Tag Archives: Max Lucado

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – We Have a Problem

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Can you live without sin for one day?  No? How about one hour?  Can you do it?  No?  Nor can I. And if we can’t live without sin, we have a problem.

Proverbs 10:16 says that we are evil and “evil people are paid with punishment.”  What can we do? Observe what Jesus does with our filth. He carries it to the Cross.

God speaks through Isaiah 50:6 when he says, “I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” Mingled with His blood and sweat was the essence of our sin. Angels were a prayer away. Couldn’t they have taken the spittle away?  They could have, but Jesus never commanded them to. The One whose chose the nails also chose the saliva. Why?  The sinless One took on the face of a sinner, so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

From He Chose the Nails

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Unwrapping the Gifts of the Cross

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Much has been said about Jesus’ “gift of the Cross.” But what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns?  The garments taken by the soldiers?  Have you taken time to open these gifts?

He didn’t have to give us these gifts, you know. The only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet He did much more.  So much more.

Search the scene of the Cross—and what do you find? A wine-soaked sponge.  A sign.  Two crosses beside Christ. Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, “You did this for me?” Dare we think such thoughts?

Let’s unwrap these gifts of grace– as if for the first time. Pause and listen.  Perhaps you will hear Him whisper, “I did it just for you!”

From He Chose the Nails

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Gifts of the Cross

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Oh, the things we do to give gifts to those we love! Grownups in toy stores, dads in teen stores, wives in the tool department, and husbands in the purse department. We’re at our best in giving.

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less.  He could have left the world flat and gray, we wouldn’t have known the difference. But He didn’t.  He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would He?

In Matthew 7:11, Jesus asked, “If you sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask Him?”

God’s love came not wrapped in paper, but in passion.  Not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood. The gifts of the Cross!

From He Chose the Nails

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Are His

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

God’s grace defines you! Society labels you like a can on an assembly line. Stupid. Unproductive. Slow learner. Fast talker. Quitter. But as grace infiltrates, criticism disintegrates. You know you aren’t who they say you are. You are who God says you are.  Spiritually alive; heavenly positioned…“seated with him in the heavenly realms” and “one with Jesus Christ.”

Of course, not all labels are negative. Some people regard you as clever, successful. But it doesn’t compare with being “seated with him in the heavenly realms!” God creates the Christian’s resume! Grace defines who you are. The parent you can’t please is as mistaken as the doting uncle you can’t disappoint.

Listen, God wrote your story. He cast you in his drama. You hang as God’s work of art, a testimony in his gallery of grace. According to Him, you are His. Period.

From Cast of Characters

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Spiritual MRI

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

We can’t live with foreign objects buried in our bodies or our souls. What would an X-ray of your interior reveal?  Remorse over a poor choice?  Shame about the marriage that didn’t work, the temptation you couldn’t resist?  Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface, festering, irritating.  Sometimes so deeply embedded you don’t know the cause.

And you can be touchy, you know.  Understandable, since you have a shank of shame lodged in your soul. Would you like an extraction?  Here’s what you do. Confess! Ask God to help you.  Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Confession.  You see, confessors find a freedom that deniers don’t.  If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins!  He will cleanse us.  Not might, could, would, or should.  He WILL!

From Grace

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Radical Reliance on Grace

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

One day it dawned on me.  I had become the very thing I hate:  a hypocrite.  A pretender.  Two-faced. I’d written sermons about people like me.  Christians who care more about their appearance than integrity.  I knew what I needed to do.  I’d written sermons about that, too.

1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right.”

I needed to confess. What is confession? Confession is not complaining. If I merely recite my problems and rehash my woes, I’m whining.  Confession is a radical reliance on grace.

Maybe you need to do what I’ve done the last few days and confess.  You just need to confess.  God will hear your confession and you will find a wonder of God’s grace.  You see, grace creates an honest confession and His great grace receives it!

From GRACE

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Cheer Up; He Has Overcome

Leave a comment

dr_bright

“I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. Here on earth you will have many sorrows and trials; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

I know of few promises in all the Word of God that offer more assurance and encouragement than this one.

The apostle Paul was an aggressive soldier of God who carried the gospel far and wide throughout the known world. He was greatly used of God to expand the territorial borders of Christendom. All that Paul did, he did in the name of Christ and through the power and control of the Holy Spirit.

But there was great opposition to Paul’s ministry. Consequently, he always seemed to be in the center of spiritual warfare. He knew his enemies, Satan and the world system, and their subtle, deceiving devices.

Throughout his Christian life, he suffered various kinds of persecutions, including stonings, beatings and imprisonment. In spite of such harsh persecution, Paul could write, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice” (Philipians 4:4, NAS).

It was during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, about 61 or 62 A.D., that he wrote to the church at Ephesus. The theme of his letter is supernatural living, and he talks about the Christian’s spiritual warfare. He tells us that the battle we fight is against Satan and the spiritual forces of wickedness, not against other people.

