Tag Archives: Max Lucado

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Eternal Plan

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Max Lucado

When our oldest daughter was two, I lost her in a department store. I panicked! All of a sudden only one thing mattered—I had to find Jenna. Shopping was forgotten. The list of things I came to get was unimportant. I yelled her name. What people thought didn’t matter. Every ounce of energy had one goal: to find my lost child. I did, by the way.  She was hiding behind some jackets.

No price is too high for a parent to pay to redeem his child. No energy is too great.  No effort too demanding. A parent will go to any length to find his or her own. So will God. Mark it down. God’s greatest creation is not the flung stars or the gorged canyons.  It’s his eternal plan to reach his children. Heaven and earth know no greater passion than God’s personal passion for you and your return!

From And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Hucksters and Faith Peddlers

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Max Lucado

When religion is used for profit and prestige, people are exploited and God is infuriated! When Jesus entered Jerusalem the first day of Passover week, Matthew 21:12-13 says, “He went into the temple and threw out all the people who were buying and selling there.  He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus said to all the people there, ‘It is written in the Scriptures, My temple will be called a house for prayer. But you are changing it into a hideout for robbers!’”

Hucksters. Faith peddlers. People making a franchise out of the faith. This was not a temper tantrum. It was an intentional message from Jesus. Cash in on my people and you’ve got me to answer to. God will never hold guiltless those who exploit the privilege of worship.

From And the Angels Were Silent

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – He Gave a Donkey

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Max Lucado

I don’t know his name or what he looks like. I only know what he gave. He gave a donkey for Jesus to use on the Sunday he entered Jerusalem. An interesting bit of history is found in Matthew 21:3. It is the story of the man who gave the donkey to Jesus. The scripture says, “If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, say that the Master needs them, and he will send them at once.”

Did the man have any idea his generosity would be used for such a noble purpose? Did it occur to him God was going to ride that donkey?

All of us have a donkey. Something that, if given to God, could move Jesus and His story further down the road. Maybe you sing or program a computer or speak Swahili or write a check. Whichever it may be…that’s your donkey. Do you give it?

The guy who gave Jesus the donkey is just one in a long line of folks who gave little things to a big God.

From And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Someday

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Max Lucado

There’s a time for extravagant gestures. A time to pour out your affections on the one you love. And when the time comes—seize it. Don’t dismiss it!

“Someday,” we say, “I’ll take her on the cruise.”

“Someday”, we say, “I’ll have time to call and chat.”

“Someday, the children will understand why I was so busy.”

But you know the truth, don’t you? You could say it better than I. Some days never come. And the price of practicality is sometimes higher than extravagance. So, go to the effort…today. Invest the time, today. Make the apology. Take the trip. Purchase the gift. Do it! The seized opportunity renders joy. The neglected brings regret.

From And The Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Remember the Sabbath Day

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Max Lucado

Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”

What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? Hmm…it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.

Do you mean that with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? Are you telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work? That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too?

From And The Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Just Right

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Max Lucado

When my daughter was small, she wrote a song for me. From a musical standpoint, everything was wrong with it. The lyrics didn’t rhyme. The rhythm was off.  Technically the song was a failure. But for me, the song was a masterpiece. Why? Because she wrote it for me. What dad wouldn’t like that? What father wouldn’t bask in the praise of even an off-key adulation?

Ideally, when we approach God, our motive and the way we sing is as strong as the reason we sing. The words are just right; our worship is as attractive as it is sincere. But many times it isn’t. Many times our worship is less than what we want it to be. “Lord, help!”

“You will search for me,” God declared. “And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will let you find me” (Jeremiah 29:13).  What a promise!

From And The Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Sight to the Blind

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Max Lucado

When people are refused access to Christ by those closest to him, the result is empty, hollow religion.  Ugly religion.

Hard to believe?  Yet it happens—even in the church. It happens when a church spends more time discussing the style of its sanctuary than it does the needs of the hungry. It happens when a church is known more for its stance on an issue than its reliance upon God. It happens when we think Jesus has more important things to do than to be bothered by such insignificant people.

Christ thought otherwise. Jesus felt sorry for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see.  In that moment, of all the people, it was the blind who really saw Jesus.

From And The Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Son of Man

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Max Lucado

Matthew 20:28 says of Jesus, “The Son of Man did not come to be served.  He came to serve others and give His life as a ransom for many people.”

