Max Lucado Daily: FEAR OF PERSECUTION - February 23, 2026
Good people aren’t exempt from violence. We aren’t insulated. But neither are we intimidated. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (NKJV). Jesus had just told the disciples to expect scourging, trials, death, hatred, and persecution. To their credit, none defected.
Psalm 118:6 declares, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Satan unleashed his meanest demons on God’s Son. Yet the devil of death could not destroy the Lord of life. I pray God spares you such evil. May he grant you long life and peaceful passage. Remember, God wastes no pain.
Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear
Judges 20
Then all the People of Israel came out. The congregation met in the presence of God at Mizpah. They were all there, from Dan to Beer-sheba, as one person! The leaders of all the people, representing all the tribes of Israel, took their places in the gathering of God’s people. There were four hundred divisions of sword-wielding infantry.
3 Meanwhile the Benjaminites got wind that the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah.
The People of Israel said, “Now tell us. How did this outrageous evil happen?”
4–7 The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke: “My concubine and I came to spend the night at Gibeah, a Ben-jaminite town. That night the men of Gibeah came after me. They surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They gang-raped my concubine and she died. So I took my concubine, cut up her body, and sent her piece by piece—twelve pieces!—to every part of Israel’s inheritance. This vile and outrageous crime was committed in Israel! So, Israelites, make up your minds. Decide on some action!”
8–11 All the people were at once and as one person on their feet. “None of us will go home; not a single one of us will go to his own house. Here’s our plan for dealing with Gibeah: We’ll march against it by drawing lots. We’ll take ten of every hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (a hundred of every thousand, and a thousand of every ten thousand) to carry food for the army. When the troops arrive at Gibeah they will settle accounts for this outrageous and vile evil that was done in Israel.” So all the men in Israel were gathered against the city, totally united.
12–13 The Israelite tribes sent messengers throughout the tribe of Ben-jamin saying, “What’s the meaning of this outrage that took place among you? Surrender the men right here and now, these hell-raisers of Gibeah. We’ll put them to death and burn the evil out of Israel.”
13–16 But they wouldn’t do it. The Benjaminites refused to listen to their brothers, the People of Israel. Instead they raised an army from all their cities and rallied at Gibeah to go to war against the People of Israel. In no time at all they had recruited from their cities twenty-six divisions of sword-wielding infantry. From Gibeah they got seven hundred hand-picked fighters, the best. There were another seven hundred supermarksmen who were ambidextrous—they could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 The men of Israel, excluding Ben-jamin, mobilized four hundred divisions of sword-wielding fighting men.
18 They set out and went to Bethel to inquire of God. The People of Israel said, “Who of us shall be first to go into battle with the Benjaminites?”
God said, “Judah goes first.”
19–21 The People of Israel got up the next morning and camped before Gibeah. The army of Israel marched out against Ben-jamin and took up their positions, ready to attack Gibeah. But the Benjaminites poured out of Gibeah and devastated twenty-two Israelite divisions on the ground.
22–23 The Israelites went back to the sanctuary and wept before God until evening. They again inquired of God, “Shall we again go into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers?”
God said, “Yes. Attack.”
24–25 The army took heart. The men of Israel took up the positions they had deployed on the first day.
On the second day, the Israelites again advanced against Ben-jamin. This time as the Benjaminites came out of the city, on this second day, they devastated another eighteen Israelite divisions, all swordsmen.
26 All the People of Israel, the whole army, were back at Bethel, weeping, sitting there in the presence of God. That day they fasted until evening. They sacrificed Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings before God.
27–28 And they again inquired of God. The Chest of God’s Covenant was there at that time with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, as the ministering priest. They asked, “Shall we again march into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers? Or should we call it quits?”
And God said, “Attack. Tomorrow I’ll give you victory.”
29–31 This time Israel placed men in ambush all around Gibeah. On the third day when Israel set out, they took up the same positions before the Benjaminites as before. When the Benjaminites came out to meet the army, they moved out from the city. Benjaminites began to cut down some of the troops just as they had before. About thirty men fell in the field and on the roads to Bethel and Gibeah.
32 The Benjaminites started bragging, “We’re dropping them like flies, just as before!”
33 But the Israelites strategized: “Now let’s retreat and pull them out of the city onto the main roads.” So every Israelite moved farther out to Baal Tamar; at the same time the Israelite ambush rushed from its place west of Gibeah.
