Max Lucado Daily: Don't Put Your Trust in Stuff
Don't put your trust in stuff! Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."
The rich in this world-that's you…that's me…and that's okay. Prosperity is a common consequence of faithfulness. Paul didn't tell the rich to feel guilty about being rich; he just urged caution. The abundance or lack of money will only be felt for one life. Don't get tangled up in it. If you and I stockpile earthly treasures and not heavenly treasures, what does that say about where we put our trust? Glory Days happen to the degree that we trust God. Whom do you trust? God or King More?
From Glory Days
Acts 7:1-21
Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit
17Then the Chief Priest said, “What do you have to say for yourself?”
2–3Stephen replied, “Friends, fathers, and brothers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia, before the move to Haran, and told him, ‘Leave your country and family and go to the land I’ll show you.’
4–7“So he left the country of the Chaldees and moved to Haran. After the death of his father, he immigrated to this country where you now live, but God gave him nothing, not so much as a foothold. He did promise to give the country to him and his son later on, even though Abraham had no son at the time. God let him know that his offspring would move to an alien country where they would be enslaved and brutalized for four hundred years. ‘But,’ God said, ‘I will step in and take care of those slaveholders and bring my people out so they can worship me in this place.’
8“Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham’s flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,’ each faithfully passing on the covenant sign.
9–10“But then those ‘fathers,’ burning up with jealousy, sent Joseph off to Egypt as a slave. God was right there with him, though—he not only rescued him from all his troubles but brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of the whole country, including his own personal affairs.
11–15“Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers to scout it out. Having confirmed the report, they went back to Egypt a second time to get food. On that visit, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers and introduced the Jacob family to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and everyone else in the family, seventy-five in all. That’s how the Jacob family got to Egypt.
15–16“Jacob died, and our fathers after him. They were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb for which Abraham paid a good price to the sons of Hamor.
17–19“When the four hundred years were nearly up, the time God promised Abraham for deliverance, the population of our people in Egypt had become very large. And there was now a king over Egypt who had never heard of Joseph. He exploited our race mercilessly. He went so far as forcing us to abandon our newborn infants, exposing them to the elements to die a cruel death.
20–22“In just such a time Moses was born, a most beautiful baby. He was hidden at home for three months. When he could be hidden no longer, he was put outside—and immediately rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter, who mothered him as her own son.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
23 OCT 2026
By Alyson Kieda
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Psalm 92:1-5, 12-15
What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks,
to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
To announce your love each daybreak,
sing your faithful presence all through the night,
Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
the full-bodied music of strings.
4–9You made me so happy, God
I saw your work and I shouted for joy.
How magnificent your work, God!
How profound your thoughts!
“Good people will prosper like palm trees,
Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;
transplanted to God’s courtyard,
They’ll grow tall in the presence of God,
lithe and green, virile still in old age.”
15Such witnesses to upright God!
My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain!
Today's Insights
The superscript for Psalm 92 reads, “For the Sabbath day.” It’s the only psalm written for the Sabbath, and the tone is one of thanks and praise. “I sing for joy at what your hands have done,” writes the psalmist (v. 4). This references creation, after which God “rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:2). The psalm also draws on a familiar theme of Scripture’s poets—“the righteous will flourish like a palm tree” (Psalm 92:12). This echoes Psalm 1, which likens the one “whose delight is in the law of the Lord” (v. 2) to “a tree planted by streams of water” (v. 3). Psalm 1 notes how “the Lord watches over the way of the righteous” (v. 6). Psalm 92 acknowledges God Himself as the source of that righteousness, for “the righteous” (v. 12) declare, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock” (v. 15). Through our joys and trials, we can praise God, knowing that He cares for us.
For further study, read: Walk with Me
Carried Through
It is good to praise the Lord . . . proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Psalm 92:1-2
Lillie Cunningham is 110 years old, yet she isn’t reliant on a cane or walker. She does rely on Scripture, however, which she reads every morning and night—and attends church every Sunday. When she considers her life, she states, “I just always had faith and trust in God that he was going to carry us through.”
