Max Lucado Daily: JUST FOR YOU - November 11, 2025
I’m about to tell you something you may find hard to believe. You don’t have to agree with me, but I’d like you to consider it with me. Here it is: if you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same. The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean its charm. The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evenings and spray light on the desert in the mornings.
If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.
Because he did it all for you. And he’s waiting for you to discover his gift, for your eyes to pop, your heart to stop. He’s waiting for the moment between the dropping of the jaw and the leap of the heart. For in that silence he whispers, “I did it just for you.”
The Lucado Inspirational Reader
The Birth of Jesus
1–5 2 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
6–7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
An Event for Everyone
8–12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
13–14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15–18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
19–20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
Blessings
21 When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.
22–24 Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
by Tim Gustafson
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
John 20:18-20, 30-31
Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her.
To Believe
19–20 Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.
20–21 The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant.
30–31 Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.
Today's Insights
The gospel of John contains many “flashbulb” moments—significant events that are impressed on our minds—which shed light on Jesus’ identity and mission. Perhaps that’s why John uses variations of the phrase “come and see” four times in his gospel (1:39; 1:46; 4:29; 11:34). As the individuals in the story are invited to come and see what John is unveiling about Christ, the reader is also invited to pay attention. The apostle is shining the light on Jesus’ person and work so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in his name” (20:31). This life He offers is eternal: “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). Because of Christ’s resurrection—the most significant event in history—those who believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins will spend eternity with Him.
Flashbulb Memories
The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20:20
Early winter 1941. The Sunday service had just concluded. As their father lingered at the little north-country church, my dad and his siblings walked the short distance home. When their father came up the snowy hill to the farmhouse, he was crying. He’d just learned Pearl Harbor had been bombed. His sons—my dad included—would be going to war. Dad always recalled the moment in vivid detail.
Researchers call such events “flashbulb memories”—moments seared into our minds. Think of 9/11, or the day you lost someone close. Think too of your most joyous experience.
Imagine the flashbulb memories of Jesus’ disciples. They witnessed miracle after miracle. Suddenly catastrophe struck. The Son of God was arrested and crucified. But then, resurrection! Mary Magdalene hurried to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18). Still, the disciples hid in fear. They didn’t believe the news (Luke 24:11), not until “Jesus came and stood among them” (John 20:19). Then, “The disciples were overjoyed” (v. 20).
John recorded some of those moments, saying, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (v. 31). “Flashbulb memories” with eternal significance.
Reflect & Pray
What flashbulb memories do you have? How would you describe your biggest spiritual decision and what it means?
Dear Father, thank You for being with us in all our moments, big and small, and for the biggest event in history—the resurrection of Your Son.
For further study, read A Prayer for Remembering History.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
The Supreme Climb
Take your son . . . — Genesis 22:2
When God commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac to the mountain and “sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2), he meant that Abraham should take Isaac now. God’s commands to us are always meant for right now. Climbing to the height God shows us can never be done later.
It’s extraordinary how we debate and procrastinate. We know that what God wants us to do is right, but we find excuses for not doing it. Where we should be resolved, we have a failure of will. The sacrifice must be made in our will before we do it in actuality.
“Early the next morning Abraham got up and . . . set out for the place God had told him about” (v. 3). The wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, Abraham didn’t debate or “consult any human being” (Galatians 1:16). Beware if, when God tells you to do something, you find yourself consulting another person—especially if that person is yourself. Your own sympathies and insight will compete with your obedience to God, as will anything that isn’t based in your personal relationship with him.
Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if he has made it bitter, drink it in communion with him. When the providential order of God for you is a time of hardship, go through it. But never choose the scene of your martyrdom. Abraham didn’t choose the sacrifice he would make; God chose for him. And Abraham did not protest. He simply went through it.
If you aren’t living in touch with God, it’s easy to pass a rash verdict on him. You must go through the crucible before you have any right to issue a verdict, because in the crucible you learn to know God better. Once you do know God, you recognize that he is working toward his highest ends and will continue to do so until his purpose and humanity’s purpose become one.
Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance.
Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
YOUR ONLY HOPE OF MAKING IT OUT - #10132
My friend, Nathan, was on the 61st floor of Tower Two that September day when a hijacked jetliner flew into the World Trade Center. I interviewed him for a broadcast, and I was pretty deeply moved by the story Nathan told. He was coming out of the restroom when he remembers seeing a piece of burning paper floating by the window. That was his first hint of the horror that was to follow. As people began to realize they might be in danger, they did what my friend did - they headed for the stairwell. Nathan's account took me right into those stairwells, ultimately jammed with screaming people, through the terror of first the smoke starting to fill the stairwell and then finally the quake when a plane hit their building.
Our friend finally made it to the soot-covered lobby, and that's where he saw the faces he said he would never forget. He told me, "I started seeing some of the rescue workers for the first time heading toward the stairwells and directing us out. You can still remember the looks on some of those faces. They were looking just as scared as I was, I'm sure. They're some of the people that helped save my life, and they never made it out themselves."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Only Hope Of Making It Out."
My friend told me he'll be forever grateful to those rescuers who gave their lives so people like him didn't have to. He literally owes his life to them.
I wasn't at the World Trade Center that awful day. But I understand a little of how my friend feels about those rescuers because I know someone who gave His life so I don't have to die. I owe my life to Him. He's the Son of God. His name is Jesus. He rescued me. He wants to rescue you if you'll let Him.
Just before Jesus' arrival on earth, his earthly father, Joseph, was given instructions from heaven about this baby who would soon be born. In it - even before the Son of God spent His first day as one of us - His rescue mission was announced. It's in our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 1:21 says, "You are to give Him the name Jesus (that means deliverer or rescuer), because He will save His people from their sins." Save. That's what those courageous rescuers did for my friend. They saved him from a deadly situation he could not get himself out of.
That's what Jesus came to do for you and me. Our deadly situation isn't a burning or a collapsing building; it's the eternal death penalty that the Bible says is what our sin will cost. We have hijacked the control of our life from the eternal God who made us and that has eternal deadly consequences - eternal separation from God. But God loves you more than you can imagine. That's why He sent His one and only Son into our "collapsing building," up the stairwell to rescue us. And Jesus' death on that cross was the moment when He was taking the hell that you and I deserve. He was dying so you don't have to.
Today, Jesus has come to where you are to bring you out. But He's your personal Rescuer only if you personally reach out and grab His hand as your only hope of getting out. As you reach out to Him and say, "Jesus, I have no hope of getting out from under the penalty of my sin but what You did on the cross to take it for me. No religion can get me to heaven. No amount of goodness can get me to heaven. I can't get me there. I need a Rescuer, and Jesus, you are my Rescuer beginning today. I pin all my hopes on you."
Let me ask you, let me urge you, to go to our website - ANewStory.com. Because right there you will have all the information you will need to confirm that you really belong to Jesus Christ and you are rescued.
I am a man who owes my life to the Man who brought me out at the highest possible cost to Him. He wants to do that for you. He laid down His life to rescue you, my friend. Please don't live - please don't die - without Him.
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