Tag: Max Lucado

DON’T STROLL THROUGH THE SWAMP

“You’re gonna regret it!” I waved away the warning without turning around. What was to regret? I took the shortcut.

I was on my way to a picnic. The tables sat on the other side of a marsh. The parks department had kindly constructed a bridge over the marsh. But who needed a bridge? I ventured in. The mud swallowed my feet. Squiggly things swam past me. I think I saw a set of eyeballs peering in my direction. I backpedaled—flip-flops sucked into the abyss. I exited, mud covered, mosquito bitten, and red faced.

I walked over and took my seat at the picnic table. It made for a miserable picnic, but it makes for an apt proverb. Life comes with voices. Voices lead to choices, and choices have consequences!

~ Max Lucado

From God’s With You Every Day

Merry Christ mas to all of you!

More of Christ!

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing, is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. As Mary looks into the face of the baby.  Her son. Her Lord.  His majesty—she can’t take her eyes off him.  Somehow Mary knows she’s holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel.  “His kingdom will never end!”

He looks like anything but a king. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. Majesty in the midst of the mundane.  Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat.  Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

God came near!

“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

Luke 1:33″

~ Max Lucado

Christ in You!

When grace happens, Christ enters.  Christ in you, the hope of glory!

For many years, I missed this truth.  I believed all the other prepositions:

Christ for me, with me, ahead of me.  But I never imagined that Christ was in me.

I can’t blame my deficiency on Scripture. Paul refers to it 216 times.  John mentions it 26.  No other religion or philosophy makes such a claim.  No other movement implies the living presence of its founder in his followers.

Muhammad does not indwell Muslims.  Buddha does not inhabit Buddhists.

Influence?  Instruct?  Yes.  But occupy?  No.

The mystery in a nutshell is Colossians 1:27:  “Christ is in you!”

The Christian is a person in whom Christ is happening!  We sense his re-arranging.  He’s turning debris into the divine, a pig’s ear into silk purse.  Little by little a new image emerges!

God’s Grace!

From GRACE

~ Max Lucado

A Huge Asset

As followers of God, you and I have a huge asset.  We know everything is going to turn out all right!

Christ has not budged from His throne, and Romans 8:28 has not evaporated from the Bible.  Our problems have always been His possibilities.

The kidnapping of Joseph resulted in the preservation of his family.  The persecution of Daniel led to a cabinet position.  Christ entered the world by a surprise pregnancy and redeemed it though His unjust murder.

Dare we believe what the Bible teaches?  That no disaster is ultimately fatal?

In 2nd Timothy 4:18 the apostle Paul wrote his final words from a Roman prison, chained to a guard, within earshot of his executioner’s footsteps.   Worst-case scenario?  Not from Paul’s perspective.

He wrote: “God is looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven.  All praise to Him, praise forever!”

Paul chose to trust his Father.  May we do the same.

 

~Max Lucado

Loving the you He sees

Why does God love you so much?

For the same reason the artist loves his paintings.  You are His idea!

Ephesians 2:10 confirms that we are “God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

In the movie Hook, Peter Pan had become old and looked nothing like the Peter the lost boys knew.  In the midst of the boys shouting that this was NOT Peter, one of the smallest boys pulled him down to his level.  He places his hands on Peter’s face, moved the skin around and reshaped his face.  The boy looked into Peter’s eyes and said, “There you are, Peter!”

Shh.  Listen.  Do you hear?

God is saying the same words to you.  There you are!  There you are!

He’s seeing you and loving the you he sees.

From Fearless

by Max Lucado

Take out the Trash

Who wants to live with yesterday’s rubble? 

Who wants to hoard the trash of the past? 

You don’t, do you? 

Or do you?

I’m not talking about the trash in your house, but in your heart. 

Not the junk of papers and boxes but the remnants of anger and hurt. 

Do you rat-pack your pain? 

Amass offenses? 

Record slights?

A tour of your heart might be telling. 

A pile of rejections. 

Accumulated insults. 

No one can blame you. 

They’re innocence takers, promise breakers, and wound makers.  

They’re everywhere and you’ve had your share.

Jesus answered Peter’s question in Matthew 18:21 and 22 when he asked:  “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?”  “No, not seven times,” Jesus said.  “Seventy times seven!”

