Tag Archives: Max Lucado

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Your Share of Sighing

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Max Lucado

No doubt you’ve done your share of sighing. If you have teenagers, you’ve sighed. If you’ve had your motives questioned or your best acts of love rejected, you’ve been forced to take a deep breath and let escape a painful sigh!

I realize there’s a sigh of relief, a sigh of expectancy, even a sigh of joy.  The apostle Paul spoke of this sighing. He said that Christians will sigh as long as we’re on earth and long for heaven. All these sighs come from the same anxiety; a recognition of pain never intended, or of hope deferred. Man was not created to be separated from his creator; hence he sighs, longing for home.

And God sighs, he groans for his people. He groans for the day when all sighs will cease, when what was intended to be—will be!

From God Came Near

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Revealed

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Max Lucado

When God chose to reveal himself to mankind, what did He use?  A book?  A church?  A moral code?  No. To limit God’s revelation to a cold list of do’s and don’t’s is as tragic as looking at a Colorado roadmap and saying you’d seen the Rockies!

When God chose to reveal himself, he did so through a human body. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. And his tears—oh, don’t miss the tears—they came from a heart as broken as your or mine ever has been. People came to him.  Touched him.  Followed him. He refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit.  He chose instead to be Jesus.

Remember that the next time you find yourself amazed at your own failures. It’s man who creates the distance. It’s Jesus who builds the bridge!

From God Came Near

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Declare His Glory

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Max Lucado

Look around. People thrash about in seas of guilt, anger, despair. Life isn’t working.  We’re drowning fast. But God can rescue us. And only one message matters.  His!  We need to see God’s glory.

Make no mistake.  God has no ego problem. He doesn’t reveal His glory for His good. We need to witness it for ours. We need a strong hand to pull us into a safe boat. And once aboard, what becomes our priority?

Simple. Promote God. We declare, “Hey, strong boat over here!  Able pilot! He can pull you out!”

1 Chronicles 16:24 says, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.” If we boast at all, we boast in the Lord!

Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.”

Declare His glory!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Matter to God

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Max Lucado

What matters to you—matters to God! You probably think that’s true when it comes to the big stuff like death, disease, sin, and disaster. But what about the smaller things?  What about grouchy bosses or flat tires?  What about broken dishes, late flights, toothaches, or a crashed hard drive? Do these matter to God?

Let me tell you who you are! In fact, let me proclaim who you are. The Bible says you are an “heir of God and a co-heir with Christ” (Romans 8:17). You have “a crown that will last forever” (1 Cor. 9:25). You were “chosen before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

But more than anything else is the simple fact—you are God’s child. 1 John 3:1 says “we are called children of God.  And we really are His children.” I love that:  we really are His children!

If something is important to you—it’s important to God!

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Come to Me

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Max Lucado

How does a person get relief from shame, embarrassment, anger?

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.  Accept my teachings and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. . .”

I can see you shaking your head.  I’ve tried that.  I’ve read the Bible.  I’ve sat on the pew—but I’ve never received relief. Could it be you went to religion and you didn’t go to God? Could it be you went to a church, but never saw Christ?

“Come to Me” the verse reads. Jesus is the solution for weariness of the soul. Go to Him. Admit you have soul secrets you’ve never dealt with. He already knows what they are.

Go to Him! He’s just waiting for you to ask Him to help!

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – If Only…

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Max Lucado

Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you’ve seen evil and 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 convalescent homes of the heart. Healthy bodies. Sharp minds. But retired dreams.  Lean closely and you’ll hear  “If only…”  The white flag of the heart. “If only.” Maybe you’ve used those words. Maybe you have every right to use them.  Perhaps you were hearing the ten count before you even got into the ring.

Let me show you where to turn. Go to John’s gospel and read Jesus’ words in John 3:6, “Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from one Spirit.”

Your parents have given you genes, but God gives you grace. God is willing to give you what your family didn’t.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Stunned by Grace

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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. In fact, it always seemed right. Lightning bolts on Sodom. Fire on Gomorrah. Good job, God! Egyptians swallowed in the Red Sea. They had it coming.

Discipline is easy for me to swallow. Logical to assimilate.

