thoughts by Max Lucado Archives - Daily Thoughts about God

Published July 18, 2024

Thump-Thud, Thump-Thud

When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it “sings,” it’s ready. If it “thuds,” it’s placed back in the oven.

The character of a person is also checked by thumping. Been thumped lately?

Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires. You’ve-got-to-be-kidding deadlines. Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat-footed. They aren’t big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out! Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor. Even as I write this, I’m being thumped. Because of interruptions, it has taken me almost two hours to write these two paragraphs. Thump. Thump. Thump.

How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud?

Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45). There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living.

If you have a tendency to thud more than you sing, take heart.

The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to day living.

There is hope for us “thudders”:

1. Begin by thanking God for thumps. I don’t mean a half-hearted thank-you. I mean a rejoicing, jumping-for-joy thank-you from the bottom of your heart (James 1:2). Chances are that God is doing the thumping. And he’s doing it for your own good. So every thump is a reminder that God is molding you (Hebrews 12:5–8).

2. Learn from each thump. Face up to the fact that you are not “thump-proof.” You are going to be tested from now on. You might as well learn from the thumps—you can’t avoid them. Look upon each inconvenience as an opportunity to develop patience and persistence. Each thump will help you or hurt you, depending on how you use it.

3. Be aware of “thump-slump” times. Know your pressure periods. For me Mondays are infamous for causing thump-slumps. Fridays can be just as bad. For all of us, there are times during the week when we can anticipate an unusual amount of thumping. The best way to handle thump-slump times? Head on. Bolster yourself with extra prayer, and don’t give up.

Remember, no thump is disastrous. All thumps work for good if we are loving and obeying God.

by Max Lucado
used be permission

Max Lucado
From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)
Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002)

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

Nevertheless

“And the king and his men… spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” … Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).” 2 Samuel 5:6–9

Did you see it? Most hurry past it. Let’s not. Pull out a pen and underline this twelve-letter masterpiece.

Nevertheless.

“Nevertheless David took the stronghold …”

Wouldn’t you love God to write a nevertheless in your biography? Born to alcoholics, nevertheless she led a sober life. Never went to college, nevertheless he mastered a trade. Didn’t read the Bible until retirement age, nevertheless he came to a deep and abiding faith.

We all need a nevertheless. And God has plenty to go around. Strongholds mean nothing to him. Remember Paul’s words? “We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NLT).

You and I fight with toothpicks; God comes with battering rams and cannons. What he did for David, he can do for us. The question is, will we do what David did? The king models much here.

Two types of thoughts continually vie for your attention. One proclaims God’s strengths; the other lists your failures. One longs to build you up; the other seeks to tear you down. And here’s the great news: you select the voice you hear. Why listen to the mockers? Why heed their voices? Why give ear to pea-brains and scoffers when you can, with the same ear, listen to the voice of God?

Do what David did. Turn a deaf ear to the old voices.

Open a wide eye to the new choices. Who knows, you may be a prayer away from a nevertheless. God loves to give them.

Peter stuck his foot in his mouth.

Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt.

The Samaritan woman had been married five times.

Jesus was dead in the grave …

Nevertheless, Peter preached, Joseph ruled, the woman shared, Jesus rose—and you? You fill in the blank. Your nevertheless awaits you.

Question: What’s holding you back from achieving your full potential as a reborn child of God?

by Max Lucado
From: Facing Your Giants
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2006) Max Lucado

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

A Prayer to Stay on God’s Path

‘And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba Father”. Galatians 4:6 (NLT)

Abba, thank you for sending a helper to direct my steps. You know everything and will guide me in your will.

Help me to know your will. Keep me on the path you have set for Give me the desire to stay true to that path, and forgive me for the times I have already strayed from you.

Be with my friends and family who are at a crossroads and don’t know what to do next. May your spirit guide them and make the best decision clear.

Thank you for caring about the details of my life, for not believing any request is too small. I pray this I Jesus name, amen.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: Pocket Prayers

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

Don’t Get Lost in Your Troubles

Our minds cannot be full of God at the same time they are full of fear! Don’t get lost in your troubles. Lift up your eyes! “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord! (Isaiah 26:3 TLB).

Are you troubled, restless, sleepless? Then rejoice in the Lord’s Sovereignty. I dare you. I double-dog dare you–to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought.”
(Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV).

By Max Lucado
Used by Permission
From: Anxious for Nothing

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

God Cares about You

“Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them.” Matthew 6:26 (NCV)

Consider the earth!

Our globes weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons (a six with twenty-one zeroes). Yet it is precisely tilted at twenty-three degrees; any more or any less and our seasons would be lost in a melted polar flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of one-thousand miles per hour or twenty-five thousand miles per day or nine million miles per year, none of us tumbles into orbit….

