Max Lucado Daily: JESUS TAKES AWAY OUR SINS - July 17, 2026
Denalyn and I had enjoyed a nice dinner at a local restaurant. As we received our bill, a church member spotted us and came over. After we chatted a few moments, he took our bill. “I’ll take this,” he said. Guess what? I let him do what he wanted to do. I let him take it away.
Someday we will stand before God. All of us will be present. All of us will have to give an account for our lives. Every thought, every deed, every action. Were it not for the grace of Christ, I would find this to be a very terrifying thought.
Yet, according to Scripture, Jesus came to “take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29 Phillips). On that day, I will point to Christ. When my list of sins is produced, I will gesture toward him and say, “He took it.” Let him take yours.
Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World
Psalm 27
A David Psalm
1 27 Light, space, zest—
that’s God!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.
2 When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.
3 When besieged,
I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I’m collected and cool.
4 I’m asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty;
I’ll study at his feet.
5 That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.
6 God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I’m singing God-songs;
I’m making music to God.
7–9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
9–10 You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
11–12 Point me down your highway, God;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.
13–14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 17, 2026
By Karen Pimpo
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Job 38:31-41
“Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters,
or distract Orion from his hunt?
Can you get Venus to look your way,
or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play?
Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations
and how they affect things on Earth?
34–35 “Can you get the attention of the clouds,
and commission a shower of rain?
Can you take charge of the lightning bolts
and have them report to you for orders?
What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?
36–38 “Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis,
and storm-savvy to the rooster?
Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds
or tip over the rain barrels of heaven
When the earth is cracked and dry,
the ground baked hard as a brick?
39–41 “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey
and satisfy the appetite of her cubs
As they crouch in their den,
waiting hungrily in their cave?
And who sets out food for the ravens
when their young cry to God,
fluttering about because they have no food?”
Today's Insights
God’s majestic creation reveals many things about His nature. In creation, we see evidence of His power (Romans 1:20), for He spoke the universe into existence (Genesis 1:3; Hebrews 11:3). Creation reveals His sense of order (Psalm 139:13-14) and His brilliant design (v. 15). Perhaps above all else, however, it teaches us about His sovereignty (Colossians 1:15-18). Not only did He create the universe by the word of His power, but He’s even now maintaining that universe. He not only made everything, but He also rules over all that He’s made (v. 17). The challenge for believers in Jesus is to live in the conscious awareness of His power, His word, His order, and His design. We can trust the creator of the universe to help us in our trials and bring us into the joy of His presence.
Visit go.odb.org/071726 to learn more about God’s wonderful creation.
God’s Handiwork
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Job 38:33
Dragonflies are dainty insects with some of the most amazing flight and endurance capabilities. Their aerial abilities have been studied to improve flight technology. Scientists recently found that with its wings beating thirty times a second, a dragonfly that has fallen upside-down can right itself in just 0.2 seconds. Its eyes process an incredible two hundred images per second to determine which way is up and make tiny adjustments.
God’s creativity and wisdom are on display all throughout our natural world. In the book of Job, the main character struggles to reconcile his suffering with God’s goodness and righteousness. God responds by asking Job, “Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?” (38:33). God begins to describe many animals from birds and goats to the world’s largest predators (38:36; 39:1; 40:15-24; 41). He knows what each animal needs for survival and is aware of the hungry cries of their young (38:39-41). God has given each of them distinct characteristics, such as the speed of an ostrich or the strength of an ox, so they can thrive (ch. 39).
How exactly does a dragonfly maneuver so incredibly? We have a lot to learn. And yet we can trust that the all-knowing God who designed these creatures is the same one who knows how to bring us from the darkest night into the light and joy of His presence.
Reflect & Pray
Where do you see God’s handiwork in the world around you? What does it reveal about His nature?
Creator God, I trust Your wisdom and righteousness, even when I don’t understand it.
Read more on this topic in All Creation Sings.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 17, 2026
The Miracle of Belief
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words. —1 Corinthians 2:4
Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest abilities. When he says that he didn’t use “wise and persuasive words” in delivering the gospel, he isn’t speaking out of self-deprecating humility. He’s saying that if he’d tried to impress people with his talent when he preached the gospel, he would have veiled the power of God. Paul knew that belief in Jesus is a miracle produced by the redemption—by the sheer, unaided power of God—not by making fancy speeches.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to follow Paul’s example. If we are going to preach the gospel, we must practice a special kind of fasting—not from food but rather from eloquence and impressive diction, from everything that might hinder the word of God coming through us to reach others. The power of the redemption does flow through the preaching of the gospel, but we have to recognize that this power is never due to the personality or the eloquence of the preacher.
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Preachers are representatives of God. We are commissioned to present his gospel, not human ideals. If it’s only because of my charisma that people desire to be better, they’ll never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching will end in making me a traitor to Jesus, because I will prevent the creative power of his redemption from doing its work. “And I,” said Jesus, “when I am lifted up . . . will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
Psalms 18-19; Acts 20:17-38
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”
The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 17, 2026
Getting All the Way Clean - #10310
Scripture: Luke 3:7
When I go to the doctor, he sure is inquisitive. I tell him, “I feel sick!” And he insists on getting all the details: what’s your temperature, tell me about your symptoms, what about your throat? Let’s check your throat. I mean sometimes he even resorts to a blood test. How radical! And if it’s serious enough, we even have to get into my mother’s health and my father’s health, and my family history. Actually, I’d be wise to give the doctor all the specifics I can think of. If I just walk in and say, “I’m sick,” that doesn’t do much. It’s really tough to help someone when they’re not specific about what’s going on.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Getting All the Way Clean.”
Our word for today from the Word of God - Luke 3, I’ll begin at verse 7. “John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, ‘Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’ ‘What should be done?’ the crowd asked. John answered, ‘The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.’ Tax collectors also came to be baptized. ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘what should we do?’ ‘Don’t collect any more than you are required to,’ he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’ He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely - be content with your pay.’”
Now, the picture here is of people coming to the Jordan River where John the Baptist is preaching, and they’re coming to repent of their sins. But John isn’t going to let them get away with general repentance. He insists on getting specific. He talks about fruit that is in keeping with repentance. He tells some of them, “I want you to repent of your selfishness about your food and about your clothes.” He tells a different group, “I want you to repent of your cheating in your business.” And then he tells some others, “I want you to repent of lying about people and of complaining.”
Many people never really break free of a specific sin because they never come to God and specifically repent of that sin. We kind of like the safety of being general don’t we? “Lord, forgive my many sins, whatever they may be.” Do you ever name them? I think God might be saying, “Like what? Which one are you repenting of? Name the sin.”
It’s important to come to Jesus’ cross with the particulars of the sins that need forgiving. “Lord, I come to your cross with that lie I told this morning. I come to you with the lustful thoughts I’ve had toward _____ (fill in the blank). I come to you with that harsh response I gave to my son, my daughter, my husband, my wife last night. I come to repent of that night of sexual sin; of those websites that are poisoning me spiritually; of the neglect of my family’s needs.”
The point is that God calls us to specific repentance. We may have to go back and clean up a sin that we buried instead of dealing with it, maybe a long time ago. Until you’ve really brought it to the cross, you should not forget it. Once you have brought it to the cross, you shouldn’t remember it, because God has forgotten it forever at that point.
I can’t just go to the doctor and say, “Help my sickness.” I have to give him the specifics if I want to be well. I can’t just go to God and say, “Forgive my sins. I’m sorry for my sins.”
If I really want to beat one sin in particular, I need to be specific in dealing with that sin. It’s this simple: no specifics, no solutions.
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