Max Lucado Daily: GROW IN SALVATION - March 30, 2026
Are a bride and groom ever more married than they are the first day? The vows are made, the certificate signed—could they be any more married than that?
Imagine fifty years later. They finish each other’s sentences, order each other’s food. They even start looking alike—a thought which troubles my wife, Denalyn, deeply. Wouldn’t they be more married on their 50th anniversary than on their wedding day? Marriage is both a done deal and a daily development.
The same is true of our walk with God. Can you be more saved than you were the first day of your salvation? No. But can a person grow in salvation? Absolutely. Like marriage, it’s a done deal and a daily development. Be secure in your salvation. And at the same time, grow in your salvation.
He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart
1 Samuel 17
Goliath
1–3 17 The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. They deployed them at Socoh in Judah, and set up camp between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim. Saul and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley, and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines. The Philistines were on one hill, the Israelites on the opposing hill, with the valley between them.
4–7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.
8–10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, “Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you’re all committed to Saul, aren’t you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the upper hand and kill him, you’ll all become our slaves and serve us. I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!”
11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine’s challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.
12–15 Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too old to join Saul’s army. Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who had joined up with Saul were Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah. David was the youngest son. While his three oldest brothers went to war with Saul, David went back and forth from attending to Saul to tending his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
16 Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech.
17–19 One day, Jesse told David his son, “Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp. And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they’re doing—Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley.”
20–23 David was up at the crack of dawn and, having arranged for someone to tend his flock, took the food and was on his way just as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the army was moving into battle formation, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines moved into position, facing each other, battle-ready. David left his bundles of food in the care of a sentry, ran to the troops who were deployed, and greeted his brothers. While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.
24–25 The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant—totally frightened. The talk among the troops was, “Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel? The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride.”
Five Smooth Stones
26 David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked, “What’s in it for the man who kills that Philistine and gets rid of this ugly blot on Israel’s honor? Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?”
27 They told him what everyone was saying about what the king would do for the man who killed the Philistine.
28 Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: “What are you doing here! Why aren’t you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you’re up to. You’ve come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!”
29–30 “What is it with you?” replied David. “All I did was ask a question.” Ignoring his brother, he turned to someone else, asked the same question, and got the same answer as before.
31 The things David was saying were picked up and reported to Saul. Saul sent for him.
32 “Master,” said David, “don’t give up hope. I’m ready to go and fight this Philistine.”
33 Saul answered David, “You can’t go and fight this Philistine. You’re too young and inexperienced—and he’s been at this fighting business since before you were born.”
34–37 David said, “I’ve been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I’d go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I’d grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I’ll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.”
Saul said, “Go. And God help you!”
38–39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge.
David told Saul, “I can’t even move with all this stuff on me. I’m not used to this.” And he took it all off.
40 Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.
41–42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.
43 The Philistine ridiculed David. “Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?” And he cursed him by his gods.
44 “Come on,” said the Philistine. “I’ll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I’ll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice.”
45–47 David answered, “You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”
48–49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.
50 That’s how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!
51 Then David ran up to the Philistine and stood over him, pulled the giant’s sword from its sheath, and finished the job by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their great champion was dead, they scattered, running for their lives.
52–54 The men of Israel and Judah were up on their feet, shouting! They chased the Philistines all the way to the outskirts of Gath and the gates of Ekron. Wounded Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road all the way to Gath and Ekron. After chasing the Philistines, the Israelites came back and looted their camp. David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem. But the giant’s weapons he placed in his own tent.
55 When Saul saw David go out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Tell me about this young man’s family.”
Abner said, “For the life of me, O King, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Well, find out the lineage of this raw youth.”
57 As soon as David came back from killing the Philistine, Abner brought him, the Philistine’s head still in his hand, straight to Saul.
58 Saul asked him, “Young man, whose son are you?”
“I’m the son of your servant Jesse,” said David, “the one who lives in Bethlehem.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 30, 2026
by Patricia Raybon
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 12:1-3
Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
1–3 12 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
Today's Insights
Because of severe persecution (see Hebrews 10:32-39; 13:3), Jewish believers in Jesus were pressured to abandon their faith and revert to Judaism. The unnamed writer of Hebrews encourages these embattled believers to remain faithful by “keeping [their] eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (12:2 nlt). He reminds us of the superiority of Christ, who as God Himself is the final revelation of God (chs. 1-4). Jesus—through His sacrificial work as the superior High Priest and as the once-for-all perfect sacrifice for sin—is the only one who can truly save (chs. 5-10). The writer likens our journey of faith to a long-distance foot race. The lives of faith of the saints who’ve completed their races (see ch. 11) inspire us to persevere to complete our race by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ, our champion who Himself endured challenges and completed the race (12:1-3).
Keep Going by Faith
Let us run with perseverance. Hebrews 12:1
To become a lawyer in California, Maxcy Filer had to pass the state’s grueling, three-day bar exam. So he took it not once, not twice, but forty-eight times before passing the tough test. His goal? To advocate for the underprivileged in Compton, his beloved city. Between his first and last attempts at passing the exam—across twenty-five years—Filer and his wife raised seven children, all who went to college. When Filer was sworn in, the judge said, “Three words about Maxcy Filer: perseverance, perseverance, perseverance.”