As a young boy, I read a Russian fable about a master and a servant who went on a journey.  Before they reached their destination they were caught in a blizzard and lost their direction. When they were found the master was frozen to death, face down in the snow. When they lifted him they found the servant, cold but alive. The master had voluntarily placed himself on top of the servant so the servant could live.

Jesus did the same for you! Jesus wears a sovereign crown but he bears a father’s heart. The King who suffers for the peasant, the Master who sacrifices himself for the servant. He is the Son of Man who came to serve and to give his life as a ransom—for you!

From And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Passion for the Forgotten

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Max Lucado

A day late and a dollar short. One brick short of a load. You pick the phrase—the result is the same. Get told enough times that only the rotten fruit gets left in the bin, and you begin to believe it.  You begin to believe you are “too little, too late.”

God has a peculiar passion for the forgotten. Have you noticed? See his hand on the skin of the leper? See the face of the prostitute cupped in Jesus’ hands? See him with his arm around little Zacchaeus? God wants us to get the message: What society puts out, God puts in.  What the world writes off, God picks up.

Why did He pick you?  He wanted to.  After all, you are his, and he made you. No matter how long you’ve waited or how much time you’ve wasted, you are his and he has a place for you.

From And The Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Big News

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Max Lucado

The big news of the Bible is not that you love God, but that God loves you; not that you can know God, but that God already knows you!

God tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. 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 reached his verdict: He loves you still!

No discovery will disillusion him, no rebellion will dissuade him. You need not win his love.  You already have it. And since you can’t win it, you can’t lose it! He loves you with an everlasting love!

From The Lucado Inspirational Reader

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – His Idea, His Home

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Max Lucado

Would that I could make everything new—but I can’t. But God can. “He restores my soul,” wrote the shepherd (Psalm 23:3). He doesn’t camouflage the old, he restores the new. The Master Builder will pull out the original plan and restore it. The vigor, the energy, the hope. He will restore the soul.

When you see how this world grows stooped and weary, and then read of a home where everything’s made new, doesn’t it make you want to go home? Would you really rather have a few possessions on earth than eternal possessions in heaven? Would you honestly give up all of your heavenly mansions for a second-rate sleazy motel on earth?

“Great,” Jesus said, “is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12). He must have smiled when he said that. His eyes must have danced, and his hand must have pointed skyward. He should know. It was his idea. It was his home.

From The Applause of Heaven

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Asking for Mercy

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Max Lucado

“But, ma’am,” I pleaded, “I’ve got to be in Houston this evening.”  She was patient but firm.  “I’m sorry, sir, the rules say passengers must be at the gate ten minutes before scheduled departure time.”  “I know the rules,” I said. “I’m not asking for justice; I’m asking for mercy!”  She didn’t give it to me.

She didn’t give me mercy, but God does.  Even though by the “book” I’m guilty, by God’s love I get another chance. Even though by the law I’m indicted, by mercy I’m given a fresh start.

The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved. . .not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

No other world religion offers such a message. Others say, “You do this, and God will give you that.” Christ’s kingdom is just the opposite. A kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased! You are placed into God’s kingdom!  He gives you, not justice, but mercy!

From The Applause of Heaven

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – One of a Kind

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Max Lucado

I have a sweater I never wear. It’s too small.  Some of the buttons are missing, the thread is frazzled.  I should throw it away. I’ll never wear it again. Logic says to clear out the space, get rid of the sweater. But love won’t let me.

What’s unusual about it? It wasn’t produced on an assembly line. It’s the creation of a devoted mother expressing her love. That sweater is unique. It’s one of a kind.  It can’t be replaced. And although the sweater has lost all of its use, it’s lost none of its value.

That must have been what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). You were knitted together. You aren’t an accident. You weren’t mass-produced. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.

From The Applause of Heaven

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – King of the Mountain

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Max Lucado

King of the Mountain!  Remember playing that game as a kid? The object is to push, claw, and climb until you get to the top. Once there, you fight to hold your position. Don’t even think about sitting down. Forget enjoying the view. Slack up and you’ll be slapped down. And then you’ll have to start all over again.

As grown-ups we still play King of the Mountain, but now the stakes are higher.  The push for power has come to shove. And most of us are either pushing or being pushed.

I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God.  It’s characterized by respect for quality, a yearning to use God’s gifts in a way that pleases him. The quest for excellence is a mark of maturity. But the quest for power— it’s childish!

By the way, you don’t have to play King of the Mountain.

From The Applause of Heaven

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Power of a Seed

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Max Lucado

Want to see a miracle? Take a small seed, put it under several inches of dirt. Give it light, water, and fertilizer. It doesn’t matter that the ground is a zillion times the weight of the seed. The seed will push it back! Never underestimate the power of a seed.

