Max Lucado Daily: IT’S WHAT HE DID - November 13, 2025
How would you fill in this blank: a person is made right with God through…what? A person is made right with God through…being good. Pay your taxes. Give sandwiches to the poor. Don’t drink too much, or drink at all. Christian conduct, that’s the secret. Suffering, there’s the answer. Doctrine, that’s how to be made right with God.
No, no, no. All of the above are tried, all are taught, but none are from God. In fact, that’s the problem – none are from God. Who does the saving, you or him?
Romans 3:28 says, “A person is made right with God through faith.” Not through good works, suffering, or doctrine. They may be the result of salvation, but they’re not the cause of it. Faith in God’s sacrifice, in the gift of his Son. It’s not what you do; it’s what he did.
The Lucado Inspirational Reader
Deuteronomy 4
Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land that God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. Don’t add a word to what I command you, and don’t remove a word from it. Keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you.
3–4 You saw with your own eyes what God did at Baal Peor, how God destroyed from among you every man who joined in the Baal Peor orgies. But you, the ones who held tight to God, your God, are alive and well, every one of you, today.
5–6 Pay attention: I’m teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You’ll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what’s going on, they’ll say, “What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We’ve never seen anything like it.”
7–8 Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us? And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I’m setting before you today?
9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.
10 That day when you stood before God, your God, at Horeb, God said to me, “Assemble the people in my presence to listen to my words so that they will learn to fear me in holy fear for as long as they live on the land, and then they will teach these same words to their children.”
11–13 You gathered. You stood in the shadow of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with fire, blazing high into the very heart of Heaven. You stood in deep darkness and thick clouds. God spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but you saw nothing—no form, only a voice. He announced his covenant, the Ten Words, by which he commanded you to live. Then he wrote them down on two slabs of stone.
14 And God commanded me at that time to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to live by in the land which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.
15–20 You saw no form on the day God spoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves so that you don’t turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream. And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don’t look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody’s benefit, everywhere. But you—God took you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance—and that’s what you are this very day.
21–22 But God was angry with me because of you and the things you said. He swore that I’d never cross the Jordan, never get to enter the good land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance. This means that I am going to die here. I’m not crossing the Jordan. But you will cross; you’ll possess the good land.
23–24 So stay alert. Don’t for a minute forget the covenant which God, your God, made with you. And don’t take up with any carved images, no forms of any kind—God, your God, issued clear commands on that. God, your God, is not to be trifled with—he’s a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25–28 When the time comes that you have children and grandchildren, put on years, and start taking things for granted, if you then become corrupt and make any carved images, no matter what their form, by doing what is sheer evil in God’s eyes and provoking his anger—I can tell you right now, with Heaven and Earth as witnesses, that it will be all over for you. You’ll be kicked off the land that you’re about to cross over the Jordan to possess. Believe me, you’ll have a very short stay there. You’ll be ruined, completely ruined. God will scatter you far and wide; a few of you will survive here and there in the nations where God will drive you. There you can worship your homemade gods to your hearts’ content, your wonderful gods of wood and stone that can’t see or hear or eat or smell.
29–31 But even there, if you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won’t bring you to ruin, he won’t forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.
32–33 Ask questions. Find out what has been going on all these years before you were born. From the day God created man and woman on this Earth, and from the horizon in the east to the horizon in the west—as far back as you can imagine and as far away as you can imagine—has as great a thing as this ever happened? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Has a people ever heard, as you did, a god speaking out of the middle of the fire and lived to tell the story?
34 Or has a god ever tried to select for himself a nation from within a nation using trials, miracles, and war, putting his strong hand in, reaching his long arm out, a spectacle awesome and staggering, the way God, your God, did it for you in Egypt while you stood right there and watched?
35–38 You were shown all this so that you would know that God is, well, God. He’s the only God there is. He’s it. He made it possible for you to hear his voice out of Heaven to discipline you. Down on Earth, he showed you the big fire and again you heard his words, this time out of the fire. He loved your ancestors and chose to work with their children. He personally and powerfully brought you out of Egypt in order to displace bigger and stronger and older nations with you, bringing you out and turning their land over to you as an inheritance. And now it’s happening. This very day.
39–40 Know this well, then. Take it to heart right now: God is in Heaven above; God is on Earth below. He’s the only God there is. Obediently live by his rules and commands which I’m giving you today so that you’ll live well and your children after you—oh, you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.
