Category Archives: Max Lucado

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Gives Hope

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God gives hope! So what if someone was born thinner or stronger, lighter or darker than you? Why count diplomas or compare resumes? What does it matter if they have a place at the head table? You have a place at God’s table! And he’s filling your cup to overflowing. Hasn’t our Father given us a strong wall of grace to protect us? A sure exit to deliver us? Of whom can we be envious? Who has more than we do?

Rather than want what others have, shouldn’t we wonder if they have what we do? Instead of being jealous of them, how about zealous for them? Hold out the cup! There’s enough to go around. One thing is certain. When the final storm comes and you are safe in your Father’s house, you won’t regret what he didn’t give. You will be stunned at what he did.

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Good Shepherd

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If the Gospels teach us anything, they teach us that Jesus is a Good Shepherd. In John 10:11, Jesus announces, “The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” Didn’t Jesus spread the oil of prevention on his disciples? He prayed for them. He equipped them. He revealed to them the secrets of the parables. He calmed their fears. Because he was a good shepherd, he protected them…and protected them against disappointments.

Jesus tends to his sheep. And he will tend to you. Go to him. Others may guide us to God. Others may help us understand God. But no one can do the work of God, for only God can heal. Psalm 147:3 promises God “heals the brokenhearted.” Your first step? Go to God. Then bow before God. Trust in Him. Go. Bow. Trust! Worth a try, don’t you think?

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Loneliness

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We’ll try anything to get rid of our loneliness. But should we? Should we be so quick to drop it? Could it be that loneliness is a gift? A gift from God? A friend turns away. The job goes bad. Your spouse didn’t understand. The church is dull. One by one he removes the options until all you have left is God. He would do that?  Hebrews 12:6 tells us, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” If he must silence every voice, he will. He wants you to discover what David discovered and to be able to say what David said, “You are with me.”

Loneliness. Could it be one of God’s finest gifts? Scripture says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” If a season of solitude is his way to teach you to hear his song, don’t you think it’s worth it? So do I.

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Get Over Yourself

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Proverbs 16:5 says, “The Lord despises pride.” So, get over yourself!

An elementary boy came home from tryouts for the school play. “Mommy, mommy” he announced, “I got a part. I’ve been chosen to sit in the audience and clap and cheer.” When you have a chance to clap and cheer, do you take it? If you do, your head is starting to fit your hat size.

Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly. Chase it, and you’ll never catch it. Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder. The Bible says in Proverbs 27:2, “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.” Does your self-esteem need attention? You need only 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’s a fact!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Nothing to Be Proud About

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Do art critics give awards to the canvas? Can you imagine a scalpel growing smug after a successful heart transplant? Of course not. And the message of the Twenty-Third Psalm is that we have nothing to be proud about either. We have rest, salvation, blessings, and a home in heaven—and we did nothing to earn any of it. Who did the work? The answer threads through the Psalm. . .

He makes me. . .

He leads me. . .

He restores my soul. . .

You are with me. . .

Your rod and staff comfort me. . .

You prepare a table. . .

You anoint my head. . .

And just to make sure we get the point, right in the middle of the poem, David declares, the shepherd leads his sheep, not for our names’ sake, but for “His name’s sake!”

From Traveling Light

 

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Loves Humility

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God loves humility. Could that be why he offers so many tips on cultivating it?

Assess yourself honestly. Romans 12:3 says, “Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities.”

Don’t take success too seriously. Deuteronomy 8:13 warns, “When your silver and gold increase your heart will become proud.” Ponder your success and count your money in a cemetery, and remember neither of the two is buried with you.

Celebrate the significance of others. Philippians 2:3 says, “In humility consider others better than yourselves.”

Speak humbly. 1st Samuel 2:3 warns, “Let no arrogance come from your mouth.” Don’t be cocky. People aren’t impressed with your opinions. In Galatians 6:14, Paul said, “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging!” So if you need to brag—brag about that!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – None Righteous

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All of us occasionally do what is right. A few predominantly do what is right. But do any of us always do what is right?  According to Paul we don’t!  Romans 3:10 says, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.” Some beg to differ. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than most. I’d say I was a righteous person. I used to try that one on my mother. My brother’s room was always messier than mine. I’d say, “See, my room is clean; just look at his.” It never worked. She would show me her room and say, “This is what I mean by clean.”