James, the epistle writer, wasn’t a farmer.  But he knew the power of a seed sown in fertile soil. “Those who are peacemakers,” he said, “will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18).

How good are you at sowing seeds of peace? Jesus modeled peace through acts of love, washing the feet of men he knew would betray him, and honoring the sinful woman whom society had scorned.

Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heart-deep in a person’s life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens!

From The Applause of Heaven

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Change Your Heart

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Max Lucado

A woman battles with depression. What’s the solution suggested by some well-meaning friend? Buy yourself a new outfit! A husband is in an affair that brings him as much guilt as it does adventure. The solution? Hang out with people who don’t make you feel guilty. Change your style. Get a new haircut. Case after case of treating the outside while ignoring the inside.

And the result? The woman gets a new outfit, and the depression disappears…for a day, maybe. The husband finds a bunch of buddies who sanction his adultery.  The result…peace, until the crowd’s gone. Then the guilt is back. The exterior polished, the interior corroding. The outside altered, the inside faltering. One thing is clear. Cosmetic changes are only skin deep!

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8).  And the message of the Beatitude is a clear one. You change your life by changing your heart!

From The Applause of Heaven

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The State of Your Heart

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Max Lucado

Luke 6:45 says,  “. . .out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”  That is why the state of the heart is so critical. So what’s the state of your heart?

When your to-do list is too long, do you lose your cool or keep it?  Well, that depends on the state of your heart. When you’re offered gossip marinated in slander, do you turn it down or pass it on? That depends on the state of your heart. Do you see the bag lady as a burden on society or as an opportunity for God?  That too depends on the state of your heart.

No wonder the wise man in Proverbs begs, “Above all else, guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23). David’s prayer should be ours: “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).

And Jesus’ statement rings true, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

From The Applause of Heaven

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Blessed are the Merciful

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Max Lucado

Could someone actually be forgiven a debt of millions and be unable to forgive a debt of hundreds? Could a person be set free and then imprison another? You don’t have to be a theologian to answer those questions; just look in the mirror.

Who among us hasn’t begged God for mercy on Sunday and then demanded justice on Monday? Is there anyone who doesn’t, at one time or another, show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

Look into the face of the One who forgave you.  Who wept when you pleaded for mercy.  Look into the face of the Father who gave you grace when no one else gave you a chance. “Blessed are the merciful,” Jesus said (Matthew 5:7). Why? “Because they will be shown mercy.”

You see, forgiving others allows us to see how God has forgiven us!

From The Applause of Heaven

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Childish Resistance

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Max Lucado

Jesus’ promise is comprehensive. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6 ).

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, then, who hold their earthly possessions in open palms. Blessed are those who are totally dependent on Jesus for their joy.

Our resistance to our Father is childish.  God, for our own good, tries to loosen our grip from something that will cause us to fall.  But we won’t let go.  We say, “No, I won’t give up my weekend rendezvous for eternal joy.” “Trade my drugs and alcohol for a life of peace and a promise of heaven?  Are you kidding?”  There we are, desperately clutching the very things that cause us grief.

It’s a wonder the Father doesn’t give up!

From The Applause of Heaven

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Two Men

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Our Daily Bread

John 11:30-37

He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. . . . Jesus wept. —John 11:33,35

Two men were killed in our city on the same day. The first, a police officer, was shot down while trying to help a family. The other was a homeless man who was shot while drinking with friends early that day.

The whole city grieved for the police officer. He was a fine young man who cared for others and was loved by the neighborhood he served. A few homeless people grieved for the friend they loved and lost.

I think the Lord grieved with them all.

When Jesus saw Mary and Martha and their friends weeping over the death of Lazarus, “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33). He loved Lazarus and his sisters. Even though He knew that He would soon be raising Lazarus from the dead, He wept with them (v.35). Some Bible scholars think that part of Jesus’ weeping also may have been over death itself and the pain and sadness it causes in people’s hearts.

Loss is a part of life. But because Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” (v.25), those who believe in Him will one day experience an end of all death and sorrow. In the meantime, He weeps with us over our losses and asks us to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). —Anne Cetas

Give me a heart sympathetic and tender;

Jesus, like Thine, Jesus, like Thine,

Touched by the needs that are surging around me,

And filled with compassion divine. —Anon.

Compassion helps to heal the hurts of others.

Bible in a year: Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13:1-30