to give careful attention to its life-changing words. The wisdom God offers us in the Scriptures is just one of His provisions to us. He’s also given us the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us to know and experience the safety and help we so desperately need.
God, Our Safe Place
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
We’d been driving for fifteen hours, and it was late at night when a tornado alert jolted us to attention. The warning said we should take cover immediately. As if on cue, lightning exploded in the sky, and wind pressed against our car windows. We sped off the highway and parked near a concrete hotel building. Sprinting inside, we were thankful to find shelter.
Trouble reminds us we need a safe place to stay. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Theologians tell us the phrase “the name of the Lord” means the entirety of who God is. All His attributes provide security as we hide ourselves in Him. Because God is kind, He welcomes us. Because He’s good, He listens to us. Because He’s love, He empathizes with us.
But God isn’t just another way to cope with problems. He’s more than a quick fix or a distraction. Taking refuge in Him means choosing His help over everything else. We can run to Him in prayer, meditate on Scripture, or surrender to the Holy Spirit in times of stress and anxiety. Over the years, these habits lead to a lifetime of reliance on the one who's our true shelter.
Reflect & Pray
Why might you choose self-reliance over God’s help? Which attribute of God comforts you the most as you face storms in life?
Thank You God, for being my safe place. Please help me to turn to You in every struggle.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 26, 2025
The Reckoning with Purity
Out of the heart come evil thoughts. —Matthew 15:19
We begin by trusting our ignorance and calling it innocence, by trusting our innocence and calling it purity. When we hear Jesus declare that “out of the heart come evil thoughts,” we shrink and say, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what Jesus Christ reveals.
Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or he isn’t worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust his diagnosis? If instead I choose to trust my innocence, eventually I will come to a place where, with a shuddering awakening, I discover that what Jesus Christ says is true. Then I’ll be appalled at the potential for evil and wrong inside me. As long as I remain under the refuge of innocence, I’m living in a fool’s paradise. If I’ve never been a cheat or a menace, the reason is a mixture of cowardice and the pressures of human society. When I am undressed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in his diagnosis.
The only thing that safeguards the human heart is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will hand myself over to him, I never need to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is too deep down for me to get to on my own, but when God comes in, he brings into the center of my personal life the very same Spirit who was manifested in the life of my Lord: the Holy Spirit. From then on, the spotless purity of Jesus Christ is mine.
Psalms 40-42; Acts 27:1-26
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him.
Approved Unto God, 10 R
