Tag Archives: Max Lucado

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Prayer is a Habit Worth Having

1 Comment

Max Lucado

Do you want to know how to deepen your prayer life? At the risk of sounding like a preacher—which I am—may I make a suggestion? Why don’t you check your habits?

In Romans 12:12, Paul says, “When trials come endure them patiently; steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer.” Prayer is a habit worth having. Don’t prepare to pray. Just pray. Don’t read about prayer. Just pray. Don’t attend a lecture on prayer or engage in discussion about prayer. Just pray.

Posture, tone, and place are personal matters. Select the form that works for you. But don’t think about it too much. Don’t be so concerned about wrapping the gift that you never give it. Better to pray awkwardly than not at all. And if you feel you should only pray when inspired, that’s okay. Just see to it that you are inspired every day.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Too Close to Where You Got In

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

I like the story of the little boy who fell out of bed. When his mom asked him what happened, he answered, “I don’t know. I guess I stayed too close to where I got in.”

Easy to do the same with our faith. It’s tempting just to stay where we got in and never move. How does your prayer life today compare with then? How about your giving? And Bible study? Can you tell you’ve grown?

2 Peter 3:18 says, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

If a child ceased to develop, the parent would be concerned, right? Doctors would be called and tests would be run. If you’re the same Christian you were a few months ago, be careful. You might be wise to get a check up. Not on your body, but on your heart. Not a physical…but a spiritual.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Our Problem is Sin

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Our problem is sin. Not finances. Not budgets. Not overcrowded prisons. Our problem is sin. We are in rebellion against our Creator. We’re cut off from the source of life.  A new president or policy won’t fix that. It can only be solved by God. That is why the Bible uses drastic terms like conversion, repentance, and lost and found.  Society may renovate, but only God re-creates.

Ask yourself three questions:

  1. Is there any unconfessed sin in my life? Confession is telling God you did the thing He saw you do.
  2. Are there any unresolved conflicts in my world? Go and make things right.  Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
  3. Are there any un-surrendered worries in my life? Worry is a noose on the neck and a distraction of the mind.

Sometimes the problem’s out there. More often, it’s in here..in us!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Alarms in Your Life

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

A fit of anger. Uncontrolled debt. A guilty conscience. Icy relationships. Alarms in your life. When they go off, how do you respond? Be honest, now. Hasn’t there been a time or two when you went outside for a solution, when you should have gone inward? Ever blamed your plight on government? Blamed your family for your failure? Called God to account for problems in your marriage? Your circumstances may be challenging, but blaming them is not the solution. Nor is neglecting them.

Consider David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” In Romans 12:2 Paul says, “Fix your attention on God. You will be changed from the inside out.”

Heaven knows you don’t silence life’s alarms by pretending they aren’t screaming. But heaven also knows it’s wise to look in the mirror before you peek out the window!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Look Inside Yourself

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

When my daughter Jenna was six years old, I discovered her standing in front of a full-length mirror looking down her throat. I asked her what she was doing and she answered, “I’m looking to see if God is in my heart.”  I chuckled and turned then overheard her ask Him, “Are you in there?”

She was asking the right question. “Are you in there?” It wasn’t enough for you to appear in a bush or dwell in the temple? It wasn’t enough for you to become human flesh and walk on the earth? You had to go further? You had to take up residence in us?

Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (I Corinthians 6:19). Perhaps you didn’t. If not, thanks for letting me remind you. The world says look inside yourself and find self. God says look inside yourself and find God.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Help From the Inside Out

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

When your hope comes from within you, your life is good as long as you are good.  Your faith is strong as long as you are strong. But therein lies the problem. The Bible says, no one is good. Nor is anyone always strong; nor always secure. We need help from the inside out.

Jesus promised this kind of help in John 14:16-17 when he said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. . .you know Him because He lives with you and will be in you.”

Not near us. Not above us. Not around us. But in us. In the part of us we don’t even know. In the heart no one else has seen. In the hidden recesses of our being dwells, not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but Spirit of God. Imagine that!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – At Peace with Yourself

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

There is a correlation between the way you feel about yourself and the way you feel about others. If you are at peace with yourself—you’ll get along with others. The converse is also true. If you are ashamed, embarrassed, or angry, other people are going to know it. The tragic thing is we tend to take it out on those we love unless the cycle is interrupted.

