The God Who Listens to You

The God Who Listens to You
You’re at your best friend’s wedding reception. The two of you have talked about this day since you were kids, and now it’s here. The ceremony was great; the wedding was beautiful. The minister was flawless and the vows were honest. What a day!

“I’ll take care of the reception,” you volunteered. You planned the best party possible. You hired the band, rented the hall, catered the meal, decorated the room, and asked your Aunt Bertha to bake the cake. Now the band is playing and the guests are milling, but Aunt Bertha is nowhere to be seen.

Everything is here but the cake. You sneak over to the pay phone and dial her number. She’s been taking a nap. She thought the wedding was next week. Oh boy! Now what do you do? Talk about a problem! Everything is here but the cake…

Sound familiar?

It might. It’s exactly the dilemma Jesus’ mother, Mary, was facing. The wedding was moving. The guests were celebrating…but the wine was gone. Back then, wine was to a wedding what cake is to a wedding today. Can you imagine a wedding without cake? They couldn’t imagine a wedding without wine. To offer wine was to show respect to your guests. Not to offer wine at a wedding was an insult.
What Mary faced was a social problem. A foul-up. A snafu. A calamity on the common scale. No need to call 911, but no way to sweep the embarrassment under the rug, either.
When you think about it, most of the problems we face are of the same caliber. Seldom do we have to deal with dilemmas of national scale or world conflict. Seldom do our crises rock the Richter scale. Usually, the waves we ride are made by pebbles, not boulders. We’re late for a meeting. We leave something at the office. A coworker forgets a report. Mail gets lost. Traffic gets snarled. The waves rocking our lives are not life threatening yet. But they can be. A poor response to a simple problem can
light a fuse. What begins as a snowflake can snowball into an avalanche unless proper care is taken.

For that reason you might want to note how Mary reacted. Her solution poses a practical plan for untangling life’s knots. “They have no more wine,” she told Jesus (John 2:3). That’s it. That’s all she said. She didn’t go ballistic. She simply assessed the problem and gave it to Christ.
“A problem well stated is a problem half solved,” John Dewey said. Mary would have liked that, for that’s what she did. She defined the problem.
She could have exploded: “Why didn’t you plan better? There’s not enough wine! Whose fault is this anyway? You guys never do anything right. If anything is to be done right around here I have to do it myself!”
Or she could have imploded: “This is my fault, I failed. I’m to blame. I deserve it. If only I’d majored in culinary art. I’m a failure in life. Go ahead; do the world a favor. Tie me up and march me to the gallows. I deserve it.”
It’s so easy to focus on everything but the solution. Mary didn’t do that. She simply looked at the knot, assessed it, and took it to the right person. “I’ve got one here I can’t untie, Jesus.”
“When all the wine was gone Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine’” (John 2:3).
Please note, she took the problem to Jesus before she took it to anyone else. A friend told me about a tense deacons’ meeting he attended. Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion, someone suggested, “Why don’t we pray about it?” to which another questioned, “Has it come to that?”
What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first? I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance.
Sometimes we’re independent. We begin to think we are big enough to solve our own
problems. At our house we have had a banner year. Our third daughter has learned how to swim. That means that three can walk. Three can swim. And two out of the three have the training wheels off their bikes. With each achievement they have delightedly pointed out, “Look, Dad, I can do it on my own.”
Denalyn and I have applauded and celebrated each accomplishment our daughters have made. Their maturity and mobility is good and necessary, but I hope they never get to the point where they are too grown up to call their daddy.
God feels the same way about us.
Other times we don’t feel independent; we feel insignificant. We think, “Sure, Mary can take her problems to Jesus. She’s his mother. He doesn’t want to hear my problems. Besides, he’s got famine and the Mafia to deal with. I don’t want to trouble him with my messes.”

If that is your thought, may I share with you a favorite verse of mine? I like it so much I wrote it on the first page of my Bible. “Because he delights in me, he saved me” (Ps. 18:19).

And you thought he saved you because of your decency. You thought he saved you because of your good works or good attitude or good looks. Sorry. If that were the case, your salvation would be lost when your voice went south or your works got weak. There are many reasons God saves you: to bring glory to himself, to appease his justice, to demonstrate his sovereignty. But one of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because he is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the
best thing to come down the pike in quite awhile. “As a man rejoices over his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you.” (Isa. 62:5).
If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart. And the Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem? Face it, friend. He’s crazy about you.
The last thing you should worry about is being a nuisance to God. All you need to concentrate on is doing what he tells you to do. Note the sequence of events in the next verse: “Jesus said to the servants, ‘fill the jars with water.’ So they filled the jars to the top. The he said to them, ‘Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.’ So they took the water to the master. When he tasted it, the
water had become wine” (John 2:7-9).
Did you see the sequence? First the jars were filled with water. Then Jesus instructed the servants to take the water (not the wine) to the master.
Now, if I’m a servant, I don’t want to do that. How is that going to solve the problem? And what is the master going to say when I give him a cup of water? But these servants either had enough naivete or trust to do what or trust to do what Jesus said, and so the problem was solved. Note, the water became wine after they had obeyed, not before.
What if the servants had refused? What if they had said, “No way”? Or, to bring the pint closer to home, what if you refuse? What if you identify the problem, take it to Jesus, and then refuse to do what he says?
That’s possible. After all, God is asking you to take some pretty gutsy steps. Money is tight, but he still asks you to give. You’ve been offended, but he asks you to forgive your offender. Someone else blew the assignment, but he still asks you to be patient. You can’t see God’s face, but he still asks you to pray.
Not commands for the faint of faith. But then again, he wouldn’t ask you to do it if he thought you couldn’t. So go ahead. Next time you face a common calamity, follow the example of Mary at the wineless wedding:
Identify the problem. (You’ll half-solve it.)
Present it to Jesus. (He’s happy to help.)
Do what he says. (No matter how crazy.)
And buy your Aunt Bertha a new calendar.

