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

Published February 21, 2010

God Loves You

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:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published February 9, 2010

God Listens

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:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published February 7, 2010

Are You Listening?

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)

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published January 30, 2010

The Weight of Glory

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

Published January 27, 2010

Pursue the Virtue of Contentment

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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Published January 25, 2010

A Tiny Seed, A Tiny Deed

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/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~  ~  ~  ~
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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Published January 20, 2010

The Living Room

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:
http://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published January 12, 2010

A Home for Your Heart

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)

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Published December 30, 2009

A Good Work

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)

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Published December 22, 2009

Glory to God in the Highest!

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)

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published December 16, 2009

Just a Moment

by Max Lucado

It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment.

As moments go, that one appeared no different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the time line and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you have read these words. It came and it went. It was preceded and succeeded by others just like it. It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.

But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb.

The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.

God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created.

God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother.

God had come near.

He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused, and dirty.

For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.

To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.

He’s easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable.

But don’t do it. For heaven’s sake, don’t. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.

It all happened in a moment. In one moment … a most remarkable moment. The Word became flesh.

There will be another. The world will see another instantaneous transformation. You see, in becoming man, God made it possible for man to see God. When Jesus went home he left the back door open. As a result, “we will all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.�
(1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

The first moment of transformation went unnoticed by the world. But you can bet your sweet September that the second one won’t. The next time you use the phrase “just a moment, … � remember that’s all the time it will take to change this world.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/12/16/ml_moment/
___________________________________________________________

Max Lucado
From: God Came Near
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006)
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published December 2, 2009

A Call to Common Courtesy

by Max Lucado

Perhaps you’ve never placed the word courteous next to Christ. I hadn’t until I wrote this chapter.

But you know how you never notice double-cab red trucks until your friend says he wants one—then you see a dozen of them? I had never thought much about the courtesy of Christ before, but as I began looking, I realized that Jesus makes Emily Post look like Archie Bunker.

He always knocks before entering. He doesn’t have to. He owns your heart. If anyone has the right to barge in, Christ does. But he doesn’t. That gentle tap you hear? It’s Christ. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock� (Revelations 3:20 NASB). And when you answer, he awaits your invitation to cross the threshold.

And when he enters, he always brings a gift. Some bring Chianti and daisies. Christ brings “the gift of the Holy Spirit� (Acts 2:38). And, as he stays, he serves. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve� (Mark 10:45 NIV). If you’re missing your apron, you’ll find it on him. He’s serving the guests as they sit (John 13:4–5). He won’t eat until he’s offered thanks, and he won’t leave until the leftovers are put away (Matthew 14:19–20).

He is courteous enough to tell you his name (Exodus 3:15) and to call you by yours (John 10:3). And when you talk, he never interrupts. He listens.

He is even on time. Never late. Never early. If you’re checking your watch, it’s because you’re on a different itinerary. “There is a time for everything� (Ecclesiastes 3:1). And Christ stays on schedule.

He even opens doors for you. Paul could preach at Troas because “the Lord had opened a door� (2 Corinthians 2:12 NIV). When I asked my dad why men should open doors for women, his answer was one word: “respect.� Christ must have abundant respect for you.

He knocks before he enters. He always brings a gift. Food is served. The table is cleared. Thanks are offered. He knows your name and tells you his, and here is one more.

He pulls out the chair for you. “He raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens� (Ephesians 2:6).

My wife has a heart for single moms. She loves to include a widow or divorcée at the table when we go to a restaurant. Through the years I’ve noticed a common appreciation from them. They love it when I pull out their chair. More than once they have specifically thanked me. One mom in particular comes to mind. “My,� she blushed, brushing the sudden moisture from her eye, “it’s been a while since anyone did that.�

Has it been a while for you as well? People can be so rude. We snatch parking places. We forget names. We interrupt. We fail to show up. Could you use some courtesy? Has it been a while since someone pulled out your chair?

Then let Jesus. Don’t hurry through this thought. Receive the courtesy of Christ. He’s your groom. Does not the groom cherish the bride? Respect the bride? Honor the bride? Let Christ do what he longs to do.

For as you receive his love, you’ll find it easier to give yours. As you reflect on his courtesy to you, you’ll be likely to offer the same.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/12/02/ml_courtesy/

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Max Lucado
From: A Love Worth Giving
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published November 27, 2009

Read Your Life Backward

by Max Lucado

“God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him.“ Philippians 2:13 (NCV)

What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you: “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work� Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV).

Set apart for a special work.