41–42 Then Moses set aside three towns in the country on the east side of the Jordan to which someone who had unintentionally killed a person could flee and find refuge. If the murder was unintentional and there was no history of bad blood, the murderer could flee to one of these cities and save his life:
43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
44–49 This is the Revelation that Moses presented to the People of Israel. These are the testimonies, the rules and regulations Moses spoke to the People of Israel after their exodus from Egypt and arrival on the east side of the Jordan in the valley near Beth Peor. It was the country of Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled from Heshbon. Moses and the People of Israel fought and beat him after they left Egypt and took his land. They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. The two Amorite kings held the country on the east of the Jordan from Aroer on the bank of the Brook Arnon as far north as Mount Siyon, that is, Mount Hermon, all the Arabah plain east of the Jordan, and as far south as the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) beneath the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
by Lisa M. Samra
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Obadiah 1:4-9, 12-13
Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
I’ll bring you down to earth.”
God’s sure Word.
5–14 “If thieves crept up on you,
they’d rob you blind—isn’t that so?
If they mugged you on the streets at night,
they’d pick you clean—isn’t that so?
Oh, they’ll take Esau apart, piece by piece,
empty his purse and pockets.
All your old partners will drive you to the edge.
Your old friends will lie to your face.
Your old drinking buddies will stab you in the back.
Your world will collapse. You won’t know what hit you.
So don’t be surprised”—it’s God’s sure Word!—
“when I wipe out all sages from Edom
and rid the Esau mountains of its famous wise men.
Your great heroes will desert you, Teman.
There’ll be nobody left in Esau’s mountains.
You shouldn’t have gloated over your brother
when he was down-and-out.
You shouldn’t have laughed and joked at Judah’s sons
when they were facedown in the mud.
You shouldn’t have talked so big
when everything was so bad.
You shouldn’t have taken advantage of my people
when their lives had fallen apart.
You of all people should not have been amused
by their troubles, their wrecked nation.
You shouldn’t have taken the shirt off their back
when they were knocked flat, defenseless.
Today's Insights
Edom’s betrayal of Israel cuts even deeper than one nation taking advantage of another nation’s plight (Obadiah 1:1-13). The nation of Edom descended from Jacob’s twin brother, Esau (Genesis 25:24-30). The tension between the brothers continued throughout their lives, but it’s epitomized in Jacob stealing Esau’s birthright and blessing from their father (25:29-34; 27:1-41). That family tension continued to plague Jacob’s descendants (Israel) for centuries (see Numbers 20:14-21).
The prophecies in Obadiah condemn Edom for rejoicing in God’s judgment against Judah and exploiting their vulnerabilities (Obadiah 1:12-14; see Amos 1:11-12). When someone is suffering, we honor God when we respond with kindness and generosity instead of exploitation.
Kindness for the Suffering
You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune. Obadiah 1:12
One of the deadliest wildfires in US history decimated the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, in August 2023, killing ninety-nine people and destroying more than two thousand buildings. Still reeling from the devastation, residents experienced additional trauma when some looters pillaged buildings and greedy realtors attempted to gobble up land.
The corrupt desire to take advantage of tragic circumstances is the backdrop of a strong message from God to the nation of Edom. The prophet Obadiah warned the Edomites, Israel’s enemies for generations (Ezekiel 35:5), of God’s coming justice because the Edomites used their geographic advantage (Obadiah 1:3) and acquired wealth (v. 6), alliances with other nations (v. 7), wisdom (v. 8), and military strength (v. 9) to exploit the weak. Obadiah also rebuked the way Edom gloated as Israel was sent into captivity. Instead of compassion, Edom looted Israelite homes and marched through defeated cities in victory (vv. 12-13).
Although Lahaina residents saw despicable actions, they also experienced kindness when churches on the island became hospitality centers offering shelter, hot meals, and emergency supplies.
When someone is suffering, we face a similar choice. We can try to benefit from their loss. Or we can respond in the way God desires, like the churches in Lahaina, with kindness and generosity.
Reflect & Pray
When have you been tempted to take advantage of someone’s suffering? How does God’s love compel us to kindness?
Dear God, please help me extend kindness when someone is hurting.