The Secret Ingredient

For years I have had a saying which I tell my family.
Whenever they compliment my cooking, sewing abilities, gardening skills or thoughtful deeds, I always say, "well, you know it is special because it was done with love."

This is true- the special added secret ingredient to make anything more exceptional is to add an extra dash of love to it.

We should remember to say a quick prayer for the recipient, a prayer of thanks for God given talents or praise to the Lord for the desire to do this special thing.

Counting our blessings never hurts!

Likewise, our loving heavenly Father has added this "special ingredient" when He made you and when He made me.

He made us in His likeness, with a special measure of love.

The One who created everything has added this beautiful "secret ingredient" into the lives of His children.

How blessed we are!

by Marion Smith

Touches of Tenderness

My child's feelings are hurt. I tell her she's special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better. My child is afraid. I won't go to sleep until she is secure. I'm not a hero. I'm not a superstar. I'm not unusual. I'm a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.Moments of comfort from a parent. As a father, I can tell you they are the sweetest moments in my day. They come naturally. They come willingly. They come joyfully.

If all of that is true, if I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?

Why do I think he wouldn't want to hear about my problems? ("They are puny compared to people starving in India.")
Why do I think he is too busy for me? ("He's got a whole universe to worry about.")
Why do I think he's tired of hearing the same old stuff?
Why do I think he groans when he sees me coming?
Why do I think he consults his list when I ask for forgiveness and asks, "Don't you think you're going to the well a few too many times on this one?"
Why do I think I have to speak a holy language around him that I don't speak with anyone else?
Why don't I let my Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?I'm learning, though.

Being a parent is better than a course on theology. Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me.

There is a Father who will hold me until I'm better,

help me until I can live with the hurt,

and who won't go to sleep when I'm afraid of waking up and seeing the dark.

Ever.

And that's enough.

From The Applause of Heaven Copyright 1990, Max Lucado

Receive God's Hope

"Come near to God and God will come near to you." James 4:8

Your toughest challenge is nothing more than bobby pins and rubber bands to God. Bobby pins and rubber bands?

My older sister used to give them to me when I was a child. I would ride my tricycle up and down the sidewalk, pretending that the bobby pins were keys and my trike was a truck.

But one day I lost the "keys." Crisis! What was I going to do? My search yielded nothing but tears and fear. But when I confessed my mistake to my sister, she just smiled. Being a decade older, she had a better perspective.

God has a better perspective as well.
With all due respect, our severest struggles are, in his view, nothing worse than lost bobby pins and rubber bands.
He is not confounded, confused, or discouraged.

Receive his hope, won't you?
Receive it because you need it.
Receive it so you can share it.

Originally printed in A Love Worth Giving by Max Lucado

God Gets Into Our Lives

I do not live anymore – it is Christ who lives in me. Galatians 2:20

You have leaves to rake. A steering wheel to grip. A neighbor's hand to shake. Simply put you have things to do.So does God. Babies need hugs. Children need good-night tucks. AIDS orphans need homes. Stressed-out executives need hope.

God has work to do.
And he uses our hands to do it.
What the hand is to the glove, the Spirit is to the Christian….

God gets into us.
At times, imperceptibly.
Other times, disruptively.

God gets his fingers into our lives, inch by inch reclaiming the territory that is rightfully his.

Your tongue. He claims it for his message.
Your feet. He requisitions them for his purpose.
Your mind? He made it and intends to use it for his glory.
Your eyes, face, and hands? Through them he will weep, smile, and touch.

Originally printed in Come Thirsty by Max Lucado

A Good Choice

Let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith. Hebrews 10:22

It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal. I'll take good health and a high IQ. I'll pass on the music skills, but give me a fast metabolism…Would've been nice. But it didn't happen. When it came to your life on earth, you weren't given a voice or a vote.

But when it comes to life after death, you were. In my book that seem like a good deal. Wouldn't you agree?...
Have we been given any greater privilege than that of choice? Not only does this privilege offset any injustice, the gift of free will can offset any mistakes.

You've made some bad choices in life, haven't you?
You've chosen the wrong friends, maybe the wrong career, even the wrong spouse.
You look back over your life and say, "If only…if only I could make up for those bad choices."

You can.

One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.

The choice in yours.

Originally printed in He Chose the Nails

Pray About Everything

Call to me in times of trouble. I will save you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:25

Want to worry less?

Then pray more.

Rather than look forward in fear, look upward in faith. This command surprises no one.

Regarding prayer, the Bible never blushes. Jesus taught people that "it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit (Luke 18:1 MSG). Paul told believers, "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart" (Col. 4:2 NLT) James declared, "Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it" (James 5:13 NLT).

Rather than worry about anything, "pray about everything."

Everything?

Diaper changes and dates?
Business meetings and broken bathtubs?
Procrastination and prognostications?

Pray about everything.