The apostle Paul experienced the supernatural peace of heart and mind which Jesus promised, a promise which we too can claim, in times of difficulty, testing and even persecution.

Bible Reading: John 16:25-32

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  Today I will claim the peace of heart and mind which Jesus promised to all who trust and obey Him. Deliberately and faithfully I will seek to put on the whole armor of God so that I will be fully prepared to withstand the wiles of the enemy and thus live a supernatural life for the glory of God.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Prone to Wander   

1 Comment

greglaurie

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. —Ephesians 6:10

When he was little, my son had a habit of wandering. One day, we were in a hotel and came to an elevator. He ran ahead to push the button. I told him, “If the elevator comes, wait until Dad gets there.” Just as I arrived at the elevator, the doors were closing, and he was inside. He was gone!

I frantically pushed the button for the other elevator and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the doors opened, and I jumped in. I went down to the lobby. He wasn’t there. I ran back to the elevator, pushed every button for every floor, and as the doors opened, I would scream out his name. I didn’t care about decorum. I wanted to find my son. And I found him, about three floors up, wandering around. But you know what? After that experience, he didn’t wander anymore. He got separated from his father, and it was scary for him. He learned how important it was to stay close to me.

As Christians, we should want to stay as close to our Heavenly Father as possible. The Devil is a powerful adversary, and we are no match for him in our own strength. We don’t want to venture out in this life in our own abilities and suffer spiritual defeat. I have a healthy respect for the Devil’s ability. For that reason, I want to stay as close to the Lord as possible. I want to be strong in Him.

If ever there was a time to be walking closely with the Lord, it is now. This is not the time to be playing games with God. This is not the time to wander away.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Not Just Mercy, But Grace

1 Comment

Max Lucado

We are poor, spiritually for sure; monetarily, perhaps.  We’ve buried our dreams, desires, and aspirations.  Like the mother with Lupus or the businessman in the unemployment line, we’re out of options.

Yet Christ approached us while we were yet sinners!  “Will you cover us?” we asked him, and grace smiled.

He gave us grace. Not just mercy, mind you, but grace. Grace goes beyond mercy. Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance.  Grace threw him a party. Mercy prompted the Samaritan to bandage the wounds of the victim. Grace prompted him to leave his credit card as payment for the victim’s care. Mercy forgave the thief on the cross. Grace escorted him into paradise. Mercy pardons us. Grace woos and weds us.

Grace does this! Grace is God walking into your world with a sparkle in his eye and an offer that’s hard to resist.

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Grace Soaked

Leave a comment

 

Max Lucado

Most people keep a pot of anger on low boil!  But you aren’t most people. Look at your feet. They’re wet, grace-soaked. Jesus has washed your feet…he has washed the grimiest parts of your life.

To accept grace is the vow to give it.  You don’t endorse the deeds of your offender when you forgive them. Jesus didn’t endorse your sins by forgiving you. The grace-defined person still sends thieves to jail and expects the ex to pay child support. Grace sees the hurt full well. But it refuses to let hurts poison the heart.  Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds.  Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows.

So, let the hands of God wipe away every dirty part of your life. Then look across the room and wash someone else’s feet. Let grace begin and continue in you!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Grace Chooses to See Forgiveness

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Victoria Ruvolo doesn’t remember the 18-year-old boy leaning out the window holding, of all things, a frozen turkey.  He threw it at her windshield. Crashing through the glass, it shattered Victoria’s face like a dinner plate on concrete.

John 13:14-15 says, “Since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  Do as I have done to you.”

Victoria Ruvolo did that.  Months later, she stood face to face with her offender in court.  No longer cocky, he was trembling, tearful, and apologetic.  Six months behind bars, five years’ probation.  Everyone in the courtroom objected. He sobbed, and she spoke, “I forgive you. I want your life to be the best it can be.” The reduced sentence was her idea. “God gave me a second chance at life, and I passed it on,” she said!  Grace chooses to see God’s forgiveness!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – So Many Hurts

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

If hurts were hairs—we’d all look like grizzlies! So many hurts. When teachers ignore your work, their neglect hurts. When your girlfriend drops you, when your husband abandons you, when the company fires you, it hurts.  Rejection always hurts.

People bring pain. Sometimes deliberately. Sometimes randomly. So where do you turn?  Hitman.com?  Jim Beam and friends?  Pity Party Catering Service?  Retaliation has its appeal, but Jesus has a better idea! Grace is not blind. It sees the hurt full well. But Grace chooses to see God’s forgiveness even more. Hebrews 12:15 urges us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds. Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows. Forgiveness may not happen all at once. But it can happen with you.

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Enough of This Frenzy

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Attempts at “self-salvation” guarantee nothing but exhaustion. We scamper and scurry, trying to please God, collecting merit badges and brownie points, scowling at anyone who questions our accomplishments.  The result?  The weariest people on earth.  We so fear failure that we create the image of perfection.  Call us the church of hound-dog faces and slumped shoulders. Stop it!  Once and for all, enough of this frenzy!