But God’s grace? Anything but. Do you need examples? How much time do you have? Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. Zacchaeus, the crook… the cleanest part of his life was the money he’d laundered. But Jesus still had time for him. The thief on the cross, hung-out to die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Surprise after surprise! Search the pages. Read the stories! Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture. Search. You won’t find it.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God is For You

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Max Lucado

Paul asks the question in Romans 8:31,  “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The question isn’t simply, “Who can be against you?” You could answer that one.  Who is against you? Disease, inflation, corruption, exhaustion. Calamities confront, and fears imprison. Were Paul’s question, “Who can be against us?” we could list our foes much easier than we could fight them.

But God is for us.  God is for us.  God is for us! Your parents may have forgotten you, your teachers may have neglected you, your siblings may be ashamed of you; but within reach of your prayers is the maker of the oceans. God!

God is for you.  Not “may be,” not “has been,” or “was,” but God is!  He is for you. Today.  At this hour.  At this minute. As you hear this, He is with you. God is for you!

From  The Lucado Inspirational Reader

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Reward

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Max Lucado

God rewards those who seek Him! Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus Himself.

And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.  Can you think of a greater gift than to be like Jesus?

Christ felt no guilt; God wants to banish yours. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to remove yours. Jesus had no fear of death; God wants you to be fearless. Jesus had kindness for the diseased and mercy for the rebellious and courage for the challenges. God wants you to have the same.  Isn’t it just like Jesus!

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – What He Says He Will Do

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Max Lucado

God will always be the same. No one else will. 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 4:1 says, with Him, “there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Catch God in a bad mood? Won’t happen. Fear exhausting His grace? A sardine will swallow the Atlantic first. Think He’s given up on you? Wrong. Did He not make a promise to you?

God is not a human being, and He will not lie. He is not a human, and He does not change His mind. What He says He will do. What He promises will come true. His strength, truth, ways, and love never change.

Hebrews 13:8 declares “He is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Trust him…what He says, He will do!

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Jesus Builds the Bridge

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Max Lucado

People came to Jesus. My, how they came to Him!  They touched Him as He walked down the street; they followed Him around the sea; they invited Him into their homes and placed their children at His feet. Why?  Because He refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be—Jesus.

There’s not a hint of one person who was afraid to draw near Him. There were those who mocked Him. Those who were envious of Him. There were those who misunderstood Him. There was not one person who was reluctant to approach Him for fear of being rejected.

Remember that. Remember that the next time you find yourself amazed at your own failures. Or the next time acidic accusations burn holes in your soul.

Remember. It’s man who creates the distance. It is Jesus who builds the bridge!

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Accepting God as Your Father

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Max Lucado

I can’t assure you your family will ever give you the blessing you seek, but God will! Let God give you what your family doesn’t.

How do you do that? By emotionally accepting God as your father. It’s one thing to accept Him as Lord, another to recognize Him as Savior, but another matter entirely to accept Him as Father.

To recognize God as Lord is to acknowledge that he is sovereign in the universe.

To accept Him as Savior is to accept His gift of salvation offered on the cross.

To regard Him as Father is to go a step further. Ideally, a father is the one in your life who provides and protects. That’s exactly what God has done!

God has proven Himself as a faithful father. Now, let God fill the void others have left. You’re His child and “God will give you the blessing He promised!” (Gal. 4:7).

From  The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Becoming Like Him

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Max Lucado

Healthy marriages have a sense of tenderness, an honesty, an ongoing communication. The same is true in our relationship with God. Sometimes we go to Him with our joys, sometimes our hurts, but we always go. And as we go, the more we go, the more we become like Him. Paul says we’re being changed from “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

People who live long lives together eventually begin to sound alike, to talk alike, even think alike. As we walk with God, we take on His thoughts, His principles, His attitudes.  We take on His heart.

And just as in marriage, communion with God is no burden. Indeed, it’s a delight.

The Psalmist says, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty.  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Ps. 84:1-2 NIV).

Nothing—nothing compares with it!

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Study Your Children

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Max Lucado

Crankcase oil coursed my dad’s veins.  He repaired engines for a living. Dad loved machines.

But God gave my dad a mechanical moron, a son who couldn’t differentiate between a differential and a brake disc. Dad tried to teach me.  I tried to learn.  Honestly, I did. Machines anesthetized me.  But books fascinated me. What does a mechanic do with a son who loves books?