Originally printed in Come Thirsty by Max Lucado

Made in His Image

The God said, "Let Us make man in Our image."Genesis 1:26, NKJV

Imagine God's creativity. Of all we don't know about the creation, there is one thing we do know–he did it with a smile. he must've had a blast. Painting the stripes on the zebra, hanging the stars in the sky, putting the god in the sunset. What creativity! Stretching the neck of the giraffe, putting the flutter in the mockingbird's wings, planting the giggle in the hyena.

What a time he had. Like a whistling carpenter in his workshop, he loved every bit of it. He poured himself into the work. So intent was his creativity that he took a day off at the end of the week just to rest.

And then, as a finale to a brilliant performance, he made man.
With his typical creative flair, he began with a useless mound of dirt and ended up with an invaluable species called a human.

A human who had the unique honor to bear the stamp, "In His Image."

Originally printed in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior by Max Lucado

Be Kind to Yourself

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

Our heavenly Father is kind to us. And since he is so kind to us, can't we be a little kinder to ourselves? Oh, but you don't know me, Max. You don't know my faults and my thoughts. You don't know the gripes I grumble and the complaints I mumble. No, I don't, but he does. He knows everything about you, yet he doesn't hold back his kindness toward you. Has he, knowing all your secrets, retracted one promise or reclaimed one gift?

No, he is kind to you.
Why don't you be kind to yourself?

He forgives your faults. Why don't you do the same?
He thinks tomorrow is worth living. Why don't you agree?

He believes in you enough to call you his ambassador, his follower, even his child.
Why not take his cue and believe in yourself?

Originally printed in A Love Worth Giving by Max Lucado

Living Loved

"God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world…This is real love." I John 4:9 NLT

Apart from God, "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9 NIV). A marriage-saving love is not within us. A friendship-preserving devotion cannot be found in our hearts. We need help from an outside source. A transfusion. Would we love as God loves? Then we start by receiving God's love.

We preachers have been guilty of skipping the first step. "Love each other!" we tell our churches. "Be patient, kind, forgiving," we urge.

But instructing people to love without telling them they are loved is like telling them to write a check without our making a deposit in their accounts.

No wonder so many relationships are overdrawn.
Hearts have insufficient love.
The secret to loving is living loved.

Originally printed in A Love Worth Giving by Max Lucado

Stunned by His Grace

I was mulling over a recent conversation I had with a disenchanted Christian brother. He was upset with me. So upset that he was considering rescinding his invitation for me to speak to his group. Seems he’d heard I was pretty open about who I have fellowship with. He’d read the words I wrote: “If God calls a person his child, shouldn’t I call him my brother?” And, “If God accepts others with their errors and misinterpretations, shouldn’t we?"

He didn’t like that. “Carrying it a bit too far,” he told me. “Fences are necessary,” he explained. “Scriptures are clear on such matters.” He read me a few and then urged me to be careful to whom I give grace.“I don’t give it,” I assured. “I only spotlight where God already has.”Later I had a great thought. A why-didn’t-I-think-to-say-that? insight.

If the subject resurfaces, I’ll say it. But in case it doesn’t, I’ll say it to you. (It’s too good to waste.) Just one sentence:
I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by his grace.

Story after story. Prayer after prayer. Surprise after surprise.

Seems that God is looking more for ways to get us home than for ways to keep us out.
I challenge you to find one soul who came to God seeking grace and did not find it.
Search the pages.
Read the stories.
Envision the encounters.
Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture.
I dare you.
Search.
You won’t find it.

Seems to me God gives a lot more grace than we’d ever imagine.

We could do the same.
I’m not for watering down the truth or compromising the gospel.
But if a fellow with a pure heart calls God Father, can’t I call that same man Brother?
If God doesn’t make doctrinal perfection a requirement for family membership, should I?

And if we never agree, can’t we agree to disagree?
If God can tolerate my mistakes, can’t I tolerate the mistakes of others?
If God can overlook my errors, can’t I overlook the errors of others?
If God allows me with my foibles and failures to call him Father, shouldn’t I extend the same grace to others?

One thing’s 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 to see us.

From When God Whispers Your NameCopyright 1994, Max Lucado

One Step at a Time

"Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

Arthur Hays Sulzberger was the publisher of the New York Times during the Second World War. Because of the world conflict, he found it almost impossible to sleep. He was never able to banish worries from his mind until he adopted as his motto these five words—"one step enough for me"—from the hymn "Lead Kindly Light."

God isn't going to let you see the distant scene either.
So you might as well quit looking for it.
He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future.
We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow.

God is leading you.
Leave tomorrow's problems until tomorrow.

Originally printed in Traveling Light by Max Lucado

He Intended It!

God intended it for good. Genesis 50:20 NIV

What happened to Joseph wasn't fair!

When your own family sells you as a slave and your boss' wife has you wrongly imprisoned you tend to ask, "Lord, what's going on?"

Before God promoted Joseph to the palace he wanted to know how he'd hold up under pressure.And the same goes for me and you.

Joseph was called to save his family and lead his nation. But big assignments call for big tests of character.

You don't always understand this when you're going through the fires of refinement.

When Joseph's brothers finally stand before him as ruler of Egypt he tells them "You didn't do it to me, God orchestrated the whole thing."

Talk about seeing things clearly! Someone else's action against you is not the bottom line.
And the reason is simple:God knows that somewhere down the line He'll be able to use all that painful stuff to bring your life into focus and accomplish His purposes.