Do you want to give every day a chance?  

Jesus says to get rid of the trash. 

Give the grace you’ve been given!

~ Max Lucado

From Great Day Every Day

Your spiritual DNA

Want to blow the cloud cover off a gray day?  Accept God’s direction! 

It’s exactly what John Bentley did.

He and his wife were overseers of an orphanage for abandoned babies in Beijing. 

Years ago a mother deposited a newborn in a nearby field. 

No note, no explanation, just $1.25.  

The Chinese equivalent of a burial. 

The child was severely burned from head to toe.  

The Bentleys weren’t about to let that child die. 

They nursed him to health–and adopted him as their son.

I Corinthians 3:5 says, “The Lord has assigned to each his task.”

What direction has God taken you?

What needs has he revealed to you?

What abilities has he given you?

Direction. 

Need. 

Ability. 

Your spiritual DNA–you at your best! 

None of us is called to carry the sin of the world. 

But all of us can carry a burden for the world!

From Great Day Every Day

~ Max Lucado

His Masterpiece

As a group of fishermen relaxed in an old Scottish seaside inn, one of the men gestured widely, depicting a fish that got away.  His arm struck the waiter’s tray, sending its contents onto the white wall, leaving an ugly brown splotch.

The innkeeper sighed, “The whole wall will have to be repainted.”

“Perhaps not,” offered a stranger.  “Let me work with it!”

The man pulled brushes, oils, and colors out of an art box.  He dabbed away at the ugly splotch.  An image emerged–a stag with a great rack of antlers.  His signature at the bottom read:  Sir Edwin Landseer.  A famous painter of wildlife.  In his hands, a mistake became a masterpiece!

God’s hands do the same.  He draws together the disjointed blotches in our life.  Ephesians 2:7 says, we become “examples of the incredible wealth of God’s favor and kindness toward us!”  

We are His masterpiece!

~ Max Lucado

Hydrate your soul

Don’t deny your anger.

Don’t dismiss your loneliness.

Your restless spirit.

Your sense of dread.

Don’t let your heart shrink into a raisin.

Hydrate your soul.

Heed your thirst!

Not everything you put to your lips will help your thirst.

The arms of forbidden love may satisfy for a time, but only for a time.

Eighty-hour workweeks grant a sense of fulfillment, but never remove the thirst.

Religion pacifies but never satisfies.  Church activities may hide a thirst, but only Christ quenches it.

Drink him.  And drink of him often!

Don’t you need regular sips from God’s reservoir?

I do.

I step to the underground spring of God and receive anew his work for my sin and death,

the energy of his Spirit, his lordship, and his love.

Receive Christ’s work on the cross, the energy of His Spirit.

His unending, unfailing love.

Drink deeply–and drink often!

Jesus said, “…he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”  John 6:35

~ Max Lucado

Loaded with Fears

I don’t care how tough you are.

You may be a Navy SEAL. 

Doesn’t matter. 

Every parent melts the moment he or she feels the full force of parenthood!

How did I get myself into this? 

My moment came in the midnight quiet of an apartment

in downtown Rio De Janeiro, Brazil,

as I held a human being—my daughter—in my arms.

The semi-truck of parenting comes loaded with fears.

Will we have enough money? 

Enough answers? 

Enough education? 

It’s enough to keep a parent awake at night.

God has a heart for parents! 

Are we surprised? 

After all, God himself is a father.

What parental emotion has he not felt? 

But because of his great love for us,

Romans says, “he did not spare his own son but gave him for us all. 

So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things!”

ALL THINGS—

must include courage and hope!

~ Max Lucado

God is Always the Same

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows. 

James 1:17”

God will always be the same! 

No one else will. 

Lovers call you today and scorn you tomorrow. 

Companies follow pay raises with pink slips. 

Friends applaud you when you drive a classic and dismiss you when you drive a dud. 

Not God. 

God is always the same. 

James 1:17 says, “With God, there is no variation or shadow due to change.” 

Catch God in a bad mood? 

Won’t happen. 

Can your fear exhaust his grace?  A sardine will swallow the Atlantic first. 

Do you think he’s given up on you?  Wrong! 

Did he not make a promise to you? 

What he says he will do, he does. 

