Max Lucado Daily: A LIFE OF JOY AND ABUNDANCE - May 29, 2026
Jesus was accused of much, but of being a grump, sourpuss, or self-centered jerk? No. People didn’t groan when he appeared. They didn’t duck for cover when he entered the room. He called them by name. He listened to their stories. He answered their questions. He visited their sick relatives and helped their sick friends. He fished with fishermen and ate lunch with the little guy and spoke words of resounding affirmation. He went to enough parties that he was criticized for hanging out with rowdy people and questionable crowds.
People were drawn to Jesus! Thousands came to hear him. Hundreds chose to follow him. They shut down their businesses and walked away from careers to be with him. His purpose statement read, “I came to give life with joy and abundance” (John 10:10 The Voice). Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same.
Just Like Jesus
2 Samuel 14
Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king, deep down, still cared for Absalom. So he sent to Tekoa for a wise woman who lived there and instructed her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in black and don’t comb your hair, so you’ll look like you’ve been grieving over a dead loved one for a long time. Then go to the king and tell him this …” Joab then told her exactly what to say.
4 The woman of Tekoa went to the king, bowed deeply before him in homage, and said, “O King, help!”
5–7 He said, “How can I help?”
“I’m a widow,” she said. “My husband is dead. I had two sons. The two of them got into a fight out in the field and there was no one around to step between them. The one struck the other and killed him. Then the whole family ganged up against me and demanded, ‘Hand over this murderer so we can kill him for the life of the brother he murdered!’ They want to wipe out the heir and snuff out the one spark of life left to me. And then there would be nothing left of my husband—not so much as a name—on the face of the earth.
15–17 “So now I’ve dared come to the king, my master, about all this. They’re making my life miserable, and I’m afraid. I said to myself, ‘I’ll go to the king. Maybe he’ll do something! When the king hears what’s going on, he’ll step in and rescue me from the abuse of the man who would get rid of me and my son and God’s inheritance—the works!’ As your handmaid, I decided ahead of time, ‘The word of my master, the king, will be the last word in this, for my master is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil.’ God be with you!”
8 The king said, “Go home, and I’ll take care of this for you.”
9 “I’ll take all responsibility for what happens,” the woman of Tekoa said. “I don’t want to compromise the king and his reputation.”
10 “Bring the man who has been harassing you,” the king continued. “I’ll see to it that he doesn’t bother you anymore.”
11 “Let the king invoke the name of God,” said the woman, “so this self-styled vigilante won’t ruin everything, to say nothing of killing my son.”
“As surely as God lives,” he said, “not so much as a hair of your son’s head will be lost.”
12 Then she asked, “May I say one more thing to my master, the king?”
He said, “Go ahead.”
13–14 “Why, then,” the woman said, “have you done this very thing against God’s people? In his verdict, the king convicts himself by not bringing home his exiled son. We all die sometime. Water spilled on the ground can’t be gathered up again. But God does not take away life. He works out ways to get the exile back.”
18 The king then said, “I’m going to ask you something. Answer me truthfully.”
“Certainly,” she said. “Let my master, the king, speak.”
19–20 The king said, “Is the hand of Joab mixed up in this?”
“On your life, my master king, a body can’t veer an inch right or left and get by with it in the royal presence! Yes, it was your servant Joab who put me up to this, and put these very words in my mouth. It was because he wanted to turn things around that your servant Joab did this. But my master is as wise as God’s angels in knowing how to handle things on this earth.”
21 The king spoke to Joab. “All right, I’ll do it. Go and bring the young man Absalom back.”
22 Joab bowed deeply in reverence and blessed the king. “I’m reassured to know that I’m still in your good graces and have your confidence, since the king is taking the counsel of his servant.”
23–24 Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. The king said, “He may return to his house, but he is not to see me face-to-face.” So Absalom returned home, but was not permitted to see the king.
25–27 This Absalom! There wasn’t a man in all Israel talked about so much for his handsome good looks—and not a blemish on him from head to toe! When he cut his hair—he always cut it short in the spring because it had grown so heavy—the weight of the hair from his head was over two pounds! Three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter. Her name was Tamar—and she was a beauty.
28–31 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, and not once did he see the king face-to-face. He sent for Joab to get him in to see the king, but Joab still wouldn’t budge. He tried a second time and Joab still wouldn’t. So he told his servants, “Listen. Joab’s field adjoins mine, and he has a crop of barley in it. Go set fire to it.” So Absalom’s servants set fire to the field. That got him moving—Joab came to Absalom at home and said, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”
32 Absalom answered him, “Listen, I sent for you saying, ‘Come, and soon. I want to send you to the king to ask, “What’s the point of my coming back from Geshur? I’d be better off still there!” Let me see the king face-to-face. If he finds me guilty, then he can put me to death.’ ”
33 Joab went to the king and told him what was going on. Absalom was then summoned—he came and bowed deeply in reverence before him. And the king kissed Absalom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, May 29, 2026
by Nancy Gavilanes
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Psalm 27:7-14
Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
9–10 You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
11–12 Point me down your highway, God;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.
13–14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.
Today's Insights
When pursued by powerful enemies, David focused on God instead of the danger he was in. With God as his “light” and “salvation” and the “stronghold of [his] life,” he had nothing to fear (Psalm 27:1-3). God would keep him safe—“out of reach on a high rock” (v. 5 nlt). Even in the unlikely event of being abandoned by his parents, who were supposed to protect him, David confidently trusted that “the Lord will take care of me” (v. 10 nkjv). God would deal with the difficulties and dangers just as a human father would for his child. The psalmist invites us to “be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (v. 14). To wait for God is to put our trust in Him. We affirm with David, “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield” (33:20).