With God it's never too late!

by Bob Gass

Mind Management

A man reaps what he sows.
Galatians 6:7 NIV

Managing your mind should be one of your top priorities.
Your mind is like a computer, it only spits out the data you feed it.
Winners work hard at investing the right material inside themselves.

Dr. Hans Selye researched and popularised a tiny membrane in the back of our head known as the RAS: Reticular Activating System. Your RAS has a primary function: it moves you in the direction of your dominant thought at that moment.

We naturally act on what fills our minds.

When we become preoccupied with a thought, eventually we want to act on it.

This explains a lot of things - like why so many rapes happen after guys have watched pornography night after night. It also explains the huge amount of violence among young people between the ages of 12 and 24. By then the average young person has seen more than 4,000 murders on TV, not to mention video games. Indiana University School of Medicine studied how the images we see impact our brains. For instance, adolescents who'd a higher level of exposure to violence had reduced levels of cognitive function. The more violence they saw the less thinking, learning, reasoning and emotional stamina they had. The garbage they fed their minds affected what came out. Their computer stored the wrong information - now they could only retrieve the wrong stuff.

The apostle Paul didn't know about computers. But he knew about agriculture: " The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life " ( Galatians 6:8 NIV).So, manage your mind!

by Bob Gass

God’s Lights in Dark Nights

There are snowstorms. There are hailstorms. There are rainstorms. And there are doubtstorms.

Every so often a doubtstorm rolls into my life, bringing with it a flurry of questions and gale-force winds of fear. And, soon after it comes, a light shines through it.

God’s lights in our dark nights are as numerous as the stars, if only we’ll look for them.

When Larry Brown was the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, he once spent an afternoon at a local men’s store, signing autographs. He was scheduled to spend two hours, but ended up spending three. Pencil-and- pad-toting kids besieged the place, asking him questions and shaking his hand.

When he was finally able to slip out, he climbed into his car, only to notice a touching sight. A late-arriving youngster pedaled up, jumped off his bike, and ran to the window to see if the coach was still in the store. When he saw he wasn’t, he turned slowly and sadly, walked over to his bike, and began to ride off.

Coach Brown turned off the ignition, climbed out of the car, and walked over to the boy. They chatted a few minutes, went next door to a drugstore, sat down at a table, and had a soft drink.

No reporters were near. No cameras were on. As far as these two knew, no one knew. I’m sure Larry Brown had other things to do that afternoon. No doubt he had other appointments to keep. But it’s doubtful that anything he might have done that afternoon was more important than what he did.

In a world of big-bucked, high-glossed professional sports, it did me good to hear of one coach who is still a coach at heart.

Hearing what he did was enough to blow away any lingering clouds of doubt and to leave me warmed by God’s light … his gentle light.

Gentle lights.

God’s solutions for doubtstorms.

Not thunderbolts.

Not explosions of light.

Just gentle lights.

Visible evidence of the invisible hand.

From "In the Eye of the Storm", Copyright 1991, Max Lucado

The Day My Plate Was Broken

It was past midnight in Dalton, Georgia, as I stood in a dimly lit phone booth making a call to my folks.

My first summer job away from home wasn’t panning out as it was supposed to. The work was hard. My two best friends had quit and gone back to Texas, and I was bunking in the Salvation Army until I could find an apartment.

For a big, tough nineteen-year-old, I sure felt small.The voices of my mom and dad had never sounded so sweet. And although I tried to hide it, my loneliness was obvious.

I had promised my parents that if they’d let me go, I’d stick it out for the whole summer. But now those three months looked like eternity.

As I explained my plight, I could tell my mom wanted me to come home. But just as she said, “Why don’t you come … ,” my dad, who was on the extension, interrupted her.“We’d love for you to come back, but we’ve already broken your plate.”(That was west Texas talk for “We love you, Max, but it’s time to grow up.”)

It takes a wise father to know when to push his son out of the nest.
It’s painful, but it has to be done.
I’ll always be thankful that my dad gave me wings and then made me use them.

From Shaped by God, Copyright 1985, Max Lucado

What I Would Have Missed

I could have been out of town that week. I had an invitation to be in the Midwest at a church. I turned it down. What if I hadn’t? If I had gone, I would have had the attention of a thousand people for an hour. I would have had the opportunity to speak about Jesus to some people who don’t know him.

Is a Tuesday evening at home with three children and a spouse more important than preaching to an audience?
Read my list of what I would have missed.
Then you decide.

• I would have missed a trip to the swimming pool in which I saw Jenna climb onto her inner tube for the first time.
• I would have missed fifteen minutes of bouncing up and down in the shallow end of the pool, with Andrea clinging to my neck singing the theme from “Sleeping Beauty.”
• I would have missed seeing Denalyn get sentimental as she unpacked a box of baby clothes.
• I wouldn’t have gone on a walk with the girls during which Jenna found ten “special” rocks.
• I wouldn’t have been there to hold Andrea when her finger got slammed in the door.
• I wouldn’t have been there to answer Jenna’s question: “Daddy, what is a handicapped person?”

What do you think? I know my vote.

There are a hundred speakers who could have addressed that crowd, but my girls just have one daddy.

After I made my list, just for the fun of it I picked up the phone and called the church that had asked me to come and speak that week. The minister wasn’t in, but his secretary was. “Isn’t this the week of your seminar?” I asked.“Oh, yes! It has been a wonderful success!”They didn’t even miss me.