What he promises, he makes come true. 

God is not a human being, and he will not lie.

God is never sullen or sour,

sulking

or stressed. 

His strength,

truth,

ways,

and love never change. 

He is the same yesterday and today and forever!

~ Max Lucado

Finishing the Race

The Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9

Derek Redmond was favored to win the 400 meter race in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.  Halfway into his semi-final heat, he suffered a torn hamstring.  Even as the medical team was approaching, he pushed away to finish the race.  A big man pushed through the crowd.

“You don’t have to do this,” he told his weeping son.
“Yes, I do.”  Derek declared.
“Well, then,” he said, “we’re going to finish this together.”

And they did!  His dad wrapped Derek’s arm around his shoulder and helped him hobble to the finish line.

What made him do it?  His son was hurt so the father came to help him finish.

God does the same.

Our attempts may be feeble.

Our prayers may seem awkward.

But He comes to help us finish the race!

~ Max Lucado

This is Love

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us.

John 4:10”

Love never fails!

Wait a minute, no one has unfailing love! 

No person can love with perfection. 

That’s right. 

But God is not a person. 

Unlike our love, his love never fails! 

God’s love is immensely different from ours. 

Ours depends on the receiver of the love. 

Our love will be regulated by appearance or by personality. 

Even when we find a few people we like,

our feelings will still fluctuate.

Does God love us because of our goodness? 

Because of our kindness? 

Because of our great faith?

No.

He loves us because of HIS goodness,

kindness,

and great faith. 

The love of God is born from within him,

not from what he finds in us. 

His love is uncaused, spontaneous. 

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so!

~ Max Lucado

The Secret of Forgiveness

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered. 

Psalm 32:1”

Is it still hard to consider the thought of forgiving the one who hurt you?

We’ll never be able to wash the feet of those who’ve hurt us until we allow Jesus,

the one we’ve hurt, to wash ours. 

That’s the secret of forgiveness. 

You’ll never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you.

Watch Jesus as he goes from disciple to disciple. 

Can you hear the water splash?  Keep that image. 

John 13:12 says, “When he had finished washing their feet…” 

Note, he finished washing their feet. 

He left no one out. 

That’s important! 

It means he also washed the feet of Judas. 

Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer.

That’s not to say it was easy for Jesus. 

That’s not to say it’s easy for you. 

That IS to say—

God will never call you to do what he hasn’t already done!

~ Max Lucado

Six Hours, One Friday

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,

that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21”

Six hours, one Friday. 

Mundane to the casual observer. 

A shepherd with his sheep,

a housewife with her thoughts,

a doctor with his patients. 

But to a handful of awestruck witnesses,

the most maddening of miracles is occurring.

God is on a cross. 

The creator of the universe is being executed. 

It is no normal six hours. 

It is no normal Friday. 

Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart. 

And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him,

leaving him alone.

What do you do with that day in history? 

What do you do with its claims? 

They were the most critical hours in history. 

Nails didn’t hold God to a cross. 

Love did.

The sinless One took on the face of a sinner

so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

~ Max Lucado

Such Passion

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:01 PM PDT

“I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand

the greatness of Christ’s love.” 

Ephesians 3:18

 

From the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem

we’ve pondered the love of our Father.

What can you say to that kind of emotion?

Upon learning that God would rather die than live without you,

how do you react?

How can you begin to explain such passion?

~Max Lucado

Don’t Be Afraid

“Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him,

‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’

Mark 5:36”

Sometimes what we need is just a word of encouragement,

isn’t it?

And God gives a word—

to the overwhelmed. 

To the downcast. 

To us. 

He urges, “Don’t’ be afraid; just believe.”

Believe that He can. 

Believe that He cares. 

Believe that He comes.

Mark it down. 

You will never go where God is not. 

You may be transferred, enlisted, commissioned, re-assigned, or hospitalized….

But brand this truth on your heart—

Jesus promised, “I am with you always.” 

Don’t be afraid, just believe!

Make your fear a visitor and not a resident. 

Hasn’t fear taken enough? 

Enough smiles? 

Enough restful nights? 

Enough exuberant days?

Make it a day changer to meet your fears with faith. 

Choose to make every day—a great day!

~ Max Lucado

More than Forgiveness

“This is my commitment to my people: removal of their sins.” 