34–36 Ten crack divisions from all over Israel now arrived at Gibeah—intense, bloody fighting! The Benjaminites had no idea that they were about to go down in defeat—God routed them before Israel. The Israelites decimated twenty-five divisions of Ben-jamin that day—25,100 killed. They were all swordsmen. The Benjaminites saw that they were beaten.
The men of Israel acted like they were retreating before Ben-jamin, knowing that they could depend on the ambush they had prepared for Gibeah.
37–40 The ambush erupted and made quick work of Gibeah. The ambush spread out and massacred the city. The strategy for the main body of the ambush was that they send up a smoke signal from the city. Then the men of Israel would turn in battle. When that happened, Ben-jamin had killed about thirty Israelites and thought they were on their way to victory, yelling out, “They’re on the run, just as in the first battle!” But then the signal went up from the city—a huge column of smoke. When the Benjaminites looked back, there it was, the whole city going up in smoke.
41–43 By the time the men of Israel had turned back on them, the men of Ben-jamin fell apart—they could see that they were trapped. Confronted by the Israelites, they tried to get away down the wilderness road, but by now the battle was everywhere. The men of Israel poured out of the towns, killing them right and left, hot on their trail, picking them off east of Gibeah.
44 Eighteen divisions of Benjaminites were wiped out, all their best fighters.
45 Five divisions turned to escape to the wilderness, to Rimmon Rock, but the Israelites caught and slaughtered them on roads.
Keeping the pressure on, the Israelites brought down two more divisions.
46 The total of the Benjaminites killed that day came to twenty-five divisions of infantry, their best swordsmen.
47 Six hundred men got away. They made it to Rimmon Rock in the wilderness and held out there for four months.
48 The men of Israel came back and killed all the Benjaminites who were left, all the men and animals they found in every town, and then torched the towns, sending them up in flames.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 23, 2026
by Lisa M. Samra
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
John 1:19-28
Thunder in the Desert
19–20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”
“I am not.”
“The Prophet?”
“No.”
22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”
23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”
24–25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”
26–27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”
28 These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.
Today's Insights
In John 1:19-28, John the Baptist offers a striking picture of humble leadership. When questioned by religious authorities, he refuses to elevate himself. He’s not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet they were expecting. Instead, he identifies himself simply as “the voice of one calling in the wilderness” (v. 23), pointing others to the coming Jesus. John’s leadership is defined by clarity of purpose—he knows who he is and who he isn’t. Rather than seeking recognition, he lowers himself, declaring that he’s unworthy even to untie the sandals of the one coming after him (v. 27). This posture of humility gives power to his witness. John’s role wasn’t to gather followers for himself, but to prepare the way for Christ. His example invites us to embrace humility and not seek our own recognition but to direct our attention to Jesus.
Humble Leadership
Among you stands one you do not know. . . . the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. John 1:26-27
My friend Butch Briggs has been the beloved coach for the swim teams at a local high school for fifty-one years. Out of curiosity, I asked him how many state championships he’d won during his five decades. In his trademark, gentle tone he quipped, “I’ve not won a single championship because I’ve never swum in a single race.” Trying again, I asked him, “How many championships have your swimmers won?” He happily responded, “Thirty-nine.”
Butch taught me a valuable lesson. A coach plays an important role, but he didn’t want to take credit for what his swimmers accomplished.
Butch’s humility reminds me of how John the Baptist saw his role. John was tasked with pointing people to Jesus as the Messiah—the one who fulfilled God’s promise to send a rescuer. But John garnered so much attention that the religious leaders wanted to find out exactly who he was. In response, Scripture records that John “confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah’ ” (John 1:20). Even when they pressed him, John was clear that his role was to announce Jesus’ arrival (vv. 21-23). Jesus was the one they’d longed for (v. 27).
This aspect of humility—not taking more credit than is due—is a way we can keep a proper perspective regarding our accomplishments while recognizing others for the assignments or roles they’ve been given.
Reflect & Pray
Where might you struggle to display humility? How might the Spirit empower you to act humbly?
Dear Jesus, please grant me grace to act with the humility You so vividly displayed and modeled for us during Your life and death.