God does the same. He points to himself and says, This is what I mean by righteousness. David said, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness.” God’s way is a narrow winding path up a steep hill. At the top of the hill is a Cross!

From Traveling  Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Life’s a Jungle

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For many people, life is—well, life is a jungle. Not a jungle of beasts and trees. Would that it were so simple. Our jungles are thickets of failing health, broken hearts, and empty wallets. Our forests are framed with hospital walls and divorce courts. It is a jungle out there. And for many, hope is in short supply.

Let’s see if we can brighten up the picture. The first answer would be a person. Someone to look you in the face and say, Don’t give up. There’s a better place and I’ll lead you there. David says in Psalm 23, “He restores my soul.” God is our good Shepherd and He majors in restoring hope to the soul. When God comes, your loneliness diminishes, your despair decreases, and your confusion begins to lift.  You haven’t left the jungle, but you have hope because you have someone who can lead you out.

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Whaddif’s

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Worry is the burlap bag of burdens—overflowing with whaddifs! Whaddif it rains at my wedding? Whaddif after all my dieting, they discover lettuce is fattening and chocolate isn’t? The burlap bag of worry!

No one wants your worries. Truth be told, you don’t want them either. No one has to remind you the high cost of anxiety, but I will anyway. Worry isn’t a disease, but it causes diseases—high blood pressure, heart trouble, migraines, and a host of stomach disorders. Jesus said in Matthew 6:27, “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.” Worrying is one job you can’t farm out, but you can overcome it. David declares in Psalm 23:2, “He leads me beside the still waters.” He leads me. He is ahead of me. He is in front. God leads us! And what a difference that makes!

From Traveling Light

 

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Eternal Creatures

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We are eternal creatures. We ask eternal questions. Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is there life after death? These are the primal questions of the soul. And if left unanswered, such questions steal our rest.

Only one other living creature has as much trouble resting as we do. Not dogs…they doze. Cats invented the catnap. Most animals know how to rest—with one exception. These creatures are woolly, simpleminded, and slow. Sheep! Sheep can’t sleep. For them to do so everything must be just right. No tension in the flock…no hunger in the belly…everything has to be just so. Unfortunately sheep cannot find safe pasture or find food. They need help. They need a shepherd to lead them, and help them to lie down in green pastures. Without a shepherd they can’t rest. Without a Shepherd, neither can we!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Big Deal About Rest

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Life can get so loud we forget to shut it down. Maybe that’s why God made such a big deal about rest in the Ten Commandments! Of the ten, which one occupies the most space? Murder…adultery…stealing? You’d think so. But curiously, these commands are tributes to brevity. God needed only five English words to condemn them all.

But when it came to the topic of rest, it took a paragraph in Exodus 20: 8-11. But. . .but. . .who’s going to run the store? We offer up one reason after another, but God silences them all with one poignant reminder. “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.” God’s message is plain. If creation didn’t crash when I rested, it won’t crash when you do!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Change Your Focus and Relax

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Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; leads me beside the still waters.” Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs. He makes me. . .He leads me. Who is the active one? Who is in charge? The Shepherd!

We see the waves of the water rather than the Savior walking through them. We focus on our paltry provisions rather than on the One who can feed five thousand hungry people. Change your focus—and relax! While you’re at it, change your schedule and rest! Life can get so loud we forget to shut it down. When David says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures,” he is saying my shepherd makes me lie down in his finished work. His pasture is his gift to us. This is not the pasture you’ve made. It is a gift from God, and your Shepherd invites you there!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – What Really Matters

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A man once went to a minister for counseling.

“I’ve lost everything,” he told the minister.

“Oh I’m so sorry to hear you’ve lost your faith,” the minister responded.

“No,” the man corrected him, “I haven’t lost my faith.”

“Well, then I’m sad to hear you’ve lost your character.”

“I didn’t say that,” the man corrected. “I still have my character.”

“I’m so sorry you’ve lost your salvation,” said the minister.

“That’s not what I said,” the man objected.

“You have your faith, your character, and your salvation. Seems to me,” the minister observed, “that you’ve lost none of the things that really matter.”

