Max Lucado Daily: SERVE WITH JOY - March 31, 2026
Some people feel so saved that they never serve. Some serve at the hope of being saved. Does one of those sentences describe you? Do you feel so saved that you never serve? So content in what God has done, that you do nothing? The fact is, we are here to glorify God in our service.
Or is your tendency the opposite? Perhaps you always serve for fear of not being saved. You’re worried there’s some secret card that exists with your score written on it and your score is not enough. Is that you? The blood of Jesus is enough to save you. John 1:29 (NIV) announces that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
The blood of Christ doesn’t cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone your sins, or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all. So you are saved! And since you are saved, you can serve with joy.
He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart
1 Samuel 18
Jonathan and David—Soul Friends
1 18 By the time David had finished reporting to Saul, Jonathan was deeply impressed with David—an immediate bond was forged between them. He became totally committed to David. From that point on he would be David’s number-one advocate and friend.
2 Saul received David into his own household that day, no more to return to the home of his father.
3–4 Jonathan, out of his deep love for David, made a covenant with him. He formalized it with solemn gifts: his own royal robe and weapons—armor, sword, bow, and belt.
5 Whatever Saul gave David to do, he did it—and did it well. So well that Saul put him in charge of his military operations. Everybody, both the people in general and Saul’s servants, approved of and admired David’s leadership.
David—The Name on Everyone’s Lips
6–9 As they returned home, after David had killed the Philistine, the women poured out of all the villages of Israel singing and dancing, welcoming King Saul with tambourines, festive songs, and lutes. In playful frolic the women sang,
Saul kills by the thousand,
David by the ten thousand!
This made Saul angry—very angry. He took it as a personal insult. He said, “They credit David with ‘ten thousands’ and me with only ‘thousands.’ Before you know it they’ll be giving him the kingdom!” From that moment on, Saul kept his eye on David.
10–11 The next day an ugly mood was sent by God to afflict Saul, who became quite beside himself, raving. David played his harp, as he usually did at such times. Saul had a spear in his hand. Suddenly Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall.” David ducked, and the spear missed. This happened twice.
12–16 Now Saul feared David. It was clear that God was with David and had left Saul. So, Saul got David out of his sight by making him an officer in the army. David was in combat frequently. Everything David did turned out well. Yes, God was with him. As Saul saw David becoming more successful, he himself grew more fearful. He could see the handwriting on the wall. But everyone else in Israel and Judah loved David. They loved watching him in action.
17 One day Saul said to David, “Here is Merab, my eldest daughter. I want to give her to you as your wife. Be brave and bold for my sake. Fight God’s battles!” But all the time Saul was thinking, “The Philistines will kill him for me. I won’t have to lift a hand against him.”
18 David, embarrassed, answered, “Do you really mean that? I’m from a family of nobodies! I can’t be son-in-law to the king.”
19 The wedding day was set, but as the time neared for Merab and David to be married, Saul reneged and married his daughter off to Adriel the Meholathite.
20–21 Meanwhile, Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David. When Saul was told of this, he rubbed his hands in anticipation. “Ah, a second chance. I’ll use Michal as bait to get David out where the Philistines will make short work of him.” So again he said to David, “You’re going to be my son-in-law.”
22 Saul ordered his servants, “Get David off by himself and tell him, ‘The king is very taken with you, and everyone at court loves you. Go ahead, become the king’s son-in-law!’ ”
23 The king’s servants told all this to David, but David held back. “What are you thinking of? I can’t do that. I’m a nobody; I have nothing to offer.”
24–25 When the servants reported David’s response to Saul, he told them to tell David this: “The king isn’t expecting any money from you; only this: Go kill a hundred Philistines and bring evidence of your vengeance on the king’s behalf. Avenge the king on his enemies.” (Saul expected David to be killed in action.)
26–27 On receiving this message, David was pleased. There was something he could do for the king that would qualify him to be his son-in-law! He lost no time but went right out, he and his men, killed the hundred Philistines, brought their evidence back in a sack, and counted it out before the king—mission completed! Saul gave Michal his daughter to David in marriage.
28–29 As Saul more and more realized that God was with David, and how much his own daughter, Michal, loved him, his fear of David increased and settled into hate. Saul hated David.
30 Whenever the Philistine warlords came out to battle, David was there to meet them—and beat them, upstaging Saul’s men. David’s name was on everyone’s lips.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
by Tom Felten
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Exodus 14:1-4, 8, 10-14
The Story and Song of Salvation
1–2 14 God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites to turn around and make camp at Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Camp on the shore of the sea opposite Baal Zephon.
3–4 “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are lost; they’re confused. The wilderness has closed in on them.’ Then I’ll make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn again and he’ll chase after them. And I’ll use Pharaoh and his army to put my Glory on display. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am God.”
And that’s what happened.
8–9 God made Pharaoh king of Egypt stubborn, determined to chase the Israelites as they walked out on him without even looking back.
Exodus 14:10–14
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language
10–12 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them—Egyptians! Coming at them!
They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’ ”
13 Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.
14 God will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!”
Today's Insights
Exodus 14:1-14 shows the tension between how things can appear to us and what God’s really doing. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh, God told them to turn back, placing them in what looked like a military trap—boxed in between Pharaoh’s army and the sea (v. 2). But this was God’s plan to lure and defeat Pharaoh once and for all (v. 4). When Israel panicked (vv. 10–12), Moses reminded them that their rescue wasn’t dependent on their strength but on God’s (vv. 13-14). Even when we don’t understand His plans, this passage invites us to trust that His purposes are always good.
