Max Lucado Daily: THE GIFTS OF THE CROSS - March 2, 2026
Have you ever wondered why God gives us so much? We could exist on far less. God could have left the world flat and gray—we wouldn’t have known the difference—but he didn’t. Why give the flower a fragrance? Why give food its taste? Jesus asked, “If you hardhearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?” (Matthew 7:11).
Every gift reveals God’s love, but no gift reveals his love more than the gifts of the cross. They came, not wrapped in paper, but in passion. Not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood. The gifts of the cross! Have you taken time to open these gifts? If you do, perhaps you will hear him whisper, “I did it just for you.”
He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart
Luke 17:1-19
A Kernel of Faith
1–2 17 He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!
3–4 “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
7–10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’ ”
11–13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14–16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17–19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 02, 2026
by Winn Collier
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Proverbs 11:24-31
The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
25 The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
those who help others are helped.
26 Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!
Blessings on all who play fair and square!
27 The one who seeks good finds delight;
the student of evil becomes evil.
28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.
29 Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;
common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.
30 A good life is a fruit-bearing tree;
a violent life destroys souls.
31 If good people barely make it,
what’s in store for the bad!
Refreshing Generosity
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
An auditorium full of medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine listened intently as ninety-year-old Ruth Gottesman spoke. As she concluded, Ruth announced—to the students’ gasps, cheers, and pandemonium—that she was donating $1 billion so they could finish their education tuition free. This is the largest donation ever given to a medical school. Yet in the interviews that followed, you would have thought that Gottesman was the one receiving the gift. She expressed joy, delight, and honor to be able to give her money away.
Proverbs tells us that this is how generosity works. The one who “gives freely,” far from being left diminished or bereft, finds blessings they hadn’t anticipated (11:24). When we open our hands to others, we’re left with something more—not less. “Whoever refreshes,” Scripture says, “will be refreshed” (v. 25). We’re often tempted to tightly grip whatever we have, fearful that we’ll be taken advantage of or left with nothing. God’s economy works differently, however. Jesus went a step further, stating that it’s “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
We can be generous with our lives and our resources, offering what we have to others in need. And then, in return we’ll find that we end up receiving too. There’s plenty for everyone in God’s kingdom.
Reflect & Pray
How has giving to others blessed you? Where might God be asking you to be more generous?
Dear God, please help me to be generous like You, and trust that I’ll have all I need.
For further study, read The Fool’s Greed and God’s Generosity.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 02, 2026
Have You Felt the Hurt of the Lord?
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, … you know that I love you.” — John 21:17
Have you ever felt the hurt of the Lord in the very center of your being—the place where your real sensitivity lies? The devil never hurts us there. Sin never hurts us there. Human emotion never hurts us there. Nothing gets through to this place but the word of God.
A third time Jesus asked if Peter loved him. Peter was hurt because he was waking up to an amazing fact: he did love Jesus, all the way through to the core of his being. Peter had begun to see what Jesus’s patient, repeated questioning meant. It meant that Peter no longer belonged to himself. It meant that, for Peter, there was no one in heaven above or on earth below except Jesus Christ. It meant that Peter could never delude himself again. It was a revelation to Peter to realize how much he truly did love the Lord, and with amazement he said, “You know that I love you.”
How skillful, patient, and direct was Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord’s questions always reveal us to ourselves, but he never asks until the right time. Peter did not know how much he loved Jesus until the patient, painful questions came. Probably once in each of our lives, the Lord backs us into a corner and hurts us with this probing question, until we realize that we do love him, far more deeply than any mere declaration can tell.
Numbers 26-27; Mark 8:1-21
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them.
Workmen of God, 1341 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 02, 2026
GOING NOT KNOWING - #10211
Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids into our car for a ride. I think we explored every corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know the plan before we leave.
"Hey, Dad, where are we going? Where are we going to eat? What are we going to eat? What are we going to do while we're there? How long will we be there? What time are we going to get home?" He would pump me with more questions; I felt like I was being interrogated by a police sergeant. Sometimes I knew it was better not to explain where we were going. I mean we've done things that would have sounded boring if I had told about them, but they turned out to be exciting and I knew they would. Plus surprises are fun anyway. So, my kids got used to hearing two words when we were about to begin a mystery trip, "Trust me." I don't think I let them down. It was good training for journeys with their other Father.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Not Knowing."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the life of the Apostle Paul. He's still Saul of Tarsus here. Acts 9 - he's on his way to wipe out Christians. He missed some in Jerusalem. So he said, "I'll get them in Damascus. They all went there; I'll find them in Syria." We begin in verse 3: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' 'Well, who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"
Now, it's interesting that Saul's training for his whole life in Christ began immediately with a mystery trip. Yeah, did you notice that? He has just opened up to Jesus, and the Lord says, "Go into the city and you will be told." "Lord, what do you want me to do there? Who am I going to meet there? How am I even going to be able to see; I'm blind right now?" The Lord says, "Go and you will be told." Well, he spent the rest of his life living like that.
In Acts 20, when he was on his way to Jerusalem as the great Apostle Paul and his friends were trying to discourage him, he said, "Compelled by the Spirit, I am going not knowing." See, you have a heavenly Father who often takes His children on mystery trips. Maybe you're on one of His mystery trips right now. There's a good destination He's got in mind, but right now He's telling you just the next step. In essence, He's saying to you as He did to Saul, "Go, and you will be told as you are on the way."
It may well be that you're in the middle of one of those times right now, and the tendency is to say, "Now, Lord, if you'll just give me all the information, give me all the facts, I'll start going that direction." And the Lord says, "No, you start moving in that direction I've told you to go, and you'll get more information as you go."
Now, maybe you're waiting to have all your questions answered before you move, and right now there are more question marks than there are periods or exclamation points for sure. Can you almost hear your Father saying as He bundles you into His car, "Trust Me, let's start traveling together."
Hey, He died for you. Is He ever going to do you wrong? God's mystery trips always lead to a destination that is selected with you in mind, for your good. So, why not settle back, enjoy the trip, and let Him drive. Trust your Father and don't be afraid of going not knowing.
No comments:
Post a Comment