Hebrews 13:9 says, “Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules.”  In Matthew 11:28 Jesus promises, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

There is no fine print. A second shoe isn’t going to drop. God’s promise has no hidden language. Let grace happen. You have His unending affection. Stretch yourself out in the hammock of grace. You can rest now!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Let Grace Happen

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

I became a Christian about the same time I became a Boy Scout and I made the assumption that God grades like the Boy Scout’s do…on a merit system.  Good scouts move up.  Good people go to heaven.

So, I worked toward the day when God, amid falling confetti and dancing cherubim, would drape my badge-laden sash across my chest and welcome me into his eternal kingdom where I would humbly display my badges for eternity.

But some thorny questions surfaced.  How many badges does He require?  How good is good?

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

Unearned. A gift. Our merits merit nothing. Let grace happen. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them. You have it!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Make it Personal

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Christ took away your sins. He endured not just the nails of the Romans, the mockery of the crowd, and the spear of the soldier, but he endured the anger of God! God didn’t overlook your sins, lest he endorse them. He didn’t punish you lest he destroy you.  He instead found a way to punish the sin and preserve the sinner.  Jesus took your punishment, and God gave you credit for Jesus’ perfection.

As long as the cross is God’s gift to the world, it will touch you but it will not change you. Precious as it is to proclaim, “Christ died for the world,” even sweeter it is to whisper, “Christ died for me!” For my sins he died. He took my place on the cross. He felt my shame and spoke my name. Thank God for the day Jesus took your place, for the day that grace happened to you!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Grace Happened

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

We are incarcerated by our past. We have been found guilty! Our executioner’s footsteps echo against the stone walls. We sit on the floor of the dusty cell, awaiting our final moment. We don’t look up as he opens the door.  We know what he’s going to say. “Time to pay for your sins.”  But we hear something else!  “You’re free to go.  They took Jesus instead of you!”

The door swings open, the guard barks, “Get out!”  And we find ourselves shackles gone, crimes pardoned, wondering, what just happened?  Grace just happened!  Christ took away your sins.

Romans 3 says that God, in his gracious kindness, declares us not guilty. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.

What happened?  Grace happened!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – An Advocate

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Not all guilt is bad.  God uses appropriate doses of guilt to awaken us to sin! God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us! Satan’s guilt, on the other hand, brings enough regret to enslave us.  Don’t let Satan lock his shackles on you!

Colossians 3:3 reminds us, “your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  When God looks at you, he sees Jesus first.  In the Chinese language the word for “righteousness” is a combination of two characters, the figure of a lamb and a person.  The lamb is on top, covering the person.  Whenever God looks down at you, this is what he sees:  The perfect Lamb of God covering you.

So, do you trust your Advocate, Jesus, or do you trust your Accuser—Satan?  Give no heed to Satan’s voice!  You have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous! (I John 2:1).

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Satan’s Condemnation

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Satan’s condemnation brings no repentance or resolve, just regret! Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). To steal your peace, kill your dreams, and destroy your future. Satan has deputized people to peddle his poison.  Friends dredge up your past. Preachers proclaim all guilt and no grace.  And parents, oh, your parents. “Why can’t you grow up?” they say.  “When are you going to make me proud?” they say. But your accusers will not have the last word!  Jesus has acted on your behalf.  Jesus Christ has risen to your defense.

Hebrews 10:22 urges “. . .let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience.”

Not just for our past mistakes but also for our future ones.  Behold the fruit of grace: saved by God, raised by God, seated with God! Gifted, equipped, and commissioned!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Voices in our Head

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

Voices of ‘failure’ in our world.  Voices of ‘not good enough’ in our head. Who is this morality patrolman who issues a citation at every stumble?  Does he ever shut up?   No. Because Satan never shuts up!

Revelation 12:9-10 says, “For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth, the one who accused our brothers and sisters before God day and night.”

Satan is relentless, tireless.  The Accuser makes a career out of accusing. But he will not have the last word.  Jesus has acted on our behalf.  He stooped…low enough to be spat upon, nailed, and speared.  Low…low enough to be buried. And then he stood…he stood up!

Romans 8:34 promises that Christ is in the presence of God at this very moment standing up for us. We have a clean record. It’s by his grace!

From GRACE

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Second Chance

Leave a comment

Max Lucado

She was only five years old when you took the photo.  Cheeks freckled by the summer sun, hair in pigtails.  That was twenty years ago.  Three marriages ago.  A million flight miles and e-mails ago. Today she walks down the aisle on the arm of another father.  You left your family bobbing in the wake of your high-speed career.  Now that you have what you wanted, you don’t want it at all.  Oh, to have a second chance.

1 John 4:15 says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

He re-purposes bad decisions and squalid choices.  Saved by grace is to be saved by Him.  He placed a term limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard. God can do something with the mess of your life. Grace is what you need!

From GRACE