From In the Eye of the Storm, Copyright 1991, Max Lucado

Redefining Greatness

For an extraordinary pitcher he performed few extraordinary feats. Though a veteran of twenty-one seasons, in only one did he win more than twenty games. He never pitched a no-hitter and only once did he lead the league in any category (2.21 ERA, 1980).Yet on June 21, 1986, Don Sutton rubbed pitching elbows with the true legends of baseball by becoming the thirtieth pitcher to win 300 games.

He consistently did what pitchers are supposed to do: win games. With tunnel-vision devotion, he spent twenty-one seasons redefining greatness.

He reminds us of a quality that is a common denominator in any form of greatness—reliability.
Re-liable.
Liable means responsible.
Re means over and over again.
I’m wondering if this has found its way to some contemporary saints of reliability.

If such is the case I can’t resist the chance to say two things.
The first? Thank you.
Thank you senior saints for a generation of prayer and forest clearing.Thank you teachers for the countless Sunday school lessons, prepared and delivered with tenderness.Thank you missionaries for your bravery in sharing the timeless truth in a foreign tongue.Thank you preachers. You thought we weren’t listening, but we were. And your stubborn sowing of God’s seed is bearing fruit you may never see this side of the great harvest.Thanks to all of you who practice on Monday what you hear on Sunday. You spent selfless hours with orphans, at typewriters, in board meetings, on knees, in hospital wards, away from families, and on assembly lines. It is upon the back of your fidelity that the gospel rides.

I said I had two things to say.

What is the second?
Keep pitching.
Your Hall of Fame award is just around the corner.

From God Came Near, Copyright 1987, Max Lucado

The Brand New You

Have you ever noticed the way a groom looks at his bride during the wedding?

I have.
Perhaps it's my vantage point.
As the minister of the wedding, I'm positioned next to the groom.
By the time we reach the altar, I've been with him for some time backstage as he tugged his collar and mopped his brow.
But all that changes when she appears.

And the look on his face is my favorite scene in the wedding.

Most miss it.
Most miss it because they are looking at her.
But when other eyes are on the bride, I sneak a peek at the groom.
If the light is just so and the angle just right, I can see a tiny reflection in his eyes.
Her reflection.
And the sight of her reminds him why he is here.
And such are precisely the feelings of Jesus.

Look long enough into the eyes of our Savior and, there, too, you will see a bride.
Dressed in fine linen.
Clothed in pure grace.
From the wreath in her hair to the clouds at her feet, she is royal; she is the princess.
She is the bride.
His bride.
Walking toward him, she is not yet with him.
But he sees her, he awaits her, he longs for her.

“Who could bear to live without her?” you hear him whisper.
And who is that bride?
Who is this beauty who occupies the heart of Jesus?
You are.

You have captured the heart of God.

“As a man rejoices over his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:5).

The challenge is to remember that.

To meditate on it.

To focus on it.

To allow his love to change the way you look at you.

From "When Christ Comes", Copyright 1999, Max Lucado

The Guest of the Maestro

What happens when a dog interrupts a concert?

To answer that, come with me to a spring night in Lawrence, Kansas.

The conductor, dressed in tails, strides onto the stage, springs onto the podium, and gestures for the orchestra to rise. The musicians take their seats, the maestro takes his position, and the audience holds its breath.Enter, stage right, the dog. A brown, generic, Kansas dog. Not a mean dog. Not a mad dog. Just a curious dog.

At home in the splendor. Roaming through the meadow of music.
He visited the woodwinds, turned his head at the trumpets, stepped between the flutists, and stopped by the side of the conductor.
The musicians laughed. The audience laughed. The dog looked up at the conductor and panted. And the conductor lowered his baton.
He stepped off the podium and scratched the dog behind the ears. The maestro spoke to the dog. He spoke in German, but the dog seemed to understand. The two visited for a few seconds before the maestro took his new friend by the collar and led him off the stage.

Can you find you and me in this picture?

I can. Just call us Fido. And consider God the Maestro.
And envision the moment when we will walk onto his stage.
We won't deserve it. We will not have earned it.
The music will be like none we've ever heard.
We'll stroll among the angels and listen as they sing.
And we'll walk next to the Maestro, stand by his side, and worship as he leads.

He, too, will welcome.
And he, too, will speak.
But he will not lead us away.
He will invite us to remain, forever his guests on his stage.

From "When God Whispers Your Name, "Copyright 1994, Max Lucado

Miracles

“I am with you always … ”Matthew 28:20

From where I write I can see several miracles.
White-crested waves slap the beach with rhythmic regularity. One after the other the rising swells of salt water gain momentum, humping, rising, then standing to salute the beach before crashing onto the sand. How many billions of times has this simple mystery repeated itself since time began?

In the distance lies a miracle of colors-twins of blue.
The ocean-blue of the Atlantic encounters the pale blue of the sky, separated only by the horizon, stretched like a taut wire between two poles.
Also within my eyesight are the two bookends of life.
A young mother pushes a baby in a carriage, both recent participants with God in the miracle of birth.
They pass a snowy-haired, stooped old gentleman seated on a bench, a victim of life's thief-age. (I wonder if he is aware of the curtain closing on his life.)
Behind them are three boys kicking a soccer ball on the beach.
With effortless skill they coordinate countless muscles and reflexes, engage and disengage perfectly designed joints … all to do one task-move a ball in the sand.

Miracles.
Divine miracles.
And they are as much a reminder of God's presence as were the walking lame, fleeing demons, and silenced storms.