Romans 11:27,

The Message

God does more than forgive our mistakes;

he removes them!

We simply have to take them to him.

He not only wants the mistakes we’ve made.

He wants the ones we are making.

Are you making some? . . .

If so, don’t pretend nothing is wrong . . .

Go first to God.

The first step after a stumble must be in the direction of the cross.

~ Max Lucado

Look over your shoulder

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

Hebrews 12:1-2

In Matthew 14:28, Peter took Jesus at his word: 

“Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water. 

Jesus said, Come  And when Peter had come down out of the boat,

he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”

Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys. 

For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments,

Peter did the impossible. 

He defied gravity and nature;

he walked on the water to Jesus!

But when Peter saw the wind,

he was afraid;

and beginning to sink he cried out,

“Lord, save me!”

Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall—

and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond.

Whether or not storms come,

we cannot choose. 

But where we stare during a storm—

that we can!

~ Max Lucado

Become a Worry-Slapper!

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added to you. 

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. 

Matthew 6:33-34

Jesus said, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life—

whether you have enough.”

Not enough time, luck, credit, wisdom, intelligence. 

We’re running out of everything, it seems, and so we worry! 

But worry doesn’t work.

I challenge you to become a worry-slapper.

Do you procrastinate when a blood-sucking bug lights on your skin? 

“I’ll take care of that in a moment.” 

Of course you don’t! 

You give the critter the slap it deserves. 

Don’t waste an hour wondering what your boss thinks. 

Ask her.

Don’t assume you’ll never get out of debt. 

Consult an expert.

Let God be enough! 

He knows your needs. 

Seek Him! 

He will give you everything you need!

~ Max Lucado

Fear involves torment

There is no fear in love;

but perfect love casts out  fear,

because fear involves torment. 

But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 

I John 4:18

Fear,

when it is mismanaged,

leads to sin. 

And sin leads to hiding. 

And since we’ve all sinned, we all hide—

in 80-hour workweeks,

temper tantrums,

and religious busyness. 

We avoid contact with God!

We’re convinced God must hate our evil tendencies. 

We despise our lustful thoughts, harsh judgments, and selfish deeds. 

If our sin nauseates us,

how much more must it revolt a holy God?

So we draw a practical conclusion: 

God is ticked off at us! 

Sin has left us lost and confused. 

Yes, we have disappointed God. 

But no, God has not abandoned us!

Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubt about His grace. 

God keeps no list of our wrongs. 

His love casts out fear because He casts out our sin!

Live forgiven!

~ Max Lucado

Do you disagree with God?

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-15

We sometimes believe a mouse in a lion’s den has better odds of success than we do. 

You flop miserably and descend yet another level into the basement of self-defeat!

Fear of insignificance creates the results it dreads! 

It arrives at the destination it tries to avoid.  I

f you pass your days mumbling,

“I’ll never make a difference; I’m not worth anything,” then guess what? 

You sentence yourself to a life of gloom without parole!

Even worse—you’re disagreeing with God.  Questioning His judgment. 

Second-guessing His taste. 

According to God, you were ‘wonderfully made.’ 

He can’t stop thinking about you.

Why does He love you so much? 

The same reason the artist loves his paintings. 

You’re His idea! 

And God only has good ideas!

~ Max Lucado

God has not given us a spirit of Fear

For God has not given us a spirit of fear,

but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

Fear! 

It sucks the life out of the soul! 

And when fear shapes our lives,

safety becomes our god. 

We worship the risk-free life!

The fear-filled cannot love deeply. 

Love is just too risky. 

No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear.

Don’t be afraid. 

Take courage.

Do not fear those who kill the body

but cannot kill the soul.

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. 

Trust in God, and trust also in me.

Jesus steps into the storm and asks,

“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”

Fear may fill the world, but it doesn’t have to fill your heart! 

Hysteria is not from God. 

And Jesus doesn’t want you to live there! 

The promise of Christ is …

God has not given you a spirit of fear!

~ Max Lucado

You are not alone!

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  Psalm 56:3

God said, “I will not forsake my people!”

The Lord is with us. 

And with Him near—everything is different. 

Everything!

Even a serious illness. 

Even death. 

You aren’t facing illness or death alone—the Lord is with you.

