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

by Max Lucado

“He lets me rest in green pastures.”  Psalm 23:2 (NLT)

For a field to bear fruit, it must occasionally lie fallow. And for you to be healthy, you must rest. Slow down, and God will heal you. He will bring rest to your mind, to your body, and most of all to your soul. He will lead you to green pastures.

Green pastures were not the natural terrain of Judea. The hills around Bethlehem where David kept his flock were not lush and green. Even today they are white and parched. Any green pasture in Judea is the work of some shepherd. He had cleared the rough, rocky land. Stumps have been torn out, and brush has been burned …

With his own pierced hands, Jesus created a pasture for the soul. He tore out the thorny underbrush of condemnation. He pried loose the huge boulders of sin. In their place he planted seeds of grace and dug ponds of mercy.

And he invites us to rest there.

Question: Do you need to slow down, and rest for awhile in God’s green pastures?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/17/ml_for-the-soul/

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Max Lucado
Copyright [W Publishing 1998, 2001]
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

By Max Lucado

“God is so great, greater than we can understand!” Job 36:26

We may search out the moment the first wave slapped on a shore or the first star burst in the sky, but we’ll never find the first moment when God was God, for there is no moment when
God was not God. He has never not been, for He is eternal. God is not bound by time.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/09/ml_he-is-eternal/

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Max Lucado
From: Everyday Blessings

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“This is my commitment to my people: removal of their sins.” 
Romans 11:27
(The Message)

God does more that forgive our mistakes; he removes them! We simply have to take them to him.

He not only wants the mistakes we’ve made. He wants the ones we are making. Are you making some? . . .

If so, don’t pretend nothing is wrong . . . Go first to God. The first step after a stumble must be in the direction of the cross.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/03/05/ml_more-forgiveness/

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Max Lucado
From: Every Day Blessings

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

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”  I John 3:20

You and I are governed. The weather determines what we wear. The terrain tells us how to travel . . .

God—our Shepherd—doesn’t check the weather; He makes it. He doesn’t defy gravity; He created it.

God is what He is. What He has always been. God is Yahweh—an unchanging God, an uncaused God, and an ungoverned God.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/28/ml_ungoverned/

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Max Lucado
From: Everyday Blessings

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

I recently met a twenty-year-old, just discharged from the military, and pondering his future. He bore a square jaw, a forearm tattoo, and a common question. He didn’t know what to do with the rest of his life. As we shared a flight, he told me about his uncle, a New England priest. “What a great man,” the ex-soldier sighed. “He helps kids and feeds the hungry. I’d love to make a difference like that.”

So I asked him the question of this chapter. “What were some occasions when you did something you love to do and did it quite well?”

He dismissed me at first. “Aw, what I love to do is stupid.”

“Try me,” I invited.

“Well, I love to rebuild stuff”.

“What do you mean?”

He spoke of an old coffee table he had found in a garage. Seeing its potential, he shaved off the paint, fixed the broken legs, and restored it. With great pride, he presented it to his mom.

“Tell me another time,” I prompted.

“This one is really dumb,” he discounted. “But when I worked at a butcher shop, I used to find meat on the bones others threw out. My boss loved me! I could find several pounds of product just by giving the bone a second try.”

As the plane was nosing down, I tested a possibility with him. “You love to salvage stuff. You salvage furniture, salvage meat. God gave you the ability to find a treasure in someone else’s trash.”

My idea surprised him. “God? God did that?”

“Yes, God. Your ability to restore a table is every bit as holy as your uncle’s ability to restore a life.” You would have thought he’d just been handed a newborn baby. As my words sank in, the tough soldier teared up.

See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress, and you’ll feel the same joy.

Reflect on your life. What have you always done well and loved to do?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/24/ml_desires/

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Max Lucado
From: Cure for the Common Life
Copyright 2006, Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“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 with you with an unfailing love. And his love – if you will let it – can fill you and leave you with a love worth giving.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/21/ml_god-loves-you/

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Max Lucado
From: Grace for the Moment Vol. 2

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“I call to you in times of trouble, because you will answer me.”  Psalm 86:7

You can talk to God because God listens.

Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter His presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored.

Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God, and he listens.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/09/ml_god-listens/

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Max Lucado
From: Grace for the Moment Vol. 2

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“Everyone who asks will receive.  Everyone who searches will find.” Matthew 7:8 (NCV)

Once there was a man who dared God to speak: Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen.

And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to the sea and waited for God to speak.

And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin. He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul.

And God waited for the man to respond. And he waited…and waited.

But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing.

Finally he looked to God and asked, “Have you lost your power?”

And God looked at him and said, “Have you lost your hearing?”

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/02/07/ml_listening/

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Max Lucado
From: A Gentle Thunder
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1995)

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
2 Corinthians 4:17, (NKJV)

The words “weight of glory” conjure up images of the ancient pan scale. Remember the blindfolded lady of justice? She holds a pan scale- two pans, one on either side of the needle. The weight of a purchase would be determined by placing weights on one side and the purchase on the other.

God does the same with your struggles. On one side he stacks all your burdens. Famines. Firings. Parents who forgot you. Bosses who ignored you. Bad breaks, bad health, bad days. Stack them up, and watch one side of the pan scale plummet.

Now witness God’s response. Does he remove them? Eliminate the burdens? No, rather than take them, he offsets them. He places an eternal weight of glory on the other side. Endless joy. Measureless peace. An eternity of him. Watch what happens as he sets eternity on your scale.

Everything changes! The burdens lift. The heavy becomes light when weighed against eternity. If life is “just a moment,” can’t we endure any challenge for a moment?

We can be sick for just a moment.

We can be lonely for just a moment.

We can be persecuted for just a moment.

We can struggle for just a moment.    Can’t we?

Can’t we wait for our peace? It’s not about us anyway. And it’s certainly not about now.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/30/ml_weight/
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Max Lucado
From: It’s Not About Me
Copyright 2004, Thomas Nelson Publishers,

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

A businessman bought popcorn from an old street vendor each day after lunch. He once arrived to find the peddler closing up his stand at noon. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

A smile wrinkled the seller’s leathery face. “By no means. All is well.”

“Then why are you closing your popcorn stand?”

“So I can go to my house, sit on my porch, and sip tea with my wife.”

The man of commerce objected. “But the day is still young. You can still sell.”

“No need to,” the stand owner replied. “I’ve made enough money for today.”

“Enough? Absurd. You should keep working.”

The spry old man stopped and stared at his well-dressed visitor. “And why should I keep working?”

“To sell more popcorn.”

“And why sell more popcorn?”

“Because the more popcorn you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers sell your product, and the richer you become. And when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands, stay home, and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.”

The popcorn man smiled. “I can do that today. I guess I have enough.”

Wise was the one who wrote, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV).

Don’t heed greed.

Greed makes a poor job counselor.

Greed has a growling stomach. Feed it, and you risk more than budget-busting debt. You risk losing purpose. Greed can seduce you out of your sweet spot.

Before you change your job title, examine your perspective toward life. Success is not defined by position or pay scale but by this: doing the most what you do the best.

Parents, give that counsel to your kids. Tell them to do what they love to do so well that someone pays them to do it.

Spouses, urge your mate to choose satisfaction over salary. Better to be married to a happy person who has a thin wallet than a miserable person with a thick one. Besides, “a pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life” (Proverbs 13:7 MSG).

Pursue the virtue of contentment. “Godliness with contentment is great gain”
(1 Timothy 6:6 NIV). When choosing or changing jobs – be careful. Consult your design. Consult your Designer. But never consult your greed.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/27/ml_contentment/
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Max Lucado
From: Cure for the Common Life
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006)

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

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“Do not despise…small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.”  Zechariah 4:10 (NLT )

Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile.  But God used it to topple Goliath.  Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow’s coins seem puny.  But Jesus used them to inspire us…

Moses had a staff.  David had a sling.  Samson had a jawbone.  Rahab had a string.