They are miracles.

They are signs.

They are testimonies.

They are instantaneous incarnations.

They remind us of the same truth: The unseen is now visible.

The distant has drawn near.

His Majesty has come to be seen.

And he is in the most common of earth's corners.

From God Came Near, Copyright 1987, Max Lucado

Uncluttered Faith

Bedtime is a bad time for kids. No child understands the logic of going to bed while there is energy left in the body or hours left in the day.

My children were no exception. One night years ago, after many objections and countless groans, the girls were finally in their gowns, in their beds, and on their pillows. I slipped into the room to give them a final kiss. Andrea, the five-year-old was still awake, just barely, but awake. After I kissed her, she lifted her eyelids one final time and said, “I can't wait until I wake up.”

Oh, for the attitude of a five-year-old!

That simple uncluttered passion for living that can't wait for tomorrow.

A philosophy of life that reads, “Play hard, laugh hard, and leave the worries to your father.”

A bottomless well of optimism flooded by a perpetual spring of faith.

Is it any wonder Jesus said we must have the heart of a child before we can enter the kingdom of heaven?
I like the way J. B. Phillips renders Jesus' call to childlikeness: “Jesus called a little child to his side and set him on his feet in the middle of them all. 'Believe me,' he said, 'unless you change your whole outlook and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.' (Matthew 18:2-3)

From "And the Angels Were Silent", Copyright 1992, Max Lucado

Fear that Becomes Faith

“Lord, if it's you,” Peter says, “tell me to come to you on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)

Peter is not testing Jesus; he is pleading with Jesus. Stepping onto a stormy sea is not a move of logic; it is a move of desperation.

Faith is not born at the negotiating table where we barter our gifts in exchange for God's goodness. Faith is not an award given to the most learned. It's not a prize given to the most disciplined. It's not a title bequeathed to the most religious.

Faith is a desperate dive out of the sinking boat of human effort and a prayer that God will be there to pull us out of the water.

Paul wrote about this kind of faith in the letter to the Ephesians:“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Paul is clear.

The supreme force in salvation is God's grace.

Not our works.

Not our talents.

Not our feelings.

Not our strength.

Salvation is God's sudden, calming presence during the stormy seas of our lives.

We hear his voice; we take the step.We, like Paul, are aware of two things: We are great sinners and we need a great Savior. We, like Peter, are aware of two facts: We are going down and God is standing up. So we scramble out.

We leave behind the Titanic of self-righteousness and stand on the solid path of God's grace.

And, surprisingly, we are able to walk on water.

Death is disarmed.

Failures are forgivable.

Life has real purpose.

And God is not only within sight, he is within reach.

From “In the Eye of the Storm”, Copyright 1991, Max Lucado

Healhy Habits

After I did my part at a conference in Boston, I did something very spiritual: I went to a Boston Celtics basketball game. I couldn't resist. Boston Gardens is a stadium I'd wanted to see since I was a kid. Besides, Boston was playing my favorite team, the San Antonio Spurs.

As I took my seat, it occurred to me that I might be the only Spurs fan in the crowd. I'd be wise to be quiet. But that was hard to do. I contained myself for a few moments, but that's all. By the end of the first quarter I was letting out solo war whoops every time the Spurs would score.

People were beginning to turn and look. Risky stuff, this voice-in-the-wilderness routine.That's when I noticed I had a friend across the aisle. He, too, applauded the Spurs. When I clapped, he clapped. I had a partner. We buoyed each other. I felt better.At the end of the quarter I gave him the thumbs-up. He gave it back. He was only a teenager. No matter. We were united by the higher bond of fellowship.

That's one reason for the church.
All week you cheer for the visiting team.
You applaud the success of the One the world opposes.
You stand when everyone sits and sit when everyone stands.

At some point you need support.
You need to be with folks who cheer when you do.
You need what the Bible calls fellowship.
And you need it every week. After all, you can only go so long before you think about joining the crowd.

From When God Whispers Your Name, Copyright 1994, Max Lucado

The Middle C of Life

You and I need a middle C.
Haven't you had enough change in your life?

Relationships change.

Health changes.

The weather changes.

But the Yahweh who ruled the earth last night is the same Yahweh who rules it today.

Same convictions.

Same plan.

Same mood.

Same love.

He never changes.

You can no more alter God than a pebble can alter the rhythm of the Pacific. Yahweh is our middle C.

A still point in a turning world.

Don't we need a still point?
Don't we need an un-changing shepherd?
We equally need an uncaused shepherd. No one breathed life into Yahweh.

No one sired him. No one gave birth to him. No one caused him. No act brought him forth. And since no act brought him forth, no act can take him out. Does he fear an earthquake? Does he tremble at a tornado? Hardly.

Yahweh sleeps through storms and calms the winds with a word.

Cancer does not trouble him, and cemeteries do not disturb him. He was here before they came. He'll be here after they are gone. He is uncaused. And he is ungoverned. Counselors can comfort you in the storm, but you need a God who can still the storm. Friends can hold your hand at your deathbed, but you need a Yahweh who has defeated the grave.

Philosophers can debate the meaning of life, but you need a Lord who can declare the meaning of life.You need a Yahweh.You don't need what Dorothy found. Remember her discovery in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? She and her trio followed the yellow-brick road only to discover that the wizard was a wimp! Nothing but smoke and mirrors and tin-drum thunder. Is that the kind of god you need?

