Max Lucado Daily: More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?
Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you!
The next time you say, “I don’t think God could use me!”—stop right there! Satan’s going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement. That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities. When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this: God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds. Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store!
But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.”
So what do you think? More plumber than executive? More stand-in than movie star? Yeah—congratulations! God uses people like you…and me.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24?
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 1
These are the sermons Moses preached to all Israel when they were east of the Jordan River in the Arabah Wilderness, opposite Suph, in the vicinity of Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea following the Mount Seir route.
3–4 It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year when Moses addressed the People of Israel, telling them everything God had commanded him concerning them. This came after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth in Edrei. It was east of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses set out to explain this Revelation.
Moses Preaches to Israel on the Plains of Moab
5 He said:
6–8 Back at Horeb, God, our God, spoke to us: “You’ve stayed long enough at this mountain. On your way now. Get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, wherever people are living in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negev, the seashore—the Canaanite country and the Lebanon all the way to the big river, the Euphrates. Look, I’ve given you this land. Now go in and take it. It’s the land God promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children after them.”
9–13 At the time I told you, “I can’t do this, can’t carry you all by myself. God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders.”
14 You answered me, “Good! A good solution.”
15 So I went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders—leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of your tribes.
16–17 At the same time I gave orders to your judges: “Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner. Don’t play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don’t be impressed by big names. This is God’s judgment you’re dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I’ll deal with them.”
18 I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.
19–21 Then we set out from Horeb and headed for the Amorite hill country, going through that huge and frightening wilderness that you’ve had more than an eyeful of by now—all under the command of God, our God—and finally arrived at Kadesh Barnea. There I told you, “You’ve made it to the Amorite hill country that God, our God, is giving us. Look, God, your God, has placed this land as a gift before you. Go ahead and take it now. God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, promised it to you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose heart.”
22 But then you all came to me and said, “Let’s send some men on ahead to scout out the land for us and bring back a report on the best route to take and the kinds of towns we can expect to find.”
23–25 That seemed like a good idea to me, so I picked twelve men, one from each tribe. They set out, climbing through the hills. They came to the Eshcol Valley and looked it over. They took samples of the produce of the land and brought them back to us, saying, “It’s a good land that God, our God, is giving us!”
26–28 But then you weren’t willing to go up. You rebelled against God, your God’s plain word. You complained in your tents: “God hates us. He hauled us out of Egypt in order to dump us among the Amorites—a death sentence for sure! How can we go up? We’re trapped in a dead end. Our brothers took all the wind out of our sails, telling us, ‘The people are bigger and stronger than we are; their cities are huge, their defenses massive—we even saw Anakite giants there!’ ”
29–33 I tried to relieve your fears: “Don’t be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trust God, your God—this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go.”
34–36 When God heard what you said, he exploded in anger. He swore, “Not a single person of this evil generation is going to get so much as a look at the good land that I promised to give to your parents. Not one—except for Caleb son of Jephunneh. He’ll see it. I’ll give him and his descendants the land he walked on because he was all for following God, heart and soul.”
37–40 But I also got it. Because of you God’s anger spilled over onto me. He said, “You aren’t getting in either. Your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go in. Build up his courage. He’s the one who will claim the inheritance for Israel. And your babies of whom you said, ‘They’ll be grabbed for plunder,’ and all these little kids who right now don’t even know right from wrong—they’ll get in. I’ll give it to them. Yes, they’ll be the new owners. But not you. Turn around and head back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea.”
41 You spoke up, “We’ve sinned against God. We’ll go up and fight, following all the orders that God, our God, has commanded.” You took your weapons and dressed for battle—you thought it would be so easy going into those hills!
42 But God told me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t do it; don’t go up to fight—I’m not with you in this. Your enemies will waste you.’ ”
43–46 I told you but you wouldn’t listen. You rebelled at the plain word of God. You threw out your chests and strutted into the hills. And those Amorites, who had lived in those hills all their lives, swarmed all over you like a hive of bees, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah, a stinging defeat. You came back and wept in the presence of God, but he didn’t pay a bit of attention to you; God didn’t give you the time of day. You stayed there in Kadesh a long time, about as long as you had stayed there earlier.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, November 09, 2025
by
Matt Lucas
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:16-20
Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.
18–20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
Today's Insights
In the Gospels, Jesus is described as a man who “taught as one who had authority” (Matthew 7:29) and “has authority on earth to forgive sins” (9:6). The Greek word exousia carries the meaning of “authority, power, the right to control or govern; dominion, the area or sphere of jurisdiction.” Christ called twelve men, discipled them, and then “[sent] them out to preach” (Mark 3:14). He “gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases” and instructed them “to proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:1-2). As the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus has been given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), for God granted “him authority over all people” (John 17:2). We’re also armed with His authority—although ours is limited—to go into the world and tell others about Him. As believers in Jesus, we can ask God to give us opportunities to share Him with others and disciple them (Matthew 28:19-20).
Radical Mission
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
Diognetus, a second-century pagan, noticed that followers of Christ “day by day increase more and more.” This was despite regular persecution they endured under the hand of the Romans. He asked a believer in Jesus why this was true. In a document we know as the Letter to Diognetus, that early church father replied to him, “Do you not see that the more of them are punished, the greater becomes the number of the rest? This does not seem to be the work of man: this is the power of God.”
As Jesus gave His final words to His disciples before ascending into heaven, they could little imagine the growth the church would experience in the coming centuries. He told them, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This has become known as the Great Commission, but using this phrase to describe Christ’s final words to His disciples can make it feel burdensome. In reality, this is what He calls all those who follow Him to do: As we go about our day, make disciples. We don’t have to go to the ends of the earth; the message will travel wherever we carry it with us.
Don’t be discouraged by the difficulties of the moment. Jesus also said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (v. 20). We take Him with us everywhere we go.
Reflect & Pray
Who are the people in your life who need to hear the gospel? How will you share the good news with them today?
Dear Father, please give me an opportunity to share my story of salvation.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 09, 2025
Sacramental Service
I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions. — Colossians 1:24
As Christian workers, we have to be like sacramental go-betweens—so identified with our Lord and the reality of his redemption that he can continually bring his creating life through us. This doesn’t mean that Christ superimposes his personality on ours or overwhelms us with his strength. It means that his real presence comes through every element of our lives and of the work we do for him.
When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words become like holy vessels. God uses them on the ground of his redemption to create something in those who listen—something which would not be created otherwise. If we preach the effects of the redemption on human life instead of preaching the revelation about Jesus, the result in those who listen won’t be rebirth but merely refined spiritual culture. The Spirit of God isn’t able to witness through this type of preaching, because such preaching belongs to a different domain, a worldly domain. We have to make sure that we are in such living sympathy with God that through our preaching he can create in other souls the things which he alone can do.
“What a wonderful personality!” “What a fascinating speaker!” “What fantastic insight!” What chance does the gospel of God have in all that noise? It can’t get through because the line of attraction is always the line of appeal. If a preacher tries to attract with his or her personality, the appeal will be his or her personality. But if a preacher is identified with the Lord’s personality, then the appeal will be what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to lift up human beings. Jesus says we are to elevate him: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
Jeremiah 46-47; Hebrews 6
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything.
Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