Mary had some ointment.  Dorcas had a needle.  All were used by God.

What do you have?

God inhabits the tiny seed, empowers the tiny deed…Don’t discount the smallness of your deeds.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/25/ml_tiny-seed/

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Max Lucado
From: Grace for the Moment

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

When Your Heart Needs a Father
by Max Lucado

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.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/20/ml_living-room/

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Max Lucado
From: The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997)

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

I only ask one thing form the LORD. This is what I want: let me live in the Lord’s house all my life.”  Psalm 27:4

I’d like to talk with you about your house. Let’s step through the front door and walk around a bit. Every so often it’s wise to do a home inspection, you know—check the roof for leaks and examine the walls for bows and the foundation for cracks. We’ll see if your kitchen cupboards are full and glance at the books on the shelves in your study.

What’s that? You think it odd that I want to look at your house? You thought this was a book on spiritual matters? It is. Forgive me, I should have been clearer. I’m not talking about your visible house of stone or sticks, wood or straw, but your invisible one of thoughts and truths and convictions and hopes. I’m talking about your spiritual house.

You have one, you know. And it’s no typical house. Conjure up your fondest notions and this house exceeds them all. A grand castle has been built for your heart. Just as a physical house exists to care for the body, so the spiritual house exists to care for your soul.

You’ve never seen a house more solid: the roof never leaks, the walls never crack, and the foundation never trembles. You’ve never seen a castle more splendid: the observatory will stretch you, the chapel will humble you, the study will direct you, and the kitchen will nourish you.

Ever lived in a house like this? Chances are you haven’t. Chances are you’ve given little thought to housing your soul. We create elaborate houses for our bodies, but our souls are relegated to a hillside shanty where the night winds chill us and the rain soaks us. Is it any wonder the world is so full of cold hearts?

Doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to live outside. It’s not God’s plan for your heart to roam as a Bedouin. God wants you to move in out of the cold and live … with him. Under his roof there is space available. At his table a plate is set. In his living room a wingback chair is reserved just for you. And he’d like you to take up residence in his house. Why would he want you to share his home?

Simple, He’s your Father.

You were intended to live in your Father’s house. Any place less than his is insufficient. Any place far from his is dangerous. Only the home built for your heart can protect your heart. And your Father wants you to dwell in him.

No, you didn’t misread the sentence and I didn’t miswrite it. Your Father doesn’t just ask you to live with him, he asks you to live in him. As Paul wrote, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV).

Don’t think you are separated from God, he at the top end of a great ladder, you at the other. Dismiss any thought that God is on Venus while you are on earth. Since God is Spirit (John 4:23), he is next to you: God himself is our roof. God himself is our wall. And God himself is our foundation.

Moses knew this. “LORD,” he prayed, “you have been our home since the beginning” (Psalm 90:1). What a powerful thought: God as your home.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/12/ml_home/

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Max Lucado
From: The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997)

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 
Philippians 1:6
(NIV)

Religious rule-keeping can sap your strength.  It’s endless.

There is always another class to attend. Sabbath to obey, Ramadan to observe. No prison is as endless as the prison of perfection.

Her inmates find work but never find peace. How could they?  They never know when they are finished

Christ…fulfilled the law for you. Bid farewell to the burden of religion….God pledges to help those who stop trying to help themselves.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/12/30/ml_good-work/

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Max Lucado
From: Everyday Blessings
Copyright (J. Countryman, 2004)

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado

“Glory to God in the highest!” Luke 2:14 (NKJV)

For the shepherds it wasn’t enough to see the angels.

You’d think it would have been.  Night sky shattered with light.  Stillness erupting with song.  Simple shepherds roused from their sleep and raised to their feet by a choir of angels:  “Glory to God in the highest!”  Never had these men seen such splendor.

But it wasn’t enough to see the angels. The shepherds wanted to see the
one who sent the angels.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/12/22/ml_glory-to-god/

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Max Lucado
From: Everyday Blessings
Copyright (J. Countryman, 2004)

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men