Max Lucado Daily: More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?
Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you!
The next time you say, “I don’t think God could use me!”—stop right there! Satan’s going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement. That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities. When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this: God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds. Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store!
But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.”
So what do you think? More plumber than executive? More stand-in than movie star? Yeah—congratulations! God uses people like you…and me.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24?
From Max on Life
Acts 8:26-40
The Ethiopian Eunuch
26-28 Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29-30 The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31-33 He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:
As a sheep led to slaughter,
and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
since he’s been taken from the earth?
34-35 The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.
36-39 As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
40 Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 7, 2026
by John Blase
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Micah 6:6-9
How can I stand up before God
and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
my precious baby, to cancel my sin?
* * *
8But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
9Attention! God calls out to the city!
If you know what’s good for you, you’ll listen.
So listen, all of you!
This is serious business.
Today's Insights
Micah, whose name means “Who is like Yahweh?” was a contemporary of prophets Isaiah and Hosea. He prophesied to the nations of Israel and Judah, who were guilty of covenantal unfaithfulness—idolatry, corruption, injustice, exploitation, and oppression of the poor. Micah prophesied judgment and punishment (1:6; 3:12) but also promised redemption and restoration (2:12-13; 4:1-8; 5:2-15; 7:7-20). To encourage repentance with the hope of averting impending judgment, Micah asked “the Lord” on behalf of His people how they might do what was right and honor Him (6:6-8). The prophet warned that God isn’t pleased with our external piety and lavish sacrifices while we, at the same, time neglect the weightier issues of justice, mercy, compassion, and humility (v. 8). Other prophets dispensed the same exhortation: “Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:16-17 nlt; see Zechariah 7:9-10). We honor God when we “act justly . . . love mercy and . . . walk humbly” (Micah 6:8).
For further study, read: God's Expectations
What God Requires
What does the Lord require of you? Micah 6:8
You’ve probably seen the signs: No Shirt. No Shoes. No Service. Or if expressed in the positive: Shirt and Shoes Required. Such signs came to widespread prominence in the West in opposition to the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Business owners were looking for ways to keep long-haired and often shoeless hippies out of their establishments. They were (usually) willing to serve anyone, but there were two absolutes to get in the door: shirt and shoes—required attire.
The words from Micah 6 are well-known: “Act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (v. 8). Much has been written and preached on these points. Yet there’s a tendency to skip past a crucial word that precedes those phrases, a word that sets the tone for all that follows: “What does the Lord require of you?” (v. 8). If you’re serious about living a Christ-honoring life, this is what is essential. Sacrifices may seem impressive, but that’s not what God requires. If there’s no justice, no mercy, and no humility, then God says, “That’s no good.”
This doesn’t mean that the reason God accepts us is based on what we do. He accepts us out of His great love. But it has everything to do with how we live if we’re serious about pleasing Him. We serve and honor Him when we do what He requires.
Reflect & Pray
When you hear the word required, what thoughts or emotions come to mind? How have you read Micah 6:8—as suggestions for better living or as required?
Dear Father, I know what’s required. Please give me the courage to do it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 7, 2026
The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “…but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
Jeremiah 40-42; Hebrews 4
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word.
Disciples Indeed, 386 R
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