Christ calls us to love each other by being hospitable. Learn more by reading Humble Hearts, Open Hands.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 23, 2026
The Determination to Serve
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. — Matthew 20:28
Paul’s idea of service is the same as our Lord’s. Jesus said, “I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul echoed him: “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).
We have the idea that Jesus’s ministers are called to be different kinds of beings, that they should be higher and holier than other people. Jesus said his ministers should be other people’s doormats: spiritual leaders, not superiors. When Paul wrote, “We commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses” (6:4), he was describing the lengths he would go to as Christ’s servant. He wanted to spend himself to the last penny; he didn’t care if people stepped all over him.
Paul didn’t draw his motivation for serving from a love for humanity. The well he drew from was his love for Jesus Christ. If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we will soon be crushed and brokenhearted—we may often meet with more ingratitude from humanity than we might from a dog! But if our motive is to love God, no amount of ingratitude will keep us from serving.
Paul’s experience of how Jesus Christ had dealt with him is the secret of his determination to serve others: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy” (1 Timothy 1:13). Paul realized that others could never treat him as badly as he’d treated Jesus. When we too come to this realization—when we see that Jesus Christ has served us despite our selfishness and cruelty and sin—nothing we meet with from others can shake our determination to serve them in his name.
Numbers 7-8; Mark 4:21-41
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Seeing is never believing: we interpret what we see in the light of what we believe. Faith is confidence in God before you see God emerging; therefore the nature of faith is that it must be tried.
He Shall Glorify Me, 494 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 23, 2026
My plane had just landed in a Midwestern city during a record breaking cold spell and the pilot welcomed us to the city with a temperature reading that made you want to divert the fight to Florida. Well, at least I had checked the weather channel and I was able to anticipate the ice age, so I had the appropriate coat, scarf, gloves and layers. As I was waiting for my suitcase in the baggage claim area, I heard someone yell, "Grab those pineapples." Excuse me? Well sure enough there were two couples just returning from Hawaii with beautiful live flowers around their necks, and they were wearing short sleeve shirts and, of course, carrying their box of pineapples. Well, when I hit the wind outside, I was cold, but I was prepared. I can't imagine what happened to the Luau bunch! When they woke up that morning they probably just said, "Well, it's warm here. I'll just dress for where I am." They were totally unprepared for where they were going!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Dressing for Your Final Destination."
Now Jesus actually told about a man who was very prepared for where he was, but totally unprepared for where he was going. Maybe like you. Luke 12:16-20, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus told them this parable, "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do, I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to myself you have many good things laid up for many years, take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you, then who will get what you have prepared for yourself!'"
Here's a man who was really dressed for where he was, he had it all, he had his earth security well planned out. But he forgot about where he would be spending most of his future - in eternity. He was totally unprepared to meet God.
Someday your heart's going to beat for the last time, and in that unpredictable moment eternity will begin for you. And at that point it won't matter what your title was, or your income, or your religion, or your achievements. All that's going to matter is whether or not you have a personal love relationship with God. A relationship that can, according to the Bible, only be accessed through God's Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because no one can make it to heaven with sin.
See, God was supposed to run your life and mine, but over and over we've said, "No, I'll do it, God." The Bible says, "All of us have sinned and we've fallen short of the glory of God." In this parable, "I will" three times. That man God called a fool, he just said, "I will, I will, I will." Because of that, God is out of our reach, but we're not out of His.
God says this is love, and this is the Bible speaking. "Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" in the most incredible act of love you'll ever hear about. The God we defied sacrificed His one and only Son to carry our death penalty for the sinning we did. And now your eternal destination, heaven or hell, depends totally on what you do with the man who died for your sin, Jesus Christ.
You can reject Him, you can ignore Him, or you can reach out to Him and say, "Lord I'm not ready for eternity but I want to be. I'm facing the fact I've gone my way instead of yours over and over again. Right now I'm putting all my trust in You and Your death on that cross for me to remove the sin between God and me, and to open the door to eternal life for me.
I want to invite you to go to our website because it's there to help you be sure you have begun a relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com.
Maybe you've been so focused on where you are now, that you've neglected your forever. Yeah you're one heartbeat away from eternity. Isn't it time you got ready for where you're going to be for a very long time?
