Max Lucado Daily: You Need A Savior
“If the Son makes you free, you will be truly free.” John 8:36
Trying to make it to heaven on our own goodness is like trying to get to the moon on a moon beam; nice idea, but try it and see what happens.
Listen. Quit trying to quench your own guilt. You can’t do it. There’s no way.
Not with a bottle of whiskey or perfect Sunday school attendance. Sorry. I don’t care how bad you are. You can’t be bad enough to forget it. And I don’t care how good you are. You can’t be good enough to overcome it.
You need a Savior.
Luke 21:1-19
Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all!”
Watch Out for Doomsday Deceivers
5–6 One day people were standing around talking about the Temple, remarking how beautiful it was, the splendor of its stonework and memorial gifts. Jesus said, “All this you’re admiring so much—the time is coming when every stone in that building will end up in a heap of rubble.”
7 They asked him, “Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it’s about to take place?”
8–9 He said, “Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One,’ or, ‘The end is near.’ Don’t fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end.”
10–11 He went on, “Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. You’ll think at times that the very sky is falling.
12–15 “But before any of this happens, they’ll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.
16–19 “You’ll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, April 05, 2026
by Patricia Raybon
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Mark 16:1-8
The Resurrection
1–3 16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”
4–5 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.
6–7 He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”
8 They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.
Today's Insights
Three key women are named in Mark’s account of the discovery of Jesus’ resurrection: “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome” (Mark 16:1). The women enter the scene on the road to the tomb carrying spices for Christ’s body and asking a legitimate question: “Who will roll the stone away?” (v. 3). Yet their question was needless. The stone had already been rolled away. Mark concludes this vignette with the women even more bewildered than before. And now they’re frightened (v. 8). Luke adds, “Then they remembered his words” (Luke 24:8). Matthew provides more information: “The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples” (Matthew 28:8). These three accounts have the ring of authenticity for they reveal the reactions of humans as they discover the remarkable truth that Jesus is risen. Today, the same power that rolled the stone away is available to us when we face stones that need moving.
Visit go.odb.org/040526 to learn more about Resurrection Power.
Resurrection Power
You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Mark 16:6
At one hundred dollars, Loretta’s utility bill was much higher than usual. “But the Lord will provide,” she told her son. That same day she received a text from her youngest brother: “Loretta, you’re always encouraging me, and I want to thank you. Look in your mail for something from me.” That afternoon in her mail, she found a gift card from her brother for one hundred dollars. A miracle? Not to some, perhaps. To Loretta, however, the “coincidence” felt miraculous. She always expects the living God to provide for her.
Her outlook highlights a lesson in the resurrection story of Jesus. After the Sabbath, three women bought spices to anoint Jesus’ body in the tomb. But walking there after sunrise, the women expected not a miracle but a problem: “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:1-3).
Embedded in their question was a curious doubt, especially from these women—including Mary Magdalene—who had traveled with Jesus and witnessed His power. All of them, however, were looking that morning for a dead Jesus.
Instead, “He has risen! He is not here,” they were told (v. 6). That declaration explains what we can expect from the living Jesus: His miraculous resurrection power. He is alive. When we face “heavy stones” that need moving, He will be with us and help us. He’s not in a tomb. He is risen, indeed!
Reflect & Pray
How have you witnessed God working in an amazing way? What does it mean to you to live out Jesus’ resurrection power?
You’re alive, Jesus, and You possess the resurrection power I need!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, April 05, 2026
His Agony in Gethsemane
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, . . . “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” — Matthew 26:36,38
We know nothing about Gethsemane in our personal experience. Both Gethsemane and Calvary stand for something unique: they are the gateway into life for us. We can never fully fathom the agony Jesus went through in Gethsemane, but we can at least try not to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one, coming face-to-face with sin.
Death on the cross wasn’t what Jesus feared in Gethsemane. He’d already stated that he’d come for that purpose. Read about his agony in light of the temptation Jesus endured three years earlier at the hands of Satan. “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). The “opportune time” was Gethsemane. It was then that Satan came back and resumed his onslaught, and what Jesus feared was that he might not get through the attack as the Son of Man. He knew he’d get through it as the Son of God—Satan couldn’t touch him there. But Satan’s attack, if victorious, would mean that Jesus only withstood temptation as the Son of God, an isolated Figure, and thus could be no savior.
The agony in Gethsemane is the agony of the Son of Man fulfilling his destiny as the savior of the world. The veil is drawn aside to reveal what it cost him to make it possible for us to become children of God. Jesus’s agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation. The cross of Christ is a sign not only that our Lord has triumphed but that he triumphed to save humankind. Now, thanks to what the Son of Man endured, every human can get through to the presence of God.
1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly.
Disciples Indeed, 393 R