Which takes us to the question, “How does a person get relief?” Which takes us to one of the kindest verses in the Bible.  In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”

Be honest with Him. Admit you have soul secrets you’ve never dealt with. He’s just waiting for you to ask Him for help. You’ll be glad you did. Those near to you will be glad as well.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – An Itchy, Scratchy Burlap Sack

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

You have a sack. An itchy, scratchy burlap sack! You probably aren’t even aware of it, you may not have been told about it, but it was given to you.  You needed the sack to carry the rocks, boulders, pebbles. All are unwanted. Some were rocks of rejection. You thought you were good enough for the team, but the coach didn’t. The instructor didn’t. They and how many others? It doesn’t take long before you get a collection of stones. Make a bad choice…get called a few names…get abused.  And so the sack gets heavy with stones we don’t deserve, along with a few we do.

How can you have dreams for the future when all your energy is required to shoulder the past? Jesus says He is the solution for weariness of the soul. Go to Him. “Come to me, all who are weak and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  He already knows what your stones are. He’s just waiting for you to give Him your sack!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Sowing Seeds

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Many parents aren’t proud of their family trees. The harvest was taken, but no seed was sown. Childhood memories bring more hurt than inspiration. If such is the case, put down the family scrapbook and pick up your Bible. John 3:6 reminds us, “Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” Your parents have given you genes, but God gives you grace.

Didn’t have a good father?  Galatians 4:7 says God will be your father. Didn’t have a good role model?  Ephesians 5:1 says, “You are God’s child whom He loves, so try to be like Him.”

You cannot control the way your forefathers responded to God. But you can control the way you respond to Him. The past does not have to be your prison. Choose well and someday—generations from now—your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will thank God for the seeds you sowed!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Have a Choice

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Early in the reign of King Josiah he made a brave choice. II Kings 22:2 tells us, “He lived as his ancestor David had lived, and he did not stop doing what was right.” He flipped through his family scrapbook until he found an ancestor worthy of emulation.  He found David and resolved, “I’m going to be like him.”

The principle?  We can’t choose our parents, but we can choose our mentors. And since Josiah chose David, who had chosen God, things began to happen. Josiah broke up the idols. He broke down the altars. He was out to make a statement:  What my fathers taught, I don’t teach. What they embraced, I reject. Josiah had found the God of David and made Him his own. God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. You have a choice in the path you take. Choose well!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Rise Above the Past

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you’ve seen evil, and now you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?

Many choose the latter. Many choose the convalescent homes of the heart. Healthy bodies, sharp minds, but retired dreams. Lean closely and you’ll hear them. If only…  If only I’d had kinder parents, more money, greater opportunities. If only I’d been treated fairly…  Maybe you’ve used those words.  Maybe you have every right to use them.

God is willing to give you what your family didn’t. Galatians 4:7 says, “Through God you are a son; and, if you are a son, then you are certainly an heir.” Never had a parent who wiped away your tears? Think again. God has noted each one!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Faith is Trusting

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Faith is trusting what the eye cannot see! Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah’s rainbow. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees His blood. Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.

How do I know this is true? someone might ask. It’s nice prose, but give me the facts. “God’s power is very great for those who believe,” Paul taught. Ephesians 1:19-20 says, “That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead.”

Next time you wonder if God can forgive you, read that verse. The very hands that were nailed to the cross are open for you!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Revenge is Natural, Not Spiritual

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

When we are mistreated, our animalistic response is to go on the hunt. Getting even is only natural. Which, incidentally, is precisely the problem. Revenge is natural, not spiritual. Getting even is the rule of the jungle. Giving grace is the rule of the kingdom.

You may be thinking, easy for you to say, Max, you have no idea how hard my life has been. You are right, I don’t. But I have a very clear idea how miserable your future will be unless you deal with your anger.

X-ray the soul of the vengeful and behold the tumor of bitterness; menacing, malignant. Yesterday you cannot alter, but your reaction to yesterday you can. After all, don’t we have enough things to do without trying to do God’s work too? Forgiveness is not saying the one who hurt you was right.  Forgiveness is stating that God will do what is right.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Judgment is God’s Job

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

There is power in revenge. Intoxicating power. Haven’t we tasted it? Haven’t we been tempted to get even? As we escort the offender into the courtroom, we announce, “He hurt me!” and jurors shake their heads in disgust. “He abandoned me!” we explain, and the chambers echo with our accusation. “Guilty!” the judge snarls as he slams the gavel. “Guilty!” the jury agrees. We delight in this moment of justice. We relish this pound of flesh.