Waiting on God
Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14
As a little girl, I got so excited when I’d see special signs appear on the side of the road. I thought colorful signs meant my family had arrived at the popular amusement park we were driving to. I’d joyfully start gathering my things, only to be disappointed to see more signs and have to wait even longer before we reached the park. Eventually I realized those signs announced that visitors were getting closer but were still miles away.
Like an excited child wondering “are we there yet?” we can also be impatient and anxious to arrive at our next destination.
Waiting for God to move in our lives, or to rescue us from our trials, can be challenging. David was facing much adversity, which he mentions throughout Psalm 27. Yet he still placed his hope and trust in God and waited for Him to respond. David didn’t know how long it would take for God to act, but he knew God would help him. “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (v. 13).
It may take longer than we’d like to experience our breakthrough, but let’s take courage in these words: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (v. 14). As we turn to the Psalms and the rest of Scripture for encouragement, we can take comfort in knowing God is working even while we wait.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it hard sometimes to wait for God’s answer? How can you remain hopeful as you wait?
Dear God, thank You that You’re working even while I wait.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 29, 2026
Undisturbed Relationship
In that day you will ask in my name. . . . The Father himself loves you because you have loved me.— John 16:26-27
“You will ask in my name.” By “name,” Jesus means “nature.” He isn’t saying, “You will use my name as a magic word to get what you want from the Father.” He’s saying, “You will be so intimate with me that you will be one with me.”
“In that day . . .” The day Jesus is speaking of isn’t a day in the future; it’s here and now. It’s a day of undisturbed relationship between God and his child. Just as Jesus stood blameless in the presence of his Father, so by the baptism of the Spirit are we lifted into relationship with him: “. . . that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” (John 17:21).
“The Father himself loves you.” The union is complete and absolute. Our Lord doesn’t mean that your external life will be free of complexity and confusion, but that just as he knew the Father’s heart and mind, you too will know it. By the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he will lift you into the heavenly places, where he can reveal God’s counsels to you.
“My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (16:23). Jesus is saying that God will recognize our prayers. What a challenge! By the power of the resurrection and the ascension, by the sent-down Holy Spirit, we can be lifted into such a relationship with the Father that we are at one with his sovereign will, just as Jesus was. In this wonderful position, we can pray to God in his name—in his nature—which is gifted to us by the Holy Spirit, and whatever we ask will be given.
2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 29, 2026
How to Recover From a Fall - #10274
May 28, 2026
*on line they are late on posting I will post the 29th on Monday...
Scripture: Proverbs 24:16
Somewhere on your body there is probably some mark or scar from your early days of riding a bicycle. I mean most of us took a pretty good spill somewhere along the way and we've got the marks to prove it. Well, our family was staying in a little cabin in the woods, and our oldest son came cruising down this little dirt path on his bike. He spun out on the gravel, had an unscheduled meeting with the ground. And when he got up he was really bleeding pretty profusely from his mouth.
So we rushed him to the local emergency room. And they cleaned up the mess and found that he had a broken tooth. When they had done all that they could and he was sort of back together again, we came back to our cabin.
Guess what was the first thing I had my son do? Uh-huh. Get back on that bike and ride. He was a little reluctant, but he did it. See, I didn't want the fear of failure and the fear of riding to have a chance to build up inside of him. I knew it was important to get right back on after a fall or he may not get back at all.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Recover From a Fall."
Our word for today from the Word of God we're in Proverbs 24:16 - "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." Do you notice what this verse does not say? It doesn't say a righteous man does not fall. It says, "though he falls, even seven times, he rises again."
You know it was important for our son to return to his bicycle ride that day and to do it right away. I didn't want him to dwell on the fall. Well listen, can't you just imagine him lying there saying, "I fell! That's it! I'll probably always fall. I wasn't cut out for bicycle riding. I give up!" No, "Get right up. Get back on." That's exactly what God wants us to do after a fall.
I know you've experienced it; I have. That voice that nags you after you've messed up spiritually, "You're never going to beat this. Look what you did! Hey, you might as well stay down. You call yourself a Christian?" That's not God. That's the Devil, trying to turn one defeat into many. Like somebody who goes off their diet. Okay, you goof up one time, "Might as well eat everything in sight!" No, the Devil wants to take that one defeat and make it into many. Your job is to contain the damage the same way my son bounced back after that fall.
First, you clean up the damage. Where the Holy Spirit has pointed out steps you need to take to repent, confess it completely, repent of it completely and specifically. You appropriate God's power to not do it again, and you might take a look at the gravel that made you fall in the first place, and you don't ride on that gravel again. It's important to burn the bridges to the sin that you've committed; to the sin that brought you down; to make yourself accountable to be on the line to change.
Secondly, you return immediately to the ride that you were on originally. You accept God's promise. You know what He says? "Your sins I will remember no more." Don't let a fall affect more than that day. Don't stay down!
The only ones who never fall are those who don't try to ride. By God's grace you will ride more carefully this time because you fell, and you probably won't fall that way again. But when you hit the ground with a spiritual fall, oh my friend get right up. Oh, and claim the promise of the book of Jude that "He is able to keep you from falling."