You may be facing marital struggles, but you aren’t facing them alone. 

The Lord is with you!

You may be facing debt, but you aren’t facing debt alone. 

The Lord is with you.

Your family may turn against you,

but God won’t.

Your friends may betray you,

but God won’t.

You may feel alone in the wilderness,

but you are not. 

He is with you!

~ Max Lucado

You Need a Savior

“What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Luke 18:27 NIV

The rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away.

It only made sense.

You work hard, pay your dues, and “zap”—your account is credited as paid in full.

Jesus said,

“No way.”

What you want costs way more than you can pay.

You don’t need a system,

you need a Savior.

You don’t need a resume,

you need a Redeemer.

For “what is impossible with me

is possible with God.”

~ Max Lucado

Related articles

Love like God

“Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God.”

Philippians 2:6 NLT

Need more patience? Drink from the patience of God (2 Peter 3:9).

Is generosity an elusive virtue? Then consider how generous God has been with you (Romans 5:8).

Having trouble putting up with ungrateful relatives or cranky neighbors?

God puts up with you when you act the same.

“He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Luke 6:35 NIV).

Can’t we love like this?

~ Max Lucado

Settling the Score

Do not try to punish others
when they wrong you, but wait for God
to punish them with his anger.
Romans 12:19

In the western movies the bounty hunter always travels alone.

It’s not hard to see why.

Who wants to hang out with a guy who settles scores for a living?

Who wants to risk getting on his bad side?

More than once I’ve heard a person spew his anger.

He thought I was listening, when really I was thinking, I hope I never get on his list.

Cantankerous sorts, these bounty hunters.

Best leave them alone.

Hang out with the angry and you might catch a stray bullet.

If you’re out to settle the score, you’ll never rest.

How can you?

Romans 12:19 reminds us,

“Do not try to punish others when they wrong you,

but wait for God to punish them with his anger.” 

As justified as you are in your quest for vengeance,

you may never get justice.

And if you do, will it make a difference?

~ Max Lucado

Grace Makes All the Difference

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8

If life is “because I have to”—

where’s the joy in that?

Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life

is all about rules and regulations—

all about stifling, suffocating ritual.

It happens when we confuse Christ with legalism.

Legalism is joyless because it’s endless.

There is always another class to attend,

another person to teach,

another mouth to feed.

Grace!

It makes all the difference.

I like this quote:

Gone are the exertions of law-keeping,

gone the disciplines of legalism,

gone the anxiety that having done everything

we might not have done enough.

We reach the goal

not by the stairs but by the lift . . .

God pledges his promised righteousness to those

who will stop trying to save themselves.

Grace offers rest.

Legalism?

Never.

~ Max Lucado

Taking No Chances

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God.
Isa. 43:2–3 NASB

With God—chance is eliminated.

God knows what is best.

No struggle will come your way apart from his purpose, his presence, and his permission.

Isaiah 43:2 says,

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers,

they will not overflow you.”

What encouragement!

You are never the victim of nature or the prey of fate.

Chance is eliminated.

You are more than a weather vane whipped about by the winds of fortune.

Would God truly abandon you to the whims of drug-crazed thieves, greedy corporate raiders,

or evil leaders?

Perish the thought!

You live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King

who superintends every circumstance of your life, and delights in doing you good.

Remember this.

Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of God’s love.

~ Max Lucado

Note: Read Romans 8:28

Contentment

I have learned to be satisfied
with the things I have and with
everything that happens.
Philippians 4:11

What if God’s only gift to you were his grace to save you?

Would you be content?

You beg him to save the life of your child.

You plead with him to keep your business afloat.

You implore him to remove the cancer from your body.

What if his answer is, “My grace is enough.”

Would you be content?

From heaven’s perspective, grace is enough.

If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain?

Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body?

Having been given heavenly riches, dare we moan about what we don’t have?

~ Max Lucado

How deep are His thoughts!

Lord, you have done such great things! How deep are your thoughts! 

Psalm 92:5

God’s thoughts are not our thoughts—

we aren’t even in the same neighborhood.

Psalm 92:5 sets the standard.

“Lord, you have done such great things.

How deep are your thoughts.”

When we’re thinking, Preserve the body;

God’s thinking, Save the soul.

