thoughts by Max Lucado Archives - Page 2 of 42

Published January 23, 2024

What’s Done is Done

What do you do with your failures?

Could you do it all over again, you’d do it differently. You’d be more patient. You’d control your tongue. You’d finish what you started. You’d get married first. But as many times as you tell yourself, “What’s done is done,” what you did can’t be undone.

That’s part of what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). He didn’t say, “The wages of sin is a bad mood.” Or “The wages of sin is a hard day.” Read it again. “The wages of sin is death.” Sin is fatal.

What do you do? Don’t we all long for a father who will love us? A father who cares for us in spite of our failures? We have that kind of a father. A father whose grace is strongest when our devotion is weakest. Your failures are not fatal, my friend!

By Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Worry Stoppers to Bring Peace

Here are eight worry-stoppers, found in the letters of the word P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L.

Pray, first. “Casting the whole of your care upon Him …”

Easy, now. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”

Act on it. Be a doer, not a stewer.

Compile a worry list. Keep a list of things that trouble you. How many have turned into a reality?

Evaluate your worry categories. Pray specifically about them.

Focus on today. God meets daily needs daily.

Unleash a worry army. Ask a few loved ones to pray with you and for you.

Let God be enough. “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else.”

Eight steps. P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L.

By Max Lucado
Read more Fearless
Used by Permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://maxlucado.com/about-max/

Obedience Leads to Blessing

Obedience leads to blessing. Disobedience leads to trouble. Remember Jesus’ parable of two builders who each built a house? One built on cheap, easy-to-access sand. The other built on costly, difficult-to-reach rock. The second construction project demanded more time and expense, but when spring rains turned the creek into a gully washer, guess which builder enjoyed a blessing and which experienced trouble?

According to Jesus in Matthew 7:24, the wise builder is “whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them.” Both builders heard the teachings. The difference between the two wasn’t knowledge and ignorance, but obedience and disobedience. Security comes as we put God’s precepts into practice. We’re only as strong as our obedience.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: Glory Days

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Amazing Grace

“Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

When John Newton penned this promise, he did so out of personal experience. His greatest test came the day he buried his wife, Mary. He’d loved her dearly and prayed his death would precede hers. But his prayer was not answered.

On the day Mary Newton died, John Newton found strength to preach a Sunday sermon. The next day he visited church members, and later he officiated at his wife’s funeral. He grieved but in his grief he found God’s provision. He later wrote, “The Bank of England is too poor to compensate for such a loss as mine. But the Lord, the all-sufficient God speaks, and it is done. Let those who know Him, and trust Him, be of good courage.”

My friend, disease, calamity, and trouble populate your world. But they don’t control it! Grace does.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

By Max Lucado
From: GRACE
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

God’s Love

“If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”. 1 John 4:12 (NIV)

God loves you.

Personally.

Powerfully.

Passionately.

Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded.

He loves you with an unfailing love. And His love–if you will let it–can fill you and leave you with a love worth giving.

by Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: Everyday Blessings

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Assurance of Victory

“This is the victory that conquers the world, OUR FAITH.” 1 John 5:4 (NCV)

What is unique about the kingdom of God is that you are assured of victory. You have won! You are assured that you will someday stand before the face of God and see the King of kings. You are assured that someday you will enter a world where there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more sorrow.

If you have no faith in the future, then you have no power in the present. If you have no faith in the life beyond this life, then your present life is going to be powerless. But if you believe in the future and are assured of victory, then there should be a dance in your step and a smile on your face.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: The Inspirational Study Bible

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

The Best is Yet to Be

In Matthew 1:23 God called himself Immanuel, which means God with us. Not just God made us, not just God thinks about us, not just God above us. But God with us. God where we are. He breathed our air and walked this earth. God…with…us.

Bethlehem was just the beginning. Jesus has promised a repeat performance. Bethlehem, Act 2. No silent night this time, however. The skies will open, trumpets will blast, and a new kingdom will begin. He will empty the tombs and melt the winter of death. Death, you die! Life, you reign! The manger dares us to believe the best is yet to be. I love Christmas because it reminds us how “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God!”

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: Because of Bethlehem

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://maxlucado.com/about-max/

Christ in You

Proliferating throughout Scripture is an enticing and inviting preposition —the preposition “in.” Jesus lives in his children. From Revelation 3:20, Jesus says,

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

God in us! Have we sounded the depth of this promise? With God in you, you have a million resources you didn’t have before. Can’t stop worrying? Christ can. And he lives within you. Can’t forget the past, forgive the jerk, or forsake your bad habits? Christ can! And he lives in you.

Oh to be so full of him that we could say with the apostle Paul,

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!”

By Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Wounded by Words

“People insulted Christ, but He did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but He did not threaten.” 1 Peter 2:23

Someone you love or respect slams you to the floor with a slur or slip of the tongue. And there you lie, wounded and bleeding. Perhaps the words were intended to hurt you, perhaps not; but that doesn’t matter. The wound is deep. The injuries are internal. Broken heart, wounded pride, bruised feelings.