You and I could pray like the Puritan. He sat down to a meal of bread and water.  He bowed his head and declared, “All this and Jesus, too?” What will you gain with contentment? You may gain joy—and the faith to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!”

From Traveling Light

 

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Power of Love

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May I meddle for a moment? What’s the one thing separating you from joy? How do you fill in this blank: “I will be happy when____?” When I’m healed…when I’m promoted…when I’m married…when I’m single…when I’m rich?  With your answer firmly in mind, answer this. If your dream never comes true, if the situation never changes, would you be happy? If not, then you’re sleeping in the cold cell of discontent.

You need to know what you have in your Shepherd. You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – In Prison

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Are you in prison? You are if you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less. If happiness is one delivery away…you are in prison—the prison of want! That’s the bad news. The good news is, you have a visitor. Look across the visiting table at the psalmist, David. He whispers, I have a secret to tell you, the secret of satisfaction. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” It’s as if David is saying what I have in God is greater than what I don’t have in life.

Contentment comes when we can honestly say with Paul, “I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have. I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty.” You think you and I could learn to say the same?

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – An Illustration of God

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When David, who was a warrior, minstrel, and ambassador for God, searched for an illustration, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep day and night. How he slept with them and watched over them. And the way he cared for the sheep reminded him of the way God cares for us. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and in doing so he proudly implied, “I am his sheep.”

Of all God’s animals, the sheep is the least able to take care of himself.  And yet, we so often hang on to our chest of self-reliance. Why is it that the ones who most need a shepherd resist him so? Scripture says, “Do it God’s way.” Experience says, “Do it God’s way.” And, every so often—we do!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Lord is My Shepherd

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We humans want to do things our way. Forget the easy way. Forget the common way. Forget the best way. Forget God’s way. We want to do things our way! And according to Isaiah 53:6 that is exactly our problem. “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.”

You wouldn’t think sheep would be obstinate. Of all God’s animals, the sheep is the least able to take care of himself. David said, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We wonder…couldn’t David have thought of a better metaphor? Sheep are dumb. Why didn’t he choose something other than sheep? How about, “The Lord is my King and I am his ambassador?” Everyone stops when the ambassador speaks. But who notices when God’s sheep show up? Only one person notices. The shepherd. And that is precisely David’s point!

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Never Changes

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Though he creates, God was never created. Though he makes, he was never made. Though he causes, he was never caused. Hence the proclamation in Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”

God—an unchanging God, an uncaused God, and an ungoverned God. You and I are governed. The weather determines what we wear. The terrain tells us how to travel. We may challenge these forces and alter them slightly, but we never remove them. God, our Shepherd, doesn’t check the weather; he makes it.  He doesn’t defy gravity; he created it. Unchanging. Uncaused. Ungoverned. These are only a fraction of God’s qualities, but aren’t they enough to give you a glimpse of your Father? Don’t we need this kind of shepherd? Don’t we need an unchanging shepherd?

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Will Lighten Your Load

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If we let him, God will lighten our loads. Why don’t you try traveling light? Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Try it! Try it for the sake of those you love. How do you embrace someone if your arms are full of bags? For the sake of those you love, learn to set them down.

And for the sake of the God you serve, do the same. God has a great race for you to run. But you have to drop some stuff. How can you share grace if you’re full of guilt? How can you offer comfort if you’re disheartened? God is saying, “Set it down, child. I’ll carry that one.” What do you say we take God up on his wonderful offer? We just might find ourselves traveling a little lighter.

From Traveling Light

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Letting God’s Spirit Lead

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In Acts 8:26-27, an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go to that chariot of the Ethiopian and stay near it. So Philip ran toward the chariot.” The two have a Bible study in the chariot. It’s so convincing that the Ethiopian is baptized that day. Philip teaches, the Ethiopian obeys, and the gospel is sent to Africa.

Romans 8:14 says, “the true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them.” You invite a couple over for coffee. Nothing heroic. Just a nice evening with friends. But from the moment they enter, you feel led to inquire, you feel a concern that won’t be silent. So you ask. You catch a glimpse of what it means to be led by the Spirit. Has it occurred to you? You have the same Spirit working within you that Philip did! Think about that.

From When God Whispers Your Name