We dream of a pay raise.

He dreams of raising the dead.

We avoid pain and seek peace.

God uses pain to bring peace.

“I’m going to live before I die,” we resolve.

“Die, so you can live,” he instructs.

We love what rusts.

He loves what endures.

We rejoice at our successes.

He rejoices at our confessions.

We show our children the Nike star with the million-dollar smile and say,

“Be like him.”

God points to the crucified carpenter with bloody lips and a torn side and says,

“Be like Christ.”

Thinking God’s thoughts.

~ Max Lucado

Revamped Expectations

The ways of God are without fault.

Psalm 18:30

It’s not easy when God doesn’t do what we want, is it?

Never has been.

Never will be.

But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life

and He will get us through it.

Remember, disappointment is cured by revamped expectations.

I like the story about the fellow who went to the pet store in search of a singing parakeet.

Seems he was a bachelor and his house was too quiet.

The store owner had just the bird for him, so the man bought it.

The next day the bachelor came home from work to a house full of music.

He went to the cage to feed the bird and noticed for the first time that the parakeet had only one leg.

He felt cheated.

So he called and complained.

“What do you want,” the store owner responded,

“a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?”

Good question for times of disappointment.

~ Max Lucado

Never

The Lord said, “I have loved you.” 

Malachi 1:2

Father, your love never ceases.  Never.

Though we spurn you, ignore you, disobey you, you will not change. 

Our evil cannot diminish your love. 

Our goodness cannot increase it. 

Our faith does not earn it anymore than our stupidity jeopardizes it. 

You don’t love us less if we fail. 

You don’t love us more if we succeed.

Your love never ceases.

~ Max Lucado

God speaks

“Speak, Lord.  I am your servant and I am listening.” 

I Samuel 3:9

We expect God to speak through peace,

but sometimes he speaks through pain…

We think we hear him in the sunrise,

but he is also heard in the darkness.

We listen for him in triumph,

but he speaks even more distinctly through tragedy.

~ Max Lucado

What about struggling?

As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in him. 

Colossians 2:6

Struggling with life’s difficulties makes us a little wiser,

a little more capable,

enabling us to comfort others who experience pain.

Any difficulties we face in life are short-lived;

all rewards are eternal. 

A divine inheritance will be our reward for faithfulness

to our heavenly Father.

~ Max Lucado

Give all your worries to Him

Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you. 

1 Peter 5:7

Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts. 

After all, he’s got famines and pestilence and wars;

he won’t care about my little struggles, you think. 

Why don’t you let him decide that? 

He cared enough about a wedding to provide the wine. 

He cared enough about Peter’s tax payment to give him a coin. 

He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers.

~ Max Lucado

Friendship

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I heard from my Father. 

John 15:15

John is the only one of the twelve who was at the cross.  He came to say good-bye. 

By his own admission he hadn’t quite put the pieces together yet. 

But that didn’t really matter. 

As far as he was concerned,

his closest friend was in trouble and he came to help…

John teaches us that the…

greatest webs of loyalty are spun,

not with airtight theologies or foolproof philosophies,

but with friendships;

stubborn,

selfless,

joyful friendships.

~ Max Lucado

Jesus is the ultimate model for every person

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 2:5, NKJV

What does it mean to be just like Jesus? 

The world has never known a heart so pure, a character so flawless. 

His spiritual hearing was so keen

He never missed a heavenly whisper. 

His mercy so abundant

He never missed a chance to forgive. 

No lie left His lips,

no distraction marred His vision. 

He touched when others recoiled. 

He endured when others quit. 

Jesus is the ultimate model for every person.

~ Max Lucado

 

How long?

“How long must I stay with you?” 

Mark 9:19

How long?

“Until the rooster sings and the sweat stings and the mallet rings . . .”

How long?

“Long enough for every sin to so soak my sinless soul that heaven will turn in horror until my swollen lips pronounce the final transaction:

‘It is finished.’”

Jesus bore all things,

believed all things,

hoped all things,

and endured all things.

Every single one.

~ Max Lucado

The Same Hands

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 21:4

Someday God will wipe away your tears.

The same hands that stretched the heavens will touch your cheeks.

The same hands that formed the mountains will caress your face.