If you have suffered or are suffering because of someone else’s words, you’ll be glad to know that there is a balm for this laceration. Meditate on these words from 1 Peter 2:23: “People insulted Christ, but He did not insult them in return … He let God, the One who judges rightly, take care of Him.”

Did you see what Jesus did? …. He left the judging to God. He did not take on the task of seeking revenge. He demanded no apology … He to the astounding contrary, spoke on their defense.

“Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Welcome Jesus into the Turbulence

We’d rather be spared the storm.

Or if the storm comes, let it be mild and our deliverance quick.

Let the job dismissal come with a severance package and an offer of a better position. Let the marital strife turn quickly to romance. Sometimes it does. But when it doesn’t, when we are thorax-deep in turbulence, Jesus wants us to know his name and hear him say,

“I AM coming.”

Such was the experience of the disciples. The moment they invited Christ into their boat was the moment they reached their destination.

“So they gladly took him aboard, and at once the boat reached the shore they were making for” (John 6:21).

Follow the example of the disciples. Welcome Jesus into the midst of this turbulent time. Don’t let the storm turn you inward. Let it turn you upward. Remember, my friend, you are never alone.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://maxlucado.com/about-max/

Choose What You Think About

There are many things in life over which you have no choice.

But you can choose what you think about!

For that reason the wise man urges,

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” Proverbs 4:23 (NCV).

Do you want to be happy tomorrow? Then sow seeds of happiness today. Count blessings. Memorize Bible verses. Pray. Sing hymns. Spend time encouraging people. Do you want to guarantee tomorrow’s misery? Then wallow in a mental mud pit of self-pity or guilt or anxiety today. Assume the worst. Beat yourself up. Rehearse your regrets. Complain to complainers.

Thoughts have consequences. Healing from anxiety requires healthy thinking. Your challenge is not your challenge. Your challenge is the way you think about your challenge! Satan wants to leave us in a swarm of anxious, negative thoughts. But you have a power he cannot defeat. You have God on your side!

By Max Lucado
From: Anxious for Nothing
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

God’s Love Never Fails

One stumble does not define or break a person. Though you failed, God’s love does not. Face your failures with faith in God’s goodness. Like Joshua, when he stood on the eastern side of the Jordan, God could see the upcoming mishap. Still, he tells you what he told Joshua:

“Arise, go. . .you and all this people, to the land which I am giving” (Joshua 1:2).

There’s no condition in that covenant. God’s Promise Land offer does not depend on your perfection. It depends on his. In God’s hands no defeat is a crushing defeat. Psalm 37:23-24 reminds us the steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand. It’s essential you understand this— God’s grace is greater than your failures!

Psalm 37:23-24

²³The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
²⁴though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From Glory Days

To Learn More about Max Lucado
http://maxlucado.com/about/

The Branch and the Vine

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine.” John 15:4 (NCV)

God wants to be as close to us as a branch is to a vine. One is an extension of the other. It’s impossible to tell where one starts and the other ends. The branch isn’t connected only at the moment of bearing fruit. The gardener doesn’t keep the branches in a box and then, on the day he wants grapes, glue them to the vine. No, the branch constantly draws nutrition from the vine….

God also uses the temple to depict the intimacy he desires. “Don’t you know,” Paul writes, “that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?“ 1 Corinthians 6:19 (TEV). Think with me about the temple for a moment….God didn’t come and go, appear and disappear. He was a permanent presence, always available.

What incredibly good news for us! We are NEVER away from God!

by Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Chapters in Life

Certain chapters in this life seem so unnecessary—like nostrils on the pre-born. Like suffering. Loneliness. Disease. Holocausts. Martyrdom. Hurricanes, earthquakes and monsoons.

If we assume this world exists just for pre-grave happiness, these atrocities disqualify it from doing so! But what if this earth is the womb? Might these challenges, severe as they may be, serve to prepare us, equip us for the world to come?

The apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 4:17: “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.”

Eternal glory? I’d like a large cup of that ….. wouldn’t you?

Everything in this life is preparing us for the next.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Commit Your Day

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek His grace.
And then, when this day is done,
I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

By Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Category: <span>thoughts by Max Lucado</span>

What do you do with your failures?

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

“Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

FURTHER READING

God loves you.

Personally.

Powerfully.

Passionately.

FURTHER READING

“This is the victory that conquers the world, OUR FAITH.” 1 John 5:4 (NCV)

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

Further Reading

“People insulted Christ, but He did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but He did not threaten.” 1 Peter 2:23

FURTHER READING

We’d rather be spared the storm.

Or if the storm comes, let it be mild and our deliverance quick.

“I AM coming.”

Further Reading

But you can choose what you think about!

Further Reading

Further Reading

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine.” John 15:4 (NCV)

Further Reading

Further Reading

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Further Reading