No, you need a God who can place 100 billion stars in our galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the universe.

And you need a God who, while so mind-numbingly mighty, can come in the soft of night and touch you with the tenderness of an April snow.
You need a Yahweh.
And, according to David, you have one.
He is your shepherd.

From Traveling Light, Copyright 2001, Max Lucado

Hope!

The scene recorded in Luke 24:13-24 fascinates me-two sincere disciples walking along the dusty road to Emmaus telling how the last nail has been driven in Israel's coffin. God, in disguise, listens patiently, his wounded hands buried deeply in his robe. He must have been touched at the faithfulness of this pair. Yet he also must have been a bit chagrined. He had just gone to hell and back to give heaven to earth, and these two were worried about the political situation of Israel.

“But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”
But we had hoped …
How often have you heard a phrase like that?
“We were hoping the doctor would release him.”
“I had hoped to pass the exam.”
“We had hoped the surgery would get all the tumor.”

Words painted gray with disappointment.

What we wanted didn't come.

What came, we didn't want.

The result?

Shattered hope.

We trudge up the road to Emmaus dragging our sandals in the dust, wondering what we did to deserve such a plight. “What kind of God would let me down like this?”

You see, the problem with our two heavy-hearted friends was not a lack of faith, but a lack of vision.

Their petitions were limited to what they could imagine-an earthly kingdom. Had God answered their prayer, had he granted their hope, the Seven-Day War would have started two thousand years earlier and Jesus would have spent the next forty years training his apostles to be cabinet members.

You have to wonder if God's most merciful act is his refusal to answer some of our prayers.
Our problem is not so much that God doesn't give us what we hope for as it is that we don't know the right thing for which to hope. (You may want to read that sentence again.)

Hope is not what you expect; it is what you would never dream.
It is a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming ending.
It's Abraham adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson, but his son.
It's Moses standing in the promised land not with Aaron or Miriam at his side, but with Elijah and the transfigured Christ.
And it is the two Emmaus-bound pilgrims reaching out to take a piece of bread only to see that the hands from which it is offered are pierced.

From God Came Near, Copyright 1987 Max Lucado

Come... and See

When Nathanael doubted that anything good could come out of Nazareth, Philip's response was simply, “Come and see.”The question still lingers.
And the answer of Philip still suffices. Come and see.Come and see the rock that has withstood the winds of time.

Hear his voice.
The truth undaunted,grace unspotted,loyalty undeterred.

Come and see the flame that tyrants and despots have not extinguished.
Come and see the passion that oppression has not squelched.
Come and see the hospitals and orphanages rising beside the crumbling ruins of humanism and atheism.
Come and see what Christ has done.
Come and see the great drama threading through twenty centuries of history and art.

Handel weeping as he composes The Messiah.
Da Vinci sighing as he portrays the Last Supper.
Michelangelo stepping back from the rock-carved David and bidding the stone to speak.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Come and see.
See Wilberforce fighting to free slaves in England-because he believed.
See Washington at prayer in Valley Forge-because he believed.
See Lincoln alone with a dog-eared Bible-because he believed.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Come and see.
Come and see the pierced hand of God touch the most common heart, wipe the tear from the wrinkled face, and forgive the ugliest sin.
Come and see the tomb. The tomb once occupied, now vacant; the grave once sealed, now empty. Cynics have raised their theories, doubters have raised their questions. But their musings continue to melt in the bright light of Easter morning.
Come and see. He avoids no seeker. He ignores no probe. He fears no search.
Come and see. Nathanael came. And Nathanael saw. And Nathanael discovered, “Teacher, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

From a Gentle Thunder, Copyright 1995 Max Lucado

The Question of Protection

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31 NIV).

The question is not simply, “Who can be against us?” 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 that is not the question. The question is, If GOD IS FOR US, who can be against us?

Indulge me for a moment. Four words in this verse deserve your attention. Read slowly the phrase, “God is for us.” Please pause for a minute before you continue. Read it again, aloud. (My apologies to the person next to you.) God is for us. Repeat the phrase four times, this time emphasizing each word. (Come on, you're not in that big of a hurry.)

GOD is for us.

God IS for us.

God is FOR us.

God is for US.

GOD is for you.

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,” not “was,” not “would be,” but “God is!” He IS for you. Today. At this hour. At this minute. No need to wait in line or come back tomorrow. He is with you. He could not be closer than he is at this second. His loyalty won't increase if you are better nor lessen if you are worse. He IS for you.God is FOR you. Turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps. Listen for him in the bleachers, shouting your name.

Too tired to continue? He'll carry you.
Too discouraged to fight? He's picking you up.

God is FOR you.God is for YOU. If he had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there's a tree in heaven, he's carved your name in the bark. We know he has a tattoo, and we know what it says. “I have written your name on my hand,” he declares (Isa. 49:16).

God is with you. Knowing that, who is against you? Can death harm you now? Can disease rob your life? Can your purpose be taken or your value diminished? No.

Though hell itself may set itself against you, no one can defeat you.
You are protected.
God is with you.

From In the Grip of Grace, Copyright 1996 Max Lucado

Today I will make a difference!

Today I will make a difference.
I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts.
I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful.
I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters.
I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark.

Today I will make a difference.
I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity.
I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant.
I will drink each minute as though it is my last.

When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving.

Today I will make a difference.
I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures.
I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously.
No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble… . I will get up. It's OK to fail… . I will rise again.