The same hands that curled in agony

as the Roman spike cut through will someday

cup your face and brush away your tears.

~ Max Lucado

 

Related articles

Chew on Scripture

“You thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.” 

Psalm 1:2 The Message

The Bible is not a newspaper to be skimmed

but rather a mine to be quarried.

Here is a practical point.

Study the Bible a little at a time.

God seems to send messages as did his manna:

one day’s portion at a time.

He provides ” a command here, a command there.

A rule here, a rule there.

A little lesson here, a little lesson there” (Isa. 28:10).

Choose depth over quantity.

~ Max Lucado

Ask for More

“Lord, teach me what you want me to do,

and I will live by your truth.” 

Psalm 86:11

When kindness comes through grudgingly, we’ll remember God’s kindness to us and ask Him to make us more kind.

When patience is scarce, we’ll thank Him for His and ask Him to make us more patient.

When it’s hard to forgive, we won’t list all the times we’ve been given grief.

Rather, we’ll list all the times we’ve been given grace

and pray to become more forgiving.

~ Max Lucado

It’s just not right

“I lay down my life . . . No one takes it from Me.”

John 10:17-18, NKJV

Jesus knows the meaning of the phrase, “It’s just not right.”

For it wasn’t right that people spit into the eyes that had wept for them.

It wasn’t right that soldiers ripped chunks of flesh out of the back of their God.

It wasn’t right that spikes pierced the hands that formed the earth . . .

Was it right?

No . . .

Was it love?

Yes.

~ Max Lucado

He loves you when no one else loves you

By Max Lucado

God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his.

The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us: “The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you.

Others may abandon you,

divorce you,

and ignore you,

but God will love you.

Always.

No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the
unloved and make them beloved.” (Romans 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With
unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each.

Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate.

How they treat us will affect how we love them.

The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us.

The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because he would love.” 1

1 J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Ill,: InterVarsity Press, 1973) 112.

Taking a long time to boil

“Love is patient.”  I Corinthians 13:4

The Greek word used here for patient . . . means

“taking a long time to boil.”

Think about a pot of boiling water . . .

Water boils quickly when the flame is high.

It boils slowly when the flame is low.

Patience “keeps the burner down.”

Patience isn’t naive.

It doesn’t ignore misbehavior.

It just keeps the flame low.

It waits. It listens . . .

This is how God treats us.

And, according to Jesus,

this is how we should treat others.

~ Max Lucado

Brag about this

“The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging.”

Galatians 6:14

Do you feel a need for affirmation?

Does your self-esteem need attention?

You don’t need to drop names or show off.

You need only to pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this:

The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.

And that is a fact.

So if you need to brag,

brag about that.

~ Max Lucado

Unchanging

“Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.”  I Thessalonians 5:8, The Message

Don’t put your hope into things that change—relationships, money, talents, beauty, even health. Set your sights on the one thing that can never change: trust in your heavenly Father.

~ Max Lucado

The Answer for Weariness

The teaching I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light. Matthew 11:30

Jesus says he is the solution for weariness of soul.

Go to him. Be honest with him. Admit you have soul secrets you’ve never dealt with. He already knows what they are. He’s just waiting for you to ask him to help . . .

Go ahead. You’ll be glad you did. Those near to you will be glad as well.

~ Max Lucado

Washed Away

The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.

I John 1:7

The cleansing is not a promise for the future but a reality in the present. Let a speck of dust fall on the soul of a saint, and it is washed away. Let a spot of filth land on the heart of God’s child, and it is wiped away . . .

Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, “I can clean that if you want.”

~ Max Lucado

True Wealth

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6 NIV

We usually get what we hunger and thirst for. The problem is, the treasures of earth don’t satisfy. The promise is, the treasures of heaven do . . .

Blessed are those who, if everything they own were taken from them, would be, at most inconvenienced, because their true wealth is elsewhere.

Make the right choice

“Everyone must die once and be judged.”  Hebrews 9:27

Eternity is to be taken seriously. A judgement is coming.

Our task on earth is singular—to choose our eternal home. You can afford many wrong choices in life. You can choose the wrong career and survive, the wrong city and survive, the wrong house and survive. You can even choose the wrong mate and survive. But there is one choice that must be made correctly and that is your eternal destiny.

Max Lucado