As you stand … observing God’s workshop, let me pose a few questions

If he is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is able to guide your life? If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that he is mighty enough to light your path? If he cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that he cares enough about you to meet your needs?

By Max Lucado
Used by permission

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

Reasons for Joy

As a believer in Christ, don’t focus on yourself.

Focus on all that you have in Christ! “How’s life?” someone asks. And we who’ve been resurrected from the dead say, “Well, things could be better.” Or, “Couldn’t get a parking place.” Or, “My parents won’t let me move to Hawaii.”

Are you so focused on what you don’t have that you’re blind to what you do? Paul asks in Philippians 2:1,

“Have you received any encouragement? Any fellowship? Any consolation? Then don’t you have reason for joy?”

You’re blood-bought and heaven-made. A child of God! So be grateful, joyful. For isn’t it true – what you don’t have is much less than what you do? Don’t focus on yourself; focus on all that you have in Christ!

Max Lucado
Used by Permission

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

Patient People

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. It produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, and patience! Have you asked God to give you some fruit? Well, I once did, but… But what? Did you, [hmm…] grow impatient? He won’t grow impatient with your pleading, and you will receive patience in your praying.

And while you’re praying, ask for understanding.

“Patient people have great understanding” (Proverbs 14:29).

Could it be your impatience stems from a lack of understanding? Patience always hitches a ride with understanding.

“A man of understanding holds his tongue” (Proverbs 11:12).

Before you blow up, listen up. Before you strike out, tune in. Before anything else…love is patient!

God is being patient with you (2 Peter 3:9). And if God is being patient with you, can’t you pass on some patience to others? Of course you can! Because before love is anything else—love is patient!

Max Lucado
Used by Permission
From: A Love Worth Giving

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

A Good Dad is “There” for His Children

“Fathers, do not make your children angry; but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord”. Ephesians 6:4

When I come home from work and see those little noses pressed against the windowpane, then I know I’m a success.—Paul Faulkner

Today is Father’s Day. A day of cologne. A day of hugs, new neckties, long-distance telephone calls, and Hallmark cards.

Today is my first Father’s Day without a father. For thirty-one years I had one. I had one of the best. But now he’s gone. He’s buried under an oak tree in a west Texas cemetery. Even though he’s gone, his presence is very near—especially today.

It seems strange that he isn’t here. I guess that’s because he was never gone. He was always close by. Always available. Always present. His words were nothing novel. His achievements, though admirable, were nothing extraordinary.

But his presence was.

Like a warm fireplace in a large house, he was a source of comfort. Like a sturdy porch swing or a big-branched elm in the backyard, he could always be found … and leaned upon.

During the turbulent years of my adolescence, Dad was one part of my life that was predictable. Girlfriends came and girlfriends went, but Dad was there.

Football season turned into baseball season and turned into football season again and Dad was always there. Summer vacation, Homecoming dates, algebra, first car, driveway basketball—they all had one thing in common: his presence.

And because he was there life went smoothly. The car always ran, the bills got paid, and the lawn stayed mowed. Because he was there the laughter was fresh and the future was secure.

Because he was there my growing up was what God intended growing up to be: a storybook scamper through the magic and mystery of the world. Because he was there we kids never worried about things like income tax, savings accounts, monthly bills or mortgages. Those were the things on Daddy’s desk.

We have lots of family pictures without him. Not because he wasn’t there, but because he was always behind the camera.

He made the decisions, broke up the fights, chuckled at Archie Bunker, read the paper every evening, and fixed breakfast on Sundays. He didn’t do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do—be there.

He taught me how to shave and how to pray. He helped me memorize verses for Sunday school and taught me that wrong should be punished and that rightness has its own reward. He modeled the importance of getting up early and of staying out of debt. His life expressed the elusive balance between ambition and self-acceptance.

He comes to mind often. When I smell “Old Spice” after-shave, I think of him. When I see a bass boat, I see his face. And occasionally, not too often, but occasionally when I hear a good joke (the kind Red Skelton would tell), I hear him chuckle. He had a copyright chuckle that always came with a wide grin and arched eyebrows.

Daddy never said a word to me about sex nor told me his life story. But I knew that if I ever wanted to know, he would tell me. All I had to do was ask. And I knew if I ever needed him, he’d be there.

Like a warm fireplace.

Maybe that’s why this Father’s Day is a bit chilly. The fire has gone out. The winds of age swallowed the last splendid flame, leaving only golden embers. But there is a strange thing about those embers, stir them a bit and a flame will dance. It will dance only briefly, but it will dance And it will knock just enough chill out of the air to remind me that he is still in a special way, very present.

by Max Lucado
used by permission

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

thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Learning to Listen

Published June 10, 2024

Learning to Listen

Equipped with the right tools, we can learn to listen to God.

What are those tools? Here are the ones I have found helpful.

A regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and a corner of your world, and claim it for God. For some it may be best to do this in the morning. Others prefer the evening. Others prefer many encounters during the day.

Some sit under a tree, others in the kitchen. Maybe your commute to work or your lunch break would be appropriate. Find a time and place that seems right for you.

How much time should you take? As much as you need. Value quality over length. Your time with God should last long enough for you to say what you want and for God to say what he wants. Which leads us to a second tool you need—an open Bible.

God speaks to us through his Word. The first step in reading the Bible is to ask God to help you understand it.

Before reading the Bible, pray. Don’t go to Scripture looking for your own idea; go searching for God’s. Read the Bible prayerfully. Also, read the Bible carefully.

Here is a practical point. Study the Bible a little at a time. God seems to send messages as he did his manna: one day’s portion at a time. Choose depth over quantity. Read until a verse “hits” you, then stop and meditate on it. Copy the verse onto a sheet of paper, or write it in your journal, and reflect on it several times.

Will I learn what God intends? If I listen, I will.

Understanding comes a little at a time over a lifetime.

There is a third tool for having a productive time with God. Not only do we need a regular time and an open Bible, we also need a listening heart. Don’t forget the admonition from James:

“The man who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who hears and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness” (James 1:25).

We know we are listening to God when what we read in the Bible is what others see in our lives.

Paul urged his readers to put into practice what they had learned from him. “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do” (Philippians 4:9 RSV).

If you want to be just like Jesus, let God have you. Spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day—then apply it.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: Just Like Jesus

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

Contentment

“I have learned to be satisfied
with the things I have and with
everything that happens.” Philippians 4:11

What if God’s only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? You beg him to save the life of your child. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. You implore him to remove the cancer from your body. What if his answer is, “My grace is enough.” Would you be content?

From heaven’s perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain?

Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we moan about what we don’t have?

By Max Lucado
Used by Permission
From: Everyday Blessings

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

Loving as God Loves

Need more patience?

Is generosity an elusive virtue?

Having trouble putting up with ungrateful relatives or cranky neighbors?

Well God puts up with you when you act the same. Luke 6:35 (NIV) says,

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.”

Can’t we love like this? Not without God’s help we can’t.

Our relationships need more than a social gesture. Some of our friends need a flood of tears. Our children need to be covered in the oil of our love. But if we haven’t received these things ourselves, how can we give them to others? Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that apart from God,

“the heart is deceitful about all things.”

We need help from an outside source. A transfusion. Would we love as God loves? Then we start by receiving God’s love.

By Max Lucado
Used by Permission

To learn more about Max Lucado
http://maxlucado.com/about/

Son Reflectors

What does the moon do?

She generates no light.

Contrary to the lyrics of the song, this harvest moon cannot shine on. Apart from the sun, the moon is nothing more than a pitch-black, pockmarked rock. But properly positioned, the moon beams. Let her do what she was made to do, and a clod of dirt becomes a source of inspiration, yea, verily, romance. The moon reflects the greater light.

And she’s happy to do so! You never hear the moon complaining. She makes no waves about making waves. Let the cow jump over her or astronauts step on her; she never objects. Even though sunning is accepted while mooning is the butt of bad jokes, you won’t hear ol’ Cheeseface grumble. The moon is at peace in her place. And because she is, soft light touches a dark earth.

What would happen if we accepted our place as Son reflectors?

Such a shift comes so stubbornly, however. We’ve been demanding our way and stamping our feet since infancy. Aren’t we all born with a default drive set on selfishness? I want a spouse who makes me happy and coworkers who always ask my opinion. I want weather that suits me and traffic that helps me and a government that serves me. It is all about me. . . .

How can we be bumped off self-center? . . . We move from me-focus to God-focus by pondering him. Witnessing him. Following the counsel of the apostle Paul: “Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, [we] are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).

Beholding Him changes us.

—originally from It’s Not About Me

O Lord, change our focus from a me-focus to a God-focus. Work your will in our lives that we might be instruments to do your work and to tell others of your great love. Let our lives reflect your holiness through thick and thin. Help us live in pursuit of what you want rather than what we want. May we keep a firm grip on our faith no matter what hard times come our way. In all we do, may we honor you, amen.

“Sing praise to the Lord, . . . and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.” Psalm 30:4

by Max Lucado
used be permission
From: From Live Loved: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life

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

When Your Heart Needs a Father

“Our Father who is in heaven”

With these words Jesus escorts us into the Great House of God. Shall we follow him? There is so much to see. Every room reveals his heart, every stop will soothe your soul. And no room is as essential as this one we enter first. Walk behind him as he leads us into God’s living room.

Sit in the chair that was made for you and warm your hands by the fire which never fades. Take time to look at the framed photos and find yours. Be sure to pick up the scrapbook and find the story of your life. But please, before any of that, stand at the mantle and study the painting which hangs above it.