He gives him a library card.  Buys him a few volumes for Christmas. Places a lamp by his bed so he can read at night. Pays tuition so his son can study college literature in high school. My dad did that.  You know what he didn’t do? Never once did he say:  “Why can’t you be a mechanic like your dad and granddad?”

Study your children while you can. The greatest gift you can give your child is not your riches, but revealing to them their own!

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Fill in the Blank

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Max Lucado

How would you fill in the blank: a person is made right with God through. . . what?

A person is made right with God through. . .being good. Pay your taxes. Give sandwiches to the poor. Don’t drink too much or drink at all. Christian conduct– that’s the secret.

Suffering. There’s the answer. No, it’s doctrine. That’s how to be made right with God.

No, no, no. All of the above are tried.  All are taught.  But none are from God. In fact, that’s the problem.  None are from God. Who does the saving, you or Him?

Romans 3:28 says, “A person is made right with God through faith.” Not through good works, suffering, or doctrine. Those may be the result of salvation, but they’re not the cause of it.

Salvation comes through faith in God’s sacrifice. In the gift of His Son. It’s not what you do…it’s what He did.

from Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Where is God When I Hurt?

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Max Lucado

The Bible says in Romans 8:28 that “in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.” Do this simple exercise.  Remove the word everything and replace it with the symbol of your tragedy. How would Romans 8:28 read in your life?

In hospital stays God works for the good.

In divorce papers God works for the good.

As hard as it may be to believe, you could be only a Saturday away from a resurrection.  Hours from that precious prayer of a changed heart. “God, you did this for me?”

Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, Paul said.  “The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope.” (Romans 15:4).

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Just for You

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Max Lucado

I’m about to tell you something you may find hard to believe. You don’t have to agree with me, but I’d like you to consider it with me.  Here it is.  If you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same. The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean its charm. The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evenings and spray light on the desert in the mornings. If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.

Because He did it all for you.  And He’s waiting for you to discover His gift, for your eyes to pop, your heart to stop. He’s waiting for the moment between the dropping of the jaw and the leap of the heart. For in that silence He whispers, I did it just for you.

from Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Kindness

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Max Lucado

They sat on opposite sides of the room, a man and a woman, bidding on an adorable puppy at a school auction. Others dropped off, but not this duo. Back and forth until they’d one-upped the bid to several thousand dollars.

No longer about a puppy, but about victory. This was the Wimbledon finals, and neither player was backing off the net.  Finally the fellow gave in and didn’t return the bid. Going once, going twice…going three times. Sold!

You know what she did?  Amidst the applause, she walked across the room and presented the puppy to the competition. Suppose you did that with your competition. With your enemy.  Suppose you surprised them with kindness?  Not easy?

No, it’s not. But mercy is the deepest gesture of kindness. Paul equates the two in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

from Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Jesus Came to Serve

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Max Lucado

God’s cure for the common life includes a strong dose of servanthood. It’s a timely reminder. As you celebrate your unique design, be careful. Don’t so focus on what you love to do that you neglect what needs to be done.

A 3:00 AM diaper change fits in very few sweet spots. Visiting your sick neighbor might not come naturally to you. Still the sick need to be encouraged, and diapers need changing.

The world needs servants. People like Jesus who did not come to be served, but to serve. He chose remote Nazareth over the center-stage in Jerusalem, his dad’s carpentry shop over a marble-columned palace, and three decades of anonymity over a life of popularity.

He selected prayer over sleep, the wilderness over the Jordan, feisty apostles over obedient angels. I’d have gone with the angels, given the choice.

Not Jesus.  He picked the people. He came to serve! May we do the same.

from Lucado Inspirational Reader

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Every Life is Long Enough

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Max Lucado

We speak of a short life, but compared to eternity, who has a long one?  A person’s days on earth may seem like a thimbleful. But compared to the Pacific of eternity, even the years of Methuselah filled no more than a glass.  James was not speaking just to the young when he said, “Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.” (James 4:4 NCV).

In God’s plan every life is long enough and every death is timely. And though you and I might wish for a longer life, God knows better.

And this is important.  Though you and I may wish a longer life for our loved ones who have gone on before us, they don’t.  Ironically, the first to accept God’s decision of death is the one who dies.

While we’re mourning at a grave, they’re marveling at heaven. While we’re questioning God, they’re praising Him!

from Lucado Inspirational Reader