I don’t mean to be cocky, but why are you doing God’s work for Him?  “Vengeance” is Mine,” God declared. “I will repay.” Proverbs 20:22 says, “Don’t say, ‘I’ll pay you back for the wrong you did.’ Wait for the Lord, and He will make things right.” Judgment is God’s job. To assume otherwise is to assume God can’t do it. God has not asked us to settle the score or get even. Ever!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – I Choose

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

It’s quiet.  It’s early.  For the next 12 hours I’ll be exposed to the day’s demands.  It’s now that I must make a choice.  And so I choose—love. I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy.

I choose peace. I will live forgiven.

I choose patience—Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I’ll thank God for a moment to pray.

I choose kindness—for that’s how God has treated me.

I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness.  Today I’ll keep my promises. My wife will not question my love.

I choose gentleness.  If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control.  I will be impassioned only by my faith and influenced only by God.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When this day is done, I’ll place my head on my pillow and rest.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Definition of Greed

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Jesus had a definition for greed. He called it the practice of measuring life by possessions! Greed equates a person’s worth with a person’s purse. You got a lot equals you are a lot. You got a little equals you are little. The consequence of such a philosophy is predictable. If you are the sum of what you own, then by all means own it all. No price is too high. No payment is too much. But God’s foremost rule of finance is that we own nothing. We are managers, not owners. Stewards, not landlords. Maintenance people, not proprietors.

Our money is not ours, it is His. It’s not as if God kept the future a secret. One glance at a cemetery should remind us that everyone dies. The Bible says, “The Lord owns the world and everything in it—the heavens, even the highest heavens, are his!” (Psalm 24:1). This includes our money.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Grace

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by His grace! God’s judgment has never been a problem for me. Lightning bolts on Sodom…fire on Gomorrah… good job, God! Discipline is easy for me to swallow; it’s logical to assimilate.

But God’s grace?  Anything but. Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. The thief on the cross was hell-bent and hung out to die one minute, then heaven-bound and smiling the next. I challenge you to find one story in the Bible of a person who came to God seeking grace and did not find it. I dare you. God gives a lot more grace than we would ever imagine.

We could do the same. I’m not for watering down the truth or compromising the Gospel. One thing is for sure. When we get to heaven, we’ll be surprised at some of the folks we see.  And some of them will be surprised when they see us.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Keep it Brief

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

I believe in brevity.  And since you’ve given me a minute of your time, I shouldn’t take more than my share. Over the years I’ve collected some “brief” statements of truth.  Share them when you can. But if you do…keep it brief!

Pray all the time.  If necessary, use words.

God forgets the past.  Imitate Him.

Greed I’ve often regretted.  Generosity—never.

In buying a gift for your wife, practicality can be more expensive than extravagance.

Here’s another: Don’t ask God to do what you want.  Ask God to do what is right.

You’ll give up on yourself before God will.

Flattery is fancy dishonesty.

You’ll regret opening your mouth.  You’ll rarely regret keeping it shut.

And I’ll close with this one:   To see sin without grace is despair.  To see grace without sin is arrogance.  To see them in tandem is conversion!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Doesn’t Look Like a Hero

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

The apostle Paul shaped history.  Yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot.  No headlines announced his execution.  No observer recorded the events.  Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero.  Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know….  Doesn’t fit our image of a hero.

John Egglen, a deacon, stepped in and gave the sermon for a few folks who had arrived before a snowstorm that prevented the pastor from getting there.  In a moment of courage, he looked straight at a young boy in the service and said, “Look to Jesus. Look!” The boy’s name?  Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England’s “prince of preachers.” You never know… tomorrow’s Spurgeon may be in your church or be your neighbor. And the hero who inspires him might be in your mirror!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Not Finished With You

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Pick up a high school yearbook and read the “What I want to do” sentence under each picture. You’ll get dizzy breathing the thin air of mountaintop visions. Ivy league school. Write books and live in Switzerland. Physician in a Third World country. Teach inner-city kids.

Yet, take the yearbook to a twentieth-year reunion and read the next chapter. Some dreams have come true, but many haven’t. Changing direction in life is not tragic. Losing passion in life is. Convictions to change the world downgrade to commitments to pay the bills. Rather than make a difference, we make a salary. Rather than look outward, we look inward. And we don’t like what we see.

Philippians 1:6 says, “God began doing a good work in you, and he will continue it until it is finished.” May I spell out the message? God isn’t finished with you yet!

From When God Whispers Your Name