God shaped you according to yours. How else can you explain yourself? Your ability to diagnose an engine problem by the noise it makes, to bake a cake without a recipe. You knew the Civil War better than your American history teacher. You know the name of every child in the orphanage. How do you explain such quirks of skill?

God. He knew young Israel would need a code, so he gave Moses a love for the law. He knew the doctrine of grace would need a fiery advocate, so he set Paul ablaze. And in your case, he knew what your generation would need and gave it. He designed you. And his design defines your destiny. Remember Peter’s admonition? “If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies� 1 Peter 4:11.

I encountered walking proof of this truth on a trip to Central America. Dave, a fellow American, was celebrating his sixty-first birthday with friends at the language school where my daughter was studying Spanish. My question—“What brings you here?�— opened a biographical floodgate. Drugs, sex, divorce, jail—Dave’s first four decades read like a gangster’s diary. But then God called him. Just as God called Moses, Paul, and millions, God called Dave.

His explanation went something like this. “I’ve always been able to fix things. All my life when stuff broke, people called me. A friend told me about poor children in Central America, so I came up with an idea. I find homes with no fathers and no plumbing. I install sinks and toilets and love kids. That’s what I do. That’s what I was made to do.�

Sounds like Dave has found the cure for the common life. He’s living in his sweet spot. What about you? What have you always done well? And what have you always loved to do?

That last question trips up a lot of well-meaning folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do—would he? According to Paul, he would. “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him� Philippians 2:13 (NCV). Your Designer couples the “want to� with the “be able to.� Desire shares the driver’s seat with ability. “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart� Psalm 37:4 (NIV). Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. As Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Human life would seem to consist in that in which each man most delights, that for which he especially strives, and that which he particularly wishes to share with his friends.�

So go ahead; reflect on your life. What have you always done well and loved to do?

Some find such a question too simple. Don’t we need to measure something? Aptitude or temperament? We consult teachers and tea leaves, read manuals and horoscopes. We inventory spiritual gifts and ancestors. While some of these strategies might aid us, a simpler answer lies before us. Or, better stated, lies within us.

The oak indwells the acorn. Read your life backward and check your supplies. Rerelish your moments of success and satisfaction. For in the merger of the two, you find your uniqueness.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/11/27/ml_read/
************************************************************
Max Lucado
From Cure for the Common Life
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006)
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published November 17, 2009

Unfailing Love

by Max Lucado

“Love,� Paul says, “never fails� (1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV).

The verb Paul uses for the word fail is used elsewhere to describe the demise of a flower as it falls to the ground, withers, and decays. It carries the meaning of death and abolishment. God’s love, says the apostle, will never fall to the ground, wither, and decay. By its nature, it is permanent. It is never abolished.

Love “will last forever� (NLT).

It “never dies� (MSG).

It “never ends� (RSV).

Love “is eternal� (TEV).

God’s love “will never come to an end� (NEB).

Love never fails.

Governments will fail, but God’s love will last. Crowns are temporary, but love is eternal. Your money will run out, but his love never will.

How could God have a love like this? No one has unfailing love. No person can love with perfection. You’re right. No person can. But God is not a person. Unlike our love, his never fails. His love is immensely different from ours.

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous.

Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us� (1 John 4:10 NIV).

Doesn’t this thought comfort you? God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you. (Deuteronomy 7:7–8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved� (Romans 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself� (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/11/17/ml_unfailing-love/

*******************************************************************
Max Lucado
From: A Love Worth Giving
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado
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

Published November 14, 2009

Finding Good in the Bad

by Max Lucado

“Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them.� Romans 12:14 (NCV)

It would be hard to find someone worse than Judas. Some say he was a good man with a backfired strategy. I don’t buy that. The Bible says, “Judas . . . was a thief” (John 12:6). The man was a crook. Somehow he was able to live in the presence of God and experience the miracles of Christ and remain unchanged. In the end he decided he’d rather have money than a friend, so he sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. . . . Judas was a scoundrel, a cheat, and a bum. How could anyone see him any other way?

I don’t know, but Jesus did. Only inches from the face of his betrayer, Jesus looked at him and said, “Friend, do what you came to do” (Matthew 26:50). What Jesus saw in Judas as worthy of being called a friend, I can’t imagine. But I do know that Jesus doesn’t lie, and in that moment he saw something good in a very bad man. . . .

He can help us do the same with those who hurt us.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/11/14/ml_finding-good/

******************************************************
Max Lucado
From: Just Like Jesus
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1998)
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