Learn more about Edom read, The Big Story in a Little Book.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Faith and Experience
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. — Galatians 2:20
We have to battle through our moods into absolute devotion to Jesus Christ, to get out of the hole of our own experience into abandoned devotion to him. Think about what the New Testament says about Jesus Christ, and then think about the trifling, inadequate faith many of us have. The New Testament says that Jesus Christ can present us faultless before the throne of God, unutterably pure, absolutely rectified, and profoundly justified. It says that he has “become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Yet we base our faith not in him but in our experiences. We complain that this or that hasn’t happened to us, and we talk about all the difficult things we’ve done on his behalf. How can we talk of making sacrifices for the Son of God? He has saved us from hell and perdition, and we talk about making sacrifices!
We have to continually move beyond our experiences into faith in Jesus Christ. We have to seek the New Testament Jesus Christ—not a prayer meeting Jesus Christ or a book Jesus Christ, but the Jesus Christ who is God incarnate, the Christ whose majesty so overwhelms us that we fall at his feet as if dead (Revelation 1:17). Our faith must be not in our experience but in the One from whom our experience springs. We can never directly experience Jesus Christ nor even hold him within the compass of our hearts, but we can build our faith in strong, emphatic confidence in him.
No wonder the Holy Spirit has such a rugged impatience with unbelief. He knows that all our fears are wicked, and that we fear because we won’t nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives in him should be psalms of irrepressible, triumphant belief.
Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern.
The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
THE STRONGEST NAILS IN THE WORLD - #10134
My friend, Alan, was working with a carpenter friend of his on a building project. Out of the blue, Alan sprang this rather unusual question on the carpenter, "Do you know what the most powerful nails in the world are?" The craftsman paused on his ladder for a moment and then he said, "I don't know. US Steel?" Alan said, "No. The strongest nails in the world are the three nails that held Jesus Christ on His cross." Well, then Alan just walked into the other room. A few minutes later, the carpenter called for Alan. He said, "Man, you've got to help me. Every time I drive a nail now, it's like I'm nailing Jesus to the cross." My friend said, "Well, in a way, we did."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Strongest Nails in the World."
For some people, Jesus' death on the cross is just history. For others, it's a religious event. To some of us, the brutal death of Jesus on that Roman cross is a deeply personal event. I hope it is for you, or soon will be.
Galatians 2:20 is our word for today from the Word of God, and in it there are two words that are literally life-changing. Actually, eternity-changing. They're the difference between someone who has Christianity and someone who has Christ; between someone who has a Christian religion and someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus. Ultimately, these two words are actually the difference between heaven and hell.
Galatians 2:20 - "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." There are the two words: "for me." One of my associates was on a plane with a man in his 30s who talked pretty openly about his years of spiritual searching. He said that as a young man he moved beyond his boyhood church and began experimenting with a buffet of spiritual beliefs and experiences. Nothing seemed to satisfy the restlessness in his heart.
Then one day he came back to visit the church he grew up in. Here's what he said: "As soon as I walked in the door, I saw something I'd seen hundreds of times as a boy - the cross at the front of the church. But suddenly I was overwhelmed with something I had never realized before, and I said out loud, "For me. What Jesus did on that cross was for me." He said his search ended that day, and the hole in his heart was finally filled.
My guess is that you know about Jesus dying on the cross. You know He died there to pay for our sins maybe. But you somehow may have missed that life-changing moment when, in your heart, you walk up to that cross and say those words, "For me, Jesus. What you're doing there is for me." When my friend said that in a way we all did help nail Jesus to the cross, he was right. Because it's our rebellion against God and against His ways, all our "my way" choices that left us cut off from God and under His death penalty until Jesus came and did all the dying for all our sinning. And in reality, it wasn't the nails that kept Him on the cross. After all, He's the Son of God! No, it was His deep love for you that kept Him there 'till your bill was fully paid with His life.
If you've never had your "for me" moment with Jesus, it could be this very day right now and right where you are. Would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm taking for myself what you died to give me. You paid for my sin so I don't have to. You died for my sin so I don't have to. Now I embrace you as my Savior; as the new driver of my life. I'm taking you for me."
Hey, our website is there to encourage you and help you make sure you've begun this relationship. Go there, spend just a few minutes at ANewStory.com.
This could be your moment. This could be your day to finally make the Savior...your Savior.
