I was on a plane when a fellow coming down the aisle called my name. He handed me a message he had scribbled on a napkin…

“Six years ago Lynne and I buried our 24-year-old daughter. To unplug our daughter from life support was very hard. Although it was painful, we were confident we were doing the right thing in laying her in the arms of a mighty God. He made our daughter better than new. He restored my Erin to his eternal presence. That is his best work! Our faith is getting us through this. Faith is a choice.”

How does a dad bury a daughter and believe…so deeply believe…that God meant him good and not harm? Simple. This grieving dad believes God’s promises. “Faith is a choice,” he wrote. It is.

From God is With You Every Day

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“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!

From God’s With You Every Day

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Obedience leads to blessing. Disobedience leads to trouble!

Remember Jesus’ parable about the two builders who each built a house? One built on cheap, easy-to-access-sand. The other built on costly, difficult-to-reach rock. The second construction project demanded more time and expense, but when the spring rains turned the creek into a gulley washer. . .guess which builder enjoyed a blessing and which experienced trouble?

According to Jesus, the wise builder is “whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them” (Matthew 7:24). The difference between the two was not knowledge and ignorance but obedience and disobedience. Security comes when we put God’s precepts into practice. We’re only as strong as our obedience.

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When forced to stand at the crossroads of belief and unbelief, God’s people choose belief! God’s people risk believing!

Nowhere is this better exemplified than in Joshua’s story. You could argue that the central message of the book of Joshua is this headline: “God keeps his promises. Trust him.” The three verses of Joshua 21: 43-45 are the heart of the book.

Three times Joshua declares: God did what he said he would do.

• “The LORD gave all He had sworn to give.” (verse 43)
• “The LORD gave rest according to all that He had sworn to their fathers.” (verse 44)
• “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken. All came to pass.” (verse 45)

Learn from Joshua. Take a risk. Believe in God. He will do what he has said he will do.

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You are so much more than a few days between the womb and the tomb.

Paul the Apostle says, “It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone” (Ephesians 1:11-12 MSG).

Above and around us God directs a grander saga, written by his hand, orchestrated by his will, and unveiled according to his calendar. Your life emerges from the greatest mind, the kindest heart in the history of the universe! The mind and heart of God.

You are God’s idea. And remember…God doesn’t have any bad ideas.

From God is With You Every Day

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Would you like Jesus to heal you? Then, ask him! The four Gospels detail approximately 36 miracles and reference even more. Jesus changed water into wine, calmed more than one storm, restored sight to more than one blind man. Yet Jesus never grandstanded his miraculous powers. He performed miracles for two reasons: to prove his identity and to help his people.

Can you imagine the testimonies? Imagine if you were a part of the crowd he fed, one of the dead he raised, or one of the sick he healed. The church exploded like a fire on a West Texas prairie. Why? Because Jesus healed people. Why not let him heal you? You can be sure that, in the right time and in the right way, Jesus will respond.

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My wife and I spent five years on a missionary team in Brazil. Our first two years felt fruitless and futile. More often than not I went home frustrated. We asked God for another plan. We prayed and read the Epistles. We especially focused on Galatians. When I compared our gospel message with Paul’s, I saw a difference. His was high-octane good news. Mine was soured legalism.

As a team we resolved to focus on the gospel. I did my best to proclaim forgiveness of sins and resurrection from the dead. We saw an immediate change. We baptized forty people in twelve months. Quite a few for a church of sixty members. You see, God wasn’t finished with us yet. We just needed to put God’s plan in place!

When things aren’t going well, why don’t you ask God for His plan!

From God is With You Every Day

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When disaster strikes, the human spirit responds by reaching out to help those afflicted. People stand in line to give blood. Rescue teams work for endless hours. But the most essential effort is accomplished by another valiant team. Their task? To gird the world with prayer.

For the most part, we don’t even know their names. Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend who was sick. No one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus. John writes: “So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick’” (John 11:3 NCV). Someone went to Jesus on behalf of Lazarus. And because someone went, Jesus responded! Would you be someone for someone?

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Think about the Christian you want to be. What qualities do you want to have: more compassion…more conviction…more courage? What attitudes do you want to discontinue: greed…guilt…endless negativity? With God’s help you can! You can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. Indeed, the person God made you to be. You can live “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

To inherit your inheritance is God’s vision for your life! Imagine the thought. You as you were intended. It’s a life that is yours for the taking. You can expect to be challenged. The enemy won’t go down without a fight. But God’s promises outweigh personal problems. Victory becomes, dare we imagine, a way of life. Isn’t it time for you to change your mailing address from the wilderness to the promised land? Are you ready to march?

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Many Christians think they’re saved, hope they’re saved, but still they doubt, wondering, “Am I really saved?” Our behavior gives us reason to wonder. We’re strong one day, weak the next. Devoted one hour, flagging the next. Believing, then unbelieving.

Conventional wisdom draws a line through the middle of these fluctuations. Perform above this line, and enjoy God’s acceptance. But dip below it, and expect a pink slip from heaven. Salvation then becomes a matter of timing and you just hope you die on an upswing.