His story prompts me to think of people in the Bible who persevered. The writer of Hebrews recognized some: Noah, who “by his faith . . . became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith” (11:7). Or Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (vv. 8-21), Moses (vv. 23-28), and others. Such examples inspire us.
The writer then exhorts believers in Christ: “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (12:1). We then read, “Let us run?with perseverance?the race marked out for us” (v. 1). How will we do this? By “fixing our eyes on Jesus,?the pioneer?and perfecter of faith” (v. 2). As we consider Christ’s sacrifice for us, we “will not grow weary and lose heart” (v. 3).
Challenges to our faith give us opportunity to endure in His name. In His power, we persevere.
Reflect & Pray
What faith challenge is testing you? How can you persevere in Jesus?
As I persevere for You, please inspire me, dear Jesus, to keep going.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 30, 2026
Holiness versus Hardness
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. — 1 Timothy 2:1
The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that our interest in prayer is merely sentimental. We read books that say prayer is beneficial, that it quiets the mind and uplifts the soul, and this makes us feel good. It makes us feel right to say we pray. But prayer, in God’s eyes, must go together with intercession. One is impossible without the other.
To intercede in prayer on another’s behalf is to seek the mind of God about that person. Too often, instead of worshipping during prayer, we construct arguments about how prayer works. “I don’t see how you’re going to do this,” we say to God. If we’re arguing with God like this, it’s a sure sign that we aren’t worshipping. We’re hurling demands at his throne and dictating what we want him to do. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic toward him. And when we become hard toward God, we become hard toward other people.
Are we worshipping when we pray, lifting our minds up to know God’s thoughts? Are we living in a holy relationship to him? Or are we hard and dogmatic?
“He was appalled that there was no one to intervene” (Isaiah 59:16). If there is no one, do the job yourself. Become the one who worships God and lives in holy relationship to him. Commit to the hard work of intervening in prayer on others’ behalf, and remember that it is, truly, work. But it is work that will sustain you, as the Lord’s “own righteousness sustained him” (v. 16).
Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.
So Send I You, 1330 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 30, 2026
THE GOOD IN THE PAIN - #10231
You know, most of us have heard words like this when we're going through a hard time, "Oh, I understand how you feel." Maybe you have muttered under your breath, "You have no idea." One situation in which those words should probably never be spoken, are a man to a woman in labor. Yeah, that's right! Now, I've been through labor with my wife three times, but I can not say I understand how she felt. Labor is easier for some women than others I understand, but having a baby is not easy for anybody. I still remember vividly our first time around the maternity track. My wife's increasingly frequent contractions and the trip to the hospital, and then the hours of intensifying pain, and then the last most intense pains of all. And suddenly, a baby girl! Now, I know it's easy for me to say, but I know my wife would have always agreed. It was a painful process with a glorious result. And you know, the result has lasted a lot longer than the pain.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Good In the Pain."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 8. Here we're going to meet a man with the credentials to talk about pain, about hard times. Paul has been brutally slandered, he's been beaten, he's been attacked, he's been left for dead, he's been arrested on false charges, he's been in prison unjustly, been ship wrecked, deserted. What a list!
In Romans 8 he talks about "our present sufferings." And he even speaks symbolically of this world "groaning as if in the pains of childbirth." And then later on in the chapter he mentions trouble, hardship, famine, sword, and then he says this, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." How can that be with all the worst pain in life? It goes back to a God-given perspective on the pain of your life. And that's in Romans 8:28. He says, "And we know that all things are working together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to God's purpose."
So, what's the good in the pain? Well, it says, "For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son." In other words, the good that comes out of the pain is to make you what this world needs so desperately; someone who is more like Jesus.
Now, God doesn't send all the pain; some of it He allows. But it can't come to you unless your Heavenly Father okays it. And how does God decide what He will allow to come into your life? I think He's asking, "Could this make him or her more like Jesus?"
My consistent experience has been that the hardest things I've gone through have been God's most powerful tools in my life: faith, humility, compassion, mercy, learning the power of prayer, closeness to Jesus. They have been the blessed results of pain that made me know and trust God as never before. And like the pain of our daughter's arrival, my wife has enjoyed the result a lot longer than she had to endure the pain.
Because God's agenda in our lives is eternity, not just 70 years. The payoff will always be much greater than the pain. You may be in a hurting time right now and you don't have a choice. But it really matters what you focus on. If you focus on the pain you're going to become bitter and self-focused, burned out, and worn out, and negative. But if you focus on how God can use this pain to make you more like Jesus, you'll have the baby that the pain is supposed to give you. The tragedy will be if you get the pain but you miss the point.
If you're hurting today, remember that your loving Father, who sent His Son to die in your place, is using your hurt to bring about a beautiful result, which you will be enjoying long after the process is a distant memory.