God’s View
Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring. Exodus 14:13
Hudson Taylor was troubled. He’d left England to share the gospel about Christ in China, and ministry—though challenging—had gone well. But in 1865, as he considered sending more people to minister to a more dangerous part of the country, without protection, he felt “intense conflict.” After wrestling with God in prayer, he wrote, “The Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God . . . [recognizing] that all responsibility . . . and consequences must rest with him.”
Moses received a call from God that likely left him troubled. As he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea” (Exodus 14:2). This meant they were trapped between Pharaoh and a vast body of water! The Israelites trembled as “Pharaoh approached” (v. 10). Panic-stricken, they told Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (v. 12). But Moses replied, “Do not be afraid” (v. 13). And he was right. God provided rescue and victory for His people as they rested in Him (vv. 15-31).
At times, we won’t understand what God’s doing in our lives because we don’t have His view. It was during such a moment that Hudson Taylor wrote, “As his servant it was [my responsibility] to obey and to follow him.” We too can rest in God’s view and plans.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it vital for you to surrender to God’s plans for you? How can you rest in Him?
Loving God, please help me rest in Your perfect plans for my life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Spiritual Hypocrisy
If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. — 1 John 5:16
If we aren’t mindful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. Instead of interceding in prayer when we see another person failing, we’ll turn our discernment into criticism.
Be very careful that you don’t act like a hypocrite and try to fix other people before you yourself are right with God. The Holy Spirit isn’t revealed to us through the intellectual workings of our mind, but through the direct penetration of our souls. If we aren’t alert to the source of the revelation—to the fact that it is God, not us—we will become cauldrons of criticism. We’ll forget what Scripture says about our dealings with others: “You should pray and God will give them life.”
One of the subtlest burdens God puts on his disciples is this burden of using discernment when it comes to other souls. Why does he reveal certain things about others to us? It isn’t so we’ll criticize them. It’s so we’ll take their burden before God. It’s so we’ll form the mind of Christ regarding them, interceding with him on their behalf. God says he will give them life if we pray in this way.
To intercede in prayer isn’t to tell God our opinions or to let him in on the workings of our minds. It’s to stir ourselves up to get at his mind, his thoughts, about the people for whom we intercede. Is Jesus Christ seeing the workings of his soul in us? He can’t—not until we are so identified with him that we strive to know his mind. If we want Jesus to be satisfied with us, we must learn to intercede wholeheartedly on others’ behalf, as he intercedes for us: “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
It is in the middle that human choices are made; the beginning and the end remain with God. The decrees of God are birth and death, and in between those limits man makes his own distress or joy.
Shade of His Hand, 1223 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
CLOSE TO THE TRAIL, BUT LOST - #10232
Allison and her daughter and two friends were out for a trail ride in a remote area. They were to rendezvous later, actually, in the afternoon with other family members at their overnight campsite. When it came time to head back, they were somewhere on the side of a mountain, picking their way through very rocky ground. No matter which way they went, they couldn't find the main trail that would take them back down the mountain. They could see where they needed to be, but the terrain was too rugged to get down any other way. The hours wore on, dark began to fall, and Allison's two friends finally made an attempt to get to a cabin they could see. Well after dark, Allison and her daughter finally saw flashlights moving up the mountain. Her friends returned with the man from that cabin. He helped them pick their way to a point where they could actually get right back on the trail. Much to their surprise, while they had been lost, they had been very close to the trail all along!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Close to the Trail, But Lost."
It's possible to be close to the trail and still be lost in the great outdoors or in your search for God. And without a rescuer, you will never make it home - to God, to heaven.
Jesus met a man who was, like many of us, almost where he needed to be, but still lost. What He said to that man gives all of us religious folks something to think about. This man, who came to Jesus as an honest spiritual seeker, indicated that he really seemed to understand and agree with Jesus' teachings. Then in Mark 12:34, our word for today from the Word of God, "Jesus said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God." My friend was "not far" from the trail home, but she was still lost. This man was "not far" from belonging to Jesus, but he was "not in."
That's what Jesus might say to a whole lot of us church folks, us Christianity veterans. We agree with Jesus. We go to His meetings. We like Him a lot. We look like we belong to Him. But see, you can have all that and still be lost because there's never been that moment when you fully committed yourself to Jesus as your personal Rescuer from your personal sins. You've never actually grabbed Him like a drowning person would grab a rescuer and you've said, "Jesus, you're my only hope! Save me!" It's His death for your sins on the cross that really is your only hope of having your sins forgiven...of having a relationship with your Creator...of going to His heaven when you die.
But the Rescuer has come to you right where you are - close to the trail, but still lost. He's come looking for you today. We'd never find Him. He'd have to come looking for us. The sheep never finds a shepherd. The shepherd always comes and finds the lost sheep.
He's come to where you are today to bring you home to Him. Maybe these words right now are His way of reaching out to you. He's ready to bring you home to the relationship you were made for; the relationship you've been missing your whole life. Let this be the day that you finally actually belong to the One you've been around for so long. Tell Him, "As of today, Jesus, I am Yours."
You know, our website is a destination for people who want to be sure they belong to Jesus Christ and their eternity is settled and their sins are forgiven. I want to urge you to get there as soon as you can today. It is ANewStory.com.
You may be very close, but you're not in. Could there be a greater tragedy than for you to get to the gates of heaven one day and hear Jesus say, "You were so close, but you're not in." That can change this very day. You can go to sleep tonight knowing that you belong to Jesus!