Max Lucado Daily: THE VALUE OF ONE GOOD CHOICE - March 10, 2026
Think about the thief on the cross who repented! We know little about him, but we know this: He made some bad mistakes in his life. But is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made.
You may look back over your life and say, “If only. . .if only I could make up for those bad choices.” You can! One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.
How could two thieves see the same Jesus and one choose to mock him and the other choose to pray to him? When one prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him. When the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him. He allowed him the choice. And He does the same for you.
He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart
Luke 18:1-23
The Story of the Persistent Widow
1–3 18 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’
4–5 “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’ ”
6–8 Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”
The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee
9–12 He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
13 “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’ ”
14 Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
15–17 People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”
The Rich Official
18 One day one of the local officials asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?”
19–20 Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good—only God. You know the commandments, don’t you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother.”
21 He said, “I’ve kept them all for as long as I can remember.”
22 When Jesus heard that, he said, “Then there’s only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
by Dave Branon
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Master’s Coming
13–14 And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.
15–18 And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master’s word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.
Today's Insights
In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul comforts believers in Jesus who are grieving the loss of loved ones. He doesn’t dismiss their sorrow but reminds them of the greater reality of their shared hope in Christ’s resurrection and promised return. Because Jesus conquered death, we’re bound together not just in belief but in eternal hope and destiny. In moments that feel hopeless—when grief swells or life seems fractured—the love of Christ is our anchor. We don’t grieve “like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (v. 13), because our hope is rooted in a Savior who lives and who’ll return to take us to be with Him where He is forever. This promise unites hearts across generations, cultures, and death itself. In Jesus, separation is temporary, and reunion is certain. When everything else feels lost, His love holds us fast.
Learn more about types of loss.
The Hope Jesus Brings
Do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13
It began with an email a grieving father sent to me. He had lost his daughter Alyssa—a college junior—in a car accident, and he needed to hear from someone who understood his wrenching pain.
Nearly three hundred emails and four years later, Craig and I were finally able to meet in person. His job had taken him to a nearby city, so on a Sunday we shared a church service, lunch, and memories of our daughters: Melissa and Alyssa—two girls who’d made other people happy, enjoyed volleyball, loved Jesus, and innocently lost their lives in car accidents.
What was the essence of our conversation that day? We discussed our sadness. And we cried. But mostly we spoke of hope. True, authentic hope based on God’s promises. “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope,” the apostle Paul explained. “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and . . . God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). For the believer, beyond the grave is life—life eternal.
Craig and I ended the day by praying and thanking God that our daughters are secure in His loving arms. The shared love of Jesus binds hearts and gives hope in otherwise hopeless situations.
Reflect & Pray
What loss weighs heavy on your heart? Who can you talk with about it? How can your hope in Jesus help you face this difficulty?
Loving God, thank You for putting others in my life who understand my pain and for providing true, authentic hope.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Have a Message and Be One
Preach the word. — 2 Timothy 4:2
We aren’t saved to be mere mouthpieces for God; we’re saved to be his sons and daughters. God has no interest in turning his preachers into passive channels. He wants vigorous, alert, wide-awake men and women with all their powers and faculties intact. God’s disciples are spiritual messengers, not spiritual mediums, and the message they deliver must be part of themselves.
The Son of God was his message. His words were Spirit and life (John 6:63). As disciples, we must become the examples of what we preach; our lives must become the very sacrament of our message. It is natural to want to serve and give to others—that desire lies in most human hearts. But it takes a heart broken by the conviction of sin, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and crumpled into the purposes of God to turn a life into the sacrament of its message.
There is a difference between giving testimony and preaching. Anyone who is saved can give testimony. A preacher is someone who has answered the call of God and is determined to use every power to proclaim God’s truth. God takes his preachers out of their own ideas for their lives and shapes them for his use, just as the disciples were after Pentecost. Pentecost did not teach the disciples anything; it made them the embodiment of their message: “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
Before God’s message can liberate other souls, the liberation must be real in you. Gather the material you wish to preach, and set it alight. Let God have perfect liberty when you speak.
Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 12:1-27
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God.
Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
AN "OTHERS" PERSON IN A "ME" WORLD - #10217
It was one of those 3-H summer days: hazy, hot, and humid. It's not advisable to sweat on those days, because there's really no place for it to go. You keep running into your own sweat. And you know how it is on those days; you kind of feel "ugh"...you feel like doing nothing. Well, it was one of those days, and a brief storm went through. It was the leading edge of a cold front the weather man said, and the temperature dropped almost 25 degrees in a four-hour period of time. That heavy, muggy, hazy air suddenly cleared out; people started moving around again. I'll tell you, the view all of a sudden was crystal clear. The atmosphere was refreshing finally. Did you know a person can actually have that effect?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "An 'Others' Person in a 'Me' World."
There was, in that upper room where Jesus held The Last Supper, a very tense atmosphere that night. There was an argument brewing in the corners of the room as to who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Several people were fighting over the job of Assistant Messiah, I guess, and it was a climate of real selfishness. "Me first." "King of the hill." And then a refreshing front moved through the room and changed everything.
Our word for today from the Word of God is in John 13, and I'll begin at verse 4. "Jesus got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing and wrapped a towel around His waist. And after that He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet; drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him." Later on in the chapter it says, "When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place."
"Do you understand what I've done for you?" He asked them. You call me teacher and Lord, and rightly for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. No servant is greater than his master. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Man, the atmosphere changed that night because of one thing Jesus did. He did the job no one else wanted to do; the lowly, smelly, dirty job that usually a slave did - washing feet.
Jesus did the job no one else wanted to do, and in so doing, He displayed the power of one person who decides he will be the servant in his little corner of the world. "I will be the servant in my family, I will be the servant in my business, I will be the servant in my church, in my circle of friends. You say, "Well, not me. I don't want to do it." Well, what about Him, the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. He did it. Think about the tasks that everyone avoids where you are.
Well, what if, in the name of Jesus, you just quietly started to do one of those? Notice, Jesus didn't say anything at first. He just unselfishly moved out and started doing it. When you do that, it defuses an atmosphere that's heavy with conflict and self-centeredness. It puts your faith into the kind of action that even your worst critic can appreciate, including a non-Christian family. They may not understand your beliefs, but they understand someone who will pitch in on what no one wants to do.
See, that makes you the Jesus-person in your situation. Just try it. Don't announce it; do it joyfully, do it consistently, and pretty soon you're going to win the special influence that only a servant has. See, you're a help and you're not a threat to people, so they'll listen to you. Now you said at one point in your life you would follow Jesus, right? And He's a foot washer.
Do the jobs no one else wants to do, and let God use you to clear out the oppressive heat of selfishness. What a refreshing change in the atmosphere you could bring to the place where you live.
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