Jesus’ language couldn’t be stronger: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages…and no one is able to snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28 AMP). God doesn’t let go and He won’t let go of you!

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Suppose I were to drop by your house holding a foil-covered saucer. “Hello, friend,” I say. “A few days back Denalyn made a strawberry cake. It was so good. It came out of the oven hot, moist, and sweet. I wish you could have tasted it. Today, as I was eating the last piece, I thought of you. Just before I took the final bite, I put my fork down and thought, I’m taking these crumbs to my friend.”

How would you feel?

Contrast that emotion with the one you feel if I were to knock at your door holding a cake pan with oven mitts. “Denalyn pulled this out of the oven a few minutes ago. It’s still hot. No one has touched it. I got here as fast as I could. I want you to have the first piece. I want you to have the whole cake (although I did bring my fork in case you want to share).”

How would that invitation make you feel? Or, better asked, how does that make you feel? God offers you the whole cake. You do not receive crumbs or leftovers. You have received his best. Why? Because he loves you based on the “Principle of Firsts.”

Since this is the first day of a new year, it’s appropriate to re-visit the theme of “firsts” in the Bible. Open a concordance to the word and prepare yourself for an avalanche of entries. First. Firstborn. Firstbegotten. Firstfruit. Firstling. First-ripe. My concordance contains seven columns of tiny-fonted words and verses. Apparently, “first” is a big theme in scripture and a big thing to God!

Is it possible, with all these references, to reduce them to a single message? I think so.

God went first. We love because he first loved us (I John. 4:19).

God made the first move. God took the first step. God placed the first call. We did nothing and do nothing that wasn’t and isn’t prompted by God. He went first. He not only went first, he gave his firstborn son. The Bible calls Jesus “the firstborn among the brethren” (Romans 8:29). In the great, expansive, innumerable family of God, there is a firstborn: Jesus Christ. What did God do with his firstborn Son? He sent him as a sacrifice. He didn’t redeem us with apostles, angels, prophets or preachers. He gave the best gift.

Continue reading Max Lucado – FIRST THINGS FIRST →

You and I live in a trashy world. Unwanted garbage comes our way on a regular basis. Haven’t you been handed a trash sack of mishaps and heartaches? Sure you have. May I ask, what are you going to do with it? You could hide it; pretend it isn’t there. But sooner or later it will start to stink. So what will you do?

If you follow the example of Christ, you will learn to see tough times differently. He wants you to have a hope-filled heart…just like Jesus.  Wouldn’t you want that? Jesus saw his Father’s presence in the problem. Sure, Max, but Jesus was God. I can’t see the way he saw. Not yet, maybe. But don’t underestimate God’s  power. He can change the way you look at life.

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

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Try this. Imagine a perfect world. Whatever that means to you…imagine it. Does that mean peace? Then envision absolute tranquility. Does a perfect world imply joy? Then create your highest happiness. Will a perfect world have love? Ponder a place where love has no bounds. Whatever heaven means to you, imagine it.

Get it firmly fixed in your mind. Delight in it. Dream about it. Long for it. And then smile as the Father reminds you from the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” No one has come close. No one. Think of all the songs about heaven. All the artists’ portrayals. All the lessons preached, poems written and chapters drafted. When it comes to describing heaven, we are all happy failures!

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

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God will not let you go. The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, or flee his thoughts.

You need not win his love. You already have it. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached his verdict: he loves you still! No discovery will disillusion him. No rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love—never failing. Never ending.

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

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You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you. Is it still hard to consider the thought of forgiving the one who hurt you? If so, go one more time to the room. Watch Jesus as he goes from disciple to disciple. Can you see him? Can you hear the water splash? Can you hear him shuffle on the floor to the next person? Keep that image.

John 13:12 says: “When he had finished washing their feet. . .” Please note; he finished washing their feet. That means he left no one out. Why is that important? Because that means he 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!

From “The Lucado Inspirational Reader”

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If we could save ourselves—why would we need a Savior? Jesus didn’t enter the world to help us save ourselves. He entered the world to save us from ourselves.

As a Boy Scout, I earned a lifesaving merit badge. In fact the only people I saved were other Boy Scouts who didn’t need to be saved. During training I would rescue other trainees. We took turns saving each other. But since we weren’t really drowning, we resisted being rescued. “Stop kicking and let me save you,” I’d say. It’s impossible to save those who’re trying to save themselves.

You might save yourself from a broken heart or going broke or running out of gas. But you’re not good enough to save yourself from sin. You aren’t strong enough to save yourself from death. You need a Savior. Because of Bethlehem you have one!

From Because of Bethlehem

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Hang in there! Don’t give up! Is anything too hard for the Lord? No!

Easy for you to say! You have no idea how long I’ve been praying and asking—and asking again!

Just when you least suspect it—the God of surprises strikes again! God does that for the faithful. Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarah gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned.The lesson? Those three words: Don’t give up! Is the road long? Don’t stop. Is the night black? Don’t quit. God is watching. For all you know, right at this moment—the check may be in the mail. The apology may be in the making. The contract may be on the desk. Don’t quit! You may miss the answer to your prayers! God is faithful—He’s always on time!

From Grace for the Moment