Today I will make a difference.
I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships.
Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.
Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failure. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on.

From On the Anvil, Copyright 1985 Max Lucado

Glory in the Ordinary

There are certain things anyone knows not to do.
You don't try to lasso a tornado.
You don't fight a lion with a toothpick.
You don't sneeze into the wind.
You don't go bear hunting with a cork gun.
And you don't send a shepherd boy to battle a giant.

You don't, that is, unless you are out of options.

Saul was.

And it is when we are out of options that we are most ready for God's surprises.

Was Saul ever surprised!The king tried to give David some equipment. “What do you want, boy? Shield? Sword? Grenades? Rifles? A helicopter? We'll make a Rambo out of you.”David had something else in mind. Five smooth stones and an ordinary leather sling.The soldiers gasped. Saul sighed. Goliath jeered. David swung.

And God made his point.

“Anyone who underestimates what God can do with the ordinary has rocks in his head.”

From The Applause of Heaven, Copyright 1990 Max Lucado

Stunned by Grace

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. Forty years of wandering to loosen the stiff necks of the Israelites? Would've done it myself. Ananias and Sapphira?

You bet.
Discipline is easy for me to swallow. Logical to assimilate. Manageable and appropriate.

But God's grace? Anything but. Examples?

How much time do you have?

David the psalmist becomes David the voyeur, but by God's grace becomes David the psalmist again.
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: hellbent and hung-out-to-die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Prayer after prayer. Surprise after surprise.
Seems that God is looking more for ways to get us home than for ways to keep us out.

I challenge you to find one soul who came to God seeking grace and did not find it.
Search the pages.
Read the stories.
Envision the encounters.
Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture. I dare you. Search.You won't find it.

From When God Whispers Your Name, Copyright 1994 Max Lucado

The Cure for Disappointment

We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it's not over until he says so. We need to hear that life's mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight.

Corrie ten Boom used to say, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.

”Why did Jesus tell the story? So we'd know the engineer still controls the train.

The way to deal with discouragement? The cure for disappointment? Go back to the story. Read it again and again. Be reminded that you aren't the first person to weep. And you aren't the first person to be helped.

Read the story and remember, their story is yours!

From He Still Moves Stones, Copyright 1993 Max Lucado

The Laws of the Lighthouse

The greatest day of lists is still New Year's Day.
And the number one list is the list I call the Laws of the Lighthouse.

The Laws of the Lighthouse contain more than good ideas, personal preferences, and honest opinions.

They are God-given, time-tested truths that define the way you should navigate your life.

Observe them and enjoy secure passage.
Ignore them and crash against the ragged rocks of reality.
The wise captain shifts the direction of his craft according to the signal of the lighthouse.
A wise person does the same.

Herewith, then, are the lights I look for and the signals I heed:
- Love God more than you fear hell.
- Once a week, let a child take you on a walk.
- Make major decisions in a cemetery.
- When no one is watching, live as if someone is.
- Succeed at home first.
- Don't spend tomorrow's money today.
- Pray twice as much as you fret.
- Listen twice as much as you speak.
- Only harbor a grudge when God does.
- Never outgrow your love of sunsets.
- Treat people like angels; you will meet some and help make some.
- 'Tis wiser to err on the side of generosity than on the side of scrutiny.
- God has forgiven you; you'd be wise to do the same.
- When you can't trace God's hand, trust his heart.
- Toot your own horn and the notes will be flat.
- Don't feel guilty for God's goodness.
- The book of life is lived in chapters, so know your page number.
- Never let the important be the victim of the trivial.
- Live your liturgy.

To sum it all up:Approach life like a voyage on a schooner.
Enjoy the view.
Explore the vessel.
Make friends with the captain.
Fish a little.
And then get off when you get home.

From In the Eye of the Storm, Copyright 2005 Max Lucado

Joseph Prayer

Nothing stirs so many questions as does the birth of Christ.
The innkeeper too busy to welcome God-did he ever learn who he turned away?
The shepherds-did they ever hum the song the angels sang?
The wise men who followed the star-what was it like to worship a toddler?

And Joseph, especially Joseph.

I've got questions for Joseph.What was he thinking while Jesus was being born? He'd done all he could do-he'd made Mary as comfortable as she could be in a barn and then he stepped out. She'd asked to be alone, and Joseph has never felt more so. In that eternity between his wife's dismissal and Jesus' arrival, what was he thinking? He walked into the night and looked into the stars. Did he pray?I wonder what he said …This isn't the way I planned it, God. This doesn't seem right. What kind of husband am I? I provide no midwife to aid my wife. No bed to rest her back. Her pillow is a blanket from my donkey. My house for her is a shed of hay and straw. Did I miss something? Did I, God?

You've stood where Joseph stood.
Caught between what God says and what makes sense.
You've done what he told you to do only to wonder if it was him speaking in the first place.

You've stared into a sky blackened with doubt.
If you are asking what Joseph asked, let me urge you to do what Joseph did.
Obey.
That's what he did.

He obeyed when the angel called.
He obeyed when Mary explained.
He obeyed when God sent.

Just like Joseph, you can't see the whole picture.
Just like Joseph your task is to see that Jesus is brought into your part of your world.
And just like Joseph you have a choice: to obey or disobey.
Because Joseph obeyed, God used him to change the world.
Can he do the same with you?

from He Still Moves Stones, Copyright 2004 Max Lucado