Your Father treasures the portrait. He has hung it where all can see.

Stand before it a thousand times and each gaze is as fresh as the first. Let a million look at the canvas and each one will see himself. And each will be right.

Captured in the portrait is a tender scene of a father and a son. Behind them is a great house on a hill. Beneath their feet is a narrow path. Down from the house the father has run. Up the trail the son has trudged. The two have met, here, at the gate.

We can’t see the face of the son; it’s buried in the chest of his father. No, we can’t see his face, but we can see his tattered robe and stringy hair. We can see the mud on the back of his legs, the filth on his shoulders and the empty purse on the ground. At one time the purse was full of money. At one time the boy was full of pride. But that was a dozen taverns ago. Now both the purse and the pride are depleted. The prodigal offers no gift or explanation. All he offers is the smell of pigs and a rehearsed apology:

“Father, I have sinned against God and done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21).

He feels unworthy of his birthright.

Demote me. Punish me. Take my name off the mailbox and my initials off the family tree. I am willing to give up my place at your table”

The boy is content to be a hired hand. There is only one problem. Though the boy is willing to stop being a son, the father is not willing to stop being a father.

Though we can’t see the boy’s face in the painting, we can’t miss the father’s. Look at the tears glistening on the leathered cheeks, the smile shining through the silver beard. One arm holds the boy up so he won’t fall, the other holds the boy close so he won’t doubt.

“Hurry! he shouts. “Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get our fat calf and kill it so we can have a feast and celebrate. My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost but now he is found” (Luke 15:22-24).

How these words must have stunned the young man, “My son was dead” He thought he’d lost his place in the home. After all, didn’t he abandon his father? Didn’t he waste his inheritance? The boy assumed he had forfeited his privilege to sonship. The father, however, doesn’t give up that easily. In his mind, his son is still a son.

The child may have been out of the house, but he was never out of his father’s heart.

He may have left the table, but he never left the family. Don’t miss the message here. You may be willing to stop being God’s child. But God is not willing to stop being your Father.

By Max Lucado
From: The Great House of God

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

On the Anvil

“For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith ”of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire ”may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

With a strong forearm, the apron-clad blacksmith puts his tongs into the fire, grasps the heated metal, and places it on the anvil. His keen eye examines the glowing piece. He sees what the tool is now and envisions what he wants it to be – sharper, flatter, wider, longer. With a clear picture in his mind, he begins to pound. His left hand still clutching the hot mass with the tongs, his right hand slams the two-pound sledge upon the moldable metal.

On the solid anvil, the smoldering iron is remolded.

The smith knows the type of instrument he wants. He knows the size. He knows the shape. He knows the strength.

Whang! Whang! The hammer slams. The shop rings with the noise, the air fills with smoke, and the softened metal responds.

But the response doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t come without discomfort. To melt down the old and recast it as new is a disrupting process. Yet the metal remains on the anvil, allowing the toolmaker to remove the scars, repair the cracks, refill the voids, and purge the impurities.

And with time, a change occurs: What was dull becomes sharpened, what was crooked becomes straight, what was weak becomes strong, and what was useless becomes valuable.

Then the blacksmith stops. He ceases his pounding and sets down his hammer. With a strong left arm, he lifts the tongs until the freshly molded metal is at eye level. In the still silence, he examines the smoking tool. The incandescent implement is rotated and examined for any mars or cracks.

There are none.

Now the smith enters the final stage of his task. He plunges the smoldering instrument into a nearby bucket of water. With a hiss and a rush of steam, the metal immediately begins to harden. The heat surrenders to the onslaught of cool water, and the pliable, soft mineral becomes an unbending useful tool.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: On the Anvil

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

Choices

“You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

We are free either to love God or not.

He invites us to love Him. He urges us to love Him. He came that we might love Him. But, in the end, the choice is yours and mine. To take that choice from each of us, for Him to force us to love Him, would be less than love….

He leaves the choice to us.

By Max Lucado
Used by permission
From: Everyday Blessings

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

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

The character of a person is also checked by thumping. Been thumped lately?

There is hope for us “thudders”:

FURTHER READING

Nevertheless.

Do what David did. Turn a deaf ear to the old voices.

FURTHER READING

Further Reading

FURTHER READING

Consider the earth!

As you stand … observing God’s workshop, let me pose a few questions

FURTHER READING

As a believer in Christ, don’t focus on yourself.

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

Equipped with the right tools, we can learn to listen to God.

Further Reading

FURTHER READING

Need more patience?

Is generosity an elusive virtue?

FURTHER READING

What does the moon do?

She generates no light.

What would happen if we accepted our place as Son reflectors?

Beholding Him changes us.

FURTHER READING

“Our Father who is in heaven”

The child may have been out of the house, but he was never out of his father’s heart.

FURTHER READING

FURTHER READING

“You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

FURTHER READING