Mrs. Cunningham trusts in and praises God for carrying her through hardships, including wars, pandemics, and the death of her husband and siblings. Her life resembles that of the psalmist who proclaimed God’s “love in the morning and [His] faithfulness at night” (Psalm 92:1-2); and her perseverance points to the psalmist’s words: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree . . . ; planted in the house of the Lord . . . . They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (vv. 12-14). And like the psalmist, she attributes it all to God (v. 15).
We can learn much from this centenarian’s example. Like Lillie, may we live our lives in communion with and praise for God by spending time in prayer, reading Scripture, and worshiping “in the courts of our God” (v. 13). We aren’t promised a long life on earth, but through Him, we can stay “fresh and green” (v. 14) as God prepares us for eternal life with Him.
Reflect & Pray
What does it look like to flourish through walking with God? How has God carried you through hardships?
Dear God, thank You for bringing me through both the joys and trials of my life. Please help me to walk with You in my everyday activities.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 23, 2026
Nothing of the Old Life!
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17
Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, “God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.
When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind…is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 23, 2015
The Light and The Cockroaches - #7510
Most young married couples make some purchases that turn out to be a transaction that they are not proud of. Remember something you bought back then that ended up being a mistake? My wife and I were marriage rookies when we bought that refrigerator. We were also pretty broke. We saw an ad in the paper for a cheap refrigerator. I was getting tired of just putting another block of ice in the sink in the kitchen. (Not really.) Well, we picked up the refrigerator, we sat it up in the kitchen and it worked!
One night when we returned home, we flipped on the kitchen light and saw we had company. Cockroaches were everywhere, scurrying for cover. It turns out the seller had stored that refrigerator in the basement, and roaches had gotten in and laid eggs in the insulation a long time ago, and they hatched out in their new home which was our home! Just turning on the light that night exposed a serious problem we had to deal with.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have "A Word With You" today about "The Light and The Cockroaches."
Our word for today from the Word of God, we are in Matthew 11, beginning in Verse 20. It says, "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed." Why? Because they did not repent. You see, these people had seen a blaze of light from heaven in the form of miracles that the Lord had done in their lives. But it says "they didn't repent." He says they should have!
Verse 21: "Woe to you Chorazin, woe to you Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes, but I tell you it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment than for us." He goes on to talk about Capernaum. He said, "Years ago, Sodom would have shaped up if they had seen God at work like you've seem Him. Which brings us to you and me.
Has God done some pretty powerful things in your life? Have you been an eye-witness to His grace, His goodness, to the provision of God? That's suppose to be like a bright light that shines into your life, but do you know what God's miracles on your behalf are suppose to do? That blaze of light is suppose to show you the cockroaches that need to be dealt with: sin, compromise, areas where you've been settling for less than His best.
The bottom line: His miracle should lead to your repentance. God breaks into your situation not only to deliver you, but to call you to examine your relationship with Him. God did what you asked Him to do. Now are you going to do what He's asking you to do?
In our ministry we've seen the Lord answer prayer dramatically. We've seen Him do some things that only He could do, and we've praised Him and we've thanked Him. But He's also expecting us to stand in the light of those miracles and ask, "Lord, what do you want to show us about how we can be more like you; anything you want us to change?"
See, repentance isn't just about feeling sorry for something; it literally means a change of mind. God often sends a miracle to make you reflective about your relationship with Him about your life, and then to lead you closer to Him than you've ever been before, to change something you might have never thought about if it hadn't been for the light of His miracle breaking into your life.
Now, you've got your answer to prayer; you've got your miracle from God. Jesus shone a bright light on your life. Now the light should also show you those cockroaches, the things you need to deal with that you never would have seen except in the light of the great work Jesus has done.
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